Genre 📚: YA Contemporary, Queer Lit, Light Academia, Romance
Tropes 💁♀️: Royal romance, Forbidden love
Rep ✔️: Gay and bisexual main characters, Korean side character
CW ⚠️: Anxiety, grief, drug overdose, bullying/cyberbullying
Rating ⭐️: 5/5
A lot of my favorite comfort stories are royal romances — The Princess Diaries, Red White and Royal Blue, and my most recent obsession, Young Royals. I felt so hollow after the Young Royals show ended, and I remember wishing there was a book version to help fill the void. Well, Sophie Gonzales has come to my rescue, filling that void with Nobody in Particular.
The book takes place in the fictional country of Henland, in an all-girls boarding school for the rich and royal. It’s also the new home for American pianist Danni, who comes in on a music scholarship. She dealt with some awful bullying at her former school, so she’s anxious about fitting in, but she somehow finds herself joining the crown princess’s inner circle. Danni doesn’t know what to make of Princess Rosemary, especially since their mutual friend Molly currently despises Rose. But Danni sees past Rose’s quips and sarcasm, past the “I don’t care” facade that Molly thinks is so frustrating.
And gyahhh, once the sparks started flying, my arms started flailing. Danni and Rose were great characters, and I loved living in both their POVs, watching their sweet romance blossom. There were plenty of cute moments I’d expect from the royalty trope, like secret dates and stolen kisses, but there were also deep moments that I wasn’t expecting. (The storyline with Molly, in particular, had my heart in a vice grip.) On my royal romance scale, I’d say that Young Royals is pretty far in the depressing end, Red White and Royal Blue is on the lighthearted end, and Nobody in Particular is right in the middle. It’s a perfect comfort read.
**Much thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Nobody in Particular will be released on June 3, 2025
Sara Bechtol 