Thanks to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the
E-ARC! Really enjoyed! Fun characters & cute setting. Also liked the banter. Another good book by this author.

This is a beautiful tale of expectations, expected and otherwise, with a wonderful amount of misdirects and yearning. I adored plunging head first into this monarchy and boarding school experience.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. From the author’s note at the beginning to that beautiful ending, Nobody in Particular had me HOOKED. While I’m sure there will be comparisons to Red, White and Royal Blue, this book 100% stands on its own. The banter, the longing, the boarding school setting, the royal politics, everything was done so well. I loved both Rose and Danni and seeing both of them fall in love and also grow as people on their own was truly lovely. Also, I very much enjoyed Eleanor and Molly as the fun sidekicks. I would absolutely not mind a sequel at all if Gonzales decides the book needs one because I just enjoyed this world so much and would love to see more of these characters. I highly recommend this one if you love royal romance and beautiful queer stories.
CW: homophobia, drug use, death, bullying

Thank you to Wednesday Books for a digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

An excellent royals romance with flawed, realistic characters and great growth. For a young adult novel it has everything you are looking for: hidden relationship, high personal stakes, sapphic yearning, and learning to know yourself and grow into the who you want to be. I loved this!

Boarding school and royalty? What more could you want from a fun, queer, YA romance? Danni is the new girl at boarding school, on scholarship, unsure of herself and her love of piano, and worried about making friends and being an outcast. Thankfully, one girl takes her under her wing, and that girl turns out to be the ex-best friend of Rose, or Princess Rosemary of Henland. But that doesn't stop Danni from getting to know Rose, and the two strike up their own friendship...sort of.

Overall, this was a good blend of cute and serious. There were a lot of characters and friendships to keep up with, so that kind of started the story off a little confusing. But over time, it settles out a bit. There is the topic of overdose and drug use in this book, so keep that in mind if that's a triggering subject. Though I did enjoy this story, for a while I kind of felt like nothing was really happening. I wouldn't say the book is slow, though, necessarily. Maybe a few pacing issues.

In conclusion, liked it! Definitely recommend if you want more royalty and commoner (is that the right term?) romance!

Thank you to Netgalley, Wednesday Books, and Macmillan Young Listeners for the e-ARC and e-ALC!

I’ve been a big Sophie Gonzales fan ever since I received an ARC of her book “Perfect on Paper” and fell in love with her bisexuality representation. Since then, I’ve read almost all of her books. Unfortunately, I think “Nobody in Particular” might be my least favorite, which is disappointing given that royalty is one of my favorite tropes and that I’m a sucker for a dual perspective book. From the start, though, it was very hard to differentiate between Danni’s and Rose’s chapters; they read too similarly. Not to mention that the initial spark that led to them growing closer got glossed over due to a long, drawn-out text chain, and their first real hangout alone happened off the page. As a result, I never felt truly invested in their relationship, and I struggled to understand how, after so short of a time, Danni would willingly re-enter a relationship fully knowing that she would, most likely, always have to be a secret and come second to Rose’s position as queen.

This one wasn’t for me, but I’ll still keep an eye out for future Sophie Gonzales books. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

This is my second Sophie Gonzales book, and I think I loved this one even better than the first. It's an interesting mesh of a fish out of water story, coming of age and coming out and it adds an element of a crown princess who isn't allowed to drift from the status quo. The story kept me engaged in first wanting to know what happened last year that all of the other characters didn't really talk about, then in wanting to know who was outing the secret relationship to the media.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for advanced copy for honest review

This book has been years in the making for Sophie Gonzales and it was worth the wait. Finding love in a prestigious private school is hard enough, but falling for royalty is a whole other level of difficulty. But you can’t help who you fall in love with, can you? Love can bring a whole country together by standing up for what’s right. Proud with pride, 4 stars, recommend!

I enjoyed this one! Sophie Gonzales is kind of hit or miss for me, so I’m glad that this one mostly hit for me.
Although I’m 31, I still love YA and I think Sophie does a great job writing light and fun stories that are still somewhat deep and emotional.
I loved Danni’s whole character. I loved that she was such a fish out of water but found her footing quickly.
Also, I love rich people drama and teen drama, so it’s a shock to no one that I especially loved the drama aspects of this.
Rose is someone I don’t think I’d get along with in real life, but boy did I enjoy following her and her POV.
I will say I loved how the conflict(s) were handled and I really appreciated Danni and Rose’s communication.
The chemistry between the two was lacking, in my opinion. I wanted more yearning and I wanted to believe in them as a couple, but I ultimately didn’t.
Overall, I did enjoy this.

