A delightful take on a royal romance for queer teens! Nobody in Particular may not be doing anything super new, but it does it well and makes it sapphic.

Gonzales does it again! Gah I love this author!
Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales is another sweet and compelling YA forbidden romance. .
Everything about this book was amazing….. the storyline, the characters, the writing.... everything!
I am a big fan of Sophie Gonzales' work and this one did not disappoint at all. I’m obsessed!
She writes the most relatable and realistic stories ever! And never fails to amaze me each and every time.
I honestly couldn’t get enough. I wanted more!!

Thank You NetGalley and Wednesday Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Having read and truly enjoyed Sophie Gonzales's previous books, perhaps my expectations were too high, but if I didn't have higher expectations, I may not have finished this at all. It's not bad, it's just sort of meh. I didn't find any of the characters particularly interesting and I had a hard time caring about anything that was happening. The central love story is the sort of story that is interesting and heartwarming to the two people involved in it, and maybe it should have stayed there.
There was a whole lot of nothing happening to a lot of really filthy rich people and one not-rich person. The characters were not funny or charming or redeeming in any way that justified a few hundred pages of their goings on. There are so many better sapphic romances, better royal romances, and lots of books with better characters that are worth spending your time with.
Which isn't to say it's a terrible book. But it's not great. Pick up a different Sophie Gonzales book and skip this one.

Due to her mother's recent remarriage and her musical talents, teenage Danni has found herself as the newest student at Bramppath College (aka high school) in the fictional European country Henland. While navigating this new world is hard enough, she seems to have met her match in notorious party-girl Rose, who just so happens to also be the country's royal princess. It's a classic set-up for an opposites attract romance, and I only wish the author had chosen to focus more on this central storyline. Unfortunately, far too much of this book spends time on a strange whodunit mystery and societal expectations that are completely unreasonable for those under the age of 18.

While this had a lot of promise, I think it ultimately suffered from trying to fit a much more mature story into the world of YA.

I am offering my honest opinion voluntarily.

This was a cute read, but also very real and heartbreaking to me. It was a typical academic love trope, with a well-written supporting cast and tastefully handled LGBTQ+IA representation. It was disheartening to consider that there are adults and children, as well as young adults, who face these types of concerns on a daily basis.

The main female characters were AMAZING! The banter between them, the realness of the relationship/situationship was just beautiful. I was drawn into the story after the first chapter. Thoroughly appreciating the amount of time that was given to allow the relationship to mature and evolve, it was a very real representation of how messy and uncertain falling in love can be.

THIS WAS A BEAUTIFUL STORY!

Thank you, Netgalley, St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books, and Sophie Gonzales for the ARC of this cute little read!

Beautiful story! I'm a sucker for a forbidden romance, and Gonzales wrote this one well! Her prose and dialogue are both really engaging, and the story is perfectly paced, not too quick like some YA romances.

I loved the premise and first half of this, however sadly I felt the second half half suffered from pacing and too much plot conflicts that weighed down the good moments and made it feel like we fought way too hard for mere crumbs of cute moments.

Sophie Gonzales will forever have a place on my TBR shelf. She knows how to grab my heart from the beginning and keep me entranced to the end. I think this might be one of her heavier books but I appreciate that these topics are being discussed. The characters in this story were so likable and relatable. I am eager anticipating her next one!

The first queer read of Pride Month 2025 goes to @sgonzalesauthor with Nobody in Particular. I read that she has been holding onto this book for years and omg I’m so thankful she put it out!

A sapphic YA where boarding school snobs meet a scholarship receiving down to earth girl and the silly ensues. The drama, the mean girls, the scandals, oh my! It feels like Gossip Girl, if Blair and Jenny had fallen in love. Don’t sleep on this one, because it’s phenomenal. And the good news? It came out yesterday! Go snatch it up and then come talk to me about it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a cute YA sapphic romance. Love comes in all styles. If you enjoy the royals and Gilmore girls this is your vibe.
Fun fast paced read. Anyone who was new somewhere can relate.

Love the boarding school vibes and royalty. Such a fun premise. I wasn’t super invested in the story. The writing was well done. But it just wasn’t for me.

I had such a hard time setting this book down to deal with real life! I just wanted to read more about Danni and Rose and their friends. This was all I've ever wanted from a royal romance, and I am so grateful that the author didn't let it die on her hard drive.

I loved the romance aspect but also the slight mystery of who was causing the rumors to spread. I struggled a bit with Danni's sudden ability to perform again after one try on page.

Note: Both main characters are forcibly kissed (by different people), and one of the MCs is outed. Read with care.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

Sophie continues to knock it out of the park. I always love her characters and watching them learn and grow. I love that the side characters are well developed too so it adds to the nuance and depth of the story.

