The Heir and the Spare

by Emily Albright

[jeannamichel]

Evie follows her mother’s letters in a P.S. I Love You fashion, which lead her to Oxford to uncover secrets she never could have imagined. At Oxford, she is immediately enveloped in a circle of friends that include Edmund, the prince. Despite his royal status, he takes a fancy toward Evie and together they unravel the secrets Evie’s mother kept from her.

This was an adorable book which is sure to capture any romantic’s heart. The romance kindled between Evie and Edmund began with a sweet, but sassy friendship. The side characters are notable as well including the rude duchess and slimy girlfriend. However, as much as Evie’s group of friends were extremely relatable, it was only because most of the girls were walking-clichés and underdeveloped. The cliché of a mediocre girl who turns the heads of all the boys is also at play here which is both annoying but expected.

Evie, the protagonist, is a confident but quiet girl who could probably win in any wit battle if it didn’t require modern slang. Emily Albright wrote a smashing debut that will dazzle many readers. However, especially in the beginning when Evie was building relationships with her new-found friends, the narrative lacked colloquial speech which a recent twenty-year-old would use. Instead, Evie took to name-calling and less-mature narrative. A lot of times, her narrative sounded off or unbalanced. Edmund, as expected, was perfect in every way. The guy is any girl’s dream guy, who also happens to be a prince.

The plot was incredibly fast-paced and would make for a fabulous vacation read. However, Albright could have added so much more. She could have expanded on a number of things. It would have made the book more memorable and less predictable.

Despite the story being too short, it was still a cute debut that would tickle any reader’s toes. The Heir and the Spare is a fast read, a bit predictable but a whole lot of fun.