I was immediately sold on the premise of this book. A black, gay king? I'm in. Queer YA is also my bag so I was so happy and grateful that I received an advanced readers copy of this e-book via Netgalley.

Overall this was an extremely enjoyable reading experience! I did not expect it to be what is essentially a thriller, which was certainly a positive. The premise and the plot points were extremely strong and I particularly enjoyed the uneasiness that the author was able to create by making the reader suspect everyone; literally no one could be trusted! I also enjoyed that we had quite a large cast of characters and yet I still felt that I got to know them all as well as I needed to. The mystery was a bit twisty and once I hit the last 20% of the book I couldn't put it down! I also found the commentary on race particularly engaging, especially the moment with the king at the gates.

What I would say is don't go into this expecting full on romance. There are elements of it, but this is predominantly a mystery thriller. For me there was one twist too many at the end. I do think that it started out stronger than it ended from a plot point of view. What I felt I wanted more of, was to understand how the public would deal with a black, gay king. We got a bit a feeling and lots of protests, but I expected the ending to be a bit more satisfying on that aspect. Him being gay was almost inconsequential. A bit more hopeful perhaps. But could there be more? I would certainly read it if there was.

I know that this is YA, however I feel that the concept would have been better served with more detail and realism throughout. I'm pretty sure that the king wouldn't go and confront a reporter in public. And surely there would be involvement from politicians in this situation. Also I wanted the detail of how and what happened to Jonathan.

I think I'm picking at the story slightly because I enjoyed it so much, but there were just bits and bobs that were just not perfect and left me feeling just a little bit unsatisfied. But I would definitely recommend and will certainly read any more YA that this author writes in future!

TW: Death of a parent, forced coming out, racism, homophobia, terrorism.

I honestly don't know where to even begin with this review. I just have so much I want to say and talk about but at the same time, know that I can't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it. So, I think the first thing I should say is, please go and read this book so that I can talk about it some more!!

The story starts with James, our protagonist. He's the teenage son of the King of England, and we meet him at the moment he finds out his father is dead and as the realisation hits that he is now the King. James is seventeen years old and very much not feeling up to the task of being King, or of facing the grief of losing his dad. His only solace comes from his very secret relationship with his boyfriend, but when he mysteriously disappears, James is left floundering and not knowing who he can put his trust in.

James is an interesting character, and Benjamin Dean has done a fantastic job of making him utterly captivating from the very first page. Instantly James is a character I empathise with, who I connect with, and I want to see him succeed.

One thing I had no idea of, from the blurb of The King is Dead, was how much of a mystery-thriller it would turn out to be. I was on the edge of my seat, trying my hardest to figure out who the 'big bad' was behind all the drama, but I just did not see those twists coming, and if there's one thing I love more than anything, it's a book that surprises me, and then keeps on doing it, and Benjamin Dean delivered this in spades.

As more secrets and scandals come into the light, and as James has little time to deal with his own grief and his sudden plunge into the firing line, the author does a great job of conveying that feeling of barely keeping your head above water and sheer overwhelm, which only serves to make James more compelling.

The thing that I was most conflicted about in this book, which ultimately led to my 4-star rating, was the ending...WHICH I CAN'T TALK ABOUT!!! 😬😬😬😬😬

Without giving anything away, it was an ending that shocked me because it was the first moment in the book where I really lost faith in James, our protagonist, and in some of the characters surrounding him. I also didn't particularly like how the romance element played out. BUT saying all of that, I can understand why the author chose that ending, and I did enjoy the fact that this book is a standalone with a clear ending that leaves just enough to your imagination.

For me, this book felt like One of Us is Lying meets Red, White & Royal Blue, but British. It has the pacing and mystery of a really gripping thriller, with enough teen shenanigans and royal politics to inject just the right amount of humour and help juxtapose the darker themes of racism and homophobia.

The King is Dead by Benjamin Dean comes out in the UK on 7th July 2022.

The gossip girl comparisons are wrong this has Princess Diaries 2 vibes all the way and I'm living for it. OK just hear me out.

We've got romance. With two potential suitors on the scene and one mysteriously absent, James has to decide who to love and who he can trust. Featuring a midnight tryst, a flustered king and a nice bit of angsty soul searching. I would say that this is not a traditional walk off into the sunset romance so if you prefer your happy ending tied up in a bow this may not work for you.

We've got mystery. Someone is trying to take the monarchy down and without a suspicious uncle dressed in a black cloak to blame it on, everyone's a suspect. The mystery leans perfectly into the palace setting with intrigue and politics and back stabbing all cheered on by the bloodthirsty press and public.

We've got a new king learning to stand on his own feet and making human mistakes only to learn the King can't be human, he must be king. James is a delightfully human character grappling with his grief and his desire to form bonds whilst knowing he has to keep people at arms length.

Where it diverges from Princess Diaries is that this book also has something to say. About power and privilege and isolation. Also about racism and sexuality and how it doesn't matter where you are, those things will always be used against you. It also doesn't shy away from the fact that the monarchy is somewhat an institution at this point and doesn't really have a valid reason for Being aside from it just always has.

Whole I had a whole heap of fun with this one, I think I would have liked a more satisfying tying up at the end. I love a villain monologue personally so didn't really mind that unpicking of the villains motivations but would have liked to see what happened after that. Even the epilogue just kind of left me with a lot of questions. Arguably there was no realistic neat ending we could have gotten but I would have liked a maybe year forward flash just to see how everything lay further down the line.

100% recommend for anyone that likes a bit of palace drama, messy love stories, black queer kings 👑 and a fun old mystery.

This book is what young people needed and now they have! I always think it is such a shame that books like this were not around when I was younger as they are so important. It is thoughtful and engaging, excellent read!

