TEST
The Heir Affair is an unexpectedly tragic but affecting sequel to Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan’s The Royal We, which liberally reimagined Kate Middleton’s early years with Prince William.
Rebecca and Nick, Duke and Duchess of Clarence and future monarchs of the United Kingdom, are, at the start of the book, in an “Airbnb, which allowed its tenants to live in a flat above the bookstore and run the business for the duration of their stay” after their Wedding of the Century, an historic event most special for the mid-wedding revelation that Rebecca had been sort-of-involved with Nick’s brother, Freddie (there was heavy emotional engagement on both sides and a kiss, but Rebecca went back to Nick). Soon, the aging queen’s uncertain health forces their hand and Rebecca is charged with pulling together the estranged brothers. She also begins a casual inquiry into the mystery of the queen’s late sister, whose former home at Kensington Palace Rebecca and Nick are given. Without spoiling the book, I can say the title allows for multiple interpretations, all of which are correct: The Heir Affair is about heirs past, present, and yet-to-be-conceived, and about affairs both in the sense of general events and in the meaning of adulterous relationships.
The book, split into four acts as if a play, is, I think, really two parts. Part One is a book which I could sum up as follows: no great happenings occur, no profound observations about humanity are made, but a good time is had by all. It’s a relatively easy, relaxing section. Rebecca is, by virtue of her disgrace, a royal with a lot of free time (unlike the real members of the British royal family who, to my knowledge, make hundreds of appearances a year – individually). Part Two, by contrast, is full of drama and revelations, most of which I saw coming but hoped I was wrong about.
The Heir Affair tops my list for best-written women’s fiction (as does its prequel). Rebecca is an extremely likeable narrator (both books are told entirely in the first person), authentically casual and unpretentious. She gives just enough details about all the material glories she’s married into – the clothes, the jewels, the castles – striking a balance and never coming across as either obnoxiously infatuated or unbelievably unmoved by it all. The world she observes is full of people who are fictional twists on reality – look, there’s Pippa Middleton! – but Cocks and Morgan have done enough work developing the characters past their initial inspirations that they all come across as unique if not, obviously, original.
Cocks and Morgan must have had the quote ‘the course of true love never did run smooth’ in all caps on their mood board for this book, because that could be the motto of Rebecca and Nick – in both this book and the last. They are a couple who are eternally working on their relationship. It doesn’t seem to come naturally to them and that sometimes made it all a little dubious, at least romantically. Nick says he and Freddie and Rebecca are “a tripod. . . . Without one of us, the other two would fall over” and there is something about her and Nick’s affection and loyalty to each other which is more in line with what I expect from siblings. Of course they aren’t, and Nick and Freddie’s mutual romantic feelings for Rebecca (and vice versa) are a pivotal point of the book. Nonetheless, I cared about them all, and that’s what made everything that happens so heart- and gut-wrenching. These people cannot catch a break – all the things that should bring solace and joy to this life – siblings, marriage, the creation of a family – are agonizing affairs (cough) for them that tax their limits. I so wanted at least one of those things to come easily to them, but they never did. It’s worst case scenarios to the very last chapter, and I reached it exhausted, somewhat shocked, and very, very, teary.
I wasn’t prepared for the bittersweet ending, either – I think expectations will play a key role in whether or not you enjoy The Heir Affair. The publisher tags it as Romance and Romantic Comedy but it should really be Women’s Fiction, because the WF tag cuts the expectations for lightness and happy resolutions down to size. While Rebecca claims at the conclusion her family “wouldn’t repeat history”, suffice to say that at the end I felt a sense of compassion and a disappointed foreboding. If you want a novel about growth and change, don’t read a book about the monarchy is the best advice I have.
Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent bookstore
Visit our Amazon Storefront
Grade: B
Book Type: Women's Fiction
Sensuality: N/A
Review Date: 07/07/20
Publication Date: 07/2020
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
Part-time cowgirl, part-time city girl. Always working on converting all my friends into romance readers ("Charlotte, that was the raunchiest thing I have ever read!").
Related Reviews
Found this one more frustrating than anything else. Felt like the first half of the book was a rehash of the second half of the first book and was liking Nick less and less the more I read. And second half of this one just went into a realm of what the heck.
I’m intrigued! Another on my TBR pile!