In her debut novel, The Heir Apparent, Rebecca Armitage delivers a reimagined British royal family, one full of secrets.
Lexi loves her life in Tasmania: she has excellent friends and is in her second year of her medical residency. She is also third in line to the throne of the United Kingdom. When her father and brother die together in a skiing accident, she is thrust back into the world she fled after her mother's tragic death. With a scheming uncle, her brother's social-climbing widow, and her grandmother--the queen herself--all trying to sway her, Lexi has a year to decide if she will accept the crown or return to her quiet life on the other side of the world.
Armitage successfully draws readers into her complex alternate universe. Lexi is as skilled at political negotiation, public comportment, and keeping royal secrets as she is at home on a farm in Tasmania with her found family while completing her medical residency. Readers will be left guessing until the end about which world, and life, she will choose.
With parallels to the House of Windsor, The Heir Apparent does not shy away from the many quirks and flaws of the royals. It is cognizant of modern critics of the monarchy and the role colonialism has played in shaping the world. Like a grown-up version of Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries, The Heir Apparent brings readers a princess who is mature and messy, relatable and regal, and, above all, intelligent. Readers may have a strong desire to grab the latest issue of Majesty magazine. --Alyssa Parssinen, freelance reviewer and former bookseller