The Royals Next Door

OK, I'm going to come clean and admit that I always and enjoy KH's books. But that's not to say that my 5 stars mean less! Only that they may be biased.Now let's go to the good stuff here: this is probably Karina's most "preachy" book - not in a bad way at all. Just that she brought on a LOT of themes onto this love story and I agree with every single one. Some I'm still working on, others I have conquered.So the Royal couple is a fictional Harry & Megan and just like me, she's very much FOR the couple and AGAINST the nasty media/racism making their life hell. Even though I live in the UK, I'm on their side all day long. So if you are against that, this book may trigger you - best to avoid 😉Other important themes are more of a personal journey both for myself and the author.There's a lot of talk about community and fitting in and made to feel an outsider. So yeah, even if you are not Canadian living in a small island you can still relate to it. Even if you just moved to a new city or in my case a new country & culture.Another theme very dear to me is about fear, hiding and feeling unable to move forward because of said fear. Allowing it to control your life and the fight and struggle to conquer that. With a lot of kindness and self-awareness and therapy. *chef's kiss* Thank you Karina ❤️The hero is hot, kind, misterious and adorable once you see his exterior wall of protection melt. The heroine talks a lot when nervous (hello from babbling land, nice to meet you!) and although she doesn't trust herself, she's strong and kind. The royal couple doesn't hog the page but whenever they are around you like them. Heroines mom is a secondary character that grows on you. I thought she was going to be antagonistic but no, she's just someone misunderstood, judged and healing.There's a HEA and lots of steamy sex but the icing and cherry on top of that cake is that at the end you get the first few chapters of KH's next book in the series. So get ready because you'll see some of the old nordic gods (did I say gods? I meant to say royals 😂) as this series is looking like we'll revisit all those lovely couples and see their lovely team fall in love.The Royals Next Door is a stand alone book and I imagine the next one in the series will be too. But it was good to see Magnus again in the opening chapters.Recommended to folks who like romance, steamy sex, HEAs, characters going on a "personal growth journey".Anything I didn't like? Yeap. The "villains" (which I will say mother & daughter) are there only to cause trouble and maybe that's why they aren't as well developed as I wished. We as humans aren't all good or all bad. We like to think of ourselves as the good guys, generally! But turns out we aren't always the good guys. If we look deep, we can be the bad guy in someone' story. Anyway, I know it's a romance and that the characters were there just to cause trouble for the heroine to help her on her journey and growth. But still... Typically that would make me take a star out. But all the themes approached in this book, including mental health, are so dear to me that reinforces that 5th star up there.Give it a try and see if you like it too 😉

What you actually get is none of the intense connections we’ve seen in the past. It’s just a bit boring and slow and there is literally zero sexual tension between the main characters. It’s admirable that she’s addressed mental health issues but without a cracking story it falls flat. Ive loved some of the authors other books but lately the fire is missing and it’s a chore to get through the book.

~~I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads ~~This is a really fun, romantic summer read.As a Brit I found the royal elements very entertaining. The author did a fun job of imagining what the couple might be like, and how their arrival would affect an out of the way community should royalty descend on them.The leads in this book though are Harrison, the principal royal bodyguard, and Piper, the immediate neighbour of the new arrivals. She has enough issues of her own to deal with, without the crazy circus which sets up camp next door. Her behaviour towards Harrison is very amusing, and be ready for some good chuckles as you imagine how the scenarios would have played out. Halle's writing brings this to life in a really fun way.I definitely recommend this to you for some fun escapism !~~Wicked Reads Review Team~~

I really enjoyed this book. It was exactly what I thought it would be!!Piper Evans is a school teacher living in Canada taking care of her mum who suffers with mental ill health. She’s had a rough ride of relationships in the past both with family and boyfriends, which has resulted in her becoming somewhat reclusive, in a town that really hasn’t accepted her. That all changes when the Royals move in next door with their brooding bodyguard Harrison Cole.This is the first, and won’t be the last Karina Halle book I’ve read. It has everything I enjoy about a romance. It was written so well and so easy to read, with the right amount of ‘fluff’ to the story. I really liked all of the characters Piper and Harrison being my favourite, they worked really well together. I even liked the villains, they were written perfectly.The story talks a lot about community and fitting in with community which I enjoyed. Along with talk of mental health, it’s nice to see it being written into a story like this.All in all this is a great, fun, easy to read romance. I look forward to The Royals Upstairs which is released 2022.