Princess Rosemary of Henland can’t afford distractions. She’s working tirelessly to repair her image following a scandal that lost the trust of both her country and her best friend. Unfortunately, when a beautiful and funny new student joins her boarding school, Rose finds herself quite distracted indeed. Attending Bramppath College on a music scholarship, talented pianist Danni expects to be an outcast amongst the wealthy children of the elite, but she is pleasantly surprised to be taken in by the ex-best friend of the princess. The more Danni gets to know her new classmates, the more intrigued she becomes by Rose. When somebody sees something they shouldn’t and rumors circulate throughout Henland, Rose and Danni must either find a way to deflect the ever-increasing eyes on their relationship, or end it altogether. Because one thing is clear: if Rose’s fragile reputation takes any more hits, the palace will do whatever they must to separate Rose and Danni. Forever.

Thoughts
I enjoyed this book way more than I expected. It was a lovely coming of age and coming out story with of course the added dramatics of being a royal and having an entire country watching you. It’s also a reminder of being true to yourself and finding the love and acceptance you deserve, even if that means risking it all.

I didn't think I could love a Sophie Gonzales book more than Only Mostly Devastated, but I think this is her best yet that I have read.

Her author's note says this book was 11 years in the making, and that may be to its advantage!

In the country of Henland (which feels silly, but is it worse than Finland?), Danni is starting at the ritzy private school Bramppath on a piano scholarship. She's an American kid who has moved with her mom to her stepfather's homeplace - which feels well timed after a difficult year of bullying back in Colorado. But it's left Danni scared of being seen by the public, even for her piano playing.

Her new friend group at school includes the country's princess, Rose - drop-dead gorgeous and reeling after a tragedy a few months ago.

There is a lot in this novel: dealing with PTSD and the death of a friend, friendship break-ups and make-ups, thoughts about royalty, public vs. private persona, and coming out by choice and not. It is steamy without going into detail, appropriate for YA in my opinion.

I thoroughly enjoyed this royal/normal romance.

1 Sentence Summary: Danni just moved to a new country and doesn’t fit in at her new ultra rich and elite school; Princess Rosemary is trying to rehabilitate her reputation after a huge scandal and doesn’t have time for distractions; but the more time Danni and Rose spend together, the more they fall for each other, except their relationship is forbidden and they must hide it at all costs.

My Thoughts: 3.5 stars rounded up!

This was overall pretty good! Maybe I’ve just been reading too many boarding school novels lately, because I was a little bored of that trope. Also the whole ‘royalty of a made up country’ trope. (On that note, why did she name the country Henland??? Every time I read that I could only think of chickens lol.)

I wish that the topic of teenage drug use and overdose was explored a bit more. It kind of seemed like it was only there as a plot device, and I think a bit more care could’ve been taken with it.

The writing was good, the romance was sweet (if a bit overdramatic at times, but I guess they are teenagers), and the conclusion was pretty satisfying. It did feel like things worked out suspiciously well, but I am glad that it had a happy ending.

Not my favorite Sophie Gonzales, but not bad:)

Recommend to: Fans of YA boarding school & royalty romance

(Warnings: swearing; underage drinking; drug use; drug overdose)

Princess Rosemary is working hard to repair her image after a scandal lost her the trust of her country and her best friend. Danni is a pianist who is an outcast of the wealthy children who attend the school. Danni finds herself more and more intrigued by Rose. Rose and Danni must find a way to deflect eyes from their relationship or be separated by the palace forever.

Super cute romance story set at wealthy school, sign me up. I really enjoyed the dual POV and getting to see inside both girls heads. I liked both the characters and enjoyed getting to see them develop through the story.

A cute, sapphic coming-of-age story AND Princess and the Pauper vibes? I was SOLD. This story was adorable, and I loved these characters. The writing style was slightly juvenile, but for a YA audience I felt like it was acceptable, especially since the overall themes and plot were enrapturing!

