I somehow ended up with two review copies of Falling Hard for the Royal Guard. I believe what happened is that I requested the Avon UK pub version, not realizing that the book was an Avon book. I am auto-approved by Avon US (thank you!), so when I found the book there, I immediately clicked "read now", and was completely surprised when Avon UK sent me permission to read the UK edition, while I was reading the US edition! Below is my review for the Avon US edition. Thank you!


Falling Hard for the Royal Guard was a funny read, for the most part. Like other romance novels, it handled deep and emotional things with a veneer of humor or romance, like the ghost and Maggie's mother. It was also well on its way to being one of my favorite new romance novels reads of the year, when it blew it completely in the last 15-20%.

The book was very informative about the Tower of London, with history and culture woven into the story in a way that really worked. The detail about the Guards and their uniforms was a nice touch.

I knocked the first half star off when I realize that it was hard to tell if the story was set with the current royalty - King Charles III, etc - or with a faked monarchy, a la that Hallmark movie I watched last year, where the structure was there, but the author changed around the members of the BRF to suit their novel needs. Either would have worked, but making it clear from the get go would have been better. Especially when several chapters were spent hinting at an identity that Freddie could not have, with the current monarchy.

Freddie did not turn out to be who I was expecting him, since I kept expecting him to the Prince of Wales or maybe the Spare, to quote Harry. I liked how and when we learn his true title, and that scene added a lot of depth to their relationship. It's pretty clear pretty early on that we have what is considered <spoiler>mutually unrequited, where both of them think that the other would not be interested in going any further than friendship</spoiler> and that, when done well, can add to the story. It was done very well here. Mix that in with the ghosts in the Tower, the famed Ravens, the men in uniform, the clear love the Beefeaters have for Maggie, and you've got a wonderful story.

Then the ending. It was a good one, but it felt rushed, like the author had to cram 100 pages worth of content into 30 to keep the book from being too long. This story would have benefited greatly from those extra 100 pages, and I think the relationship between Freddie and Maggie would have been all the stronger for that.

Maggie's coworkers were evil, and something should have been done about that a while ago.

All in all, a good story, full of history. 3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the eARC!

I picked up Falling Hard for the Royal Guard primarily for the interesting plot. It came through. I pictured this playing out kind of like a Disney movie. I'm sure you can picture it, a girl who has recently lost her mom lives with her father in a famous tower where he works. She also works on the grounds and falls for a guard after a rough breakup.

I was fascinated to read that the author, Megan Clawson, was inspired by her own life to write this book! I would 100% read her memoir.

However, when it came to the writing, the characters, and the drama, this book fell short. I didn't feel a connection to the characters and the love and drama that unfolded between them was unconvincing and overexplained. There were many times when things felt repetitive, like with multiple appearances from our main character, Maggie's, ex. I couldn't expect much of a deep, realistic love as our Maggie seemed extremely immature and confused.

I would recommend this book if you appreciate a light, clean romance with some British history!

2.5 ⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for an ARC of Falling Hard for the Royal Guard in exchange for my honest review.

From her bedroom in the Tower of London, twenty-six-year-old Maggie has always dreamed of her own fairy-tale ending.

Yet this is twenty-first century London, so instead of knights, she has Tinder, and instead of white horses, she has catfish. And with her last relationship ending in spectacular fashion, she swears off men for good.

And then a chance encounter with Royal Guard Freddie forces Maggie to admit that she isn’t ready to give up on love just yet… But how do you catch the attention of someone who is trained to ignore all distractions?

Can she snare that true love’s first kiss… or is she royally screwed?

This was a very cute read and a unique spin on a "royal" love story. I would read this author again, but it didn't stand out to me in any meaningful way. Though I feel like a lot of readers do the same thing, I walked away after finishing this one and I didn't really ever think about it again until I realized I needed to review it. A great palette cleanser between denser books!

Falling Hard For The Royal Guard
by Megan Clawson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

I really enjoyed this book and found myself laughing out loud quite literally at times.

