God, this book was annoying. I only read about 20% of it, but I couldn't stand to finish it because the main character annoyed me so much. I have genuinely had enough of the clutzy, cutesy main female character who trips over stuff all the time and has unruly hair and awkward mannerisms. I just don't care!!

By the end of the first chapter the main character had already fallen out of bed, almost flashed a tourist, tripped over, had unbrushed hair, overslept, had awkward encounters with friends and an ex... I couldn't stand it.

I'm sad because I really wanted a fun bodyguard romance but I couldn't make it past the main character's introduction because it was so cringe-worthy.

This was an alright read. The characters felt a bit juvenile with the gossipy mean girl colleagues, spying and clutzy main lead. The romance I felt was lacking and I just was not feeling any real chemistry between Freddie and Maggie. liked the historical facts threaded throughout the book but otherwise felt the story was a bit busy. (2.5 stars ⭐️)

I really liked the historical stories included here and the background. I found the characters themselves rather too two-dimensional, except the dad who I loved. The trouble was they were all one thing or another: clumsy, mean, bitchy, straight-laced. And I completely didn’t understand why it as ok for erroneous to spy on each other with CCTV, can this really be a thing? But I did read to the end and there were some toucan g moment, and on the whole it was a fun book.

Loved this book. Modern but enriched with history. A feel good book with a fantastic ending. Easy to read and the pages just kept turning

I really liked this and felt like I learned something too, so it really elevated it from what I was expecting. A very sweet love story, and some lovely history thrown in for good measure!

4.9⭐️
After seeing the author talk about this book I couldn't wait to read it and it did not disappoint!
The plot was amazing and I loved learning about the history of the tower of London throughout the book.
Both MCs felt so real in the way they acted which made me enjoy the book even more, as I felt connected to both of them in different ways.
The side characters were so special as they provided so much to the story, and I honestly enjoyed every part of this book!

'Falling Hard for the Royal Guard' by Megan Clawson is a book so rooted in its place that it's difficult to separate the story from the setting. That's on purpose as 90% of the story happens within the Tower of London, and not in a strange time-travel way either.

Main character Maggie has the very cool (but sometimes very problematic) address of living in the Tower of London apartments - followed by cameras wherever she goes her many embarrassments are documented and dissected by a whole team of guards, staff and co-workers which is not great for her self-esteem. After leaving an abusive relationship she slowly falls for Freddie, one of the many soldiers who are there and away on guard duty.

I did enjoy the novel and the romance but I could really tell that this is the author's first novel and based quite heavily on what she knows. There is incredible attention to detail that I didn't feel was necessary the whole way through, and the romance between the two leads happened in fits and bursts rather than in a slow, tension filled way. It was obvious quite early on that the two characters liked each other, and it was just Maggie and Freddie needing to resolve their personal issues before they were happy to be together - but the actual resolution of these issues happen 'off-camera' so there's no 'can't put it down' moment.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed myself but it wasn't so good that I couldn't put it down. I hope one day it gets adapted for TV and the setting can become a setting rather than the main feature.

I had some high(ish) expectations for this modern romance but I'll be honest, it sort of fell flat for me. Some things felt really unrealistic like how much all of her coworkers sucked. I've been at many different jobs and there is always at least one person who isn't terrible. I also didn't like how clumsy the main character was - it got to a point where I said aloud, "Really? She tripped again?" I think the plot had real potential but the build up and sexual tension wasn't put together very well. I also really didn't enjoy the ending and how he was engaged all along - that felt icky to me. I won't put up a review on Goodreads because I don't like putting anything up under a 4-star rating. I appreciate the ARC though and all the work that goes into writing a novel!

I want to start off by saying I enjoyed this book, it was fun and I found the narration to be really entertaining. The concept of setting the book at The Tower of London was so unique and I loved the history, as a Tudor nerd I knew some of it already. However there are two reasons why I felt a 3 star rating was the most appropriate.

The first is that I wish we had more time with Freddie, Maggie spends half of the book looking for him, missing him or knowing she likes him but doing nothing about it. While I enjoy pining in my romance novels, I was disappointed by the lack of action in the latter parts of the book when momentum was building. There were a few too many almosts that left me dissatisfied. However, I recognise that this is thoroughly my personal taste and this sort of romance book could be EXACTLY what someone is looking for, and I can guarantee people will love it but just not me.

My second reason is that the book felt underdeveloped. There were a lot of pre-existing friendships, relationships etc that could have been built upon and too many minor characters that I lost track of who was who. I wish we had more of Freddie’s friends, one of my favourite scenes was the first time she met them so would have loved more like that. One relationship I will 100% give credit and attention to is Maggie and her Dad, I enjoyed them navigating their relationship through grief and living in the same space.

I think some extra length on the novel, not even a massive amount, would have given time to progress the story and build relationships as it felt time jumps were inserted to jump from strangers to friends with a few characters, unfortunately Freddy was one of the. I would have loved more of Maggie processing how she felt when she found out Freddie was engaged but instead we had a time jump to a point she was kind of okay with it.

To end on a positive note, there was some excellent criticism of dating and meeting people in the digital age, the first three dates Maggie finds made me laugh because they felt so real that I could feel her frustration. There are some wonderful aspects to this book but overall it fell flat.

What a great book! I love everything by this author and this book was no different! I couldn't put this down and was up all night waiting to see how it ended!