This is a nice angst-with-a-happy-ending wlw romance, with a dash of royal drama. If that sounds like your thing, no reason to read on! This book is probably for you. That being said, I’m not sure it was quite for me, and that’s not because there’s anything in particular (ha) wrong with it. It was a little heavier on the angst than I expected, and I wasn’t ever quite excited to come back to it. I think this is because Gonzales tries very seriously to navigate the potential issues with coming out in a Catholic country, particularly as royalty. It’s well done, but it’s a bit heavier than a typical YA romance.

I enjoyed the two main characters and their friend group. Danni works hard to overcome the bullying she faced at her last school, and Rose is just delightful on the page. She’s poised and snarky, and most of my favorite lines of dialogue came from her. Apart from the romance, there’s also an excellent friendship bond for both of them with Molly, and I liked seeing the girls come together to support each other. The plot took one twist I was expecting and one I wasn’t, and it was fun to watch both of those play out. The end is unexpectedly optimistic after the hopelessness of some of the middle chapters, but I’m always here for a happy ending. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

4.5 ⭐

This is the story of Danni from America, who gets a music scholarship to Bramppath College in Henland—a prestigious, all-girls boarding school for the ultra-rich. And Princess Rosemary of Henland, who’s working tirelessly to repair her image following a scandal that lost the trust of both her country and her best friend.

But this isn’t Mean Girls. No one’s getting pushed in front of a bus. The girls at Bramppath are genuinely welcoming—in the best way they know how—even if they come from power, money, or fame. Think The Princess Diaries 2 meets Serena Van Der Woodsen, with a queer twist and way more heart.

At its core, this is a love story. A tender romance—no love triangles, no insta-lust. It doesn’t scream “Look! Queer romance!”—it simply is. The journey is about expression, not repression. And that makes all the difference.

There’s also the ever-present tension of Rose’s public life. Henland is a deeply religious country, and the expectations placed on her as a future queen are intense. But the book doesn’t villainize religion—it just shows how institutions can quietly dictate what someone is allowed to show the world.

The writing itself is clean and breezy. It’s easy to read, in a good way. The kind of book you devour in two sittings because you want to stay in its world a little longer.

Is it groundbreaking? Not really. But it’s necessary. It’s heartfelt, quietly brave, and the kind of story I wish had existed when I was a teen. It might not redefine the genre, but it’ll absolutely mean something to the right reader. And that’s everything.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales is a first person dual-POV YA Sapphic contemporary romance. Danni is an American and new piano student at a prestigious boarding school in a small European nation. When she meets Princess Rosemary, they initially don’t hit it off. But the more time they spend together, the harder it is for them to fight their growing feelings and hide those feelings from the general public.

I feel like this is the YA romance I’ve been waiting for ever since I read Princess Diaries as a kid and slowly started to realize that I’m Sapphic. The opening is a little bit Mean Girls and the general premise feels somewhat like a Princess Diaries alternative universe but with more emphasis on the romance and less ‘learning how to be a princess.’ There’s a lot more emphasis on public perception and Rose needing to learn how to balance the expectations placed on her versus what she wants and who she is. I also feel that it gets more political than Princess Diaries did and it really benefits from having frank discussions around being gay and being next in line to the throne.

The other thing the plot really benefited from is the social media and press aspects. As much as many of us might feel that public figures are entitled to their privacy, there are others who don’t and nothing is more sensational than a future queen possibly not wanting to be with a man, which creates different avenues for succession than what is traditional. The nation being majority Catholic did make me worry that we’d get a lot more homophobia from the press, but there wasn’t nearly as much as I thought there could be. There is a forced outing and it is really uncomfortable, but it also feels inevitable in a lot of ways, unfortunately, especially given that there is an account documenting every instance of Danni and Rose interacting.

Danni and Rose’s romance is not really on the sweet side of the spectrum but it’s also not the spiciest romance I’ve read in YA. It’s somewhere solidly in between where there is some heat and we get some glimpses, though nothing explicit, and it feels a lot like how many teens experience a first love. They want to touch each other all the time and kiss and just spend time together, but they also have the added pressure of Rose’s position in society and having to hide their relationship as Rose has been told she can’t be out and Danni isn’t ready to come out as Bi quite yet. The secretive bits have higher stakes and both girls take those stakes very seriously.