I was looking forward to this book and it was a cute read. The characters were interesting and I liked the academia setting. I also liked the hidden dates and deeper conversations. I also liked how they discussed family obligations, rumors and friendship breakups. Although it was a solid story it didn’t quite hit like many of the others books by this author. 3.5 stars

When Danni and her mom move from the US to Henland (a fictional European country), Danni receives a full scholarship to an exclusive boarding school attended by the country's elite, including Princess Rosemary. The novel focuses on Danni's relationship with Rose and each MC's arc of change to become their authentic selves.

This is just an excellent book: well written, great character depth, and an engaging plot. Rose's character, in particular, is someone you can fall in love with, flaws and all. Her own conflict about her royal position and future as a closeted lesbian is told in depth as is her emotional awakening to understanding how to express and not push down her feelings. Danni is not as well drawn and could have used more depth, but the connection between the two is believable.

Overall, an excellent Sapphic YA.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

If you liked Red White and Royal Blue, forbidden love trope, and boarding school settings, this book is for you!

This is a cute sapphic romance about a princess (Rose) and a commoner (Danni) who meet at their all girls boarding school. Their relationship and characterization both felt quite realistic to me, and I loved the wide range of female friendships. I give it 3 stars only because it felt a bit young for me, but that makes it perfect for YA audiences that are looking for a cute royal romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for a review that was entirely my own opinion!

The authors note in the beginning talked about how back when Sophie Gozales first wrote this and was trying to sell it, she was told there wasn't a market for a story like this. And even though I can imagine how heartbreaking that was to hear, Im so so glad it finally has gotten its chance and is being published because I feel like this for SURE has a market now and many people are going to love this. Myself included because I think I am definitely the market for this lol. I truly adored this story from start to finish, everything about it sat so right with me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC!

The writing in this truly sucked me in and it made it so easy to just sink my entire attention span into this story and get so invested in it. I especially loved this about it because I read it fresh off of a reading slump and after so long of struggling to pay attention to books, it was nice to not even have to think about it. The characters truly made the story shine for me though I loved all of them so much. Rose had such a great sense of humor, she was sarcastic and quick witted, she truly never missed a beat. She's got that humor that if you aren't paying attention it seems like she's bullying you but she really truly isn't and I loved it because that is my humor. It sucked watching her struggle between balancing her friends, Danni, the crown, her parents, the public, and media the entire book but I have to say I think she handled it with a lot of grace and maturity. Or at least as much as you can expect from a 17 year old girl just trying to keep her head above water. The side plot between her and Molly was both interesting and heartbreaking to watch unfold as you learn what happened in Amsterdam that split them apart so badly. But I think it was handled wonderfully and resolved as best as it possibly could've been. Molly herself was a great friend to both girls too, from welcoming Danni into the school with open arms and helping her get settled to becoming a fierce ally for Rose and Danni later on as well. Great use of a side character really overall. Danni was great too, she's shy but not a pushover and she kept up on Rose and her teasing and the new school environment pretty well. She truly fit right in with the Bramppath and she actually showed a lot of maturity through the story that I wasn't expecting.

Overall I just truly did love this, Im excited to see it hit shelves soon and hopefully find a lot more readers to read and love it as well. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC!

4.5 rounded down. Absolutely loved this. Sophie Gonzales is absolutely brilliant at creating memorable, interesting characters, both as love interests and friends. Rosemary in particular is a truly excellent addition to the gay royals canon— I found her repression of her grief to be so resonant and I love how it led to conflicts with her friends and family. I also really appreciated that she and Danni were so horny for each other; so many YA books want to pretend teenage girls don’t have sexual feelings and are only pure, perfect angels and I just love that that wasn’t present in this book at all.

I only have a couple of small complaints but unfortunately they kind of took me out of the book. The main one is Rosemary being like, “I’m terrified of dying in childbirth so my WIFE should carry my baby” girl are you not worried about your wife dying in childbirth? I think it’s perfectly fine to not want to carry children so I thought the whole dying aspect was kind of unnecessary and felt out of character with how protective Rosemary is. It’s unfortunate that this sticks out so much to me but it’s only because Rosemary is such a wonderful and fully realized character that these kinds of character inconsistencies stand out so much.

All that being said, I truly adored this. Rosemary is so funny and highlighted so many of her little quips. I also thought the pacing of the romance itself was great— they didn’t get together too fast but they also were together for long enough that their big moments in the end made sense.

