First of all, thank you to Netgalley for an e-arc of this book! All opinions will be my own.

Oh my goodness, I loved this! This is my first Sophie Gonzales book and I am going to need to read the rest of them now.

Set in an all girls boarding school, Nobody in Particular is a wonderful, queer romance, that also deals with hard hitting topics, so please do check the trigger warnings. I cried several times

Rose and Danni complimented the other's character perfectly. While both know they know their own sexualities, it was interesting to see them navigate this and a secret relationship in a world that they are worried about how they will be treated if they came out.

This book was so full of hope, love (both romantic and platonic) and about realising who you want to be in the world. Highly recommend.

this is my first every Sophie Gonzales book and I thoroughly enjoyed it!! Had a great time with the characters and I loved the royalty aspect of it! It dealt with serious topics in a very careful way with still having some light hearted banter as well

Sophie Gonzales is one of the best YA contemporary writers out there now. She manages to write queer YA stories that feel extremely authentic and are compelling reads. As a huge fan of Young Royals, I was so excited for this book and I absolutely loved it. Both Danni and Rose were well developed characters and I loved the tension between the two of them. I will continue to read everything that Sophie writes.

I am incredibly grateful to both NetGalley and Hachette Children's Group for the opportunity to read and review Nobody in Particular. Being selected to explore this captivating story before its official release has been such a treat, and I can’t wait to share my thoughts on it with all of you. A huge thank you to the teams at NetGalley and Hachette Children's Group for their generosity and for making this advanced reading experience possible.

Nobody in Particular is a standout novel that warmly embraces themes of identity, love, and self-acceptance with humour, heart, and honesty. From the first page, I was drawn into a world that felt both fresh and deeply relatable, especially as a reader who appreciates authentic queer representation.

The story follows characters navigating the complexities of relationships and personal growth in a way that feels incredibly genuine. What I found most compelling about this book is how it handles bisexuality and queer identity—not as a plot device or stereotype, but as an integral part of the characters’ lives and experiences. The novel captures the messy, beautiful process of figuring out who you are and who you want to be with remarkable tenderness. It’s a love story that avoids clichés and instead feels honest and grounded, full of real emotions and relatable insecurities.

It truly was just such a cosy book for me to read. I really enjoyed it.

I think the only downside for me was the dual point of view, by the time I get halfway through the chapter I always forget who's chapter it is but that's very much an issue of mine rather than the author's. I just have terrible memory.

Beyond the romance, the novel also explores friendship, family dynamics, and the importance of community, adding rich layers to the narrative. The pacing is just right, balancing lighthearted moments with deeper emotional beats, making it a truly immersive read.

So I read this book on the plane, it’s basically tradition for me to read a Sophie Gonzales book on the plane, it’s happened on the last few trips I have taken, and I am really happy to say that I enjoyed this book! I mean it’s basically a guarantee that I will enjoy any and all of Sophie’s books, I have yet to dislike one, and I hope I never will! Sophie is definitely an auto buy author for me!

I really liked the private school setting and royalty attending said school, it gave me Princess Diaries vibes. I liked the main characters, Danni, who is not only new to the school, but also to the country, Henland, and Rose who is the princess. Unfortunately for Rose, her past has been following her and she has to be on her best behaviour. From the beginning it is mentioned that something happened in Amsterdam, and that Rose was involved in it somehow. This mystery is later told to the reader, but I really wanted to find out what happened and this was the first thing that had me hooked, turning the pages.

Apart from the Princess Diaries vibes I got, I also had some Young Royals (show on netflix) vibes, there is both in the show and in this book a scholarship student and royalty who fall in love. And they’re both queer! Nobody in Particular is a sapphic book, and Young Royals is achillean. But this isn’t a Young Royals review, though if you haven’t watched it then you need to! Danni is at the prestigious boarding school on a music scholarship, and I enjoyed the fact that we did have scenes of Danni practicing and attending music lessons in the book, as I feel like often the scholarship reason is overlooked or forgotten about after being mentioned, but not in this book! There were a few things that also reminded me of Red, White and Royal Blue, mainly the royalty “going against tradition” and sexuality of the royal. So if you enjoyed either of those movies/shows and books, you should definitely read Nobody in Particular.

