Review: "The Unlikely Heir" by Jax Calder

The Unlikely Heir by Jax Calder
Published August 2023 (self-published)
★★★

There are a lot of people the heir to the British throne isn't supposed to fall in love with—commoners, for example, or Americans, or anti-monarchists. This goes double when the heir was until recently 11th in line, and is an American himself at that, and certainly not expected to get anywhere near inheriting...and triple when he unexpectedly falls for a man...and quadruple when, uh, that man is the prime minister, and royalty isn't supposed to get involved in politics. So that's Callum's life in this book. Shenanigans ensue.

Perhaps against my better judgement, I am very fond of contemporary "suddenly royal" books (shhh, we all have our quirks), and this is no exception. It's interesting in a few different ways—first, though Callum is not living a particularly privileged life at the beginning of the book and doesn't have any expectation of going anywhere but farther down on the line of succession, he's well aware of who his family is. This is not a "who is this upstart" book so much as a "hello, Gran" book. Second, Callum is a grown man by the time he takes his place as first in line for the throne, and the expectations placed on him are...different from the expectations in fiction I've read in which a girl or woman is suddenly high up in the succession line (or about to marry within it). There's no discussion of his figure, or schedules so packed they leave no time for breathing, or days upon days of etiquette lessons. To be fair, I do think this book leans heavily towards the permissive side on that score—I suspect that anyone thrown into that particular shark tank would be far more scrutinized from the Crown's side, not just the public side, than Callum ever is—but there's a point to be made about expectations and attitudes when a man is in a position of (sudden) power vs. when a woman is.

The romance is fun and full of terrible puns, which is...well, pretty much just how I like it. Callum and Oliver very quickly come up against the reality of their situation—they can't be together publicly unless one of them steps down from their respective very highly privileged and influential roles, and chances of maintaining a private relationship are slim to none—which means that the things keeping them apart tend to be external rather than internal, which I'm always fond of because the relationship tends to feel healthier.

I'm not sure Callum needed quite so many things stacked against him, though. He's 1) unexpectedly first in line, 2) American, 3) the sort of romance-novel clumsy that means that he'll spill coffee down someone else's shirt any time there are photographers around but rarely otherwise, 4) in a relationship that could become a legal nightmare, and 5) just now realizing that he might not be as straight as he thought. And that's a lot. 1 and 4 together would be enough for a book's worth of drama. 3 is probably in there as an inoffensive character flaw, but there's a limit to how many "charming but clumsy" hero/ines I can take, and I hit that limit a good decade ago. I'm ready for a new standard inoffensive character flaw! 2 definitely creates drama, and I suppose 5 is in there so that Callum and Oliver can spend time as friends (and without sexual tension) before getting together, but for those I could take them or leave them.

All told, plenty of fun—will likely appeal to fans of Red, White and Royal Blue or American Royals.

Thanks to the author for providing a review copy through NetGalley.