⚠️TW: loss of parent, domestic abuse, ⚠️

Thanks to NetGalley I was able to receive an ARC of Falling Hard for the Royal Guard in return I give my honest feedback. I requested this book mostly because of the cover and catchy title. Let's see how the actual writing is.

Play-by-play thoughts 👇🏻

What happened to her mom?

Ew. Her ex-boyfriend is a jerk by commenting on how bad she looks..

I thought a flock of ravens was called an unkindness not a conspiracy? Is that just an American thing or do they both work?

I'm only on chapter 3 and bored.. I've gotten bored easily with a few books I've read recently so I'm wondering if it's not the books, but if it's me.. if I need to take a break from reading so I can enjoy it when I get back to it..

So is the ravenmaster a real person or a statue? The way she is described makes it seem like a statue, but talking about her taking tea makes it seem like she's real...

Kind of creepy the ravenmaster told her not to be afraid of heights when Maggie told the one Raven the night before about how if she were a bird she'd probably be afraid of heights.

I am so fascinated by the guards and how they are able to keep such straight faces when people are talking to them. It always makes me want to go to London and experience it myself.

Ooh, if those jerks don't get their mean comments pushed back in their faces when Maggie inevitably ends up with that guard!

I had to Google what a beefeater is..

Second book in a row where the main characters mom died. Let's see if I get emotional in this book when reading about her..

I can relate to her pushing her friends away so she could be available for a boyfriend who didn't make take time for her.. 10 years after my relationship with my toxic ex and I don't have a good relationship with a lot of the friends I pushed away because of him. Like her, I don't have the proximity to them to force our friendship to or our aquatintship (is that a word) to rekindle..

I'm not a fan of how the author uses the term "stood" where it should be "standing" is that a British thing?

Maggie talking about her relationship with her dad after her mom passing reminds me of Maddie's relationship from The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway and also how she is always around a bunch of people but feels alone.

🤦🏼‍♀️ I still can't believe she's named the ravens.. and can tell them apart..

She's nervous her coworkers have set her up to be embarrassed? I'd be afraid this man is bringing me somewhere to murder me 😅

I would die if embarrassment as soon as that guy brought up seeing her underwear 😂

What is Freddie's deal? He's like that Katy Perry song "hot then he's cold, he's yes then he's no" like dude.. what's up? Weren't y'all just having fun?

Maybe he was having a lot of fun but took to heart her comment about not following her mind footsteps about dating a soldier?

I love that this book seems like it's not just going to be a love story with a love interest, but a love story where she falls in love with herself as she makes new friends and gets out of the friendless hole she was in.

Their almost kiss 💗

Okay, so it's not just her that has the ravens named.. I guess it's a thing.. strange..

Does Freddie like her and gets upset when the guys mention tinder and that's why he keeps leaving?

Oh no! She is being catfished!!

OMG. I am gagging at her crawling in the water on the bathroom floor 🤢

I am dying from secondhand embarrassment for her. OMG

Well, at least Jake is better than catfish Caleb, but definitely not her type.. gym bro..

Fish on a first date? Not the best for the breath.. awkward end to the first date..

The ravenmaster is a little clairvoyant it seems, always having little bits of wisdom that fit with Maggie's life, even if it's sometimes after the fact.

Haha, I love that I called him a gym bro while they are on their date and then she calls him that when she's recounting the story to the guys.

What is with this secret life that Freddie leads? Is he himself royalty?

🙄 Her making the comment that their partners are essentially in the army as well makes me cringe. As a military spouse I hate when people say that I'm serving too.. no, I'm not. I'm supporting my husband who is serving. I'm at home. Is it a difficult life, yes. But do not say that a spouse or a partner is also serving in the military. That's disrespectful to the service men and women.

Oh man, Felix is a fuck boy.. I'd be reeeeal skeptical about taking a drink he went to retrieve...

Oh shit, he just dipped. Asshat.

Maggie and Oliver just met and he's already talking about how his sister would like her.. 🚩

Of course Oliver takes her on a date to the Tower and OF COURSE Freddie has to be there..

Oh no!! Freddie ruined the ceremony and broke the lantern!

Geeze, if he still wants a date after the way he was kind of kicked out of there he either really likes her or is really desperate.

