Truly Madly Royally | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Title: Truly Madly Royally

Author: Debbie Rigaud

Format: eBook (borrowed)

Pages: 289

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Royalty

Fiercely independent and smart, Zora Emerson wants to change the world. She’s excited to be attending a prestigious summer program, even if she feels out of place among her privileged, mostly white classmates. So she’s definitely not expecting to feel a connection to Owen, who’s an actual prince of an island off the coast of England. But Owen is funny, charming…and undeniably cute. Zora can’t ignore the chemistry between them. When Owen invites Zora to be his date at his big brother’s big royal wedding, Zora is suddenly thrust into the spotlight, along with her family and friends. Everyone is talking about her, in real life and online, and while Owen is used to the scrutiny, Zora’s not sure it’s something she can live with. Can she maintain her sense of self while moving between two very different worlds? And can her feelings for Owen survive and thrive in the midst of the crazy? Find out in this charming romantic comedy that’s like The Princess Diaries for a new generation.

This book reminds me of The Princess Diaries and the Prince & Me movie with a more urban flavor, which was so much fun!

My Reactions:

My Attention: I read this quick!

World Building: New Jersey to Landerel

Writing Style: loved the humor and dialogue between Zora and Owen, and the writing is so smooth it flowed nicely

Bringing the Heat: 🔥- this one was sweet as can be 

Crazy in Love: slow burn, growing relationship

Creativity: Zora’s world at Halstead U is full of diverse characters, but it’s her hometown of Appleton where she shines with her Walk You Home program she created.

Mood: giddy 

Triggers: race and socioeconomic issues

My Takeaway: Zora is a strong girl who can handle school, her goals and a real life Prince.

• Zora is a strong girl! She has goals and she is doing everything to achieve them. When she gets off track, it’s okay, because she shrugs off the things that don’t matter and gets back on track again! I love how she came up with the idea for Walk Me Home. The love she has for her community comes through in all she does to give back to the kids.
• Her friendship with Skye is so cute with their text updates. I love it and it reminds me of my own friendships. I do like that she opened up and made new friends at Halstead U even though she did feel out of place there.
• Prince Owen is such a prince – it reminded me of real life Prince Harry and Meghan! He has a British accent – check. He’s polite – check. He’s cute – check. Haha…he and Zora really vibes well together. I thought their first meeting was adorable!
• I loved the royal wedding Zora gets to attend. Sadie, a future duchess and Owen’s soon to be sister-in-law celebrates her ancestry at the wedding by having gospel music and African drumming in the program.

• The ending was so abrupt I went to the next screen and it was the Acknowledgements and I was like…what? No! I didn’t want it to end just yet. I was having such a good time at the royal wedding!
• At times I was wondering if Owen was going to cave to royal pressure and end things Zora because the Queen’s disapproval but I’m glad he chose Zora! He did come off very…placating? Polite? I don’t want to judge the guy and say boring haha…I mean he’s royal and couldn’t get much alone time with Zora with those bodyguards always with them.

I think this book would be perfect for teens who love romance stories about royalty. It has a strong black girl main character, Zora, who is doing everything she can to help her community. She falls in love with a prince, or should I say the prince falls for her first? 😉 It is a quick, fun read that had me smiling and wanting more.