Day 3 — The Designated Twin by Drew Taylor

Daily Recommendation · No. 003

★★★½☆ 3.5/5 stars

Closed door / No spice | Christian romance

royal romancemistaken identityfake datingforbidden romancehe falls first

Sometimes a premise comes along that makes you wonder why no one thought of it sooner, and The Designated Twin by Drew Taylor is exactly that kind of book.

Lorelei ends up standing in for her twin sister on what was supposed to be a one-off date, never intending for anything real to come of it. The problem is that the man on the other side of that date is a prince, he was never meant to be hers, and her heart apparently did not get that memo. Running quietly beneath the romance is something even more tender: the story of a woman who has spent her whole life being overlooked finally being truly seen.

One of the things Taylor does really well here is the portrayal of Lorelei as an autistic woman. Her sensory experiences and the way she navigates connection are part of the fabric of the story rather than a plot device or a flaw to be fixed, and that thoughtfulness matters. Finley is the kind of hero who genuinely meets her where she is, not in a performative way but in a way that feels earned, and that made the romance land with real warmth for me.

The book is not without its soft spots. The middle section loses momentum in places, and the royal world-building never quite fills out the way you want it to. But the core concept is so genuinely fresh and the emotional undercurrent of finally being chosen, really chosen, is so well realized that this one sticks with you. For readers who love clean romance with a lot of heart and a premise they have never seen before, this is well worth the read.

Not a 5-star read for me, but a rating is just one reader's experience. If the tropes above are your thing, this could be exactly what you're looking for. I'd rather share it than gatekeep it.

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