In The Royals Upstairs by Karina Halle, sparks fly and complications arise when a bodyguard reunites with his ex, the royal nanny. It’s romance with a side of royal chaos!

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When James started his new position as a bodyguard for the royal family of Norway, the last thing he expected was to run into his former coworker – and the current royal nanny – Laila. As if trying to peacefully live and work with an ex whom he had a passionate affair with and then ghosted wasn’t hard enough, James could not have prepared himself for Magnus, the wild heir of Norway. Between an unpredictable boss, the two rambunctious royal children, and an old flame that’s burning brighter and brighter with each encounter, James is in for an eventful ride. 

The Royals Upstairs has such a wonderful tie-in to Halle’s previous novel, The Wild Heir, that I really wish this was marketed as a sequel to that romance, rather than a standalone marketed in the same vein as The Royals Next Door. For me, Laila and James fell a bit flat as a couple; I thought the best parts of their story was when they were both interacting with others: Magnus, the kids, the other staff, even Laila’s grandmother. If you love the bodyguard/nanny dynamic and don’t need anything to really set it apart from that, then James and Laila have a wonderful, spicy little romance for you. But, if you need something more than just their jobs to make a romance pop for you, these two might be a little bland. 

Even with many chapters of backstory, I still ended up feeling like I don’t know these two main characters well. James drinks a lot; Laila doesn’t visit her grandmother as much as she’d like. Outside of that, they didn’t really socialize or do anything worth noting. For these two characters, their life is just work and denying their feelings for each other for as long as possible. Luckily, they have Prince Magnus as a boss. If you’ve read The Wild Heir, it’s worth noting that Magnus has not only not settled down much in terms of his escapades, but his two sons are on the way to inheriting his wild genes. If you haven’t read Magnus’s story, James and Laila’s story is still enjoyable. However, it often felt like Magnus was the star of the show whenever he was in the scene, and some of that rebellious nature might be lost on readers if this is your first encounter with him. 

Overall, this was a good bodyguard/nanny romance, but I found the best parts to be the times both main characters were interacting with other people. While it was wonderful to see what Magnus has been up to, and getting hints at what might be happening soon for him, it was odd for me, as a reader, to rely so much on a secondary character to make the overall story work. Even Laila’s interactions with her grandmother brought up more emotion for me than anything that Laila had with James. 

Was this romance steamy? Most definitely. Did it fall a little flat in areas? Also most definitely. I love Karina Halle’s books, and will read whatever genre she writes in, but this was not my favorite contemporary romance from her. 

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