The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage
Format: eBook (NetGalley)
Publication Date: 2 December 2025
Author info: Instagram | Goodreads
💠My thoughts...
2/5 stars
Right off the bat, I'll say that this book wasn't for me.
The idea is an intriguing one, but there were too many similarities to, and caricatures of, the real life Royal Family for me to be able to immerse myself fully in the story - I kept feeling jarred out of what I was reading by thinking of where the author drew her inspiration (Richard and his two daughters are very similar to Andrew, Beatrice and Eugenie, Lexi and Louis' mum died young in a tragic accident just like Diana, and their dad had a second wife that struggled for public approval just like Camilla).
I also struggled with the likability (or lack thereof) of all of the characters. I understand that intention may well have been to make the characters feel very human and realistic, but I made it through the entire book not really rooting for any single character, which makes connecting to the story challenging.
The timehops were written in such a way that, while they were correctly labelled and (in theory) easy to follow, that I found it difficult to keep up with what time period I was in. The flow of the book didn't feel natural to me at all.
I did enjoy the views we got of Louis' life and how he chose to live it, and it's a shame that there wasn't more of that throughout the book, as he was the only character that I felt somewhat intrigued by.
Like I say, not for me.
📖 Synopsis...
Lexi has been estranged from her family for years, but when her twin brother dies in a tragic accident, she is faced with a choice - take up her role as heir to the throne, or continue to live her new life in Australia while handing the line of succession over to her power-hungry devious uncle.