It was fun, with different dynamics of unusual friendships formed. They were endearing and funny at the same time.

Also, the book explored online dating which provided much hilarity when Maggie the red haired main character found herself in precarious and shocking situations.

Maggie lives within walls that are steeped in history. An actual castle!
It has its pros and cons and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Will Maggie find herself with a man who literally bumps into her life?
Or will other life situations unfortunately get in the way?

I loved the story of Maggie living in the Tower of London and literally falling for one of the guards at the tower. Love is never straight forward and Maggie knows more than most about bad boyfriends and her luck doesn’t seem to improve when she meets Freddie. Why can’t life be simple. I loved this book it’s sweet and romantic and the heroine of the story is flawed and clumsy and some of her walking into things problems I think someone must have been following me around. I also loved the backdrop of a place we all know about and the romance of living there.

This book was okay I would have enjoyed seeing the actual romance between the main characters as that is what this novel indicates.
Overall it is enjoyable if you love the standard hallmark type of movie but as a book.

This book took me a few pages to really get into it, but that's only because I'm not completely familiar with the British terminology for all the different guards and such. After googling and reading what information the author supplies I got them kinda figured out and the story started making more sense and the plot became addicting. I ended up loving the book and definitely recommend

Okay Read 🤔

Following Maggie and her rollercoaster ride to find love. An annoying Ex, back living with her Dad in unusual surroundings. The one man who catches her eye, is she reading it wrong, is he interested? Or is he not? But why would he be interested in Maggie? He loves me, he loves me not….. which is it?…..

Told all from Maggie’s perspective, overall an okay read but a bit of a slower burner for me.

A great concept with the book being set in the Tower of London. Lots of snippets of behind the scenes made it such fun. A really good romantic read which kept me turning the pages.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

A very modern day love story. Maggie actually lives in the Tower of London with her dad. She’s not having much luck in love and finding a boyfriend on tinder. But then twinkly-eyed Freddie in the Guards catches her eye. Needless to say true love doesn’t run smoothly but love conquers all and even though Freddie is engaged to marry another it turns out they don’t really love each other. She loves another so everyone is happy. I loved all the details about the Tower and it takes into account we now have a King! I cried a couple of times through it but mainly at the end but they were tears of pure joy and happiness. What a fabulous first book. Keep writing. Can’t wait for the next one. Thank you

Maggie Moore has the unique privilege of residing in the small but not very well-known Tower of London village though the Tower itself is quite renowned. She lives with her father who is one of the very famous Beefeaters whose job is leading tourists around the history filled grounds. Maggie also works there in an achingly dull job selling tickets. While on an evening walk, she literally bumps into to a handsome man ending up with a few bruises especially to her ego which Maggie seems prone. When Maggie discovers that the man she tangled with, Freddie Guildford, is one of the Royal Guards whose regiment is currently assigned to the tower, she is equal parts mortified and intrigued.

Maggie works with some really nasty people who delight in tormenting her with a boss who sends Maggie on some duties that include spooky places in the thousand year old Tower castle. Steeped in very rich history, Maggie and Freddie explore the buildings after hours as well a possible relationship although there are several hurdles including Freddie’s high peerage background.

Maggie ended a long relationship with what the Brits would call a real tosser but said former boyfriend has been harassing her. Since she is getting mixed signals from Freddie, Maggie decides to go the dating app route with some not surprising epic fails. Maggie has a lot of awkwardness to her but a very good heart appreciating all her found family in the Tower village. One of the challenges she and Freddie face is that cameras are everywhere on the grounds so she has several Beefeater “uncles” reporting all her moves. Freddie is very conflicted about his feelings for Maggie and hides some important information from her.

Several aspects of this rom-com are quite enjoyable including some of Maggie’s slapstick behavior, interesting background on the Tower of London’s often tragic history, the inner workings of the Royal Guards and the witty banter. My only criticism is that Freddie does not have as much actual page time as I would have liked so this story has a more Women’s Fiction bent than romance. The author, Maggie Clawson, actually does live in the Tower of London with her father and has a King’s Guard partner so that adds quite a bit of authenticity to the story as well as a truly unique perspective.

