The Heir Apparent: Reese's Book Club Pick
4.2 | 916 ratings
Price: 14.99
Last update: 12-30-2025
Product details
- ASIN : B0DHV2R66B
- Publisher : Cardinal
- Accessibility :
- Publication date : December 2, 2025
- Language : English
- File size : 2.1 MB
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 409 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-1538776322
- Page Flip : Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank:#54 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Family Life Fiction (Kindle Store)
- Family Life Fiction (Books)
- Women's Romance Fiction
- Customer Reviews:4.24.2 out of 5 stars(723)
Top reviews from the United States
- Amazon CustomerInfinite star read ⭐️I’m speechless! This book was so so good. I flew through it in two days. I didn’t want to put it down! It was so well written and such a great story. I love that the story line was nothing like I’ve read before!
- RobinA Decent Read with a Couple of Personal Caveats3.5/5 stars
I found this a pretty good read, but it was not really what I was expecting based on the cover (and yes, I can be one of those).
The premise here is that a black sheep ("rebellious") princess who has found a new life and new goals in Australia must return to Great Britain as she unexpectedly becomes heir apparent to the throne. The story follows her ins & outs as she readjusts to the notoriety/expectations of being the royal heir. She has decisions to make involving legacies, loyalties, and personal aspirations. Can she have it all?
This story had a bit more darkness to it than I was expecting. I anticipated mostly "fluff", maybe some humor and a sweet romance. The romance is very minorly on the page, but yes, the "fluff" and humor are there at times. However, this book highlights the power and prestige behind the royal lives...the good, the bad and the ugly/evil. In this case we see how power can corrupt, and I found myself surprised by the evolution of certain characters who appeared more sympathetic in the beginning of the book but turned out to be quite different than initially portrayed...which is most likely a truism in the royalty realms. While I liked watching the thought process and evolution of Princess Alexandrina as she struggles toward her goal to be both a good steward for her people and to remain true to her own personal goals for her life.
My caveat here and it was a bothersome one as my frustration with Lexi (the princess) at times. Yes, she had an impossible decision to make, but I found her easily pulled back into royal life after having been on her own for quite a few years and apparently enjoying that. She is surrounded by secrets and lies and yet (until close to the ending of the book), she feels like a doormat to me in her ambivalence in defending good from evil. She seemed too easily swayed. And I was absolutely disappointed and angry by how she treated her best friend/love interest during her reintroduction to the aristocracy. I actually found myself rooting for him to find someone more deserving of him. She does redeem herself, but that part of the story left a bit of a sour taste for me.
It was interesting as a reader to see some of the behind-the-scenes maneuverings of the privileged, and there were echoes of very real stories going on in the royal family currently.
All in all, a decent story with a couple of personal caveats. - PALWhat’s not to likeI really liked it! It was like reading parts of the crown series, not exactly following real life royalty but enough to make the comparisons entertaining while being it’s own story.
- CL in Dallascouldn’t put it down.This is an excellent work. So good, that I couldn’t believe it’s the author’s first novel. It’s a challenging story about difficult choices and learning to accept the truth. Yes there are similarities to the royal family, but they make the story even more interesting and engrossing. This is one you’ll be mentally revisiting for a long time.
- MindyBMore PleaseI didn't want this story to end. I turned the page expecting the next chapter and was just disappointed it was over.
- Get Your Tinsel in a TangleI’d Like to Formally Abdicate From My Feelings NowThis audiobook? This audiobook is what would happen if "The Princess Diaries" ran away to Australia, did a medical residency, and came back with grief, a secret, and several trust issues. "The Heir Apparent" is royal chaos served with a side of romantic longing and emotional whiplash, and Shakira Shute’s narration absolutely understood the assignment. Like, girl delivered accents, tears, sarcasm, and awkward palace tension with the finesse of someone who’s been training in Buckingham’s shadow her whole life.
Our girl Lexi Villiers, sorry, Princess Alexandrina (a name that sounds like it should come with its own tax bracket), is just out here trying to survive med school, kiss her bestie Jack, and NOT get chased by paparazzi. But then boom: royal tragedy via helicopter arrival. Daddy? Gone. Twin brother? Gone. Quiet bush life? Evaporated. Lexi goes from "hot mess in scrubs" to "next in line for the crown" faster than you can say "constitutional crisis," and she does not want the job.
Back in London, she’s met with the kind of cold hostility usually reserved for ex-royals and women who dare to have opinions. There’s a grieving sister-in-law whose poker face is doing the most, an uncle who’s serving full Shakespearean villain energy, and a nation waiting to see if Lexi will reclaim the role she swore she never wanted. Also, there’s this weird little plot thread about "witch marks" that had me raising a brow and whispering “what in the 'Diana' cosplay is happening here?”
Let’s talk structure. The shifting timelines? Occasionally chaotic. Like, I get that we’re jumping between Trauma Then and Trauma Now, but the transitions could’ve used a royal handler. There were moments where I had to mentally scream “what year is it?” But, and this is crucial, Shakira Shute carried those shifts. Her voice work kept the emotional threads taut even when the plot was spiraling into "palace drama but make it meditative."
The romance with Jack is sweet, if slightly backgrounded. It’s more of a soft ache than a sweep-you-off-your-feet story, which actually fits the tone. This isn’t a fairytale makeover. This is "you ghosted your birthright and now the monarchy needs a backup plan" territory. What makes it land is Lexi’s genuine character arc. She’s not choosing between two dudes. She’s choosing between versions of herself, and honestly? That’s where the audiobook slaps hardest, in those quiet moments where Shute gives breath to Lexi’s grief, guilt, and that gnawing feeling of “am I even allowed to want anything for myself?”
Is it perfect? No. The ending feels like it put on a tiara and peaced out before answering all our questions. I wanted just a bit more fallout. A bit more reckoning. You don’t just drop a royal bombshell and then fade to credits like it’s the end of a Netflix mini-series, okay? Some of us are emotionally invested.
But still. This audiobook turned what could’ve been a standard "girl gets crown" story into a messy, heartfelt interrogation of power, identity, and legacy, with just enough British shade to make it addictive. Four stars for the narration alone, and bonus points for making me yell “just say it to her face, Amira!” while cooking pasta.
Huge thanks to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for letting me get my little gremlin hands on the audiobook early. I popped in my headphones thinking I was getting “royal fiction with a splash of drama” and instead got a full emotional monarchy meltdown narrated like a velvet dagger.