Such a cute romance. Loved the whole boarding school and royalty concept. The banter jumped off the page at the first meet cute. It was a good decision to hold this for publication until now. Society is a little more open thank goodness. Would love a sequel on navigating palace life.

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Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars

Tropes

🩷New girl, new school

❤️Royal/Commoner

🧡Forbidden Love/Secret relationship

💛Fake Dating (not each other)

💚LGBTQ+

🩵Coming of Age

💙Mysterious shared trauma



🏳️‍🌈My favorite parts of the book:

🎹 Danni’s deep soul connection to music and playing the piano.

👑The cover is the cutest.

Characters are a little bit on the younger and naive side of YA. Also, the big reveal of the Amsterdam mystery felt too drawn out considering it was not the main plot of the story but a justification of how the characters were acting. Adjusting the timing of the reveal paired with a supporting edit would fix the minor pacing issue.

Danni was pretty cool and relatable—even if she was a bit sensitive. But then again, I was sensitive and angry at that age, so it felt true.

Rose is the opposite of Danni, and I think it makes her hard to like. Her character is tough but feels full-on emotionless. She came off a bit robotic verses a Princess that has been forced to walk a line but wants to stray from it. She just felt cold all the time, even with Danni. However, I did enjoy the moments of witty sarcasm when present.

It was a little lacking in some areas but was still an enjoyable read. More suitable for true teens.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press

I have been a huge fan of Sophie Gonzales ever since I read Only Mostly Devastated and fell in love with it. She writes characters with such heart and depth, even though most of them are teenagers. In this case, we have Danni, a newcomer to both the country and to private schooling who has been badly hurt by bullying in the past and is terrified of what her new classmates are going to think of her, and Rose, the ice princess who must hide everything away to be accepted by her parents and therefore her country. The romance is a bit of a roller coaster as Danni has difficulties wrapping her head around what a relationship with a royal would mean, especially coming from the U.S. I enjoyed the turns the story took, and actually didn't completely guess what was going on, though I wasn't 100% surprised by it.

By the way, it always amuses me that when I read a book that is set in some tiny, made-up country that has a royal family, it always seems to be geographically reminiscent of Luxembourg. But that's okay Sophie, I will still be buying your next book.

I am on such a queer YA royal romance kick lately and it's the BEST!! Nobody in particular is a pet project the author has been working on for years and I'm so glad it finally saw the light of day.

This Sapphic boarding school romance between Dani, a bisexual scholarship piano prodigy student and Rose, a closeted lesbian royal in line to inherit the throne had amazing will they won't they friends to lovers energy and the emotional angst watching Rose wrestle with the consequences of coming out and possibly losing the throne or living a fake life with a closeted romantic relationship was heartbreaking.

The book tackles bullying, homophobia, grief over the loss of a friend from drug/alcohol abuse and more. It was also great on audio and perfect for fans of the American royals series and books like Her royal highness by Rachel Hawkins. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I was really excited to read this one but it ended up not working for me. I wasn't expecting the large amount of trauma that the characters were dealing with. I as an adult had some difficulty dealing with some of the descriptions of a teen overdose so I think it would be a lot for many young adult readers. I really think this would have been better as an adult romance set in college.

Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales is another absolute win from one of my favorite authors! I’ve loved Sophie’s books for years, and this one proudly earns its spot on my shelf right next to the rest.

If you’re like me and have a soft spot for the “royal falls for a commoner” trope—this is your moment. Rose, a disgraced princess trying to rebuild her image, and Danni, a talented scholarship student with a heart of gold and a gift for music, are the kind of pairing that just works. Their chemistry is undeniable, their banter is fun, and the emotional depth behind their relationship had me turning pages like mad.

The Bi rep? Chef’s kiss, as always with Sophie’s stories. It’s nuanced, authentic, and just there in the best way—never a big dramatic plot point, but always beautifully woven in. I loved that this was an upper YA story with all the sweet, funny, dramatic, and genuinely emotional moments that come with messy first loves and high-stakes secrets.

There’s palace pressure, forbidden feelings, friendship drama, and one very charming slow-burn romance. These two are seriously so cute together—I was rooting for them the entire time.

A solid 4 beautifully queer stars from me and a brand-new YA favorite! 💖👑🎶

This one was tough, because I LOVE Sophie’s books and I’ve read almost all of them except one I think? And she says in the authors note that this is one of her first books, except it was turned away back when she was shopping it because they said there wasn’t a spot for it (publishing is nonsense 🙄) but since then there’s been a TON of similar books. So now it’s been published and it’s hard to not compare it to those other books.

I felt like they were trying to add things in that were slightly different to try and separate it from books like RWRB (not YA), Prince of the Palisades by Julian Winters - both amazing books, Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins (I haven’t read but it’s on my TBR), and I’m sure a bunch of other books I’m not aware of.

There Rose’s friend that died of a drug overdose that felt so out of place in this, Danni is a talented musician which adds nothing after a certain point in the book but we needed some reason for her to be at this school with rich people and royals and she had to be on a scholarship.

I didn’t NOT like this, I think it’s just unfortunate that it came out now instead of earlier, and I also feel like the author’s writing has grown so much with each novel she’s written that this just didn’t feel like her best.

