Loved this book. Full of history as Maggie loves and works in the Tower of London, but also full of humour as she tackles life with growing confidence. There is something so endearing about Maggie, something very real that her happy ending becomes something that made me read on through to the end with no break!

This book needed a couple more rounds of edits. I was unable to finish it. I liked the premise, but it was just a series of descriptions--i did not feel like i was entering the main character's world, but more like she was recounting a list of activities. I would not recommend.

This is a book I have been very excited for ever since I saw the author promoting it on her tiktok. I love books that have similar qualities to Falling Hard for the Royal Guard, but this one fell flat for me. I think this author shows a lot of promise and if she gets a little more writing experience under her belt, she has the potential to have some really great books.

A few things I had issue with was the very shallow writing. Every character felt like a caricature with no defining personality. All of the descriptive qualities felt overdone and extreme. This book definitely airs on the side of extreme description when it didn't feel necessary. There was a lot of building within the book and it didn't feel like a lot was happening until the last 20% of the book and then everything just felt rushed. Another issue was the fact that Maggie's personality consisted of either being clumsy, drunk, or embarrassing herself. This was hard to read. It read as very much, early 2010's Wattpad heroine.

However, as much as I was tempted to DNF in the beginning, I stuck it out. It became a solid 3 star book. Maggie comes into herself and undergoes slight character development. I think the romance is a bit odd, so the book holds up more as a story of a girl in London. I do think this is a solid debut and Megan Clawson definitely has some potential for growth.

Maggie lives in the Tower of London and dream of her HEA. Freddie is a royal guard with a secret. They fall in love but can they overcome their past?

The setting is interesting. I like learning so much about Tower of London. So many interesting tidbits. I haven't read any books like this one before. I like Freddie a lot.... Took me a little longer to like Maggie.
I like how much she grows in the book.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I just couldn’t connect with this story sadly. I wanted to love this so bad. This is not a book issue but a reader issue

This book was SOOO good!!!! I loved the setting - getting to see the ins and outs of living at the tower. The trials and tribulations of tinder dates was relatable and Freddie was just so charming :)

Trigger Warnings*: abuse (some physical violence like grabbing violently, slut shaming, manipulation, isolation) bullying, cheating, death of a parent (mentioned), protagonist struggles with her weight and self-esteem

*This is not an exhaustive list; these are just things I picked up on

First of all - I love the name of this book. I think it's so catchy and brilliant and I like it.

I quite enjoyed Falling Hard for the Royal Guard and not just because of its catchy title. I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Maggie and Freddie develop, and I liked seeing Maggie grow into herself as a person: learning her self-worth, growing more confident, branching out. I just wish that a lot of this didn't happen in the back end of the book. While the character growth and the romance both took time to develop, it all felt very quick in the end which was a shame.

I did consider DNF'ing this book within the first few chapters. I felt Maggie lacked a personality outside of being clumsy. She did one of the three things, some at the same time, and while they were in no particular order, if one were to occur another would soon follow: get drunk, embarrass herself, and fall over/into something. This is where I struggled with the writing. While Maggie began to endear herself to me as the book went on, as did the stoic Freddie (who I'm not sure we ever truly got to know? The side characters of the other guards becoming her friends was often more compelling), the writing frustrated me incredibly. Most chapters ended with her going to be and waking up hungover, running to work. It was very, very repetitive and in that regard lacked creativity. I often found myself skimming these parts because we went through the same (or very similar) morning routine as we did the chapter before.

While I liked the setting, I do think the description was lacking. Since the author is so familiar with the place themselves, it often felt like they were writing like everyone had the similar knowledge or experience as them. I struggled to picture a lot of it.

Overall, I did enjoy this book but found it weak and lacking in many areas. Not bad for a debut, but I'll be expecting much more in any of the authors upcoming works.

Thank you to Avon Books for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard is everything you would expect from the title and does not disappoint, I read this in one sitting and was exactly what I was looking for.

Maggie Moore lives in the Tower of London and has recently broken up with her boyfriend of 7 years when in walks a new Royal Guard with a secret of his own. This book is full of brilliant little factoids about the Tower of London and what it is like to live there and you can really feel the love that Clawson has for the place and the people that live (and have previously lived) there.

The pacing is a little mixed, slower in some places than it needs to be but overall a book I would definitely recommend to fans of the genre.

2.5

I’m just a little disappointed because this wasn’t as cute and fluffy as I was expecting it to be from the blurb. The London history facts were cool and interesting but everything else seemed sooo exaggerated. From the gossiping and evil coworkers to the MC’s clumsiness, everything felt extreme. Plus there was hardly any interaction between MC and love interest and no explanation in the end for the love interest to keep leaving her on the spot like that. All the characters seemed very shallow and had no defining personalities.

Overall, disappointed ☹️

A brilliant debut for this author. A completely unique setting for the heart warming alow burn romance to be set in.

A really interesting opportunity to learn more about the guard and those who live within the tower of London.

Great MC and perfect love interest.

I loved the history of this book and the insights into life inside the Tower of London. Although predictable, Freddie and Maggie’s relationship gave me the warm fuzzies and it was lovely to see it develop. Occasionally I found the story veered off on a long tangent or got a bit waffley so it doesn’t quite get 5 stars but a pleasant read nonetheless.

‘Falling Hard for the Royal Guard’ is a humorous rom-com set in the Tower of London - a story of unrequited love between an unlikely heroine and a mysterious guardsman - written by debut author Megan Clawson.

