I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Aspiring writer Hannah has scored the opportunity of a lifetime—escaping her sleepy Midwestern town for the summer to intern in Scotland for her favorite author. But her plan to spend the next few months being the best assistant ever is derailed when her idol suddenly decides to abscond to Japan with her boyfriend.

So it almost seems too good to be true when a mysterious stranger—a tall, obnoxiously cute stranger—she meets at the pub one night gets her job at the royal family’s castle in Inveresk. It’s only when she shows up to her first day of work that she realizes the stranger is Finnian, the prince of England.

Finn is confined at Inveresk as punishment for his party boy antics, and clearly just wants Hannah around for his own amusement. But the more she gets to know him, the more she wonders if this is just a fling or if she’s found herself in a star-crossed summer romance that she never could have imagined…

Short and Sweet Review

Hannah heads to Scotland for what’s supposed to be the opportunity of a lifetime: spending the summer interning for her favorite author. Instead, her plans completely fall apart when the author abruptly leaves for Japan, leaving Hannah stranded and jobless in a foreign country. After meeting a charming stranger at a pub, she unexpectedly lands a job working at a royal castle only to discover the stranger is actually Finn, the prince of England. What starts as an unlikely friendship slowly turns into a summer romance neither of them expected.

This was a really fun royal romance. It leans heavily into the classic “commoner falls for a prince” trope, so if you already love books like that, this delivers the kind of fantasy you’re looking for. The story feels light, sweet, and very readable, the kind of book you can easily finish in a day. I think the strongest part of the book was Hannah and Finn’s dynamic. Their banter was cute, and I liked that Hannah didn’t immediately fall at Finn’s feet just because he was royalty. She pushes back against him a lot at first, which made their chemistry feel more believable. Finn starts off with the typical charming party-prince reputation, but as the story goes on, you get to see a softer and more vulnerable side of him that made him a lot more likable. I also really enjoyed the castle staff and the found family atmosphere that develops throughout the book. Some of the side characters honestly stole scenes whenever they showed up, and those moments gave the story a cozy charm outside of the romance itself. That said, the plot is definitely predictable. Most of the major beats happen exactly how you’d expect in a royal romance, and some of the emotional conflicts get resolved a little too quickly. I also wished the romance had a bit more emotional depth because while Hannah and Finn had chemistry, I didn’t always feel a super strong emotional connection underneath all the flirting. The pacing is fast, which makes it entertaining but also means some things feel underdeveloped. Hannah’s family situation, Finn’s responsibilities as a prince, and even some of the royal family drama could have been explored more deeply. There were also moments where the story felt a little unrealistic even for a fluffy royal romance, but honestly, I don’t think realism is really the point here. One thing readers should probably know going in is that this reads more like a new adult rather than a young adult novel and that’s mainly because of the more explicit romance scenes.

Overall, this was a cute, fast-paced royal romance with fun banter, cozy castle vibes, and a very bingeable writing style. It may not reinvent the genre, but if you’re in the mood for a dramatic summer romance with a prince, Scotland, and lots of swoony moments, it’s an enjoyable escape.