Review: "The Heir Apparent" by Rebecca Armitage

The Heir Apparent by Rebecca Armitage
Published December 2025 via Cardinal
★★★★

Once, Lexi had it all—and she gave it up. If she burned some bridges along the way, well, she thought she'd have a chance to repair them later down the line. But when tragedy strikes, that chance is lost...and Lexi is suddenly next in line to the British throne.

I am very predictable in my love of "suddenly royal" books. In The Heir Apparent, Lexi is in a somewhat unusual position for these books—she doesn't have to adapt to royal protocol and life in the public eye and so on, because those are exactly what she grew up with. What she does have to adapt to is finding herself back in that life when she thought she'd managed to escape it. And: now she has to pick a trajectory for the rest of her life, knowing that no matter what she chooses, the impact of her choice will be felt around the world.

I looked at their weary faces, these three people who made momentous decisions behind closed doors. I had spent the last eleven years believing the crown should be quietly tossed into a city dumpster like a murder weapon. It had turned siblings against each other, triggered wars, broken up marriages, enslaved millions, destroyed civilizations. What did it say about me that I would now consider bearing its weight? (loc. 2125*)

Though the world of The Heir Apparent has some significant departures from the real world, the inspiration is obvious even before the author's note at the end. In some ways I prefer books that don't pull on that history, but it does make for more complete world-building (and of course those departures help!). I love how complicated things get for Lexi: even as she knows how to navigate this world, every step she takes is something of a negotiation with herself. How does she both grieve and present a public face? (The shades of grief, especially early on, are heartbreaking.) How does she maintain the barest veneer of privacy for herself and also do what the public—and the crown—ask of her? And how does she navigate what certain people who do not want her to succeed know about her past without losing everything?

Recommended to anyone who shares my "want to read fiction about it but want nothing to do with it in real life" interest in royalty.

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

*Quotes are from an ARC and may not be final.