Publishers Weekly
10/30/2023
Keir (The Three Mrs. Wrights) explores the dark side of royalty in a fast-paced contemporary love story that will put readers in mind of the relationship between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. American musician Jennie Jensen teases a latecomer during an intimate concert in Spain only to discover that he’s actually Prince Hugh, the heir apparent to the British throne and a true prince charming. The pair fall into a whirlwind romance and, after Hugh proposes, Jennie is initiated into the life of British royalty. It’s rough going: who knew it was possible to curtsey too deeply? Soon, she starts receiving threatening notes originating from inside the palace. Who wants to break Hugh and Jennie up and why? That mystery is intercut with flashbacks to Hugh and Jennie’s very different upbringings, showing how Jennie’s birth mother fought her adopted parents for custody and detailing the tense marriage between King Edmund and Princess Penelope, a thinly veiled analog to Princess Diana. Keir ends the tale with a bang, revealing the truth about both the plane crash that killed Penelope and the threats to Jennie. With empathy and emotion—plus a large supporting cast with questionable motives—Keir reveals the cracks in the princess fantasy, even when one has the perfect prince. Royal romance fans will be hooked. (Jan.)
Kristin Contino
Filled with romance, mystery, and plenty of royal Easter eggs, The Royal Game sparkles as brightly as the crown jewels. While fans might think they’ve heard Jennie and Hugh’s story before, this palace page-turner will keep readers guessing until the last page.”
internationally bestselling author of The Revenge Hannah Mary McKinnon
High stakes and high royals, a splash of mystery, and a dash of romance make The Royal Game a fun, fast, and highly entertaining read!”
multi-award-winning author of Hop Scot Catriona McPherson
With delicious, meticulous detail, a heart melter of a love story, and a slow burn of a murder plot—plus a ton of sheer moxie—The Royal Game made me laugh out loud, cry real tears, and punch the air. It’s a right royal feast and I devoured it.”
Booklist
While the writing duo Linda Keir takes cues from the actual UK royal family, they offer their own fresh, layered, and gripping mystery.”
Publisher’s Weekly
Keir remains a writer to watch.”
Library Journal
11/01/2023
Under the pen name Keir, coauthors Linda Joffe Hull and Keir Groff (The Three Mrs. Wrights) write a hybrid novel of romance and mystery. When pop singer Jennie Jensen delivers a little sass to a late arrival to her concert, she doesn't know that the target of her derision is the Prince of Wales. His Royal Highness, Hugh, then invites Jennie to a late-night dinner; one thing leads to another, and soon Jennie is engaged to Hugh and in the middle of planning a royal wedding. Hugh and Jennie bear a certain resemblance to Harry and Meghan, down to Jennie being an American, and Hugh's mother, Princess Penelope, dying young, though in a plane crash. Besides the expected culture clash of a royal heir marrying an American from Peoria, IL, Jennie also comes to fear that someone in or around the royal circle may be trying to poison her. From notes Penelope left behind, it appears that Hugh's mother also had the same concerns. VERDICT Readers who can't get enough of England's royal family will enjoy this book; Jennie is a fun character whose Prince Charming loves her.—Jennie Mills
APRIL 2024 - AudioFile
Listeners who love the monarchy will snap up this royal romance narrated by Shiromi Arserio, with additional narration from Barrie Kreinik as the voice of the late Princess Penelope. Singer Jennie Jensen meets and falls for Prince Hugh, heir to the UK throne. As she prepares for marriage, she suspects that Hugh's mother, Princess Penelope, was murdered and worries she might be next. Arserio voices Jennie as a grounded woman who stumbles through royal protocol and paparazzi encounters with comic effect. The royal circle sounds suitably remote, while Hugh's voice is consistently devoted and modern. Kreinik portrays Princess Penelope as elegant and distraught over the royal machinations. The audio isn't high energy, but details of palace life, along with the sinister plot, will capture listeners' attention. C.A. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2023-10-21
An American singer-songwriter finds herself thrust into the spotlight—and danger—when she falls for a prince.
Jennie Jensen is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter who so far has one hit song and is hoping for more. She’s focused on her solo acoustic tour of the Mediterranean, not on finding love—that is, until Hugh, Prince of Wales, attends one of her shows. The two embark on a whirlwind romance, and he soon proposes, meaning that Jennie will be part of the royal family. For a girl from Illinois, being married to the future King of England is unbelievable. But life among royalty isn’t all glamour—the press doesn’t always love Hugh’s unpolished American fiancee, and not everyone in Hugh’s family is welcoming to an outsider. But she soon starts to suspect that more than snobbishness may be involved when she receives a threatening note claiming that Hugh’s mother couldn’t survive in the royal family, and neither will Jennie. Hugh’s mother, Princess Penelope, died in a private plane crash when Hugh was just a teenager, and Keir alternates Jennie’s point of view with Penelope’s thoughts, including entries from her private diary. Penelope, as it turns out, was also not necessarily adored by some members of the royal family—and, as Jennie begins to suspect, that plane crash may not have been an accident after all. As the reader discovers in Penelope’s diary entries, more sinister forces may have been at work—and soon, Jennie realizes that those same forces may be out to get her, and they won’t stop until she’s far away from the royal family. By adding in some murderous intrigue, Keir freshens up the frequently used royal-romance trope.
A compelling read that’s mysterious, romantic, and perfect for anyone obsessed with the royal family.
