While I enjoyed the premise of "The Royals Next Door," a previous book by Karina Halle, had several issues with the writing. Unfortunately, this book likewise fell flat for me. The male MC was pushy and aggressive and I didn't like that at all. Men behaving badly in the name of attraction and love is just gross and not what I want to read in 2024. I wanted to love this book. I love royal-adjacent books and the story could have been so much better than it was. Halle missed the mark on this one.

I'm a little torn on this book. I really enjoyed the story and characters (and the spice was perfection) but it was a little overwritten. I think it could have used a little paring back ( a TINY bit) and it would have been 5 stars instead of 4.

The Royals Upstairs is a fun and a bit spicy story. I enjoyed the characters and their relationships.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Beware, I may have spoilers in this.

To be perfectly honest, I was a little disappointed in this one...

I didn't read the first book, and you definitely don't need to in order to read this one. Both can stand on their own. Although, you will get cameos of the characters from the first book in this one.

Both of the characters just didn't do much for me. The clearly had issues in the past that keep getting brought up, but they moved through it so quickly that it felt almost unnecessary to even have in the plot. Before the book starts, these characters had a quick relationship built up on insta-love. Something happens and they separate, have their own lives completely away from one another, and then BAM! They meet and...insta-love again?

The worst part is that I wanted so desperately for them to have chemistry and it just wasn't working. Something about them felt off. And I don't know if it was because the past "break-up" they had built up between them had no actual resolution or if it was just that both of the characters were lacking in an extra layer of depth.

It's really unfortunate because I think this could have had so much potential. But if you like second-chance romances and contemporary royal novels, this might work well for you.

Laila is the nanny for the children of the King and Queen of Norway and James has just joined as their bodyguard. Unfortunately, the two have a brief but spicy past that did not end well. Keeping their former tryst a secret while also trying to keep away from each other is going to prove more difficult than managing the holy terror of a prince.

I enjoyed reading a romance set in a different locale than usual - I don’t read many Norwegian-set books - and I admit, I’m a sucker for a royal connection rom-com. I do wish the two characters had a better relationship. There was something about their romance that left me cold. It felt a little mechanical, not only the romance aspect, but the spice as well (all the words were right, but they didn’t have any originality), and I never really bought his reason for not committing to her. Something about the book felt a smidge off like all the dots weren’t connecting. It wasn’t my favorite royal-adjacent romance, but I enjoyed getting to know a new world and reading my first Karina Halle book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I was hooked from the cover and so glad the story worked well with the story inside. I thought the characters were everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the romance element to it. I enjoyed the way Karina Halle wrote this and left me wanting to read more from them. It had that romance element that I was looking for and thought it had a charm to it.

I'll start this by saying I was so excited to read another book by this author after her fun "The Royals Next Door" which had me laughing and swooning. Unfortunately, The Royals Upstairs was very underwhelming. I didn't connect to anyone. The romance fell flat and the MMC was pushy and aggressive and I hated that. I'm not sure if there just was enough plot?

I enjoyed most of The Royals Upstairs. I wanted to love it all, but there was a lot of lag in the middle of the book where it was really hard to hold my interest. It does pick back up towards the end, but it was a struggle. I would say, overall, I enjoyed it but if you are looking for something fast-paced or intriguing, this might not be the one for you. 3 Stars

The premise is very promising. Unfortunately, the characters feel too childing for how old they are supposed to be and thus difficult to root for.

What a delightfully interesting story! I was drawn in from the time that I first read the description, and I knew that I had to dive right in! When we typically see a story about royalty, the focus is on the royals themselves. In this case, our MCs are the staff that serve and support these royals.

Laila, the FMC, despite having a tough exterior is loving, kind and sweet. She once gave her heart to someone and he broke it, so he's been the proverbial enemy since that day. The last thing that she expects is to see him employed by the same royal family that she's nannying for.

James, the MMC, has a difficult past that he continues to run from. It's made him wary of love and commitment. Despite his strong feelings for Laila, he ran away from them because he was terrified of what would happen if he gave into them.

When their paths cross once again on a new job, James is determined to start afresh. While Laila resists at first, he charms his way into her good graces. She is determine to keep him at arms length, but when he shows her a different side of him; the caring and kind man that she once fell in love with, she can't help but let him in, despite knowing that their relationship has an expiration date.

What was almost poignantly beautiful is how much James and Laila cared for each other. They were so attuned to the other's feelings and so considerate of the other's boundaries, despite their denial of how they truly felt for each other. It added the kind of depth to this story that you don't typically see in a rom-com.

