I wanted to read this as I was hooked by the description, set amongest the Tower of London while we see it as glamourous they consider it just another day at work.

Maggie works in the box office, with the messy prevous relationship still hanging around, a boss who is the worst and dreams of escaping the tower. A chance encouter ignites her interest sending her everyday hum drum into multicolour.

I found this to be the perfect light weekend read, we have a lovable relatable heorine and a broody shy hero (in uniform!). It is the perfect mix, is it a little predictable? Yes but in times of needing comfort this is perfect. The Tower of London outshone like a jewel as a charactor of it's own.

I LOVED this! What a fun rom com read. Especially with all of the Harry/Megan things in the media lately, this felt so appropriate. I just really enjoyed jumping into this! A guard trope may be something that I look for more!

A really sweet story with lots of history facts throughout. I did make a few notes of stories of people from the Tower that were mentioned that I want to look up.

It was a really interesting insight into living in the tower and what goes on that we might not necessarily think about - pizza delivery?! One of my fondest memories is going on a school trip to the Tower, and a Beefeater sang happy birthday to me, and this boo definitely make me want to go back - but to be aware of not to ask stupid questions at the ticket booth...

It was also really interesting to read a book that was very timely in terms of talk of the King rather than a Queen, and that really added to making the book feel very current.

The overarching theme was opposites attract, but the way it's done and the setting are so unique that it sets it apart from a lot of other books.

The writing is very descriptive I could picture every character and setting, as well as Cromwell and the ravens.

This romance has an interesting and unexpected premise. Set in the Tower of London, our quirky heroine falls for a member of the royal guard or "beefeater" The story is peppered with some interesting history and information, not executed in a dry or heavy handed way. A slow burn with some engaging side characters. An easy light read.

I follow Megan Clawson on Instagram because her life in Tower of London is very intriguing! She does an amazing job of making reels explaining what it’s like to live there. I was really excited to get approved for an ARC of her upcoming romance novel, FALLING HARD FOR THE ROYAL GUARD. I love everything London/England and royalty! This was a cute slow burn romance between Maggie and Freddie. I enjoyed Freddie’s mysterious side, but Maggie was hard to like at some points. I can see the pride and love towards Tower of London in the book, the author did a great job of descriptive writing. Thank you to Net Galley and Avon for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would! This book held me captive from the start! I have been in a huge book slump but this book changed all that!

Maggie is without a doubt one of the most relatable heroines I have read in a while! I laughed with her, I cried, I felt like she was as a fast friend and reading her story, witnessing her journey was absolutely enthralling! I loved seeing her grow into herself and take charge of her life! Freddie was the added bonus in this story! The way he helped her come out of her shell was amazing and the only thing I would’ve loved would’ve been a chapter from his perspective! But either way this story gave me such amazing insight into history (another added bonus) and provided a story that I couldn’t put down until I was done!!

Highly recommend this beautiful book!

What a fun rom-com with a unique setting! I enjoyed reading the story and the insight into a world I know nothing about. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for my Advanced Reader Copy of 'Falling Hard for the Royal Guard'.

Maggie is a regular northern girl who just so happens to live in the tower of London with her beefeater Dad, surrounded by guards and cameras at all times. Perhaps she's not so normal. Maggie is trying to navigate through her bitchy co-workers at the ticket office, and her horrible ex who shows up just about everywhere, when she falls headfirst into a very handsome royal guard. Freddie is a member of the Grenadier Guards, constantly standing as still as a soldier, with an air of mystery that Maggie can't put her finger on. Maggie and Freddie's chance encounter leads to exciting adventures in the centuries-old tower grounds, new friends, and more embarrassing moments for Maggs. Will Freddie catch Maggie when she inevitably falls (pun intended) for him?