There was a lot of drama in this book, there was some politics, and twists throughout. I found the chemistry believable and the progression of their friendship and romance, I loved the friendships between the supporting characters. There were a bunch of things that Nobody in Particular touched upon, moving to a new place and not knowing anyone, being a new person is a new place can be really daunting. Social Media and bullying are also big things, accountability, and alchohol/substance use in teens. Sexuality is also handled with care, especially as the two main characters and love interests are both females. The setting is in a place where there is stigma surrounding sexuality, and there is unsurity. There was also an element of fake dating, though Rose wasn’t particularly happy about it, and was done more to appease her parents and the people of Henland, though I did enjoy the twist regarding that!


This book is truly a testament to not giving up on what you love and want to do, this book is over a decade in the making and it is finally here! And I am so happy it is! Nobody in Particular is a queer commoner / royalty romance set in academia, and I really enjoyed it! I am giving Nobody in Particular 4 stars, and I am already impateintly awaiting the next book that Sophie Gonzales comes out with, she is truly an author who I know won’t disappoint!

Perfect for fans of Young Royals, Sophie Gonzales returns with another phenomenal queer YA. Filled with a variety of diverse characters it’s the exact kind of book I love seeing more of available to younger readers.

To me this felt like a warm hug with how seen I felt as someone who came out later in their education. From diversity and pride to betrayals and school drama it’s constantly engaging from start to finish. Our characters are incredibly passionate about the things they love, for our main character Danni this is piano, which results in the beautiful quote ‘Music is the closest thing we have to practical magic.’ One of our other main characters Rose is especially passionate about making change for minorities such as unhoused youth and domestic abuse victims which especially hits home hard for me with my own volunteering activities.

There is something about Sophie’s queer fictions that makes them unput-downable and each one I read I just love more. Perfectly, it has timed its release with pride month, which makes its messages of breaking societal norms and expectations of heteronormativity all the more powerful. Potentially my most favourite yet, I could not recommend this book more highly.

This was SO SO cute!! I just finished and my heart literally feels so warm.

I love the royal × commoner trope, especially when that commoner is from a non royalist country, so I was already excited for this. At first, the writing/characters did feel on the younger side of YA, and I was a little disappointed by it, but after a couple chapters it shifted away from that, and felt more older YA, which continued on throughout the book.

I love both our main characters of Danni and Rose, I loved that they were both so sure of who they are in regards to their sexuality, while still learning how they fit into the world as teenagers.

Both girls went through a journey of self progression, be that with stage fright or how to process emotions or how they want to be perceived by others, and it was so nice to see this done so realistically in stages throughout the book instead of some insta fixes.

their romance was so sweet, it genuinely made me smile and roll my eyes and as mentioned, it made my heart warm. I loved their banter and dynamic.

I also loved the way sexuality and being queer was handled in terms of the monarchy and a Catholic majority country, how being outted and social media and just being a lesbian/bi was portrayed. And i agree with what Danni said, Rose being a lesbian would make her uniquely qualified to represent the people of her country that don't usually feel seen.

She did it again, folks. Sophie Gonzales has knocked it out of the park again.

I love how this was both Sophie’s first book and yet also her most recent one in a whole collection of released works. All throughout reading I constantly kept this in mind, thinking about how silly the publishers were for not scooping it up back then, but also thinking about what kind of reception it would have had if it were published when originally intended. But they’re all side thoughts!

This book was brilliant. I adored both Rose and Danni. Gonzales gave both characters an equal amount of time in the page, and I felt both characters were fully developed and had their own arcs and storylines. Sometimes with dual POVs, especially in romance, I find that one character usually suffers a bit more in terms of the story not paying as much attention to them but this was definitely not the case here.

I loved how this book explored first love, coming out, friendships, friendship breakups and grief. I loved how it explored complicated family dynamics and the societal and familiar pressures a lot of young adults can face. I think while the situation is something a lot of us will never experience (to my knowledge I’m not a Crown Princess) I think at the core and the heart of it the struggles are similar to that of any ‘ordinary’ teen.

