[Review] Nobody in Particular - Sophie Gonzales

Summary: Princess Rosemary of Henland can’t afford distractions. She’s working tirelessly to repair her image following a scandal that lost the trust of both her country and her best friend. Unfortunately, when a beautiful and funny new student joins her boarding school, Rose finds herself quite distracted indeed.

Attending Bramppath College on a music scholarship, talented pianist Danni expects to be an outcast amongst the wealthy children of the elite, but she is pleasantly surprised to be taken in by the ex-best friend of the princess. The more Danni gets to know her new classmates, the more intrigued she becomes by Rose.

When somebody sees something they shouldn’t and rumors circulate throughout Henland, Rose and Danni must either find a way to deflect the ever-increasing eyes on their relationship, or end it altogether. Because one thing is clear: if Rose’s fragile reputation takes any more hits, the palace will do whatever they must to separate Rose and Danni. Forever. (Pub Date: Jun 03 2025)

This book opens with Sophie Gonzales explaining how this comes from a story she wrote long ago, before the queer royalty books became a trend. Hence, the story may have become less different from back when she conceived it. I can't tell what I would have thought then, but I feel this was just the expectable amount of... the expected for a YA romance. 

3.5 rounded up to 4.

This is a girls boarding school romance between the American and the princess of the small reign in Europe. I loved the contrasting personalities for both and I imagine all the years of editing the story did it very good. It's hard to pick a flaw. The pacing is good, the characters act just as the author needs them to. 

Aside from how the main couple was built, I also like how this dealt with substance abuse. Not as the big thing to take the focus out of what we were really here for but as something relevant to the characters and their development. 

It's hard to pick what about the book that it's not a five-star. But I think that was it. As I said I can't tell how the novelty of a queer royalty romance would have gone when the author really wanted it published, but I suspect that my impression would still be that it was a good book to read but that was it. It lacked that Something Else that makes it an unforgettable five-star to me. 

All in all, even if it's not a rare gem, it's a book that I'm sure most readers will enjoy. Plus I love Sophie Gonzales's stories, and you shouldn't miss the opportunity to read any of them.

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 4 out of 5.