Ever wondered what would happen if the future King was a queer, Black 17 year old? Well, wonder no more.

I love a royal romance book, but this novel took it up a notch, adding One Of Us Is Lying vibes to this story of a prince becoming a king.

This book was a fantastic read from start to finish, and threw some fantastic curveballs.

Thanks NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

This YA novel zips along at a fast pace and maintained my interest throughout. The story of how a young black prince copes with becoming king when some of the country is openly hostile to change is well written and asks a number of questions about overt and hidden views on race. Discussions about sexuality and public perception are weaved within also. The main character is engaging and takes you with him on the tumultuous first 20 days of his reign. I can see this strongly appealing to a young readership. (Copy received from Netgalley in return for an honest review).

when requesting a YA, royal romance book you don’t expect a lot. a bit of cheese, an attempt at politics (usually unrealistic and taking a backseat) and a happy ending.

This blew every expectation I had out of the water. ‘The King is Dead’ takes place in a fictional British royal family, where England are on the verge of the crowning their newest King.

Who is seventeen, Black and in the closet.

This book does a masterpiece at balancing politics, romance and mystery. With clear links to the treatment of the likes of Meghan Markle, it is a thoughtful exploration into the inherent racism of the press and society.

The book centres around discovering the identity of someone who is exposing the families deepest secrets, secrets that only those closest to the king know. Despite it being a simple premise, the execution was a stroke of genius - so many red herrings, motives etc. Revealed that by the end I had no fucking clue.

Bravo. A phenomenal, Young Adult read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children’s for the ARC :)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of "The King is Dead" by Benjamin Dean.

I felt like this was a super slow start but the further in, the further I became obsessed. The plot line and the gradual progression was amazing and I just had to keep reading. The ending was a plot twist though. I didnt expect that ending and I truly can say, I had my mind blown.

CWs: grief, racism, homophobia, terminal illness, death of a loved one

In this twisty-turny story we are following James Hampton as he reckons with the burden of becoming the first Black king of the United Kingdom after the death of his father whilst the tabloids are trying to tear him down at every turn.

This book expertly captures the many complexities of James coming to terms with the death of his father and the racism that he is facing whilst also creating an atmosphere where you truly feel how James must be feeling as he is unable to know who in his life he can trust. The challenges that he is facing are beautifully balanced with the feelings of hope and moment of joy that he feels in his blossoming romance.

As I went through this book, I thought I knew how it was all going to end whilst also continuing to feel as though anyway could be betraying James. I was very happy to discover that my theories were incorrect (at least in part) however I would not have been unhappy if the ending had not surprised me as it truly is a book where you are able to enjoy the journey that you take to get there.

The exploration of grief is very strong within this book so I would caution anybody who struggles which such themes and the racism is all too familiar so again I urge caution as Dean does not pull any punches with this book.

I suspect it would be too much to hope that we will get a sequel to this book but it is definitely something that I would love to see as I definitely think there is more story to be told. This being said, this book is satisfying as a standalone.

I can't quite pinpoint why I didn't enjoy this book. It felt such a slog, slow-going and frustratingly difficult to get into. The characters don't feel believable rendered, the plot points reminiscent of latter seasons of Gossip Girl (in the worst of ways) and the main twist was guessable from the outset - it required herculean levels of suspension of disbelief to push through the rest of the book. There's definitely some good stuff in there - the handling of race & sexuality when it comes to how the media treats the Royal Family is fascinating and horrifically accurate feeling.
All in all, I think there's an audience out there for this book - I'm just not sure who.

The first 50% was pretty dull. I only kept reading because the premise was interesting and I did want to find out what happened, especially with jonathan. It took til about 75% of the way through before I felt any connection to James, when he finally had a heart to heart with grigor.
But despite how hard it felt to slog through the first 3/4 of the book, at that point, it finally became really interesting and exciting, and I really needed to know what happened.
Honestly I feel that so much of this book felt unnecessary, it felt like a lot of filler just to get to the exciting conclusion.
The characters were ok, but I didnt really feel much connection or interest about any of them.
So although the ending was good, I'm not really sure i would recommend this book.

The King is Dead is a young adult novel about a Black gay teenager thrust into power who suddenly finds himself part of a threatening mystery. James has known since he was born, only minutes before his twin brother, that one day he would be king. As the prince, he's already had to deal with public opinion, keeping a relationship secret from the press, but after his father's sudden death, James is faced with threatening messages and a missing boyfriend, as a gossip-loving journalist starts publishing royal family secrets, trying to turn the public against the first Black king.

This is a fun concept for a young adult novel, combining a mystery with bits of romance and a look at race and power from the very top. The narrative has vibes of all sorts of things, though I got a lot of modernised end-of-Shakespeare's-Henry-IV at the start, which particularly focuses on James becoming king and not knowing how to handle it. The mystery part has twists and turns, getting across the fact that James has to learn to not trust anyone, and there's some complicated romance intertwined too.

The imagined version of the life of the royals, from the secret parties to the media scrutiny, is sure to be a hit with a lot of readers. As with any other book about fictional modern royals, it can be hard to focus on the characters rather than think about the implications of their wealth and position, but The King is Dead does engage with this in some ways, particularly in terms of who the British public can imagine as a monarch. The use of the monarchy is quite interesting in terms of how the book discusses racism and homophobia, bringing in questions around public and private to a novel that is really a thriller with a side of romance.

A rollercoaster ride through fictional royal scandal, The King is Dead is a fun book, tense at times and offering something both modern and with hints of Shakespeare.

A really enjoyable read, it was well written with a compelling plot and well developed characters that I loved. It was funny, full of scandal and drama and I loved the representation in the book. I loved it and I was on the edge of my seat for most of it.