Review Detail

A young adult romance novel, NOBODY IN PARTICULAR, follows Danni and Princess Rosemary as they attend Bramppath College and fall in love. Danni is there on a music scholarship after finally leaving her old school where she was bullied and hated. Princess Rosemary is trying to repair her image after a scandal. She can’t handle another scandal this year. That becomes hard when rumors begin circulating about how close the two girls have gotten.

What I Loved:
The romance in this book was a lot of fun. The girls didn’t get off to the greatest beginning, but that didn’t stop them from growing closer. The book shows us as they grow closer, walls slowly being let down until they can finally connect. Even during some of the rougher moments, of which there are a few in this book, the care between the two characters still underlies the story.

While this is a romance at heart, it doesn’t shy away from talking about heavier topics. Between the two girls many topics including bullying, being closeted, and sacrificing one’s own happiness are discussed. The author doesn’t shy away from some of the more sensitive topics, instead addressing them head on. The characters argue about them, discuss them with their friends, and eventually they must decide how they want to handle some of the topics when pushed against the wall. Each topic is addressed with care, even when Danni and Rose don’t agree on them. The discussions and depictions on how these topics are affecting these girls can get very gritty and real at times. It was a pleasant surprise to not see the author cut corners or sugarcoat the harshness of some of these topics.

Danni and Rose were both excellent main characters. The first person point of view storytelling allows readers to get immersed in their worlds and feelings as they experience their day to day lives. I found that Rose’s feelings were especially poignant as she is working to regain the trust of her country while also dealing with losing the friendship of her best friend. Danni’s emotions aren’t as heavy at times, but they are still weighty. The depictions of these emotions are true. The author writes them in such a way that even if you’ve never experienced that particular emotion, you can understand how it may feel to feel that way.

The scandal that led to the loss of Rose’s friendship with her former best friend Molly is explained, at least on a base-level, relatively early on in the book, but it is also hinted at even earlier. There’s this sense of tension around it, like it’s a huge deal. The reveal of this tension was well executed. Even after you think you have all of the details, there still seems to be more to discover. It had an emotional impact that took me by surprise considering we never meet the other individual involved in the scandal.

What Left Me Wanting More:
There were a couple of different points in time where the story skipped ahead a bit. Sometimes by a couple of days, other times by a couple of weeks. I wish we could have seen some of that in between time. I enjoyed this book. From the main characters to the side characters to the setting. I wanted more time with them. The time jumps also left me feeling like I was missing some of the bonding between the two characters.

Final Verdict:
Between an engaging romance and heavy emotions, NOBODY IN PARTICULAR managed to catch my attention and hold it. The pages felt like they flew by as I delved into these characters’ minds and experienced their turmoil for myself. The author’s skill with evoking emotions left me on the edge of tears more than once. While I wish there had been more time spent with the girls rather than getting time skips, I still heartily enjoyed the book. It's a wonderful YA royal romance. The setting of an all-girls boarding school also added a neat edge as the two closeted girls tried to keep from being caught.

A worthwhile read, NOBODY IN PARTICULAR is a romance with a lot of emotions that doesn’t shy away from discussing some of the downsides to being a teenager and being a royal.