It definitely wasn't bad and I enjoyed reading it, but it was unfortunately very forgettable.
The setting was super unique and I enjoyed it, but the rest was lukewarm at best.

I received this book as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I love the premise of this romance as I myself wondered who lives on the property at the tower of London when I recently visited it was cute fun in the chemistry between the main characters works great.

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish, I just didn’t connect with this one. Not for me, sorry.

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Megan Clawson is a contemporary Romance. 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?

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard is a romance with a great premise, a setting I was thrilled to learn more about, and some great characters. I enjoyed Maggie as a character, and the secondary characters in the book are fantastic- in fact I would love a book just about the folk that live (or could live) in the Tower of London. I liked learning about the history, and the reality of what people there might deal with on any given day. I thought the people and the interactions were very well done, with plenty of realistic angst. I did think that Freddie could have gotten a bit deeper, and I would have liked the see some of the story through his eyes or from his perspective. However, my disappointment in the book was because for awhile I was not sure what direction the story was going to take. Was there going to be a mystery storyline, there were definitely moments when I thought there was going to be a theft or something that was going to need solving. There were also several moments when I thought the haunted history of the location was going to play a role in the larger plot line somehow. I just felt like there was a little too much going on, or a few too many pathways the story could take. Frankly, I think any of the paths could have been fantastic, but if none of that was as important as it seemed at the time I could have stood for a few less distractions and just getting a better look at Freddie's character instead. I did enjoy the read, but I thought the storytelling could have been a bit more streamlined.

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard is a solid debut, and I will give the author another read.

I loved the premise but it took me a long time to settle into it. It was a slow burn. I would have preferred had it directly jumped into the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the arc.

This was such an interesting read! I found myself so engrossed in the story, the characters had such incredible arcs, and I can't wait to follow this author's journey!

This was a simple, fun, easy and quick read. The perfect type of book for your holiday, beach, pool kind of read. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I really loved how we got to see maggie's journey in her dating life! Freddie is so sweet in how he remembers little details and is definitely a physical touch love language! I wish we got more cute scenes and more jealousy scenes from Freddie.

I was so excited to read this book and had REALLY had high hopes for this! Anything with love and London usually has me hook, line and sinker. But, I had a really hard time getting invested into the characters. They fell flat for me, and the first part of the book seems to just drag out. I thought Maggie was SO negative, and it really made me dislike her. While the last 25% of the book was much better, I wish we could skip some of the beginning and head right into the exciting part.

I find it slightly unfair to give a rating to a book I didn’t finish, but I suppose the fact that I chose to put it down, does hold down consideration.

I had high hopes for this, thinking that it would be cute and quirky, and while it did fit the expectations in this regard, I just felt so far removed from the characters that I had a hard time staying invested. It’s not that I need to feel connected to the characters or see myself reflected back at me, it’s more that my mindset is entirely different than the characters involved. I didn’t like the constant negative self-talk that Maggie inflicted upon herself, and unfortunately, for me, she came across a bit whiny and flat in the personality department.

I tried to keep reading, but I just couldn’t get into the plot. Ultimately, I never finished it, so I don’t know how this one ends and it could have completely redeemed itself, but I’m not feeling like I’m missing out either.

~👩🏻‍🦰

This is the first book I've read from Megan and I enjoyed it alot.

I'll definitely be read more of her books in the future.

Maggie lives in the Tower of London with her dad who is a beefeater. She works at the ticket counter, where she doesn't like her colleagues, and she broke up with her boyfriend recently. She is not having a good time. Until she meets one of the Royal Guard, Freddie, who she has an instant connexion with and introduces her to his squad. They dare her to get a Tinder profile and go on five dates. This book was enjoyable. I didn't laugh out loud but it was light and I read it quickly.

Sadly this was a DNF for me around 50%
I tried I forced myself to read through until the half mark and after I got the feeling the story won't change much and I won't like it any better. Didn't like the MC and I couldn't say more about the love interest who was MIA half of the time. Don't even understand how he became the love interest, but it's not me who needs to tell who should the MC like.

Thank you for the arc and I am sad it didn't work out.

This was a ldelightful story, being set within thw Tower of London made it even more appealing. Lots of appealing characters, they all seemed very real and a cmpelling love story to finish it off. love conquers all!

I absolutely loved the idea of this book, and J especially loved that it was written based on the author's experiences. Being able to live in the Tower of London is literally the coolest thing, and I really enjoyed the insider perspective!

There was a lot about the book that I didn't think was necessary, such as the five date challenge and in particular Freddie's weird need to be distant in group settings... But I didn't not enjoy it, I just thought perhaps it wasn't needed in the book, as it didn't seem to progress the story line.

Overall this is a cute romcom, but I'd recommend it for the lived experience that shines through in the writing, as well as the fun history that is scattered throughout.

5☆ Uplifting and Heart-warming story

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard has to be my favourite read for 2023.
I loved everything about this book and I can't wait for the next installment!!

I have been in a reading slump since covid hit and this book lifted my spirits.

I loved the mystery and history of the Tower of London, I loved the humour and disastrous dates,
I loved all the quirky characters, even the Ravens with their cheeky personalities.
But most of all I loved the budding romance between Maggie and Freddie...who I was routing for the whole way through!

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard is an Uplifting and Heart-warming story, that has a little sprinkle of everything, and a few juicy twists I didn't expect.
Megan Clawson has left me wanting more and I can't wait to see what happens next!

I was really really excited about this book and thought it was going to fuse some of my favorite British aspects with a little romance. However, it ended up falling short, the character development just wasn't there for me. It was evident that Clawson knew what she was talking about regarding information on the Royal Guard and that was super interesting throughout.

The Tower of London captivated me all throughout this book. Main character Maggie was almost overshadowed by the amazing setting this book was set in. Maggie lives in the Tower of London with her father and runs into a guy that is easy to fall for and in the guard. The peep into the lives of these men who stand all day was fascinating. I loved being brought in to this secret world that I knew nothing about. I was captivated by the party that Maggie interrupts in the Library. I wanted to be there myself.

I was a bit distracted by the crows and their friendship throughout the novel as well as the cameras everywhere. Both items could have been either scrapped or explained more. Why are all the cameras around and why are people just watching them all day? It may be because we don’t have ctv here in the states- that I don’t quite understand it. The crows were also a bit confusing for me was it a Cinderella theme or is this really a thing in the Tower of London.

Overall, a fun read but it felt a bit disconnected at parts. I liked both of the main characters and really loved the setting. It was an escape from a Minnesota winter.

Such a great book, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

This is a cute very slow burn rom com - there were some great laugh out loud moments.

Thank you for the ARC