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21 of 22 found the following review helpful:
 This book was really a disappointment Feb 04, 2006
By Gary H. Cassel
"Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews"
British Born, American Bred is a fanfiction of Prince William's life from when we meet him at St.Andrews University right up until he dies as an old man, or rather an old, and much loved, King. To say this book is about Prince William and the narrator, fictional Emily Harrison who was born in Britain but brought up in America (hence the title), falling in love would be an understatement. William and Emily fall in love and get engaged within a year of meeting each other and in the first 50 pages of book. This book is more about their life together, troubles with the press and royal relatives as well as the trials of married life, being King and Queen, dealing with illness and parenthood.
This book wasn't what I expected at all and was really a disappointment; instead of being a fun and easy read that was great for relaxing, I found myself having to force myself to read a book I didn't enjoy. The writing was poor to say the least and rather than feeling the relationship between Prince William and the fictional Emily Harrison as it happened, I felt I, as the reader, was told what was happening as if it were some kind of report. Instead of falling in love as Emily did and experiencing the events as they unfolded, I felt cut-off from the story, while the large time-scale it was set in seemed over-ambitious. I really wanted a story of love, not a whole life's journey that was hard to comprehend; as a 15 year-old I can't really relate to having children, grandchildren and dying at eighty. The way Prince William spoke was cringy, scary and odd all at the same time, and as a British teenager I can certainly say that I don't know many people who talk like that (and those who do are rather un-flatteringly called chavs). Can you really imagine Prince William calling the girl he loved "Luv" or Prince Charles "pops"? - Scary. However if you are planning on reading the book, and do get beyond the first couple of pages, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under 15 as the author attempts to write a rather explicit love scene early on.
Reviewed by a student for Flamingnet Book Reviews
www.flamingnet.com
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11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
I tried...I really did May 01, 2006
By Tina
OK, this is the first Prince William fanfic that's actually in print...so, of course, I was psyched. There's a whole fanfic world out there dedicated to this guy, and to see one of the stories in print is really cool. So before I started reading it, I was already on her side.
But after a while, it became painfully obvious that I was not going to like this. The story reads like a newspaper article almost. You're twice removed from it...you aren't experiencing the events as they unfold; you're listening to someone ELSE talk about them (in a very dry tone). I couldn't figure out why Emily and William were together...it's mind boggling to me. You would think that would be the one obvious thing in the whole story (because it is a romance). I have one question: how does one give a person an entire art gallery? I could understand giving them the space to OPEN one, or naming one after them or something along those lines, but just flat out giving them an art gallery? William is childish, and Emily is...dull I guess is the word I'm looking for (she's not by any means "witty" as the back of the book says).
And then there was the drama. OK, I'm all for giving characters conflicts to deal with, but this was ridiculous. "All My Children" has more believable storylines. William has various diseases (don't ask me to name them), and instead of exploring how the two of them handle that and what kind of effect it has on the relationship, essentially Emily just sucks it up and deals with it. I give her credit though...you can tell she researched those diseases because she gives you a run down of what it does to you, and what the treatments are. Unfortunately, if you don't know the parts of the body off the top of your head, you just need to take her word for it. William is being stalked by this Margo person, who at one point (SPOILER) stabs Emily with a needle, giving her an overdose of Heroin. Come on, now. Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth die at essentially the same time, making William king before he can finish the sentence. Again, instead of really delving into that (which I think would have been interesting...seriously, how would he handle that?), he just sucks it up and deals with it. Emily is American (at least somewhat), right? Why wasn't Sept 11th touched on? It had to have had an effect on her. When they're trying to have a baby via artificial insemination (its his sperm), he accuses her of getting her period on purpose. I had to laugh. Seriously...can ANYONE accuse a woman of that? And then of course, they have triplets.
The writing is dry and stilted. There's no flow to the story, and it reads more like a chronology then anything else. Even the wedding isn't really elaborated on, and that was something I was really looking forward to.
There is one good part: William's coronation. The whole section is written in italics, and she took great pains to describe it. I think the reason I enjoyed it so much is because at the rate the elder royals are going, it may be a while before we actually get to see it.
I've been reading Prince William fanfic for a long time, and if you search around the net, you're bound to find better writers and better stories.
 Don't waste a cent... Jan 31, 2012
By Mela333
I'm a huge royal watcher, big royal collector so when I heard there was a fanfiction book I jumped right on it. Let me say it was the biggest piece of garbage I've ever read. Poorly written, rushed, no depth, unrealistic to say the least. Both Emily and William are ridiculous and very unlikeable, shallow and boring. Any kind of real depth that could be interesting with fanfiction, such as exploring the fun feelings of dating a prince, actually falling in love come to statements like '...and they dated for a few months until Christmas when they realized they loved each other.' Wow, that skipped alot, I could read a Daily Mail article and get the same unattached, no detail courtship about Kate and William. Trash, really, honestly, don't waste your money it's rubbish.
1 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Great coronation May 16, 2006
By Duchess Zachman
"Christy"
I really enjoyed the book. I was reading it from a third person point of view and it was interesting in how it read. The coronation of William and Emily was quite full and complete and really helped me to see it fully through. Although I found William's continuing illnesses frustrating, it was nice to see that just because you are royal does not mean that you are not human and cannot get what is common to many others. The book is a good book to read and get through the night with.
2 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Beautiful Love Story Mar 28, 2006
By qweenb
"qweenb"
This story is a beautiful love story about what HRH Prince Williams life might be like. I felt that the story took me to many different places in the world and I really liked that. I loved the fact Emily was so much a part of William's life.
This is truely a story worth reading if you like love stories or the Royal family.
See all 7 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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