If you’d like to start with this author, I recommend her other novels Never Ever Getting Back Together, Perfect on Paper, and Only Mostly Devastated.

Thank you @netgalley and @wednesdaybooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

NOBODY IN PARTICULAR was SO cute. i had so much fun with this one! the boarding school setting gave the story this perfect little bubble, but it also made the characters feel a bit older and more independent, even though their emotions and drama were very much high school (in a good way!!). i don’t usually gravitate toward royalty romances, so this was such a fun change of pace for me. the added pressure of being in the public eye, having to keep secrets, hide feelings, and worry about what counts as a “scandal” added so much tension to even the smallest moments.

there was a bit of a lull in the middle, and the conflict was resolved a little quicker than i expected, but it all still worked for the kind of story this was: sweet, dramatic in a teen way, and ultimately really heartwarming.

honestly?? you could pick this one up for the cover alone because LOOK AT IT.

I really enjoyed this. The romance was believable and the plot had twists I didn't see coming. I appreciated how a number of sensitive topics were handled by the author. The characters do read as very young, perhaps even younger at times than they are. It was slow to start and felt a little too long for the kind of story this is. However, overall, a very good story!

Sophie Gonzales is an auto-buy author for me and this book did not disappoint. I highly recommend for high school library collections, young adult readers, and anyone who enjoys the royal/regular trope. All the stars.

This book sort of had a nostalgic, Princess Diaries feel but make it sapphic. This was one of the sweetest YA romances I’ve ever read. I loved Rose and Danni and the relationship they had. They both had great character arcs. Just a great book all around.

4.5 stars
Nobody in Particular is a sapphic, royal x commoner, contemporary romance. The story is similar to others that have been told before, but what sets it apart is it's heart. Although the romantic plot of Nobody in Particular is very much an escapist fantasy, the story has depth. There are discussions about mental health, queer identity, homophobia and grief. So while the romantic in me devoured the plot, the critic in me really appreciated the topical themes. I'd recommend this book to any YA romance reader, but especially those who enjoyed Red, White and Royal Blue.

Commoner x Royal romances are amazing, and I'm glad I was able to read this one! I loved, LOVED the ending of the story. I did struggle a little with some of the high school-ness of the story, which honestly shows how well Gonzales wrote the book, as I'm an adult and not in high school. Actual high schoolers will absolutely see themselves in this book.

my first by this author, and i’m glad to say: GAY GAY GAY GAY!!! not only is this full of vivid, beautiful writing, but did i mention it’s gay? i adored rose and both of the girl’s arcs as they came together, and thought the chemistry and romance was spectacular, especially for a YA where these elements often feel muted. heavily recommend for anyone wanting sapphic royal romance!

Really wholesome book. I appreciated the lack of smut in this book as it makes it easier to add to my classroom! I like the messages of being true to yourself and responsibilities beyond ourselves but that at the end of the day we are only responsible to ourselves. I liked that none of the characters were really that corrupt or mean to each other!!

Danni gets to go to a boarding school and is “no body in particular” due to her class but that doesn’t stop danni being the new girl from America.

We learn about Molly and rose’s past which OOF crazy, do look up trigger warnings.

Of course Rose and danni hit it off but since rose is royalty it makes it difficult (Ross is a lesbians and danni a bi sexual,) <spoiler>especially when a certain “Prince Charming” is making things difficult along with roses family</spoiler>

Normally I’d find comfort in this sort of rom-com with rather predictable events and characters, but I ultimately do not like one of the main characters and find it hard to root for their relationship. The serious subject matter doesn’t have enough romance or humor to balance it for my taste. While I’ve read and reread other Gonzales titles (If This Gets Out, Only Mostly Devastated), this one was okay but just wasn’t for me.

I thought this one was cute while also dealing with some darker topics. I liked the two main characters but Rose did take some warming up to. Having the book be dual POV helped a lot with that. There were some moments were I was pretty annoyed with Rose and her old friends because they were avoiding talking about the issues from their past. If everyone would just communicate it would all work out! Overall a good read with cute moments and annoying moments. If you like boarding school and royalty romances then you should check this one out.

content warning: homophobia, forced outing, death by overdose

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC in return for an honest review.

Nobody in Particular is the first book I’ve read by Sophie Gonzales.

It is very well written and hit the spot for a queer royal romance. The characters are well developed and three dimensional.

I would recommend this romance for anyone hankering for some royal romance.

This was such an enjoyable YA sapphic forbidden romance, featuring a disgraced princess and a musically talented scholarship student thrown together in an elite boarding school. We get yearning, slow burn, grief, awkwardness, and some wonderful character growth.

Danni is the scholarship student, enrolled at Bramppath College in the fictional kingdom of Henland after being ruthlessly bullied at her prior school. Rose is our beautiful and sarcastic princess, trying to repair her reputation after a scandalous tragedy. Rose takes Danni under her wing, complicating her pr situation as rumors begin to spread about their relationship.

I really enjoyed the communication between characters in this, and the complex relationships fleshed out with the side characters. I loved Rose’s development that went from suppressing her feelings due to grief and royal expectations, to just letting herself experience and honestly putting it all out there with everyone in her orbit.

I had to let go of realism a bit with how it all was resolved, but it did make this story such a hopeful, enjoyable read.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for the gifted book!