I didn’t expect to find myself picking up Spare by Prince Harry, but here we are. I’ve never been a royal watcher in the slightest, nor have I really cared what they’re up to. There was so much buzz about the book, it made me curious.

I decided to download the audiobook on Audible because when you have the chance to have a prince read you a story, you take it. Lol. I will say he’s got a great voice for audiobooks. He’s smooth and relaxing, plus that accent is quite nice.

Spare [Buy Bookshop Amazon] is Harry digging through his memories and sharing about his life from childhood until relatively recently. There is criticism that he doesn’t get things perfectly right, but Harry admits in the book that he was relying on his own memory. How many of these critics can remember their childhood perfectly? Sigh.

Anyways, this is him walking us through his thoughts and feelings at some of the biggest points in his life, including his mother’s death, school, the military, and meeting Meghan. It’s a pretty comprehensive memoir. With the way the royal family freaked out about the book and starting slinging mud at him for publishing, I really expected more dirt on the page. There are a few instances that don’t paint (now) King Charles or Prince William in the greatest of lights, but shoving among brothers is surely the least of secrets Harry could reveal.

I saw many complaints about the military portion being boring and to that, I give a hearty eye roll. Does he talk a lot about the ‘hurry up and wait’ situations he was in, yes, but that also gives you a real glimpse into the world of so many soldiers. He had the additional pressure of being a target, so sitting and waiting like that could easily drive a person crazy. I really appreciate that he shared the stories of being the one to push the button to kill a Taliban member and the impact that had on him. He told Stephen Colbert that it was to help other soldiers feel less alone in their feelings from war in hopes of keeping someone from suicide, and that is so important.

Overall, this was much more enjoyable than I expected. The writing is pretty solid and the pacing moved right along. My biggest critique of Spare is the sheer number of chapters. Like, bro, you could put more than one story in a chapter…..

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