There is a particular kind of book review that does not merely dislike a novel, it wants to make sure you cannot unknow it. Jessa Crispin's takedown ofRoyal Spin— a new romcom by Omid Scobie and Robin Benway — belongs in that category. It is not a 'mixed' verdict. It's a demolition with jokes stapled to the rubble.
Crispin, writing in The Telegraph, argues the book is so blandly assembled that even the looming fear of AI-generated culture has been neutralised: 'The robots can't turn art into slop when humans have already done the job for them.' It is the sort of line designed to be screenshotted, and it has been — as it neatly fuses two fashionable anxieties, AI and cultural decline, into a single, easily digestible punch.
Royal Spinis co-written with US author Robin Benway and follows Lauren Morgan, an American press professional who swaps Washington for Buckingham Palace. In publishing terms, it is a deliberate genre swing for Scobie, better known for royal reporting and for co-authoringFinding Freedomin 2020.
An irresistible workplace rom-com about a young American woman who takes a job at Buckingham Palace—where she finds herself tangled in a royal mess—is available now! Learn more about#RoyalSpinhere:https://t.co/o1ZBfpWlovpic.twitter.com/Q2zQFVS57Z
It is also, crucially, arriving into a British media atmosphere that treats Scobie less like a novelist and more like a character — an author whose proximity toPrince HarryandMeghan Markleis endlessly litigated, often with more heat than proof.
Crispin's review is less interested in whetherRoyal Spinis 'fun' than whether it is competent. Her main complaint is that the book substitutes brand-name sprinkling for actual writing — an accusation she illustrates by listing the roll call of product drops she says appear almost immediately: 'Celsius, Skims, Postmates, Old Navy,Uber, Prius,Netflix, Prada, Nordstrom and BTS.'
That specific criticism stings because it is concrete. Taste is subjective; a list of name-drops is not. Crispin's broader conclusion is that the book's prose and plotting are 'generic' to the point of numbness — her implied argument being that it reads like an algorithm's idea of what contemporary life sounds like.
Royal insider Omid Scobie reacts to rumors about Meghan Markle as he releases a new novel, 'Royal Spin,' out now.https://t.co/F1DQO9ISwV
The sneer travels well because it flatters the reader. It invites you to join a club: the people who are too discerning to be fooled by a glossy premise and a royal setting. That is why these reviews spread faster than the books they are reviewing.
Whatever you make of the criticism,Royal Spinis being positioned aggressively as a commercial property. HarperCollins lists the novel as going on sale Feb. 10, 2026 and pitches it as a mash-up ofEmily in Paris,VeepandRed, White and Royal Blue, centring on a White House-to-palace career leap with romance and workplace chaos. Benway's own site also lists the book as arriving in February 2026.
Source: International Business Times UK
