'Royal We' by Heather Cocks, Jessica Morgan: Deep beach book

The Royal We

By Heather Cocks

and Jessica Morgan

Grand Central.

464 pp. $26

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Reviewed by

Jen A. Miller

nolead ends Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love. Happy ending, right? Especially when boy happens to be the Prince of England? Not quite, at least not in The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, which uses the real-life relationship of Prince William and Kate Middleton as a springboard.

The initial courtship and declaration of love come early. It's what comes after that makes this an entertaining read - but also a sharp critique of how we treat celebrities and what happens to people always in the paparazzi glare - especially those who didn't ask for it.

Bex is an American studying at Oxford University (Cocks' father is British, and she lived there from age 6 to 13). William is Prince Nicholas, the future king. They meet on her first day in Oxford. She dates one of his best friends. He cycles through a series of maybe-girlfriends approved by his father. Then the two crash into each other.

That's not the fairy-tale ending, though. Because of intense media glare, the couple keep their relationship a secret. When the media catch wind of romance, they hound Bex and her twin sister, who is much more interested in the accoutrements of hanging out with royalty than Bex is. When the relationship is made official, Bex is transformed into the possible wife of a future king. In the process, she loses a bit of herself and of her grasp on the relationship that makes her the envy of the world.

Cocks and Morgan write the celebrity fashion blog GoFugYourself.com, which they cofounded 2004. They've also written two young-adult novels, Spoiled and Messy. Those books focus on the lives of two American half-sisters who meet later in life. The specific focus falls on Molly, who finds out upon her mother's death that her father is a blockbuster action hero.

The Royal We is a smart step for the duo and matches one of their site's focuses: international royalty. They know that lavishing attention on people with adulation and wealth based on birth is slightly ridiculous, but that we still find them interesting. Tiaras are still pretty, and daydreaming about being swept off your feet by a handsome prince is sometimes nice.

But Cocks and Morgan also know that daydreams should stay daydreams because the reality is much harsher. That's what elevates The Royal We from just a good beach book to a beach book with a message - while remaining entertaining enough to keep your butt in your beach chair.