Book Review: Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Megan Clawson

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Megan Clawson is a contemporary Romance. From her bedroom in the Tower of London, twenty-six-year-old Maggie has always dreamed of her own fairy-tale ending. Yet this is twenty-first century London, so instead of knights, she has Tinder, and instead of white horses, she has catfish. And with her last relationship ending in spectacular fashion, she swears off men for good. And then a chance encounter with Royal Guard Freddie forces Maggie to admit that she isn’t ready to give up on love just yet. But how do you catch the attention of someone who is trained to ignore all distractions? Can she snare that true love’s first kiss, or is she royally screwed?

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard is a romance with a great premise, a setting I was thrilled to learn more about, and some great characters. I enjoyed Maggie as a character, and the secondary characters in the book are fantastic- in fact I would love a book just about the folk that live (or could live) in the Tower of London. I liked learning about the history, and the reality of what people there might deal with on any given day. I thought the people and the interactions were very well done, with plenty of realistic angst. I did think that Freddie could have gotten a bit deeper, and I would have liked the see some of the story through his eyes or from his perspective. However, my disappointment in the book was because for awhile I was not sure what direction the story was going to take. Was there going to be a mystery storyline, there were definitely moments when I thought there was going to be a theft or something that was going to need solving. There were also several moments when I thought the haunted history of the location was going to play a role in the larger plot line somehow. I just felt like there was a little too much going on, or a few too many pathways the story could take. Frankly, I think any of the paths could have been fantastic, but if none of that was as important as it seemed at the time I could have stood for a few less distractions and just getting a better look at Freddie's character instead. I did enjoy the read, but I thought the storytelling could have been a bit more streamlined. 

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard is a solid debut, and I will give the author another read. 

Book Review: Secret Houses of the Cotswolds by Jeremy Musson, Hugo Rittson Thomas

Secret Houses of the Cotswolds is a nonfiction book written by Jeremy Musson and with photographs by Hugo Rittson Thomas, that takes readers on a personal tour of twenty of the UK’s most beguiling castles, estates, palaces and manor houses in this much-loved area of western England. Estates visited include Daylesford, Stanway, Sudeley Castle and Hilles House. This collection offers privileged access to twenty houses, from castles and manor houses, as well as eighteenth- and nineteenth-century mansions, revealing their history, architecture and interiors, in the company of their devoted owners. Readers will find a series of fascinating country houses of different sizes and atmospheres, which have shaped the English identity. Each house has their own story, but their distinctive honey-colored stone walls, set among rolling hills, in different ways express the ideals of English life. Most of the houses included here are privately owned and not usually open to the public. 

Secret Houses of the Cotswolds is a wonderful book to read if you are a fan of English estates and architecture, or just want to learn more about the styles. The information is well framed in understandable and interesting ways to hold the researcher or curious reader's attention. I will admit that I mostly picked this book up for the photographs. And I was not disappointed. I loved getting a detailed and revealing look at some of these estates. It was just an interesting read, and a visually stunning book that has me going back to glance at my favorite pages again and again. Anyone interested in architecture, decorating, or art will find something to capture their attention in this book. Readers that just love getting an exclusive look at something, or love all things English will also want to take a gander at this beautiful book.