{"id":79223,"date":"2025-06-19T07:25:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T11:25:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=79223"},"modified":"2025-06-28T00:25:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T04:25:13","slug":"release-arc-review-a-royal-mile-return-to-dublin-street-2-by-samantha-young","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=79223","title":{"rendered":"Release & ARC Review: A Royal Mile (Return to Dublin Street, #2) by Samantha Young"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A Royal Mile by Samantha Young is live!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

An enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story with epic chemistry and the most delicious slow burn. It\u2019s sweet and fun with lots of emotion, and such a beautiful read. I loved it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Blurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A steamy enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance from New York Times Bestselling Author Samantha Young.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to stay in the friend zone when the attraction is this hot\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Going into my senior year of university at war with a member of the British royal family wasn\u2019t in my carefully laid plans. Sebastian Thorne might be the grandson of a princess, but it\u2019ll take more than a royal pardon to get me to forgive him for pretending to be someone he\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

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?<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Yet every lingering glance and stolen touch has me realizing one thing\u2026<\/p>\n

I\u2019m falling for my best friend.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s just one problem. Sebastian has demons, ones that make him determined to keep me in the friend zone no matter the cost.<\/p>\n

And even when temptation sends his walls tumbling down, the beauty we\u2019ve found might not survive against the powerful will of outside forces\u2026<\/p>\n

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Add to Goodreads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Review<\/b><\/p>\n

5 stars<\/b><\/p>\n

The second book in the Return to Dublin Street<\/i>, the, this is an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story with epic chemistry and the most delicious slow burn. It\u2019s sweet and fun with lots of emotion, and such a beautiful read. I loved it.<\/p>\n

This is an On Dublin Street<\/i> next generation series, and this is the story of Lily, daughter of Nate and Liv from Before Jamaica Lane<\/a>, which is one of my all-time faves. It\u2019s a real treat for On Dublin Street<\/i> fans, or for those who read the first book in this series, On Loverose Lane<\/a>, but this book can easily be read as a stand alone.<\/p>\n

Lily and Sebastian are both students at Edinburgh University. They had an instant attraction when they met, but Sebastian was keeping secrets and the potential of what they could be fell apart pretty badly. Determined to fix things, he begs Lily for a second chance \u2013 just as friends, and his heartfelt sincerity and effort wins her over and she agrees. The attraction is still there, but it\u2019s their final year of study which is a clear priority for both of them, plus, Sebastian is a bit of a player and Lily is a relationship girl, so friendship is definitely the safest choice – though their connection remains undeniably electric.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you going to make everything sound dirty?\u201d
\nSebastian grinned like he was surprised by my response. \u201cIt only sounds dirty if you\u2019re receptive to it sounding dirty.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

OMG, I love these two together so much! They are all-in on the friendship and instantly all up in each other\u2019s lives. They talk about everything, they laugh and tease, they go out and have fun, they don\u2019t hold back with each other, and they become each other\u2019s \u2018person\u2019, the one they go to for everything and the best of friends. Supportive and encouraging, they help each other through rough times and they make each other better in every way. The only thing they don\u2019t talk about is how they\u2019re falling hard for each other.<\/p>\n

I could cry at the absurdity of my current situation.
\nI\u2019d met my unicorn.
\nThe guy who made me feel comfortable I could talk to him about anything.
\nAnd yet whom I was so attracted to, I felt like every fiber of my being came alive in a way it never had until him.
\nA bloody unicorn.
\nYet he didn\u2019t feel the same way. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lily\u2019s past relationships have left her vulnerable and self-conscious, but she\u2019s overcome it to become strong, smart and sensible, and she is the most wonderfully relatable heroine! And Sebastian is so gorgeous \u2013 smart, funny, and dealing with a lot, but he wears his heart on his sleeve for his best friend and I just adored him as he struggles with his feelings, desperate to hold on to her.<\/p>\n

This is Lily, I reminded myself sharply. Lovely, kind, smart, funny Lily who was the only person I felt truly myself around.
\nSomething as animal and basic as physical attraction was not going to drive a wedge between us.
\nI needed her too damn much.
\nNo, I still didn\u2019t understand why I\u2019d attached myself to her like a fucking barnacle, but it was what it was, and I wouldn\u2019t ruin our friendship. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s so obvious that these two are perfect for each other, and it\u2019s quite the ride watching them get there. It\u2019s emotional, sexy, and angsty in the best of ways, and I hurt for both of them as they try to balance their need for each other, their growing feelings, and the abject fear of ruining their friendship and losing each other for good. They have a lot to work through, and I loved watching them figure it all out, and it\u2019s so worth the wait because the romance does come and OMG, a smitten Sebastian is the greatest thing ever!<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so in love with you, I cannot imagine my life without you. I don\u2019t want to.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is a great bunch of supporting characters with the along the way. Lily and Sebastian\u2019s friends and family all feature prominently, and in particular we see a fair bit of Lily\u2019s family, which I absolutely loved. Nate is a gorgeously protective dad, Liv is a beautiful support to her girls, and Lily\u2019s sister, January is a wild and filterless scene-stealer, and so freaking entertaining. I loved seeing the found family developed in On Dublin Street<\/i> still so closely interwoven, and can\u2019t wait to explore more with this group as the series continues.<\/p>\n

This is a gorgeous read that brings all the feels, and I devoured this one.<\/p>\n

5 stars.<\/p>\n

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Return to Dublin Street<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A second-generation spin-off series from On Dublin Street<\/a> (one of our faves!)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/h4>\n

\"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/h4>\n

On Loverose Lane (#1)\u00a0<\/strong>(Callan & Beth)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

A Royal Mile (#2)<\/strong> (Sebastian & Lily)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

Hart Street Lane (#3)<\/strong> (Baird & Maia)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meet Samantha<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Samantha Young is a New York Times,\u00a0USA Today<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Wall Street Journal<\/em>\u00a0bestselling author. She\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

She resides in Scotland.<\/p>\n

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Facebook<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Website<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0| \u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0| \u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Pinterest<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Amazon<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0| \u00a0Goodreads<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0| \u00a0Bookbub<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Check out our\u00a0Author Spotlight<\/a>\u00a0for more reads by Samantha Young!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  A Royal Mile by Samantha Young is live! An enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story with epic chemistry and the most delicious slow burn. It\u2019s sweet and fun with lots of emotion, and such a beautiful read. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[86,25,13,9,29],"tags":[59,1607,48,203],"class_list":["post-79223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-enemies-to-lovers","category-friends-to-lovers","category-new-adult","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-return-to-dublin-street","tag-review","tag-samantha-young"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/A-Royal-Mile.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-kBN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/78475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}