Nobody in Particular (published 2025) is a YA boarding school story about Danni, the scholarship student at a prestigious boarding school in a fictional European country, and Rose, the princess she falls in love with there. Danni keeps her bisexuality hidden due to an intense desire to blend in and avoid the bullying she suffered at her previous school, while Rose remains closeted because she thinks a lesbian will never be allowed to take the throne of her mostly-Catholic country. Danni also has to deal with crippling stage fright that might steal a career in music from her, while Rose struggles with living in the media spotlight and processing trauma from her past. When their burgeoning relationship is leaked to the public, the two have to navigate school bureaucracy, royal disapproval, and the possibility that their friends are the ones doing the leaking.
So before I get into this review, I have to admit that I am one of the vanishingly few people left on the planet who’s neither read nor watched Red, White, and Royal Blue. If you’re reading and wondering why I don’t talk about how this book is clearly in conversation with that one, well, ignorance is part of it. But also, Gonzales says in her introduction that she originally drafted this book over a decade ago and couldn’t get it published because there wasn’t a perceived demand for a queer royal romance. I guess there is now! I think coming to the newly-edited and -updated version of this story without being familiar with the genre juggernauts is probably a fair way to approach it.
I’ve read and enjoyed a few of Gonzales’s other books, so when this one popped out of my library queue, I was looking forward to it. It turned out to be my favourite of her works so far. You know how sometimes a book can have a tiny factual error and it ruins the rest of the reading experience for you, and sometimes one can take the wildest swings in logic and just sweep you along for the ride? Nobody in Particular is definitely one of the latter for me. I had huge questions at some points, but the vibes, as the kids say, were immaculate. I found both Rose and Danni so compelling and their voices so immediate that I completely accepted every slightly wobbly plot justification. I think that’s the mark of a truly successful rom-com—so much about the genre relies on there being both a reasonable emotional downbeat and a reasonable resolution. As someone who’s both skeptical and pragmatic, I often find myself rolling my eyes at contrived emotions, but here I bought both emotions and explanations. Kudos to Gonzales.
Part of my buy-in is because Danni and Rose both have successful side-plots alongside their romance. Danni—as the outsider—is more tied up in the world of the school and thus of Rose, but her desire to define her own narrative skilfully intersects with the challenge of the media frenzy that surrounds her and Rose. Rose’s own struggles with grief, emotions, and changing friendships are relatable whether coming from a princess or not, but incredibly understandable from royalty trained to service before self. I rooted for both of them.
I also have to shout out their friend group, made up of Instagram influencers, minor aristocracy, and lenient prefects. They’re all a little over the top—and occasionally I think they fall into therapy-speak, but that’s pretty common in contemporary YA—but their relationships are vibrant and believable.
Nobody in Particular deals with some heavy topics, but it feels natural, never moralising or preachy. The issues it represents are part of teenage life today and it treats them seriously, without sugar-coating—yet it’s still a fun, charming read.
Content warnings: underage drug use and drinking, forced outing, sexual assault, bullying.
Kathryne Slant (she/her) is a queer Canadian writer and general pop culture enthusiast. She wants to spend less time online and more time at puppy yoga. Find her @sapphoshands.bsky.social.
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