Devastating and dazzling, Royals is the story of an unlikely friendship set against the intoxicating colour and headiness of 1980s London

The Autumn Radio 2 Book Club Pick A Grazia Book of the Year ‘An Eighties Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ David Nicholls ‘Elegant, sexy, tender wild’ Emma Jane Unsworth July, 1981. London. Shy, working-class Steven finds solace in beauty. Eighteen-years-old, he dreams of being a fashion designer. He’s also gay, maybe. There’s a lot Steven isn’t sure about yet. Then a brutal attack lands him in hospital, and he meets Jasmine – intoxicating, anarchic, fabulous Jasmine. Over the course of one summer, their giddy, glorious, maddening friendship will turn Steven’s life upside down – and rewrite his destiny forever. ‘Dazzling’ Marian Keyes ‘The coolest book you’ll read this year’ Red

"A grand romance … Valuably disrupts conventional notions of love" - Mail on Sunday

"Honest, provocative and disarmingly funny" - Guardian

"Both a beautifully observed coming-of-age tale and a lovely examination of the addictive joy of friendship" - i

"This glamorous but wise coming-of-age story set in 1980s London is as cool as it is sincerely romantic about friendship" - Grazia

"Emma Forrest writes books that feel like beautiful bruises, the sort of wounds that you shouldn’t press hard on but do anyway because the pain feels so horrible good. Royals is her best … A clever, moving portrait of teenage friendship and so well handled that the novel’s climax lands like a punch to the gut" - i news

"A joy to read. For me, the greatest love stories offer as many relatable moments as they do escapist fantasies. And in that respect, Royals is just right" - Stylist

"The coolest book you’ll read this year" - Red

"Glitzy … The jauntily comic tone here softens what ultimately proves to be a sad story of lost illusions" - Daily Mail

"A dizzying coming of age" - Herald