This story is told from two different perspectives the first being the Princess Rosemary’s and from Danni’s. Together they are both navigating large changes in their lives. Rosemary is trying to recover her image and making the country trust in her again and Danni is trying to fit into a new school while trying to be true to herself. When their world collide, they both find ways to help each other through their past and along the way find that they want to be together. Being with a royal though is not always a simple road. There are expectations that must be upheld. Can Rosemary and Danni find a path forward that will allow them to have the life together they dream of. This is a really encouraging book and I hope that the path they found at the end is something that the world would be more open to. Love is love and everyone including royals should be allowed to be with someone who loves them for who they are and not have to hide who they are just for image’s sake.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

4.5 rounded up!

This book pleasantly surprised me! I've grown a bit wary of young adult romance in recent years, and I'll admit that the start of this book did not really impress me, but by a few chapters in, I was hooked and I ended up really enjoying the story! The characters developed really good chemistry with each other, and although the story had plenty of miscommunication and turbulence, I didn't feel like it was toxic or irritating the way I often find romance drama!

I will admit that I'm a sucker for a good "forbidden/secret" romance, and this one had plenty of good markers of the trope! The interplay of tension and tenderness in the story was fantastic, and I was rooting for Danni and Rose the whole time.

I highly recommend to any fans of royals romance, forbidden romance, or just a fun romance read!

3.75 stars!!

let me just start off by saying, i ate this up. sapphics, secrets, sneaking around, AND a boarding school setting??? not to mention, one of the main characters is literally a princess. nobody in particular is dual pov following both princess rosemary and her struggles in the royal role and public eye, as well as danni blythe as she starts school in a new country. and the vibes were immaculate. the writing was my favorite type for ya novels, which is where the author uses a blend of witty banter and dialogue while also throwing in some interesting and well written thoughts from the characters’ inner monologue. and the characters were SO adorable.

starting off with my love danni blythe. i feel like we probably could have seen a little more depth in her character, but i didn’t mind that much because she was so sweet. my girl was just always trying to do the right thing and help everyone. also seeing her growth by the end of the book was so cute. i just love seeing an adorable blonde sapphic with the best heart IDC.

princess rosemary had to be my favorite character though because personally, i relate to her a lot. she had such a sarcastic and resolute outer persona, but she was simultaneously caring and compassionate on the inside. plus, her relationship with danni was so cute. but the main reasons i admired her tremendously were because of her thoughts on childbirth and her experience with grief. i don’t want to say too much and give anything away, but it was so relatable yet sad to read, especially her perspective, considering she didn’t have a ton of options or choices about most things being a princess.

danni and rose’s relationship was perhaps a tad rushed, but it felt real all the same. and truthfully, this was so fun to read, there were only a couple things that i didn’t like. they were honestly so cute together, i just wish we'd gotten a bit more time to see their friendship before they got together. i also wanted there to be more scenes about danni’s experience moving so far from her home and some insight on what her life was like before. while there were many descriptions of her previous social life, other than that, the author didn’t explain much. the majority of the scenes were either at some party or in their dorm rooms, which were fun scenes, but the lack of diversity in the settings made things feel a little too structured. and the last complaint i had was the ending feeling rushed too. though i realize most of these points probably sound like i’m extremely overcritical and that might be true, but having read many ya romance novels, it’s difficult for them to really stick out. but overall, i did fully enjoy reading this and i look forward to reading more of sophie’s books.

my apologies for this review being a tad late but thank you to netgalley for the arc!!

If you love royalty romance, boarding schools, secret relationships, and girls loving girls, Nobody in Particular by Sophie Gonzales just might be for you.

Set at an elite all-girls boarding school, this contemporary queer romance follows Princess Rosemary, who's trying to rebuild her reputation after a tragedy, along with Danni, an American music scholarship student who unexpectedly steals the princess's heart.

Fans of American Royals and Red, White, and Royal Blue might enjoy this book It didn't win me over in every aspect, but there's plenty here for lovers of royalty, Sapphic romance, and boarding school drama.

My first issue with this book is that the characters, especially Princess Rosemary, feel incredibly flat. Even after reading the book, I couldn't tell you a single thing that Rosemary likes or any hobbies that she has. Even when the other female main character, Danni, gave her a gift, it had nothing to do with anything Rosemary actually enjoys, because there doesn't seem to be anything.

The other characters seemed to lack any real identity. I still don't have a clue who Florence is. Another character, Oscar, is described as having "bright blond hair" when Danni first learns about him and sees a picture of him; later, Princess Rosemary describes him as having "auburn hair." A bit awkward, because I might not have noticed had that not been a big defining feature of Oscar (which many of the other characters lacked).

This isn't an entirely uncommon thing, though; I know there's a similar error in Brandon Sanderson's The Final Empire that hasn't been corrected across multiple years and editions. So, not the end of the world, but it did take me out of the story a bit.