4.5 ⭐️

I can’t find it within myself to focus on this one because I just don’t like it, sorry! So I won’t be finishing it. Thank you for the copy though. <3

I really wanted to like this book because I loved the first but this didn’t seem special to me like the first one. It felt like a chore to read. I did love the supporting characters though. The grandmas death reminded me of my own and it really hit hard. 3/5

Thank you so much for the advanced digital copy of The Royals Upstairs.

I absolutely love royal books, especially ones that feature the household staffs. Unfortunately I just wasn't feeling the chemistry on this one. The MMC was too aggressive and pushy, which I found distasteful and hard to read. I enjoyed the steam but even that seemed a little unrealistic to me.

The plot lacked punch and there were a lot of pages (even chapters) that could be skipped without impacting the story.

While I loved the idea and premise behind this book, it wasn't for me.

I do think fans of this author, especially those who have read the book where these characters meet, will likely appreciate this book.

The Royals Upstairs is a novel that actually follows those who work downstairs. Laila is a nanny for Prince Magnus and Princess Ella, watching their two very high energy child. James is the new bodyguard for the Norwegian family, and when he shows up at the palace, he runs into his old fling, Laila. She is mad at how he ended things last time, and we see through chapters of both their past and their present that perhaps they might fall if not in love, at least in bed together again.

Overall I rate this book 3 stars. It was original enough by having the setting in Norway, with a full cast of somewhat loveable characters. However I was not sold on the main characters themselves. James really lacked appeal as the male hero, and when he was 'flirting' with Laila the second time, against her wishes, he really just came off not as endearing or sexy but incredibly sleazy and low key gross. Overall, I didn't really feel like his background or his reasons for acting as he did, past and present, made much sense, and seemed more like an obvious plot device than a three dimensional, flawed character. I felt similar with Laila, more because she told us that she was the village weirdo and had been rejected in the past, but when push comes to shove, her community showed up for her and it seems like maybe she was just a goth as a kid? Even in the present day though her love of reading middle grade books, talking to her stuffed animals, and basically being like a child read as Peter Pan syndrome and didn't seem so endearing to me. And to imagine that both these characters should be together felt forced.

The story wasn't without its good moment though, I really enjoyed Prince Magnus and the shenanigans Bjorn was getting up to. The idea of having a cozy relationship between staff and the royals was a different dynamic than what I normally read about. And I always do love reading about Norway. And for those who are wondering, this is a four chilis pepper read, so don't be surprised.

This book is for you if you like second chance romances and stories in a royal world (without being royals themselves).
I would consider reading this author again, especially the novel about Magnus and Ella when they met (you don't need to read it before this one though).

I love the occasional royal romance, and have read a few of Karina’s others and really enjoyed so I was excited to get this one. The storyline was cute, the male main character James has been recently hired as a bodyguard for a royal family, and the female main character Laila is the nanny to their kids. James and Laila have both previously worked with other royal families together, and there is a little bit of history between them! We get some snippets of two years ago when they first worked together and present time. Unfortunately, I had a little bit of trouble connecting to the main characters, I wasn’t feeling their chemistry as much as I was hoping to. I think this one just sadly wasn’t for me, but I’ll definitely be trying this author again!

I need to start off by saying I normally enjoy stories by this author. No, I haven’t read them all, but I have read most and I’ve rated all but one as 4 or 5 stars.
Unfortunately, this one was hard to get through. I found myself bored and I started skipping whole chapters just to finish it. I was tempted to not finish it at all.
I didn’t particularly care for James. I thought he was arrogant and not very caring. Laila was okay. I simply just don’t feel like I connected with either character, therefore, I didn’t care how the story progressed or how it ended. I’m not sure why I couldn’t get into this one besides that simple fact.

I love the interconnectedness of this story to other books that Karina Halle has written. I loved the trauma that the characters worked through together and all the tension along the way. I love the supportive "friend" group and the found family aspect.

Thank you NetGalley, Karina Halle, and Berkley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! This book sadly wasn’t for me… I tried reading it twice and didn’t make it past about 30%. I liked the writing style and the characters, but I just couldn’t connect with them. I’m sure if I had read more of her books I would understand the connections and like it more.

Anyone who is a fan of Halle’s prior work will enjoy this. Her style is polished and accessible. It feels like the story leans heavily into her existing fan base and doesn’t have a clean, stand-alone feel. I’d guess 3 stars from target but 4-5 for her fans.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

I had high expectations regarding this book. I read and loved Karina Halle previously book. Unfortunately, I didn't connected with this book, and ended up dnf it halfway. I truly tried multiple times, but I just didn't connected with the main characters. Something wasn't clicking for me. I found their connection too forced. I don't feel their chemistry or angst between them. But if you love reading about second chance romance, then read it if you want. It just wasn't for me.