I really loved the relationship between Danni and Rose and how it grew organically. I loved how honest and open they were with each other. I love how they grew as a couple.

Another great thing about this were the friendships. I loved Molly and Eleanor and thought they were two great friends and supporting characters. I really liked seeing Molly and Roses friendship over the course of the book, and how they began to learn to navigate their differences and their problems. I thought that was really important and special and it can show the trauma that can come alongside grief, and how people react differently.

All in all, I really loved this book and I would highly recommend it!

Euphoria x Young Royals in this superb boarding-school royal romance.

If there is one thing people know about me as a reader, it is that I don’t enjoy drama. Relationship drama (not strictly romantic) in my books is simply something I avoid, and this book is fuelled by such conflicts.
So, it should stand as a testament to Sophie Gonzales storytelling and writing that despite this book centring around the interpersonal character conflicts and relationships, I loved this book.

Nobody in Particular made for addictive reading, the kind of story that can easily be devoured in one sitting (partially because if you’re like me, you’re so stressed for the characters that you *need* to get to that happy ending).

Tonally, this book reached far darker places than I had expected (do as I say, not as I do and check the trigger warnings!), but never did any of the characters struggles with trauma or mental illness feel like it was not earnt. Yes, the characters suffer (a lot), and we see them reach their lowest lows, but more importantly, we see the journey after “rock bottom” and we get to see Danni and Rose heal and flourish as individuals as well as with each other.

Anyone who enjoys stories with flawed but lovable characters, forbidden romances and journeys of self-discovery will find the pain that this book brings (So. Much. Pain.) worth every moment of suffering for the payoff.

The book definitely feels like Young Royals so if that's your jam, read this book! We follow a princess at a boarding school with another girl from a scholarship background.

The author's writing is good but I found it difficult to find myself reaching for it. As much as I enjoyed it, I will say that the speed felt very slow. It was difficult to engage with the text as it felt like it was taken ages to get to the plot and in general the book focused more on character than plot which is not what I'm used to. I'm used to the plot and characterization balancing each other out but it definitely felt like the characterization took centre stage here - which was a surprise as that's usually not the case in the author's other books.

Nobody in Particular is a book that reminds me why I love Sophie Gonzales’ writing. Her writing makes me feel … elated. Even when I’m upset over what’s happening on the page, reading her books makes me feel a deep sense of joy. I love her style, and I always adore her characters.

I read a somewhat similar book years back, which this reminds me of, except, this is better. This feels perfectly executed, and is such a lovely, and kind of hopeful story. I would read this again. I will be buying this after release.

This book definitely has Young Royals vibes, but is different enough to be it's own book. I feel that it will be constantly compared but I think if you like Young Royals, you will like Nobody in Particular.

Danni starts a new school on a scholarship in a completely different country, where the princess, Rose, of that country attends. Both characters have pasts that they're working through.

I loved the found friendship and relationships in the story. The bit that stood out to be was Rose and Molly's friendship and storyline.

There was nothing said about language, which I thought was interesting. I'm guessing at such a good school they would all speak English but it's very easy to switch back to your native language. Everyone spoke English, but I was expecting some lines of, character spoke in Dutch and they translated for Danni.

Sophie Gonzales reliably writes one of my favourite romance books every year and this year is no different. In a book that feels like the sapphic version of Red White and Royal Blue we follow a princess at boarding school when she falls in love with an American teenager and the two start a secret relationship. As with my favourite Sophie Gonzales book (Never Ever Getting Back Together) the female friendships are a highlight of this book as they are so thoughtfully handled and given so much depth. I also loved the romance and the character development of the two main characters and this was just such a cute and perfect ya romance.

I unfortunately lost motivation to continue reading this around half way through. It just reminded me of another book I recently read too much and so I think I would enjoy it more at a future date. I did really enjoy the characyer development though and there was nothing wrong with the writing, just wasn't for me at this time.

Nobody in Particular is a cute sapphic romance and an interesting take on young royals.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this read. It's so heartwarming to read and the intimacy was tasteful and appropriate for YA.
I really enjoyed the setting and the supporting characters.

