The Royals Upstairs

Karina Halle is an author I enjoyed several years ago (she wrote some of the first adult romances I’d ever read, including Love, in English, its sequel Love, in Spanish, and The Pact). I’ve been wanting to read more from her for a while, and at long last, I’m back with her newest release, The Royals Upstairs. This novel is a sequel to her 2021 book The Royals Next Door, and also heavily involves characters from The Wild Heir (itself part of a different series). However, this one works as a standalone.

The Royals Upstairs is actually about the “staff downstairs,” though the working relationship is far more friendly and integrated than that. James has just been hired as a bodyguard to protect Norway’s Prince Magnus, his wife Ella, and their two sons, Bjorn and Tor. Their nanny is Laila… a woman James had a brief fling with two years ago when they both worked for a royal family in England. It didn’t end well between them, but now they will be working together and spending a lot of time in close proximity. Can their relationship get a second chance? Should they even try, given that they’re not supposed to “fraternize” as co-workers?

As before, I enjoy Karina Halle’s writing style. It’s easy to fall into, quick-paced and conversational yet angsty and emotional. The characters jump off the page, both the main protagonists and supporting cast, and I loved the setting and the many deeper themes.

Tropes & Narrative Devices:

• Second chance romance
• Exes to enemies to lovers
• Forced proximity
• Workplace romance
• Dual first-person POVs (James & Laila)
• Dual timeline (two years ago and now)

What I Liked:

• Norway setting! I haven’t read enough books set in Norway, and I enjoyed getting to know the country here. The author was previously a travel journalist, but she also has Norwegian family, and it shows in how she writes about Norway. The characters get to explore some of the more touristic parts of Oslo, go to the small town that’s far away where Laila grew up, and see the Northern Lights. I loved all of this, plus the bits of Norwegian language throughout. (It’s not too much for those, like me, who don’t speak the language, and is usually translated.)
• Themes around mental health and neurodivergence. There’s a lot in this novel, both with the protagonists and secondary characters. Prince Magnus and his son Bjorn both have ADHD. Laila’s grandmother has dementia in her old age. James had depression in the aftermath of his divorce years earlier. I appreciate that all of these are shown with sensitivity and care. It all comes across as very realistic and nuanced.
• This is my favorite kind of second-chance romance: the kind where they’re exes and sort of enemies and have to find their way back to each other. James and Laila were together two years earlier, but it was mostly a sexual relationship and it ended badly. Laila has harbored anger towards James ever since, and she’s not keen on working with him again, let alone being friends or anything more. The novel goes back and forth in time, showing Laila’s perspective on what went down two years ago, and both perspectives on how things are going now. Can James redeem himself and have a new chance at a relationship with Laila? Can she let him in again? Moreover, will he let her in all the way?
• James is Scottish, was a child in the foster care system, and is now divorced. He has scars from his childhood and failed marriage, yet there’s a playfulness to him when he’s not on the job.
• Laila is Norwegian and a dark girlie. She had a troubled childhood only made worse when her parents died; she was raised by her beloved grandmother after that. She balances out a certain youthfulness (love of stuffed animals, for example) with being a little angsty (metalhead!).
• This royal family is so laid back and chaotic! I enjoyed Prince Magnus, Ella, and their kids, plus the other royal staff. Not what I’d expect from a royal family! I will have to read Magnus and Ella’s book, The Wild Heir.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

• James comes on too strong once they’re in each other’s orbit again in Norway. Laila is clear that she doesn’t want anything, but he’s persistent, and then she reciprocates his interests against her will. She immediately regrets it and tells him to back off. So on her end she seems conflicted, but I wish James gave her a bit more space at first.

Final Thoughts

The Royals Upstairs balances angst, emotions, and deeper themes with a healthy dose of fun and chaos. Even with all that’s woven into this novel, it never feels like too much. Instead, it feels like a glimpse into real lives, messy as they are. The central romance feels serious, but there are glimpses of the cheer that these two can have together once they get past what’s kept them apart. I enjoyed this book, and while it works as a standalone, I am excited to read the other books it’s connected to, The Royals Next Door and The Wild Heir.

Special thanks to the publicists at Penguin Random House, Berkley, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy The Royals Upstairs here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

The Royals Upstairs by Karina Halle
Series	(#2)
Audience	Adult
Genre	Contemporary Romance
Setting	Norway; England
Number of Pages	352
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	September 10, 2024
Publisher	Berkley

Official Summary

He’s the royal bodyguard. She’s the royal nanny. The annoyingly hot attraction that simmers between them—that’s a royal pain.

James Hunter has made a tactical error. His new role as protection officer to Prince Magnus of Norway was supposed to be an exciting change. Instead he’s marooned on a royal estate in the middle of nowhere charged with chasing after demon children and dodging the machinations of meddling staff. And the crowning jewel in this little drama—the children’s nanny is none other than Laila Bruset. The woman whose heart he broke. The woman who still holds his.

When Laila took the job as a nanny for the Norwegian royal children in order to be closer to her ailing grandmother in Oslo, the last thing she expected was to have her life turned upside down—again. But as much as James gets on her nerves, he’s also getting under her skin, and the tension between them sizzles just as devastatingly as before.

As undeniable sparks turn James and Laila’s battle royal into a more serious game of hearts, nanny and bodyguard will have to decide just how much they’re willing to risk for a second chance at love.