Thursday, July 7, 2016

The Royal We: A Slice of Brie Book Club


(I've already mentioned this on the blog before, but you get to hear about it again, just more in depth): 
This isn't my "typical" go-to book.  I just don't often pick up "chick lit" as my first (second, or third, or fourth...) option.  Don't know why.  Just don't.  That's probably for another post.  But... I do like to read and pay attention to what other book lovers are reading and saying about books.  Of the people that read this book, I'm not sure I saw a bad word said about it.  I like to step out of my "norm" or my comfort zone and grab something different (for me), so I went to my local library page to add this to my reserve list.

Wait...what's that?  Sydney libraries don't have this book?  What?  Aren't we, like, part of the English Commonwealth and have all kinds of love for The Royals?? 

So, Kristen, my fellow expat, but opposite (I'm an American in Australia; she's an Australian in America) unexpectedly saved the day, and sent me the book when I complained about it not being at the library.  How good are unexpected gifts??
Then, it sat on my bookshelf for a month or so.  Megan announced her Semi-Charmed Summer Book Challenge categories, and I thought "Hey! The Royal We!  That's 'punny'!"

Then, I continued to read my usual psycho killer/thriller/dark/ugly books.  I needed a break.  The Royal We was that perfect break. 

Is this a "perfect" book?  No.  Did I give it a five-star rating anyway?  Yes.  Call it perfect timing, but I needed something a little fun & frivolous, light-but-not-too-light of a story with endearing characters.  That was this book.  I laughed.  I cried.  Yes, I shed tears.  Real tears during the ups and downs of this relationship.  And, the book is about friendships, family relationships, and more.  I'd shake my head at the ridiculousness of some of it and feel other parts tug at the ol' heartstrings. Overall, it was pure delight.

If "chick lit" or love stories are your type of read, you need to read this book.

If you want to step out of your comfort zone, like I did, I recommend this book as well.



Linking..... with Kristen and Gretchen:

What's New With You

What's new with me???  Well, I'm participating for the first time in A Slice of Brie's Book Club.  I've never participated in a book "club" before...oh wait, I did once before, but anyway...I can't promise I'll always participate, but I've found another book lovin' blogger to follow along in her book lovin' posts.

15 comments:

  1. That's exactly how I felt about The Royal We! It wasn't perfect, but it was still a fun read!

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  2. Definitely not perfect, but 100% enjoyable in my opinion! I cried a bit too, which I wasn't expecting. I'm glad you stepped out of your comfort zone and enjoyed this one! And yay for Kristen on "saving the day"! I can't believe your libraries don't have this book! Thanks for joining along this month! That's the beauty of an online book club - you can participate as you see fit :)

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  3. i love my library but i hate that i have to wait years for a popular book. when the martian first came out, i was still waiting for it nearly 2 years later, WTF. so i had to get the ePub from Kristen because dammit, i needed to read it asap.

    i'll be placing that book on hold so i'll be able to read it in the next 10 years or so.

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  4. I need to catch up on reading again. I have a goal to read at least 1 book a month starting from this month.

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  5. I'm reading this for your challenge :) I've heard nothing but good things! I can't wait until my library gets it in!

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  6. I love kristen sent it to you :)
    I LOVEDDDDD this book. But I'm a royal freak & could just envision Will & Kate & Harry the whole time.

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  7. I haven't seen a bad word about this book either and I'm reading it for your challenge. I'm not a huge fan of chick lit in general, but when it is done well (as this seems to be) it is really enjoyable. And I love that Kristen sent it to you - so her!

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  8. I NEED to read the Royal We! I've heard so many people talk about how good it is, and I love chicklit books! Maybe for your next reading challenge :)

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  9. my fellow expat, but opposite <3 hahaha. love it. i really can't tell you how happy i was that you loved this book. made me so happy!!!

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  10. Chick lit is my guilty pleasure (even though I don't usually love it) but I really did love 'The Royal We'! -- Lisa | Naptime Chai

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  11. I may have to add this to my "To Read" list for those times when I need a change from the dark/scary/depressing/etc. stuff I normally read. I don't know why I haven't added it yet. Maybe it's the whole "chick lit" thing. Maybe it's the fact that I'm not really that interested in the royal family. Who knows? I do like to step out of my comfort zone once in a while, though, so this might be the right book for that.

    I love that Kristen saved the day by sending it to you! I hate when my library doesn't have a book I really want to read. They do give you the opportunity to submit up to 5 purchase requests every month (which is very awesome!), but it's not like they always order everything. (And really, how could they? They don't have unlimited funding.) I've also run into an issue where they say they've ordered a book but then I can't locate it in the catalog. And I don't mean that they tell me it's been ordered, and then I can't find it in the catalog 3 days later. I mean that they tell me it's been ordered and then I can't find it 6 months later. I don't understand that. I really need to contact them about a couple of books like this, but I've had plenty of other books to keep me busy ... So it always just gets pushed to the back burner.

    Anyway, this comment is getting too long. Basically I'm glad you enjoyed this book, and I'm adding it to my list. Oh, and I also need to comment on several of your other posts. I've been reading everything, but I've been terrible about leaving comments lately. Whomp whomp. I will soon. :-)

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  12. So cool to have an opposite expat who sends you lovely books! I'm all about light reads at the moment, can't deal with anything too stressful. Sounds like a great read to me :)

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  13. Kristen is just the best isn't she? Haha I'm so glad I met her, and you!, through blogging. It's a great thing :) Also I think I'm the only person who hasn't read this book so far..ugh

    Thanks for linking up with us!

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  14. I might have to read it. I tend to like messed up love stories, not cut and dry ones. But I'm in a rut.

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  15. I have this book on my TBR list. I'm definitely not normally a chick lit book reader, either. I like fantasy and thrillers, but if it's one a lot of friends have enjoyed, I'll usually try it.

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