Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for the free advance copy of this book. 

The royal love story of Nick and Bex continues, picking up after their grand wedding. However, instead of a fairytale, it was a nightmare, as a scandalous secret about Bex leaked to the public in the middle of their ceremony. The pair try to pick up the pieces of their relationships while also unraveling some old royal family secrets.  

THE ROYAL WE is one of my favorite books, and it's so wonderful to be reunited with these characters I love so much. Bex remains a delight, as do Nick and Freddie and their crew of friends. Bea in particular got her moment in the sun in this book, and I aspire to be on her organization and planning level some day.  

However, THE HEIR AFFAIR pretty quickly got bogged down in repetitive, circular conversations about the mixed up feelings of Bex, Nick, and Freddie. It felt like it took forever to advance forward even a tiny step, and while that might be realistic for repairing such a relationship breach as depicted here, it doesn't make for a gripping read. I think part of the reason it felt so stuck was that we only got Bex's point of view, so it was hard to see when or if other characters were growing until they told her directly.  

Content warnings: emotional affair, stroke, mental illness stigma, infertility, miscarriage.