The Royal We, Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

I have been in love with this book for so many years that it simply feels natural for me to talk about it. My love for this novel is so deep that I can still remember the time that I first saw it at the Grove's Barnes and Nobles in California. Honestly, this book is much more than you think, when I was first reading it, I thought that this would be a simple romance novel, yet as I continued I discovered that this novel talked about so much more, which I will be talking about later on in this review. Also, I have been so obsessed with this novel that I have tried so hard to find similar novels, which have led me to novels like Romancing the Throne by Nadine Jolie Courtney and The Heir and the Spare by Emily Albright, which have only made me realize that this novel is such a precious gem.
The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan tells the story of Rebecca Porter or simply "Bex," who is just starting the school year at Oxford, yes, England, after she decided to take a year abroad from Cornell, where her twin sister, Lacy is still at. On her first day, she meets a rather handsome young man that goes by the name of Nicholas, simply known as Nick or AKA Steve as his friends call him when they are in public. Both bond over a conversation about monarchs with syphilis before Bex realizes that Nick is the future heir of the country. In the place where she is staying, she meets the people that will end up becoming her best friends. There's Cilla, Gaz, Joss, and Clive, who also happen to be Nick's best friends. On the other hand, it is almost inevitable for Bex and Nick to fall in love with each other, I mean, they binge-watch a series together almost every night, yet their love is simply not meant to be because Nick's already dating India and of course, Bex has been snogging Clive, literally Nick's best friend. The group goes through so many adventures and creates so many memories that as the story goes, you will feel like you are part of the group as well. 
I want to start by talking about the characters because I simply loved them so much! I love how Bex is someone that really doesn't care about gossip or royalty because it creates funnier scenes, like the syphilis scene. Although I did hate whenever she was being impulsive. I loved Nick because he portrayed vulnerability in certain scenes, while he was also seen as a prize by girls and simply as a friend by the other main characters. I really liked how the authors really emphasized on Nick's background and lifestyle, even though he was seen as a normal person by the group of friends because they gave us so much more of the character, which made me love him even more! As much as I love Bex and Nick, my favorite characters were Cilla and Gaz because they were SO funny that I cried due to the laughter. I loved Cilla's stories and Gaz' comments. 
On the other hand, I absolutely loved how this is basically royalty. I loved how they truly portray the lifestyles and the people, like Nick's family, including his father and his brother, Freddie, who I also love very much! I adored how the authors touched a lot on the things that you would expect in a royal family, like the pressure and the useless things that people can do for show or drama. 
I truly think that this book has made me become obsessed with the royals as much as they are! (FYI: the authors run a site called Go Fug Yourself, which I am obsessed with now as well). In the beginning, I truly didn't care at all about royals, yet now I am simply fascinated by their lifestyle. 
Also, I believe that Nick, Bex, and Freddie being inspired by William, Kate, and Harry is just a plus!
Something that I was not expecting from this novel was the many topics that it covers. I loved how they really emphasize on family, enemies, dreams, friends, love, jealousy, expectations and the unexpected. Although the novel is really long, you will feel like the novel is so short because of the so many different stories that are included. 
From the first page all the way to the last one, I was hooked, so much that I became obsessed with the audiobook and I still listen to it all the time, although I will admit that I only replay the scenes that I like, like the karaoke scene and the one that they talk about seeing Cats! If you're going to read the novel, be on the lookout for those!
Lastly, I want to congratulate the authors because they did an exceptional job with this novel. They were able to take such a complex world and narrate it in an incredible and not only heart-warming, but inspiring because this novel really made me want to try the unexpected and new things, just like Bex did when she moved to the other side of the world, to be something that her sister wasn't and to find herself in the world. Also, this novel has really made me wish that college is as fun as they describe it here, although I believe that it depends on the friendships that accompany me. 
I truly recommend The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan because it is witty, smart, fun and includes charming characters that will enter your heart from the very first time that they appear on paper! 

5 out of 5 stars 

Love, Sua 

I See London, I See France, Sarah Mlynowsky

I See London, I See France by Sarah Mlynowsky

I know this is something
that I shouldn´t
 say as a super big reader, but I really think that
the cover of this book
is beautiful! I think that this is
one of my favorite covers
of all times!

I am a really big fan of summer adventures and summer romances because they are simple, sweet, fun and they always include an adorable male character that will make me fall in love with him since the first time that I get to know him, I even think that I fall in love with this characters ever since the first time that they described in the novel. So, yes, I was very excited for I See London, I See France, but there was also something that was holding me back from reading this novel, I am not sure if it was the plot itself or the fact that I had started to read too many YA novels that had the same plot or the fact that I once started reading Ten Things We Did and Probably Shouldn´t Have by the same author in Spanish, yet I never really finished it because I wasn´t feeling the story, but at the end I actually decided to buy it and once I had it in my hands, I started getting really excited to read this novel that was claiming to be full of fun adventures and a super cute male character named Jackson, and I´ve got to say is that I loved it! I think that I See London, I See France by Sarah Mlynowsky is probably one of my favorite YA summer adventure novels and I was really close to never reading it! 

