Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins

Summary from Goodreads:

Millie Quint is devastated when she discovers that her sort-of-best friend/sort-of-girlfriend has been kissing someone else. And because Millie cannot stand the thought of confronting her ex every day, she decides to apply for scholarships to boarding schools . . . the farther from Houston the better.

Millie can't believe her luck when she's accepted into one of the world's most exclusive schools, located in the rolling highlands of Scotland. Everything about Scotland is different: the country is misty and green; the school is gorgeous, and the students think Americans are cute.

The only problem: Mille's roommate Flora is a total princess.

She's also an actual princess. Of Scotland.

At first, the girls can barely stand each other--Flora is both high-class and high-key--but before Millie knows it, she has another sort-of-best-friend/sort-of-girlfriend. Even though Princess Flora could be a new chapter in her love life, Millie knows the chances of happily ever afters are slim . . . after all, real life isn't a fairy tale . . . or is it?

Review:

I love Rachel Hawkins. I’ve been reading and loving her books since she first came out with Hex Hall. Her books are always fun, romantic, fluffy, and quick. They are perfect beach/summer reads. And this one did not disappoint.

As I said on Goodreads, I love this book. It’s so fluffy and Meg Cabot-y. And swoony. It’s the LGBT royal fairy tale my life was missing. It’s a perfect read for Pride Month. It’s perfect for all the saps out there (like me) who still crave fairytales well into adulthood. It’s for fans of corny romcoms, and The Princess Diaries, and this author. It’s one fluffy love story.

I was surprised to learn that this book was going to be about Flora, who was not the easiest to like character from Royals. However, I was excited for a royal gay love story. I’ve never read a book like this one. And that alone, is reason to read this. I can’t imagine how nice it will feel for LGBT ladies to finally see themselves in a royal story. Fairytales are definitely not just for straight people. And I have to say, I may have liked this fairytale a lot more than a lot of the straight ones I’ve read.

I also loved Millie right away. I love how disassociated she was with royals and tabloids. I love that she’s a wannabe geologist, who loves science and school. And it was nice having an easy-to-love character along with Flora, who’s little rougher around the edges. Though, I love that she brings out a more rebellious side to Millie. And Millie brings out a more down to earth side to Flora.

The boarding school and the Scottish setting were just magical. I loved that Millie wanted to be there to study rocks. The setting really made for the best fairytale background a girl could hope for. I loved returning to some places and people from the previous book. But, I also loved that this clearly stood on its own. You don’t need to read Royals for this one to make sense. Though, if you liked this one, by all means read that one too. It’s equally fluffy and romantic.

There are parties, crazy camping trips, international friend chats, classes in a Hogwarts like setting, weekend visits with royalty, castles, rocks, and plenty of good old fashioned teen drama. I also loved the friends Millie at her new school. They kind of reminded me of characters I love from the show, The Good Place. All in all, this book was fun, swoony and romantic, dramatic, funny, and just an overall good read. I give it a 9/10.