The author did a wonderful job when creating Maggie. She is a relatable, complex character in her mid-twenties, who struggles with the same things we all do. Body image, reputation and social encounters, and loss. I constantly felt myself cheering Maggie on, and I was so happy when she spoke her truth and got her happy ending.
Freddie is yet another book boyfriend I am adding to my list. Not only is he sweet and protective, but he can make a girl fall in love with him when wearing a silly hat! His hilarious friends in his troop perfectly offset Freddie's serious demeanour and I really enjoyed every scene with them in. Honestly I think Megan Clawson should give each of the guards a spin off!!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a lovely, heartfelt read with moments where I literally laughed out loud. And Though having never set foot in the Tower of London, I feel I could navigate it now perfectly thanks to the author's detailed descriptions, and I desperately want to test that theory soon!

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a rom-com with some royalty. I can't wait to see what this author produces next!

A romcom with a twist! Delightful and entertaining on many levels. I found the details of life inside the tower especially fascinating. Loved it!

This was such a sweet romance. I enjoyed the setting. As an American who knows absolutely nothing about the Tower of London, it was very interesting to have some of the history integrated into the story. There were times where some of the setting was described in a way that made me want to skim here and there to get back to the action, but mostly the book was very well written. I actually cried a couple of times, which doesn’t happen a lot to me. I enjoyed the main characters and their relationship, although for some reason the steam went out of things right towards the end. I might have sad fried earlier in the book, but I didn’t feel at all like happy crying at the end- although I did enjoy the ending. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely check out further books written by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

It is 2:32am as I review this because I quite literally couldn’t put this down. I. Loved. It. Maggie is such an absolute laugh, a total spitfire, and shares those nagging voices in my own head. Freddie? Swoon. I think I’ll be booking my flight to london looking for one of those. I don’t think I could pick one of the guardsmen I like best as they’re all such characters. Honestly? I wish I could go back and re-experience this one for the first time. I snagged this as a light hearted read and I’m so glad I did because it was *chefs kiss* so good. Will wholeheartedly be suggesting this to all of my romcom loving girlies (unisex).

Thank you for letting me read this arc. I found this story to be enjoyable. Maggie has had an unfortunate set of events of the course of a few years and having a rough go. When she runs into Freddie things get interesting! I loved Maggie's chaotic and over sharing energy!

<b>ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review.</b>

I would like to thank Avon Books and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this ARC. Years ago I visited London for the first time and it felt like home in a way mine doesn't. I haven't had a chance to go back but this story gave me that close feeling I have missed.

Megan Clawson's writing style appealed to me so much throughout the story, from the way she wrote her characters to the way she painted pictures with words. There is a line in the book somewhere in the realm of being amazed by the way we can rearrange 26 letters over and over to create such a masterpiece and I feel like Clawson created her own.

I fell in love not only with Maggie and Freddie, but also Mo, Riley, Walker and Chaplin. With her father and the other beefeaters. I left the end of the book feeling like they were my friends. And, the thing I was most excited for was watching Maggie go from a relationship where her Boyfriend took away her opportunities of other friendships, to finding Freddie who gave her more friends than she had ever asked for.

The love they had for each other felt pure, and watching it develop the way it did made my heart patter. This is easily another story that I wish I could see where they go from here, but in the end I am happy I got to share these friends with Maggie for as long as I did.

Very interesting read, I loved the characters and the plot, It had me guessing what would happen next. A great read.

I actually found this debut author from following different London, England Tik Tokkers. This woman popped up with her tours of the Tower of London and I knew I wanted to get her upcoming book. It sounded light, delightful and a book cleanser.

And it was just that. Nothing hard to contemplate, no major triggers, just a sweet, love story with the backdrop of one of my favourite cities. I enjoyed it <3

Thank you to the pub house and the author of the gifted arc on NG, it was just what I needed in this long month of January. 3.5 stars

For a debut, this book was so cute and fun. I follow the author on TikTok and this book is 100% her personality. I did feel like some parts could've been cut out (the extended dialogue felt unnecessary sometimes) but the bits about history were incredibly interesting. The pride that the author exudes is palpable and I ate it up.

Maggie may live in a castle, but her life is no fairy tale. She recently broke up with her boyfriend of seven years, after realizing the emotional abuse she was suffering at his hands was not normal. Her dad, a veteran, is now a Beefeater at the Tower of London. He brings her to live with him on the property grounds, and helps her get a job at the ticketing office. Said job is minimum wage and rife with extremely mean co-workers, Maggie hates it. Nothing is going her way, until she meets Guardsman Freddie. He makes Maggie feel like a seen person, but she knows nothing about him outside of his guard duties. Why is he so mysterious?