Maggie Moore is a quirky-but-clumsy redhead 26-year-old living with her beefeater father in the Tower of London. Faced with the daily bitchiness of her ticket-office colleagues and narrowly avoiding her obsessive ex-boyfriend, Maggie seeks refuge in her love for the Tower’s steep history and its secrets and mysteries from lifetimes before her. 🏰

When she literally bumps into a man who looks like he’s just stepped out of one of Maggie’s classic romance novels, her new acquaintance introduces her to the life of the guardsmen behind their uniforms and what they get up to when off-duty.

Will Freddie be brave enough to reveal his true identity before Maggie’s heart catches her off guard? 💂🏻‍♀️👩🏼‍🦰

In Maggie, the author Megan Clawson creates quite an underlying complex character for such a lighthearted rom-com. While she seems to be vibrant and self-assured on the outside, there are times she struggles with body confidence and her place in the world. The ‘mirror scene’ in particular was a real heartfelt moment in the book - my heart really went out to Maggie. 😭💔 Freddie’s guardsman friends provide an additional layer of humour to the story, contrasting to Freddie’s gentility and stiffness.

Don’t miss this humorous rom-com coming soon in Spring 2023 - you’ll laugh, you’ll cry and then you’ll swoon! For me, this is one of those books that you feel happy and glad to have discovered.

I highly recommend ‘Falling Hard for the Royal Guard’ for fans of Emilia Clarke in ‘Me Before You’ and all those romance lovers with an interest in London’s royalty, palaces and history.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Avon Books/Harper Collins for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have given Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Megan Clawson four out of five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this fun, descriptive, slow burning romance book. It was a history lesson in itself for me as I had no idea that there’s a community of people who live within the grounds of the Tower of London.

It was great fun following our main character, Maggie, who is a red-headed, clumsy and brilliant lady. Our love interest, Freddie; who is quite mysterious, attractive and a royal guard, was equally enjoyable to learn about and left my romantic heart swelling at most of the scenes between Freddie and Maggie. Furthermore, I thought this book was filled with great extra characters that we met and learned about too.

I thought the author, Megan, did an incredible job with describing the detail of this book to its fullest, which helped me to envision the setting so vividly.

I hope to read more by Megan Clawson in the near future!

I really loved this! Falling Hard for the Royal Guard is a well researched and incredibly unique story. Maggie was the ultimate flawed character, both having too high expectations and too low expectations at the same time. Freddie was frustrating but irresistible. Clawson introduces a lot of different supporting characters throughout the book, but they were all so well defined I didn't get confused. There were some slow parts which dragged out a bit too long, but once the plot was off again, the plot fell into a good rhythm afterwards. I would love to read this from Freddie's perspective!

An unlucky-in-love heroine, a tall and handsome love interest, a squad of the Royal Guard and an entire conspiracy of ravens. What more could you want in your romcom?

Filled with quirky characters and hilarious Tinder dates gone bad, Falling Hard for the Royal Guard is a fabulous, funny and sweet story taking in some of London’s most iconic locations.

There were moments where I felt the story slowed a little, and I think I would have liked to have seen a few chapters from Freddie (our Royal Guards) perspective, but overall it was a fun read that I would definitely recommend!

I was immediately drawn to this book by the fun, bright and eye-catching cover. I believe this author is new - you would never know this by reading this book.

This has to be one of the best books I’ve read this year! Maggie was a phenomenal main character, so deeply flawed and yet so utterly realistic. Freddie was swoonworthy…there’s just something about the guardsmen and this added to his intrigue as a character. There’s a scene near the beginning of the book where Maggie stares at Freddie while he’s on duty and he winks at her…that moment ignited the story!

There were lots of characters in this book, but the author did a great job of making them unique and identifiable in the story.

Finally, this book was enriched with the tales of the Tower. I have never been overly interested in history, and despite visiting the Tower of London many times, I have taken elements of it for granted over the years. I absolutely loved the facts woven into this story and I can’t wait to revisit the tower with a renewed interest.

5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for my advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 📚

I do love books where I can picture the setting because it is local to me, and this was a perfect example.
Maggie, our heroine, lives in the Tower of London. Lives there. Yup, I didn't even know people lived there!
She lives in special housing for the Beefeaters, one of whom is her father.
She works at the ticket booth, a job she never thought she would be still at, all these years later, and she finds herself the butt of her colleagues' jokes as the clumsy, lumbering red-haired girl who can't even get a date.
But fate changes for her when she bumps into someone she thought was a lamp post, and he ends up being someone she spends plenty of time with as friends.
Maggie tells Freddie historical stories of the Tower of London, complete with ghost tales, and he introduces her to parts of the Tower that were out of reach, seeing as he is a part of the Royal Guard.
As she slowly lowers her barriers with him, she can feel there are parts of his life he is hiding, which she finds out most shockingly.
A great cast of characters, including the different Beefeaters, the rest of Freddie's troop, and the ravenmaster, with her cryptic yet apt words of wisdom.
I read it in a day. really enjoyed it!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for an ARC.

I really loved this story and how much fun it was yet heart-breaking at the same time. The characters are great and easy to relate to and the story was just spot on!!

This was an enjoyable read! I enjoyed the FMC right off the bat as I felt her personality shine through the pages! The setting was extremely unique and as someone not from England and not familiar with the history and a lot of the terms used, I found it both interesting and educational. It was a completely different plot than I have ever read before which I really enjoyed, it was a breathe of fresh air. The love story was adorable and I think it was extra special that the author related it a lot to her own experiences! I am looking forward to reading more novels from Megan Clawson!

It's fair to say, I was captivated with this one.

A really unusual concept- and I will forever love trying to order a pizza delivery to the Tower of London- I thought Cornwall was hard enough!

A great storyline- troublesome ex, superb setting- totally unique, and a cheeky lead with Maggie in the reins.

Nothing will beat this historical backdrop, and I liked the way it was like a backstage pass to the Tower.

Royally brilliant. I stand and salute this read.