Cute. This has such 2000s rom com vibes. It's something I would've absolutely loved when I was younger, but I still enjoyed it now! I recommend if you want Mean Girls but with royalty and a bit of mystery.

I normally love this type of book, where its got royals, rich snobby society and an identity plot. I really loved the opening and felt myself intrigued immediately but somewhere along the way, it fell flat for me.

Possibly i didnt gel with the main character or any character!

I did enjoy the writing but the pace was too slow for me and ultimately I wasn't picking the book back up so its not for me. I will read more books by this author though!

I've slowly started to enjoy books of this particular sub/genre; a royal main character in a new environment that just happens to be a boarding school, however, this one took me so long to read that I started to not enjoy it as much as I did when I started by the time I got to the end. I think that's just a me problem at the minute as I think I might be slowly progressing towards a reading slump. The story is good, but the fact that it took me so long to read meant I was forgetting certain elements that had happened earlier, so I was confused later on down the line. Still an okay read, though!

This was such a fun read, and very well-written for the age group and genre. Katy Birchall captured the vibe of being a young, wealthy socialite in London so perfectly... the parties, the expensive boarding school, a trip to the Amalfi Coast. I'd honestly recommend this book to any young person who wants to get into reading.

The book follows Ruby, whose mother grew up one of London's wealthiest darlings, and moved to the country to raise her daughter. When she dies, Ruby is sent to live with her rich aunt, Tabatha, and to attend London's most prestigious boarding school... alongside the heir to the throne, Caroline. There, determined to work out the identity of her father, she infiltrates the so-called Elites in order to find out the truth... but doesn't expect to fall in love with one of them, too.

Being older, I did guess a few of the twists, but I don't think this took away from the experience of reading at all. Witty and sweet, I loved this book, and I really think it would make a great film - it has that early 2000s romcom vibe, which was fab! Really recommend, and can't thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC enough.

This was a cute fun flashback to the past and i enjoyed the 2000 vibes of it. I would of loved this even more when I was younger!

I was a huge fan of The Princess Diaries when I was growing up - I loved the books, and the film. The humour of the writing was always present, and I delighted in the contrast between the two worlds that Mia lived in. I also loved Gossip Girl, for the trashy, nasty, rich people with no redeeming qualities vs the "scholarship" kids who were charming to start.

By contrast, this modern combination of both those things didn't have an ounce of charm. The quickly glossed over "well I know my mother was from an aristocratic family but I never thought of it" to instantly just taking on the wealth and privilege afforded made Ruby seem a really shallow and offputting character. She could have investigated who her father was without the "infiltration" of the awful, irredeemable It Crowd at her school. Princess Caroline was nasty, and even the attempt to redeem her at the end wasn't worth it. They were spoiled, and snobbish, and unlikable. Ruby had no depth at all, and I really hated the amount of name brand dropping - it came off very shallow.

I'm sure there are young people who might find things to love in this, purely because they haven't read or watched the influences. I'm really sorry for the harsh review, but it really wasn't for me.

Cute. This has such 2000s rom com vibes. It's something I would've absolutely loved when I was younger, but I still enjoyed it now! I recommend if you want Mean Girls but with royalty and a bit of mystery.

I love a royal twist, this book was a fun read that really made me feel nostalgic at points. I loved all the tropes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic UK for this eArc in exchange for my honest review!

Hot Young Royals follows Ruby Carter as she navigates life after her mums death where her world is entirely transformed from a quiet country life to a busy aristocratic London scene. In an attempt to investigate who her father is, Ruby must get close to the Princess and her group of friends known as the Elites.

This book was like Mean Girls meets royalty! It contained so many of my favourite tropes and was so addictive to read. The beginning was particularly compelling. I loved meeting all the characters, each interesting with their different personalities and faults that made them feel very realistic. It was easy to follow along and get to know and understand each of them. I liked that these characters made mistakes and weren’t excused and that they owned up to them. It was easy to feel sympathy for all of the characters in their individual situations despite their actions because they were all self aware of what they did wrong while they were hurting and apologised.

I did, however, find the ending a little rushed and left us with several loose ends. I’m hopeful for a sequel to clear these up because I would love to be thrown back into this world with these characters to find out how everything plays out next.

4.5/5

Major 00's rom com feels. Once I got into this I couldn't escape, it was so good. It had all those iconic cliche moments from movies that I miss so much, but the conversations and banter was so much better and funny.

I mean maybe its similar to other plots of the same genre but idc, I ate this up. Loved the drama, the scandals, the romance that had me blushing like mad. Felt like a teenager watching all the chic flicks all over again. Plus I adore the royalty trope every damn time. Loved it 🤭

This is the kind of book you want to devour in one sitting, filled with swoon-worthy moments, family secrets, and plenty of high-society drama. If you love stories that mix romance with a dash of royal flair, this one’s for you!

I highly enjoy books that have a Royal twist to them and I really enjoyed this one. I thought it was excellently written. I loved the different characters and was kept in suspense throughout the entire book. I was hooked from the very first page!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for granting my request to read this e-ARC and provide my honest opinions.

Honestly, I feel like this book's plot is way too similar to the last book I read, and it feels so weird. I desperately wanted to like this story, but there were a few things that stood out way too much for me.Ruby just lost her mom, so she has to stay with a guardian who is Lady Tabatha, her aunt. The fact that Ruby has lived a secluded life throughout her life made it seem as if she would be unable to blend with the "society life," and Tabatha herself. Consider me surprised when the time came for her to fake who she is; she jumped into it wholeheartedly.

So this is one of those kinds of books in which the lower class decides to mingle with the upper-class people but has a lower-class friend to help with their plan of infiltrating the "upper-class people," and the worst part—they always have a good reason for faking who they are. 😐.

I felt like this book was divided into two parts: one of her trying to infiltrate the Elites to "get to know them" and find who her father is and the fake dating part with Xavier, which I thought was so unnecessary, by the way. And what she did to Oliver was so not nice, and please What did Ollie want to say? Did I miss a page or two? 🗣🗣🙀

Sure, there were some good parts, but it was not enough to pull the story together.

Thank you once again for the e-ARC.

RATINGS: 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars.

I really enjoyed Hot Young Royals! In a way, it reminds me of Aimee Carter's series Royal Blood series. It really captures the intrigue the public has with royals and scandal with a fake-dating twist about halfway through the book.

It's easy to empathise with Ruby as she goes on her quest to find out who her biological dad is and the obstacles she has to face along the way. The love interest Xavier is incredibly swoony and you can't help but to root for them along the way.

Princess Caroline is an interesting character and I really enjoyed her characterisation! Especially once the royal scandal breaks.

All in all - a really fun read, somewhat predictable, but one that you can cosy up with and know you'll enjoy!