Content warning for depictions of homophobia, sexual assault, and forced outing

I would recommend this to fans of YA romance looking for a Sapphic Princess Diaries-esque story and readers of Sapphic romance looking for a YA that frankly discusses the intersection of Queerness, politics, and faith

Such a fun take on the gay royal trend!

I have to admit, I was nervous. Gonzales was the author of my very first queer romance as I was trying to find the language to describe how I felt as a baby lesbian. Could anything else ever live up to those feelings and experiences? Yes. Yes it can.

This book takes a fantastic, young adult-friendly, approach to coming out and the ties that can come with that from familial to societal expectations. And blasts those to a greater magnitude. All while also exploring grief and loss. Be aware that this does contain some triggers including: overdose, homophobia, underage alcohol and drug use. And more.

I’d love a bit more depth to the supporting cast, but overall I enjoyed this read. Thanks for the early reader copy!!

4.5/5

everyone in this book sucks. there is not one single likable character. Danni is very much “i’m not like other girls at this school 🥺 I don’t belong here because i don’t drive a porsche 🥺” SHUT UP ABOUT THE PORSCHE!!!!!! There was no reason to bring up a porsche FOUR SEPARATE TIMES in the first chapter!!!!!! do NOT even get me started on Rose. she’s such a bitch to Danni and for what?????? she had nothing to do with Rose’s past trauma, she just made a friend with one of Rose’s friends. and you want me to root for Rose and Danni to get together 🙄 be so for real

Thank you Wednesday Books & Netgalley for the ARC to review.

This is a quick and cute YA royal sapphic romance. I loved their chemistry. And how the author dove into deeper topics. This is my first read from this author and it won't be my last!

This one was a little hard for me to get into. I really liked the characters and the story, but I think I just wasn’t in the right mood to read it.

I am very grateful to have received an arc of this from Net Galley. Thank you for that. This book was good from the start. I took my time with it as I was really enjoying the story. It sucked me in. The characters were loveable especially the main ones. I want to read more about Rose and Danni. I need more. Thank you again for the opportunity to read the arc.

I loved Rose and Danni so much and it was an extremely emotional story! I was so happy when Rose and Molly became friends again and the plot twist with Harriet was so unexpected! I also think it was an awesome choice for Danni to have a queer mother and I loved that Zach Knight from ITGO was referenced. I think the best lesson this book offers is that it's possible to heal from the past

This was SO cute! Just the right amount of conflict and drama and swoon. I'm definitely in my sapphic, cozy, romance era. The characters all had excellent chemistry (not just the two leads!)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-ARC of this book!

That text message thread between Rose and Danni?! Swooning.

What great chemistry between the characters! Everything progressed at the perfect amount of time, nothing felt drawn out, and I loved the pace their friendship/relationship grew. There were multiple subplots that kept the story moving quickly, and everything presented at a natural and perfect time in the story. Danni is so real and there is also great character growth with Rose.

This was such a sweet, royal YA romance. It was unexpectedly heavy (TW for death/overdose), but the conversations around grief weren’t unwelcome. It’s a happily ever after romance surrounding seventeen year olds, but they’re still going through real problems. I loved all of the characters, albeit not at first, but was rooting for everyone by the end. I only wish we’d gotten a little more of the side characters personally, because they were so cool to me but not fully fleshed out.

This was a really fun read! I’m not too big into the royal romances, but I enjoyed this one for the characters and the development throughout. I know this one will be a hit, so I can’t wait to recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC!

I could not put this book down, it is a perfect sapphic YA romance! I completely fell in love with Danni from the first time we meet her but it did take me a bit to warm up to the other lead, Rose. Rose is the perfect slow burn character to fall in love with; you slowly learn her perspective on events and watch Danni and Rose work for the relationship. I am personally not a fan of instalove and it was a breathe of fresh air to watch a young relationship work through their relationship in a more mature way.

I am so obsessed with this book from the cover to the plot I will be purchasing it on release day. By far my favorite read from Sophie Gonzales!

Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a free review!

fun and well-written romance with generally good vibes. the princess is an awesome main character who was super deep, and the pianist was fun. at the start, it almost felt like they were in two different novels: pianist read like it was a classic YA romance, and the princess like it was If We Were Villains. but they came together. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.