Awe, a friendship is not what she wants from Freddie. She can get that from the other guardsmen..

Idk if I wrote this thought, but I know I had it, I still believe that Freddie is royalty somehow.. and his reaction when she says Lord Guilford gives me more clarification in that thought.

Ooh! I knew he was something special!

I'm nervous for her to go to this gala..

I knew his father wouldn't be happy he brought a "commoner" to the gala..

"who is she? "No one" 😭😭💔

ENGAGEMENT?????

Oh poor sweet Maggie. I think his engagement is one out of requirement from his father and not one out of love. MAYBE Freddie has told Mhairi about his feelings for Maggie.. maybe Mhairi herself has feelings for someone else also..

Fuck. I'm crying. I have read a few books that have sad parts in them recently and haven't cried, this one is getting me.

Awe, my heart aches for the ravenmaster and her story of having to send all those dead soldiers home.

Good on her for telling him they can't see each other anymore because she can't be the other woman. But still very heartbreaking.

My guess.. Mhairi is in love with Katie..

Knew it!

😍😍 They finally kissed!!

Awe, Freddie making dinner and talking to her dad about it all.. 😍

And it's lamb, she said that was her favorite that her mom made..

I love that all the beefeaters came out to formally meet Freddie and threaten him like any male family member would..



*Overall thoughts*
For this to be Megan Clawsons debut novel is incredible! Okay, but listen, I fully blame me being bored at the beginning of the book from burnout. I was forcing myself to read book after book after book just because I have nothing else to do once my husband and daughter go to sleep at night. That's on me, not on this book. So I apologize for being harsh in my play-by-play notes. I love knowing that Megan Clawson actually lives in the Tower and was able to use her knowledge in this story. Very well done. 5/5 stars, highly recommend.

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard was not for me. I struggled to get through it and could not connect with the main character. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately I had to dnf it because it was very slow and the writing style just wasn't for me. On a positive note, I never knew that people actually lived in the London Towers so that was a fun little tidbit to find out.

I am going to categorize this one as a pleasant read, I genuinely enjoyed reading it, but lacking in some key traits that make romances shine.

I liked:
- The setting. The tower was a great foil for the plot and the research into history shows in the story.
- The supporting characters. The nutty little village of history nerds makes a lot of the book come alive. I need an entire book about the Raven Keeper ASAP.

I did not like:
-The masc lead. Like, literally who is this dude? An entire book and all we ever know is that he has green eyes, looks hot in uniform and is too aristocratic to have ever felt a human emotion. I know more about the guy who pulls pints at the pub than Freddie.
- The chemistry. This is a 100% clean romance, so these characters need to shows some signs of life in the sizzle department and I got nothing.
- The femme lead. This is a personal pet peeve, but Maggie skirts the line between "quirky/figuring life out" and "walking human disaster who needs to self reflect and work on herself." Too many "not like other girls" vibes here.

All together though, it was a book I really liked reading, so if clean romances with fun settings are your jam, this one is still worth a read..

Cute and easy read. Love a British setting. It was very fluffy and fun to read overall. Good debut for this author.

I really liked the descriptions in this and the unique setting was really interesting too. The history mixed in was really good too and informed the story well. I would’ve preferred a bit more characterisation of Freddie though and experienced the protagonist doing something a bit more than just going to work every day. Though I suppose how mundane her life is is supposed to provide context for her but still it would’ve been nice.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

The cover and summary led me to believe this was going to be more sweet than it was.

Although I loved the facts of the Tower, I felt that the writing had too much exposition or too much in the main character’s head.

Other than that, the characters came across as overexaggerated.

Didn’t work for me.

I give this one a 3 1/3 stars! It was a cute read filled with history, flirtation, and just good ole British-ness, but I wanted more. I wanted more Freddie and Maggie and more background on Freddie and more okay-we're-together-now-what, if that makes sense.

The book was interesting, but not what we were looking for at this time. The writing was clear and the book was well written; however, the theme wouldn't meet our needs at the present time. I will recommend it to others.