This adventure-packed novel tells the story of Sydney and her best friend Leela in their fun adventure around Europe. So, Sydney and Leela have been best friends since they were little kids and they have always dreamed of going to Europe together and get to see the best sights, but after they go to college, Leela meets Matt and she completely falls in love with him, which makes her decision to go to Europe with him, but before the trip ever happens, Leela finds out that Matt has kissed another girl, so they break up and their vacation to Europe is completely out of question, but since she can´t get a refund for her expensive ticket, she decides to beg to Sydney to join her and she does. 
The two friends are very excited about visiting the continent, but their excitement seems to go away when they spot Matt in the same plane, but what catches Sydney´s attention is his best friend, Jackson, a total hottie! 
Now Sydney will have to travel Europe knowing that there is a super cute guy that is willing to spend time with her while getting to know new people and while trying to balance her family and friends with her adventure. 
As always, I will start by talking about the characters. I really liked all of the characters in this novel because they all seemed to be created for a purpose because they all shaped Sydney, our main character, in her adventure. 
I enjoyed reading the novel in Sydney´s point of view because she is a very funny narrator and made the adventure, even more, fun with her little comments, I think that I felt very identified with the way she expressed herself throughout the novel. Also, something that made me like her more were the books that she talks about, I remember she mentions One Day by David Nicholls, Daughter of Smoke and Daughter by Laini Taylor, Étienne from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and she talks about Marie Antoinette, probably one of my favorite historical figures. So, yes, I deeply connected with Sydney.
As always, I loved the male character, in this case, Jackson because he was funny, charming and just GORGEOUS! I think that I liked Jackson the way that I liked Carter from Dating You/Hating You by Christina Lauren, which means that I was completely obsessed with this character and I just couldn´t stop thinking about him. He was the perfect mixture of sweet, cute, funny, adventurous, romantic and charming. Also, he had a backstory that made him a much more human-like character and made the story much more complete, although Sydney never really gets to know him completely, both characters are aware of this and work on their relationship from there, which I really liked.
On the other hand, I really liked the supporting characters in this novel, there was Kat, Sydney´s friend from college, and she meets different people during her adventure, some from Australia and some from back home, and they made her the trip extra fun and different. I think my favorite part of the whole novel was when Sydney met the group of friends that would change her summer adventure completely!
Now, I have so many things to say about the story in general because I really enjoyed it. 
First, I would like to mention that for me, this novel really reminded me of Wanderlost by Jenn Malone, which is one of my favorite YA novels as well, so I was excited to read this. 
I really liked the adventures they lived in every city, I think my favorite was the Monte Carlo adventure because every character was there and it was very fun to read about, it was like the ideal getaway for any college student. I See London, I See France is definitely like the ideal college summer vacation because it is filled with adventure and the main character surrounds herself with people that like her and she has a great time. 
I also liked Sydney´s family story, although I am not really going to talk about it because I believe that it is better to read it off from the novel directly. 
The friendship Leela and Sydney share was something that I found very beautiful because they know the type of person the other is and the way they act around each other was very natural and they seemed to find a home in the other person. Also, speaking of Leela, I really liked the way her story with Matt was included in this novel because it is a very different love story and the beautiful thing about this tragic love story is that the two people that they care about the most fall in love when their own relationship is falling apart, so I found a certain beauty in the starting of something new from something heartbreaking for both of them.
Another thing that I really liked about the story is the way that Jackson and Sydney´s relationship progresses because they are aware that they could easily consider their relationship just a summer fling and they do until they start realizing that there might be much more to their feelings, so, in a sense I really liked the uncertainty they had in their relationship because it made their story progress in a much more natural way. 
On the other hand, I really liked Mlynowsky´s writing because it perfectly balances romance, adventure, fun, and drama, she did a great job narrating an ideal getaway with people that are human and that have things going on in their lives other than the summer vacation that they are taking. Also, I just loved the chapter/cities introductions that she included throughout the novel with the small tips because they were so much fun to read and I looked forward to those the whole time!
At the end, I felt very satisfied with the novel and the way the story progressed, and I loved the story so much that I felt empty once I finished I See London, I See France, which demonstrates how much I loved this story. 
I would like to remind everyone that this book may seem too mature to many people, it includes visiting places that may not be ideal for younger people and it portrays college adventures, which are very different from high school and middle school as many YA novels do. 
I See London, I See France tells the perfect summer getaway adventure that every teenager dreams of, their adventure includes everything that you may want to experience from sex clubs and coffee shops in Amsterdam, meeting a hot French man, staying in a luxurious villa in Tuscany, gambling with your friends in Monte Carlo, and the most important, having fun in every city you visit because you only get to live once! 

5 out of 5 stars 

Love, Sua