I wanted to love this book so much. Everything about it screamed my usual cup of tea, I mean come on, it is a cute romance set in a castle! Sadly, this book fell extremely short for me.

I felt for Maggie, she had not had an easy life. But her character was not very likeable, she came off as extremely immature. Why was she never on time to work? I mean she lived on the grounds. I also wish that there had been more Freddie. I understand the intrigue of him was that he was mysterious, but the fact that they fell for each other with so little interactions did not seem believable to me.

This book had several lulls, and I had to put it down and come back to it quite a few times. Perhaps the book would have been more enticing if it had been dual POV.

I will say that the staff at the Tower of London, besides Maggie's co-workers at the ticket office, carried the book. The other guardsmen were so fun loving, I loved reading any scenes that they were in. And her dad's co-workers, the other Beefeaters, were funny while giving off loving dad vibes.

Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard follows Maggie who lives in the Tower of London. After a bad break up she swears off of men for good. That is until she decides to put herself back out there. She decides to get on Tinder but after a bunch of bad dates she has had enough. She keeps running into Freddie who is a Royal Guard. The two spark up a friendship. Soon she finds that she might be getting feelings for Freddie. Maybe true love is right in front of her the whole time. 

This book was so cute. I know that the author actually lives in the Tower of London so it made this book have more personal vibes. I loved Maggie's character because she is just trying to figure things out. She reminded me of myself since I also live with my parents and I am just trying to figure things out also. This was one of those romance books that felt super realistic and not like a fiction novel. I loved the evolution of Maggie and Freddies relationship. I highly suggest this one. I think it is one of the best romance books I have read in a while. I hope this author writes more books because I would love to read more by her. 

Thank you Megan Clawson, NetGalley, and Avon Books UK for an ARC of this one.

This is definitely an interesting story, and setting. Maggie is a likeable mess of a woman...who lives in a place few people get to experience. The descriptive writing allowed me to "see" the cobblestones and stone walls where the Beefeaters reside, from Maggie's perspective. The characters are well developed and I enjoyed reading their interactions.
Freddie and his troop of Royal guards hold secrets even Maggie doesn't know - and she lives in the Tower of London! I enjoyed learning all the historical aspects of this location shared by the author, and enjoyed the ghost tales and secrets.

Maggie has had a tough time dating good men, but begins to fall for Freddie, who is hiding a huge secret. One that throws the relationship they were building into chaos, and one I did not see coming. The cast of characters and situations in this one kept me very entertained.

I did not find this a fast reading book. I took my time, savoring the chapters and the building of the story. There are so many things to enjoy - from the location details, to the comical situations Maggie finds herself in, the historical information, and the building of their romance - that I was engrossed for days. I enjoyed myself..
I am thankful and happy that Netgalley and Avon and HarperCollins approved my request for an advance reader copy of this one. I recommend this read.

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard
By: Megan Clawson
Review Score: 3 1/2 Stars

Five Key Feels

-I loved all of the history Maggie shared while living in the Tower of London.

-Her ex (and her coworkers) are super lame; I admire her ability to not let them bring her down.

-Maggie’s interactions with Freddie are so sweet, and you can tell how much they care for each other (as friends and as something more).

-Her tinder dates had me cracking up.

-I love how this story was resolved.

———

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard was kindly provided as an ARC by Netgalley and Avon Books, UK. Thank you for allowing me to read this wonderful book!

Release Date: 4/27/23

This book was a bit of a slow burn for me. It took me some time to get into, as there were a ton of detail (not a bad thing, just not something you always see in a Rom Com type story). There is actually a good bit of history in the book, which I enjoyed, but I could see being off putting to others if that is not why they picked up this book.

With that being said, I loved the characters in this story. Clawson does such a good job of creating real and relatable people, and I enjoyed stepping into their story.

This was a great book, and I really enjoyed it.

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