Next, the background of the country this takes place in, Henland, was questionable at best. We don't really understand its place within the rest of the world, only that the citizens are tired of having ruling monarchs and want them gone. However, Princess Rosemary states that she's little more than a figurehead and that the most she can do is allocate money for charities when she's queen. To be honest, that makes it seem as though the 'royalty' part of the storyline is really only existent for vibes. And sometimes, that's fine!

But I think the reason royalty works so well in comparable titles is because the figures in power are using their position to try to make a difference in the world, especially within the queer community.

What I found the most questionable about the book is relevant to this. So, Henland is a majority Catholic country, and they're already fed up with having a monarchy and want them gone. They tried to abolish the monarchy ten years ago and failed, but there are still protesters trying to continue that movement. When Rosemary comes out as a lesbian, suddenly, all that goes away. They're not only fine with having a lesbian as a princess, but they just don't mind having a monarchy anymore. I'm sorry, but that's just not entirely realistic.

Also not entirely realistic: the idea that two 16-year-old girls are "forever." But that seemed to be what Rosemary and Danni decided: that they are going to be together forever. Maybe it was just meant to be seen as the optimism that comes with young love, but combined with what I said above, there just seemed to be a lot of suspension of belief in this story that took me out of it.

Truly, I think this book would be great for people who are willing to overlook the lack of realism and go into this book knowing that it won't dive super deep into political issues. I did pick it up expecting a fun, lighthearted read. It ended up being a bit darker than I expected, and while it was overall quite a fun read, it still left a lot to be desired in the depth of the background and the setting.

Two stars for me, because while it was a nice Sapphic read, I just wanted more.

*Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC! All opinions are my own.*

This was a sweet read! The royalty trope is one that I enjoy a lot but often go into with some hesitation because I find it can be done so many different ways and, because I love it so much, I can be a little pickier about all those options. This one was great tho! It did a wonderful job navigating the dynamic of being a high school (college) student while also being royal. Rose's chapters were my favorite for that reason! I loved watching her grapple with her feelings and watch her character develop in that way. One thing I will say about this book is that I found the pacing a little off at times. There were moments when it felt like it was dragging and then would ramp up out of nowhere. It was a bit off-putting and that made the chemistry between Danni and Rose a bit hard for me to buy into at times, as well. I got into the swing of things eventually, but it took some getting use to for sure. Overall, it was a cutie and I did really enjoy it! I also did bits of the audio (thank you to libro.fm's ALC program) and the narrators do a wonderful job, so shoutout to them as well!

Before I get into my review, I first want to say thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of “Nobody in Particular”!

I loved this book so much. This book has so many moments that were just so cute and adorable, but it also had moments that were dark as well, and it handled all of them so beautifully. This book was amazing in how it made you feel; it had me crying one moment and then laughing the next.

The chemistry between Dani and Rose was so amazing and had me swooning the entire time. Through the book, we get to see the struggles between them with their own personal issues and having to keep their relationship a secret, and it was done so beautifully

in the end, this is such a good YA book that I think everyone should read!

ALERT: FAVORITE AUTHOR NEW BOOK ABOUT TO DROP

Sophie prefaces Nobody in Particular by saying she wrote this book about a decade ago and that, at the time, no one was interested in royal queer romances. Well, guess tf what??? The girlies have arrived and they are now thriving. (everyone say thank you Red, White, and Royal Blue and Young Royals) I hate that Sophie had to backburn this book but I'm also kind of glad because now it has a better chance of doing numbers. (As if I wouldn't read a Sophie book at anytime...)

Forbidden Love. Betrayal. Found Family. Yearning. Commoner/Royalty. Did I mention the yearning? Nobody in Particular is the story of a disgraced princess a new student from America at an all-girls boarding school. Danni and Princess Rosemary of Henland start up a quick and witty friendship that quickly turns into something more. but Rose can’t afford distractions as she works to repair her image after a tragic scandal. And Danni, who is attending Bramppath College on a music scholarship, doesn't need anything to happen to get her kicked out of the elite school. But soon rumors of their forbidden relationship start circulating. No one knows who might betray who. And Rose and Danni have to decide what really matters in the end.

Sophie always tells such fun stories but yet there's still depth to her characters. There's still a plot to the chaotic chaos. Nobody in Particular has very distinct voices. Gail Shalan and Imani Jade Powers give extra life and layers to these characters in the audiobook. I could listen to both of them narrate forever. Nobody in Particular is one of my top favorite Sophie books. And I would never say no to a sequel.

If you have made it this far, please, for the love of everything book holy, go read Sophie's debut The Law of Inertia and hype it up so she will write me a freakin sequel ok thank you.

And if you are looking for a similar story written ahead of it's time, Rachel Hawkins wrote Her Royal Highness. Which is also fabulous.


***Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and Macmillan Audio for always giving me the privilege of checking out Sophie's books early.***