A ROYAL MILE
Series: Return to Dublin Street #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Samantha Young
Release Date: June 19, 2025
A steamy enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance from New York Times Bestselling Author Samantha Young.
It’s hard to stay in the friend zone when the attraction is this hot…
Going into my senior year of university at war with a member of the British royal family wasn’t in my carefully laid plans. Sebastian Thorne might be the grandson of a princess, but it’ll take more than a royal pardon to get me to forgive him for pretending to be someone he’s not.
But Sebastian is determined to be my friend. Even if it means signing up to a psych experiment just to get me to talk to him. Who knew a sincere apology and him saying my name in that posh English accent would make me weak in the knees?
This year was supposed to be about my dissertation and graduate school. Only, Sebastian has thrown my ordered world off kilter. He makes me bolder, more confident. A braver version of me.
Yet every lingering glance and stolen touch has me realizing one thing…
I’m falling for my best friend.
There’s just one problem. Sebastian has demons, ones that make him determined to keep me in the friend zone no matter the cost.
And even when temptation sends his walls tumbling down, the beauty we’ve found might not survive against the will of powerful outside forces…
Are you incapable of concentrating?” “I am very capable of concentrating.” He opened the note’s app on his tablet. “I’m going to prove it by staring at your mouth for this entire session as you talk.”
It’s official, I am completely and utterly obsessed with this series. Sam’s Dublin Street series is one of my all time favorites so of course I’m going to be just as obsessed with the second generation spinoff. A Royal Mile features Lily Sawyer, the daughter of Nate and Olivia from Before Jamaica Lane, which is my favorite book from the series. So to say that I was super excited for Lily’s book is a mild understatement.
If you’ve read On Loverose Lane, then you already got a peek into Lily. She’s the painfully shy and introverted to her younger sister’s boisterous personality. But as shy as she is, she’s no pushover, and I loved that about her. We start the book partially into Lily and Sebastian’s story. We know that Sebastian deceived her and she’s not giving him the time of day to apologize. But we don’t yet know why. That gets revealed as the story goes on and I loved the way those flashbacks were interwoven into the story. I also loved the nods and parallels to her parents’ story and I swear you would appreciate it so much having read their book as well. Trust me. But I digress.
Sebastian is determined to get Lily’s forgiveness and once he finally breaks down her defenses, they begin an amazing friendship. But no matter how amazing they are as friends, Lily can’t swallow her feelings for him. Feelings that she believes are not reciprocated.
I loved the way Sebastian was with Lily, even when I wanted to shake him for his hard headedness when it came to anything between them. Though, the more the layers get peeled back from him, the more you understand his fierce avoidance of anything beyond a friendship. I also loved Lily’s quiet and unassuming strength. She isn’t shy about putting Sebastian in his place and I loved the way she understood him and his behavior more than he understood himself.
They definitely had their moments when I wanted to shake them both to see reason, but I did love the way they find their way to each other. It was a delicious slow burn full of emotion and angst and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I also loved the way that Lily stood up for herself with her sister, because she had moments where I wanted to shake her too. Though I cannot wait to see the man that is January’s perfect match.
If you’re looking for a swoon, steamy, and highly emotional friends to lovers romance, this one will check every box. The series is now a favorite and I cannot wait for more!
Samantha Young is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She’s been nominated for several Goodreads Choice Awards. Samantha writes adult contemporary and paranormal romance, YA urban fantasy and YA contemporary fiction and is currently published in 31 countries.
She resides in Scotland.
Connect with Samantha
Website: http://authorsamanthayoung.com
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