Overall I enjoyed Nobody in Particular. The boarding school setting was a personal favorite. Gonzales captures that very high school feeling in a way that felt both nostalgic and real. I especially appreciated how she portrayed the queer experience at that age; when you’re kind of out but not completely, still figuring things out in a world that doesn’t always make space for nuance. It felt authentic and tender in a way that really resonated.

That said, I did feel the writing leaned a little too heavily into over-explaining at times. There were moments where I wished the author had trusted the reader more to pick up on subtext or emotional beats without spelling them out.

There’s a scene about two-thirds through where one of the characters gets extremely drunk, and while I understand its purpose in the story, it was a bit triggering for me—especially because it clearly triggered the other character as well. It was hard to read and took me out of the experience a bit.

Overall, this gave me sapphic Young Royals energy: dramatic, emotionally charged, and very readable. The characters were likable and entertaining, though I do wish the plot had been a little stronger and steered away from some of the more familiar tropes.

Still, if you’re in the mood for something messy, heartfelt, and queer, this is worth picking up.

unlike possibly Every Other Person Ever (or so it feels like) i actually have not read the queer royalty romance book that everyone thinks of when they hear queer royalty romance. and i think that was good because i was able to go into this ready for a new experience and i had quite a good time!

ive read sophie gonzales before so i am familiar with her style of prose and while this book may not be lifechanging it is fun and the characters feel authentic. however #justiceformolly who felt like she needed more of a storyline, considering she was the best friend of BOTH of the main characters?

danni's piano playing journey was my favorite part of the book and i would like a second epilogue covering her incredible piano career please

4 stars

Forbidden secret romance between a princess and a new student at an all girl's school? I am in! This was exactly what you would expect, a lot about hiding the queer relationship from well, everyone, a lot about how things will reflect on the monarchy, and a bit about how the media can easily turn stories however they want. I was surprised by the very dark backstory of why the princess and her best friend were in the midst of a falling out, having it be THAT dark didn't feel completely necessary but I guess sometimes, that is real life. Danni's backstory of the type of bullying she faced at her past school was a type not always talked about but very realistic in girl world and helped explain her wariness. Overall, I enjoyed the story and I was constantly guessing about who outed the pair so I was a bit surprised by the answer (though thinking back, yes definitely made sense).

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

Danni is the new girl in school and just hoping to fit in. She never expected to fall for Princess Rose. But Rose is under enormous pressure to avoid even a whiff of scandal. Can Rose be with the girl who holds her heart?

Read if you like:
-Sapphic Romance
-Royal Romance
-Coming of Age
-Secret Relationship

I wanted to love Nobody in Particular, but it just didn't shine like I hoped it would. I did really like the third act. It was such a satisfying ending. But at the same time, I felt parts of it came out of left field and/or didn't quite line up with where it felt like the character arcs were headed.

If you liked Red, White, and Royal Blue, you'll like Nobody in Particular.

One thing that will have me SAT is a friends-to-lovers romance, add sapphic royals and I’m obsessed. Evidently, this book was right up my alley and thankfully did not disappoint. If you’re looking for a cutie sapphic romance, pick this one up in June!

Premise: It follows Princess Rosemary and Danni who meet at boarding school and quickly go from acquaintances to friends to lovers. Due to royal traditions they must keep their relationship fully private but a few slip ups result in drama and public suspicions. Navigating it all is hard, but these girls love each other too much to give it all up.

My thoughts: Overall, I really enjoyed my time reading this. I was immersed in the plot, (semi) connected to the characters and rooting for the romance. Danni and Rose were super cute and had a romance I wish I could have experienced throughout high school - sigh. However, I do wish the romance hadn’t progressed as quickly as it did. I’m a lover of angst and while this book had a *few* angsty moments, it was mostly fluff. The book was more so centered around the struggles the girls had while in a relationship, less about the progression from friendly to romantic.

Princess Rosemary is focused on repairing her reputation after a scandal, but her resolve is tested when she grows close to Danni, a new student attending her elite boarding school on a music scholarship. As their bond deepens and rumors swirl, the two must navigate public scrutiny and palace pressure that threatens to tear them apart.

I thought this book was really cute, and I can understand why the author waited until now to release it. Its themes feel especially timely. It would make an excellent pick for a Pride book club. I did find some of Danni’s internal conflicts a bit frustrating at times; she often held herself back based on how she thought others perceived her, without any solid evidence. That said, the romance was sweet, the characters were engaging, and I’m excited to see how the book does once it’s published. Overall, I’d give it 3.5 stars.