This was really cute, and there was some great character development and growth, but I think the story was just a little slow, which was a shame because I'm usually very entertained and love all of the authors previous books.

Young Royals meets Red, White and Royal Blue.

American teenager Danni starts boarding school in a British-style, made up European country where Princess Rose also attends. The two quickly meet and start to fall in love, but the future queen cannot be a lesbian, so the two have to keep their relationship a secret.

This book has the usual plot points and issues you’d expect from a royal-commoner romance, but Sophie Gonzales puts her own twist on it that keeps it fresh and entertaining.

This was Sophie Gonzales at her best. The teenage angst, the high school drama, the messy break ups. I loved every minute I spent with Rose and Danni. And if you like sapphic romance and high school drama, definitely pick up this book.

Unfortunately had to DNF at 43%

It isn’t a bad story, and I wouldn’t be against coming back to it in the future, but I think for me right now I couldn’t get my teeth into it.

I enjoyed the characters, rose was incredibly fun and interesting and danni had plenty of merits too, but I couldn’t get along with the story and found that it lulled a lot for me

Other readers will probably enjoy this immensely, but I fear I’ve perhaps outgrown this kind of story <3

⭐⭐⭐
Rep: Bisexual MC, Lesbian MC, Sapphic Romance

💗Sapphic YA Romance
🏫Boarding School Setting
👑Crown Princess x Scholarship Student
👫Focus on complicated friendships

"Being in a relationship that doesn't work out is life. Getting into a relationship you know won't work is masochism"

"You don't look fine, " says Eleanor, "You look pale."
"I am pale"

"And how long has Rose been queer?"
"Since birth I would imagine"

"Your life is bigger than Danni, and hers is bigger than you."

What I Liked
1) I really loved Rose's character development as she definitely is a character that grows on you. I love the trop of the love interest being really guarded but then letting the MC in.

2) The romance in here was swoon-worthy and I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading this. The banter between the characters was to my taste and I loved seeing the moments between them when they were truly emotionally vulnerable. However, I do think that the author was trying to make us believe in forever too soon. This is basically the sapphic version of Young Royals (you'll see what I mean further in my review) but obviously in one standalone book, the romance isn't as developed. So, in Young Royals I am rooting for them to give up everything for each other but in this book it's just way more unbelievable as we haven't had enough time of seeing them happy as the conflict was so quickly introduced.

3) The way this author handled trauma and the use of drugs and alcohol underage was really responsible and I think a lot of teens could feel themselves represented in these characters.

4) I loved how the female friendships in here were complicated and didn't feel surface level. I love when romance books explore friendship as well.

5) There was a scene where a character is kissed without consent pretty forcibly and I liked how the author took that very seriously and didn't just laugh it off as a drunken moment like a lot of other author's would.

What I Disliked
Ok, so usually this is where I give out a list of what I disliked. However, I only have one problem with this books but its a major one: this is basically the sapphic version of Young Royals. I knew this going into the book but I thought it would be a new spin on the story but a lot of the plot beats felt very much the same. The author's note does say this book was written before Young Royals was even a thing but it didn't get picked up because publishers believed there was no market for it. I've said this for years, but if Young Royals had been sapphic, it wouldn't have got more than one season. Therefore, I'm glad that Young Royals' success has created a space for more diverse takes on these tropes to be published but I think the author should have done a full rewrite, not just a few changes, after the show came out because there is just too much similarity. While I was reading, I couldn't help but compare between the two and to me Young Royals is a masterpiece (like its my favourite TV show ever) so it was just unfair to this book as I think if I read this before watching the show, this totally would have been 5 stars.

Summary
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who hasn't watched Young Royals or is looking for a story that feels very much the same. I just don't think this book did anything new to become a new favourite.

Thank you to Netgalley, Hatchette Children's Group and Sophie Gonzales for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

DNF at 40%. I have loved reading Gonzales' books in the past, and I was really excited for this one. It was a strong start, but I just got so bored partway through that I lost all motivation to read it. I might come back to it in the future, but for now it's a DNF.