Review By Veronica
The Royals Upstairs is a steamy workplace romance that is oh-so-delicious to read.
Favourite Quote:
Suddenly my whole body feels like it’s been jerked back into the past. The woman’s voice is so acutely familiar that I have to blink a few times to try and ground myself to the present.
This can’t be.
“Who is that?” I find myself whispering.
“Oh, that’s their nanny,” Ottar says.
And it’s then that she turns around so that I can see her face. I know her name before Ottar can even give it to me.
“Laila,” he says.
Goodreads Synopsis:
He’s the royal bodyguard. She’s the royal nanny. The annoyingly hot attraction that simmers between them—that’s a royal pain.
James Hunter has made a tactical error. His new role as protection officer to Prince Magnus of Norway was supposed to be an exciting change. Instead he’s marooned on a royal estate in the middle of nowhere charged with chasing after demon children and dodging the machinations of meddling staff. And the crowning jewel in this little drama—the children’s nanny is none other than Laila Bruset. The woman whose heart he broke. The woman who still holds his.
When Laila took the job as a nanny for the Norwegian royal children in order to be closer to her ailing grandmother in Oslo, the last thing she expected was to have her life turned upside down—again. But as much as James gets on her nerves, he’s also getting under her skin, and the tension between them sizzles just as devastatingly as before.
As undeniable sparks turn James and Laila’s battle royal into a more serious game of hearts, nanny and bodyguard will have to decide just how much they’re willing to risk for a second chance at love.
I will admit it took me a few chapters to get into this book. I’m not sure why things just weren’t clicking for me at the beginning, but once the story started to pick up, I became more engrossed with what was unfolding on the pages. I love a good bodyguard, second chance, and force proximity romance, and this delivers that in spades. The story itself has everything a romance bookworm could want; there is plenty of angry, lusty tension, funny moments, and moments that are just going to have you in tears. Fans of Karina’s books will be delighted to know that characters from her past books appear in this story. This is my first Karina book, and I gotta say that I fell head over heels in love with the charismatic and hilarious Prince Magnus and from the moment this man appeared on the page, I knew I needed more of him. I was so delighted to see that Magnus and Ella have their own book called Wild Heir, which I will be reading asap.
If you are looking for a winter romance but don’t want all the Christmas hoopla that often comes with that winter setting, then this book is for you. The winter setting was utterly perfect for this story, and it helped create this sense of isolation that made this book feel more intimate. The story itself moves at a pretty steady pace. Karina has included some time-slipping (flashbacks), and I thought she did a great job using this story element to show readers what happened between Laila and James prior to the beginning of this book.
I absolutely adored all the secondary characters in this book. They added warmth, charm, and laughter to the story. Laila’s relationship with her grandmother really stood out for me. Anyone who has had a close relationship with a grandparent will understand Laila’s strong bond with her grandmother. It was so touching watching them interact with each other. I felt honored to get a small glimpse into their relationship. It was their relationship that both warmed and broke my heart.
Laila and James were good MCs. Laila is a different kind of heroine. She is not necessarily prickly, but she has a lot of walls built up around her. She is a loner, and as a reader, it’s hard to understand who she really is. We have to work on peeling back those layers to see the more vulnerable side of Laila. James is this interesting blend of cocky ladies’ man with some pretty heavy emotional baggage. He’s utterly terrified of the idea of being in any sort of romantic relationship, and his fear leads Laila and James to the ugly part the first time they get together. It was interesting watching James grapple with his past and learn to heal with the help of a devious Prince.
This is a steamy romance. If you like a romance that bangs, you will enjoy Laila and James’s lusty relationship. There are plenty of sex scenes, and surprisingly, a lot of them take place in public places. Laila and James’ relationship is mostly physical. There are a few quiet moments between these two, but their strong connection is more on the physical side. Snarky, angry banter is pure catnip for me, and there is plenty of that in this book because Laila and James are forced to be together because they work in the same house. Both characters have some pretty heavy emotional baggage that they have to deal with in this book. That baggage is the main hurdle that they have to overcome if they ever want to be together. You are going to love this story if you like: forced proximity, workplace romance, one bed, forbidden romance, bodyguard, second chance, a grand gesture, and insta lust.
The Royals Upstairs is a steamy banger romance perfect for any bookworm who loves a bodyguard story.
Thank you, Berkley Publishing, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
