Goodreads says, "Lexi Villiers is a 29-year-old Englishwoman doing her medical residency in Hobart, working too hard, worried about her bank balance, and living with friends. It's a good life, and getting even better, because as the dawn is breaking on New Year's Day, Lexi is about to kiss the man she loves for the very first time.
But by midnight, everything will change. Because Lexi is in fact not an ordinary young woman. She is Princess Alexandrina, third in line to the British throne - albeit estranged from the rest of her family and living in voluntary exile on the other side of the world. But following a terrible accident, Lexi - the black sheep of her family and, until this moment, always destined to be the spare - is now the heir apparent, first in line to the throne once her grandmother, the elderly Queen, dies. Called back to do her duty, she arrives in London to a Palace riven with power plays and media leaks, all the while guarding painful secrets of her own. Palace waters are treacherous, rumours are rife, and selling each other's secrets is a family tradition. And with the Crown just within her grasp, Lexi must choose what bonds she will keep ... and what she is willing to leave behind."
Lexi Villiers is a medical doctor in Australia living on an idyllic vineyard in Tasmania. She is estranged from her family due to her life choices, but is living a happy life without them in Australia; she even has a sort-of boyfriend and a promising career. Except her family isn't just any family; it's the British Royal Family. One day, a helicopter lands on the property delivering the bad news that her father (the future King), her twin brother, and his best friend have all died in a tragic skiing accident due to an avalanche. Lexi's world is turned upside down, and her grandmother, the Queen, summons her home to England. Lexi is now the heir apparent, should she choose to take the title; she has one year to decide. If she doesn't accept it and all that it brings, the title falls to her awful uncle Richard. Once Lexi is back in England, all of the reasons why she left come flooding back to her, not to mention all the difficult emotions she has to deal with regarding the loss of her brother and father. This is all triggering to her in that she lost her mother, and the circumstances surrounding her death are still issues that plague her to this day. Also, she has to deal with her grieving and angry sister-in-law, her power-hungry uncle, her grandmother, and all the tabloids that harass the Royal Family at every turn. Ultimately, the question that stresses her out is whether she will accept the title as the heir apparent or choose to pass it along to her uncle. What will happen to her perfect life in Tasmania and her almost-boyfriend, Jack? Can she have it all? Rebecca Armitage's The Heir Apparent is an absorbing audiobook that fans of the Royal Family will enjoy.
Lexi has to return to the very life she tried to escape to pursue a career as a doctor, and when she returns, the problems are still there. The grief around her mother's death, now her brother's and father's death, and all the family issues that made her escape to Australia bubble back up to the surface. Lexi is reminded that no matter how far you travel, you still can't escape your problems. Her former life as a doctor is still calling to her, not to mention Jack, and she wonders if she can make this all work. Or does she have to give up her previous life? Heavy is the head that wears the crown!
So many moments in The Heir Apparent felt like they were ripped
straight from the tabloids about the Royal Family. It's obvious Armitage
has a wealth of knowledge regarding the British Royal Family; however,
at times it felt a little too similar - almost fan fiction. Nonetheless,
as a Royal Family lover, I enjoyed being lost in a world full of court
intrigue, family secrets, tabloids, and extreme wealth.
My main issue with The Heir Apparent is the length. The plot meandered too many times around the same plot point, and at times, it got tedious. 416 pages were too much, in my opinion, and due to this, the pacing was uneven despite Shakira Shute's excellent narration of the audiobook.
Royal family lovers will especially soak up all the family drama in The Heir Apparent and appreciate the similarities to the current British Royal Family. Have you read The Heir Apparent? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
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