Rich in descriptions of the tower of London, Falling for the Royal Guard is more detail heavy than your typical rom com. Perfect for anyone wanting that British royalty feel with a relatable messy heroine.

The main draw to this book is the royal British setting: in the tower, involving a guard. The guard thing does lose its flare when you remember her dad is also one.

The romance moved slowly when reading since there are so many details of Maggie's monotonous day job, but quickly in book timeline, and was more of a friend's to lovers than a chase

This was such a fun read, I loved the mfc so much! All the British history, the guardsmen were all hilarious- it was just one of those books that makes you laugh and smile and feel good at the end:) The side characters alone were good, but I loved Freddie the mmc. It’s the perfect read for a rom com lover and has a HEA!

A fun, fresh take on the usual rom com. I loved seeing the Tower of London in a new light and it almost became one of the characters!

got this as a netgalley arc and went in with zero expectations to be honest, but it impressed me, very cute. Freddie is very messy i like him, even tho ik he'd hatecrime me if he ever saw me

Well this was a whole lot of fun to read! This is definitely an original take on a story and I feel I haven’t read anything like this before!

This is the story of Maggie who lives at the Tower of London, she’s looking for her fairytale but unfortunately just ends up with failed relationships, so of course she decides to give up on love and relationships.

A chance encounter with a royal Guard called Freddie makes her realise maybe she was a little hasty, but how can she catch the attention of someone trained to ignore all distractions?

Such a fun and well written story, I flew through it in two sittings!

what a fascinating backdrop for a rom com! I have never been to the Tower of London and am now invested in visiting, not least to see all the places described in the story!
I thoroughly liked the character of Maggie, not quite where she wants to be but muddling on through anyway, with the support of her dad and her adopted family of Beefeaters.
Freddie took a while longer to warm to- I like my heroes open and honest, not dark and brooding but he really came into his own once he relaxed!
overall a thoroughly enjoyable feel good book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley, and here is my honest feedback…

I really enjoyed most of this - the location references were great, the Tower was such a unique setting, and the details were really clever and interesting. I like a slightly underdog-esque heroine, and I really liked her relationship with her Dad.
However, I wasn’t keen on the romance itself - the two didn’t really seem to have much in common, and she wasn’t treated very well by (the title’s sake) the Guard.

I’d be really keen to read more from the author, it was just I wasn’t keen on one of the main characters. The friendship aspects of this were my favourite parts.

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard was a cute story about Maggie, a girl living with her father in the Tower of London after her mother has passed away. The two have a strong bond with the community that lives within the Tower of London and look out for one another like extended family. One day when she’s walking back from completing a task for her job she runs into Freddie, a handsome man with green eyes and curly hair. The encounter was unpleasant and left a bad taste in her mouth. When she finds herself coming face to face with him as a royal guard she find this to be the perfect moment to give him a piece of her mind where he isn’t able to respond back. When Freddie officially apologized to Maggie for the unpleasant encounter the two end up hanging out more with each, developing a friendship that could possibly blossom into something more.

Maggie is a hot mess and Freddie is a stern, plays by the rules kind of guy. The two opposites find themselves drawn to each other and a slow growth between the two of them starts to build. I would say this is a very slow burn but its nice seeing the two of them open themselves up, especially seeing Freddie start to expose more of his true self and get rid of some of his rigid ways around Maggie,

The story has some plot twists that I wasn’t expecting that kept the story interesting and had me questioning how Maggie and Freddie’s friendship and relationship would end. I give this book a 3.5/5 starts. It was an interesting and cute story but it definitely a slower read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC!

So I really, really, REALLY wanted to love this book. A royal romance written by an author that actually grew up in the Tower of London? Yes, please! The cover is so eye-catching, and the story has such a great hook. Alas, I just couldn't get into it.

There were things that I loved about this book. Firstly, I enjoyed getting an "inside glimpse" into what happens inside the Tower. I had no idea that there was a pub for Beefeaters, for example. I also loved Maggie's character growth from a shy, "I-won't-stand-up-for-myself" type of gal to a more bold, assertive version of herself (I was also cheering for her when her date stood her up and she stayed at the restaurant and ordered a bottle of wine for herself — serious girl boss energy).

Unfortunately, I found the writing repetitive and cliche at times (I was facepalming every time the author said "like moths to a flame" or "hit her like a ton of bricks"). I also found the beginning a bit slow, and there were a few times that I was tempted to give up after Maggie blushed or fell over for what felt like the seventeenth time. The writing really improved towards the end, but I think I was already mentally checked out at that point.

That being said, I have so much respect for any sort of debut author, and I'd be willing to try another book by Clawson in the future! Plus I feel much more educated on the Tower of London, which is always a bonus.

This is a jewel of a five-star read. I really enjoyed this story, there is just a lovely fluffiness to this story, but there is also an undercurrent that has an edge to keep it from being too light. There are some perfect British moments in this story, they will keep you hooked and make you smile. Maggie was a sweetheart and I just adored how she came out of herself, from peeking at the guards to jumping in with them. Watching her come out of herself with the aid of some boys will keep you hooked all the way through. I simply loved the details of this story as well, and it made me so desperate to go and visit the Tower again, I haven’t been since I was a child and loved getting to know all of the details, especially getting to know the Yeoman Warders and all of the different characters they are, seeing them in so much detail beyond the red tunics. I can’t forget the royal guards that all play their part, but this time its Grenadiers that shine their brightest shine and bring a beautiful light to this story as well as Maggie’s life.