Thank you to the Netgalley and the publisher, Avon Books UK, for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy. This honest review was based off my experience reading this eARC, which in no way biased me. All opinions are my own.

To start, first impression, very cute cover. One of the reasons I was drawn to request this ARC.

I would like to preface that this romance is a closed door romance (aka no on page sex scenes). I personally do not like the term “clean romance” because it implies that books that have on page sex are dirty.

Anyway on to the review portion. This book is written by someone who obviously has done their homework or already knows a lot about the British and their history.

Personally, this was fine, but I was hoping for more. I couldn’t find myself interested in the characters or their story. Overall it was good, definitely not my cup of tea.

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard was such a fun and sweet read. This story is set in the Tower of London and follows 26-year-old Maggie Moore who is recently single and ready to conquer the horrors of Tinder. But when she bumps into Freddie (quite literally) who introduces her to the everyday life of a guardsman, she wonders if this is her chance for a happily ever after or if she's royally screwed.

I loved how much history, passion, and description that was in this book. Normally overly clumsy characters like Maggie annoy me, but I found myself enjoyed her flaws and relating to her on so many levels. Despite her insecurities, she was such a strongminded character who really knew her worth. I found myself rooting for her and anxiously waiting for her to pop off on her persistent ex and petty coworkers. Maggie slowly but surely grew to love herself and I loved the friends she made along the way that felt like family. Freddie, on the other hand, felt indifferent to me. I didn't like how he kept leaving her and honestly felt she had a better time with other guards than she did with him, but I did find myself feeling heartbroken right along with them in the end. I wish there would have been a little more tension between them, but it was clean and sweet. There were some deeper topics discussed such as insecurity, death of a parent, toxic relationships, family expectations, etc., but it was handled gently. Definitely a cute story to read, especially if you want a little history lesson to go along with it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book. I especially liked the main character, she was so relatable. But the love interest kind of annoying me by being so mysterious and sometimes acting in ways that made me feel like he didn't really care about Maggie.

This was the first book that I read by this author and I requested it based solely on the cover, title and description. It did not disappoint!
This was a pretty long book, but Maggie was always doing something crazy so it kept me coming back for more. Freddy was just one of the many Royal Guards that we meet in the book, but there is just something different about him that we don’t learn about until the very end!

From her bedroom in the Tower of London, twenty-six-year-old Maggie has always dreamed of her own fairy-tale ending.

Yet this is twenty-first century London, so instead of knights, she has Tinder, and instead of white horses, she has catfish. And with her last relationship ending in spectacular fashion, she swears off men for good.

And then a chance encounter with Royal Guard Freddie forces Maggie to admit that she isn’t ready to give up on love just yet… But how do you catch the attention of someone who is trained to ignore all distractions?

Can she snare that true love’s first kiss… or is she royally screwed?

This was such a lovely, clean romance, with just the right amount of history, humour, and romance. A quick read, this was easily finished in under an hour.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Such an interesting and rich look behind the curtain—or rather stone walls—of living inside a monument. I loved the little moments with her dad and the other Tower workers. As someone who has only been to London as a tourist, it was a refreshing reminder of the people we overlook in our zeal to pack as many experiences in as possible. I felt like the friendship-turned-relationship between them was sweet and I rooted for them. It just took a long time for them to finally get their ducks in a row, and I found his lie of omission a bit abrasive. But a happy ending regardless and I was pleased with how they ended up.

Romance is on a roll this year! I love when the setting is somewhere I actually know too and the Tower of London is a unique place to set a book. Cute and feel-good with a slow-burn romance.

Maggie lives in the tower of London, with her Beefeater father. She meets a royal guard, Freddie, the magnetism between the 2 is intense ,yet he persists in just wanting to be friends , As the story unfolds, we find out why,. with interesting snippets of the history of the Tower and the rooks. A really enthralling romantic story .