An enjoyable light hearted read set in the Tower Of London.
It was clear from the start that the author had a lot of knowledge regarding life in the Tower of London and she brought to life what it is like to live there in it's closed, close knit community. For me this was the most interesting part of the book.
Maggie the central character works there selling entry tickets and lives with her father. After a disastrous relationship with Bran and attending a party with some guards, in the the tower, she embarks on some internet dating- with amusing results. However, her heart is really set on Freddie one of the guards. The path of true love doesn't run smoothly. Does Maggie eventually get her man? A bit of a predicable ending. An light read..

I loved the setting, I loved how Maggie was living at the Tower of London. I loved how she fell for one of the guards. This is a lighthearted and fun read but I found it a little immature for my taste. Its not a bad thing I'm just not the right target audience

I didn't know that you could live in the Tower of London, that is pretty interesting! Even with romcoms you can find something new to learn. The romance was fun and I found Maggie delightful and relatable with her quirks. It was interesting finding out new terms through the book, and made me kept things interesting throughout.

A lovely book about building friendships in strange places with people you wouldn’t usually mingle with.

Maggie lives in the Tower of London and has a job she hates with annoying co-workers.

Meeting a new guard made going to work much more enjoyable and that’s where the story begins.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

I was really excited for this book because I love London and history and the Tower and people working there have always intrigued me. Unfortunately, the book fell flat for me. The storyline and general idea/concept was super cute, but the main characters... Yikes. I was under the impression that they where in their late 20's (almost 30's)... but they kept acting like little 20-something year olds... There was WAY too much getting drunk to the point of passing out for me to be comfortable... Again... Adults acting like like kids...

I quite enjoyed this although I felt it dragged in parts and could’ve either had a bit more storyline to it or been a bit shorter. The main character was a bit ditsy, bordering on annoying but the way her coworkers and boss treated her was unkind and I’m not sure it was justified in this story. But I would recommend for a weekend read

This book was a DNF for me. I was really excited to read this book because of the interesting storyline and setting but it was overly descriptive and fell flat for me. I think the main character was suppose to be quirky but instead came across as bumbling and awkward, and not in a cutesy way. I didn’t like the fact that her boss and coworkers all made fun of her. That’s the point where I lost interest.

DNF. This is definitely the kind of romantic comedy where all the comedy comes from the heroine being completely scattered and unable to manage her life. And usually the hero is impossibly perfect, though I didn't get that far. I know some people must like that kind of comedy with their romance, maybe it's supposed to be relatable, but it's just not my cup of tea. Too bad, because the premise sounded interesting!

Thankyou to Netgalley for allowing me to read this arc.

Loved this book! Megan and Freddie are so cute and their story is so lovely. I've followed Megan on tiktok for a while and was super interested in her daily life living in the Tower of London and this book is a fun extension of it!

A cute rom com that takes place in a unique location. It was interesting hearing all about the Tower of London but for me it was almost too much being described and so many people that I was trying to keep track of what they did and their relationship to the main characters. The tension between the main interests was what kept me intrigued. That and the friendship between Maggie and the guardsmen. A good rom-com if you love history.
Thank you Avon Books UK and Netgalley for the ARC!

This is the story of Maggie, daughter of a Yeoman Warder (Beefeater), who both lives and works in the Tower of London. A few years ago, when we visited the Tower of London, my family was equally fascinated by the fact that people lived there, as we were in the history that took place within its walls.

In Falling Hard for the Royal Guard, Maggie eventually falls for one of the guards standing duty outside of the Jewel House, where the Royal Jewels are stored, but there are some complications (that never feel fully developed).

First of all, this book gets 5 stars for its setting. The historical and physical details of the Tower were excellent and very vivid. You would expect this, as the author had also lived there. I loved all of the tid bits that were woven in, and I would have preferred to have been reading her memoir instead of the novel.

The descriptions was the best part of the novel. Maggie as a character is clumsy, overly verbose, and a hot mess. It often takes too much of her fluffing and talking to get to the point, and the narration of the book was an exact mirror of her personality. The writing seemed to be all over the place and featured zero economy of words. For a book that felt too short and undeveloped in plot, there were a lot of words. The reader is swimming in words and internal monologue. That word count would have better served the novel if we got to see the characters interact more.

I enjoyed reading this strictly for the setting, and without that, it would have been a 2-star read.

Thank you, Net Galley, for the advanced copy of the manuscript.