American Royals by Katharine McGee Review

Overall Review: 4.5/5 Stars

"When America won the Revolutionary War, its people offered General George Washington a crown. Two and a half centuries later, the House of Washington still sits on the throne."

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Non-Spoiler Section:

I don't what it is, but the second I heard the premise for Katharine McGee's latest series (a duology), I was hooked. I think it probably has something to do with the fact that it's just a really different concept. I haven't read anything like it.

The concept is actually relatively simple. After the Revolutionary War, the people of America offered George Washington a crown instead of the presidency, so now America is ruled by a Royal family, instead. The current Royal family has three children. Beatrice is the oldest and the heir to the throne. She is always someone who has walked a straight line and followed the rules and America adores her. But, soon it'll be time for her to get married, and while she does get a choice of who she marries, it comes with strong restrictions. Samantha and Jefferson are twins and Beatrice's younger siblings. Sam does her own thing and is very spunky. She tends to be much more carefree than her sister, except when it comes to the one thing that's off-limits. And then there's Jeff. Before the recent law was passed, he would have been first in line for the throne because of his gender, but now he's third in line. But that doesn't stop every girl from wanting to be with him, two in particular.

This is your SPOILER WARNING! If you haven’t read American Royals by Katharine McGee and don’t want to be spoiled, Stop Reading Now! (Of course, come back after you’ve read so we can discuss!!)

Plot (A)

Like I said before, I absolutely loved the concept of this book and thought it was very different. I've been in a major reading slump lately and was in one when I started this book. However, this book successfully got me out of it. (Yayyyy!)

The best way I can describe it is if Gossip Girl met The Selection. Everyone's relationship to each other can get a little confusing. It's actually funny because I felt the same way about Katharine's other book series that I loved, The Thousandth Floor. I actually think I like this series better than that one, and I liked The Thousandth Floor a lot. Basically, we find out that while everyone loves Beatrice, they're a little concerned seeing as she doesn't really date, and if she doesn't get married there will be no King. That's why at the Queen's Ball, her parents (the King and Queen) have invited the "suitable" men. What no one knows, however, is that Beatrice wants to be with her guard, Connor, who obviously is not a suitable choice.

Beatrice is always doing what she feels is right and best for her country. This is why she does pick one of the guys her parents invited, Theodore (Teddy) Eaton. But it can't be simple, because Teddy and Beatrice's younger sister, Samantha like each other. Then you have, Sam's best friend Nina who is secretly dating Sam's twin brother, Prince Jefferson, but his ex-girlfriend Daphne is trying to break them up so that she can be with him and secure her title.

This is one of those books where all of the characters are intertwined in one way or another. It's also a book where we hear from multiple characters' perspectives. If this isn't done right, it can be confusing or overwhelming, but I didn't feel that in this story. I felt like we got the right amount to hear from each of the main girls. The book events on a bit of a cliffhanger, which made me super excited to pick up the next book in the duology, Majesty, which is out September 1!

Characters (A):

Beatrice: Beatrice is, like I said, the oldest and the future Queen. So, at first, I liked Beatrice, but she wasn't my favorite. She did definitely grow on me. However, I felt like Katharine did a really good job at her character. She seemed to be pretty uptight and didn't make an effort to be that close with anyone, but that's a product of her growing up with her whole life being dictated for her. I like how in the end, she began to take control over her own life, and I hope that's something that we continue to see in the next book.

Samantha: Sam might have been my favorite. She was super fun to read about and I loved her spunk and how even though she's a princess, she does things how she wants to. I did get a little annoyed with her when she was being selfish about Beatrice having to marry Teddy, but I think that was the point of that happening. I feel bad for Sam, because, I feel like almost every time we see her interact with her parents, it's because she's getting scolded for doing something or even wearing the wrong outfit. I'm super glad we did get to see a bit of growth from her by the end of the novel. She did start to see how not everything is easy for Beatrice. I hope she grows more in the next book and we get to see more people pay attention to her.

Nina: Nina is Sam's best friend and was a fun character to read from, because she doesn't have the same status that any of the other characters do. Her mother is the Ministry of the Treasury for the Royal family, and that's how she became best friends with Sam. She's going to college and for most of the book, the public doesn't pay any attention to her. I really liked her, except for when she had that stupid fight with Sam that I didn't really understand. She was basically mad because Sam is royal and that didn't make her feel equal. I really like Nina, so I'm hoping in the next book, she becomes more secure in who she is and her relationships with everyone else.

Daphne: I hated Daphne, which I think is what Katharine was going for with her character. I don't know how Daphne's part of the story is going to end, but she doesn't deserve the happy ending that everyone else does. There's not really a traditional "villain" in this story, but if there was one, it would be her for sure. Not only does she want Jeff purely for his title, but she is doing everything she can to ruin his relationship with Nina, cheated on Jeff with his best friend, Ethan, and accidentally caused her former best friend to fall into a coma. Ethan clearly really likes her for some reason and it's hinted at that they will end up together, but I don't know how I feel about that.

Jefferson: I was actually kind of surprised at first, that we didn't read from Jefferson, aka Jeff's perspective throughout the book. I did realize about halfway in that the book takes place just from the girls' perspectives. I actually really like Jeff. I just think he's way too naive and needs to get over Daphne. Sam never liked Daphne and when Nina tells him explicitly what Daphne did to her, he can't fathom that Daphne would do such a thing and didn't believe her. Soooo Jeff needs to grow up a bit...

Teddy: Teddy wasn't a bad character at all, I just wish we had gotten a bit more from him. When we did see him, he was always really funny and seemed to match Sam's personality. I honestly get why he wouldn't call off his marriage to Beatrice because it's basically what his family is counting on at this point.

Connor: Connor deserves the best... that's it. I feel bad for him because he's really trying but there's honestly not much he can do about his situation with Beatrice.

Setting (B+):

The setting of American Royals is... shocker, America. There's only so much you can do setting wise with America, but Katharine is really successful at making you feel like you're in this alternate version of the country. The story takes place mainly in an alternate Washington D.C. where there's a palace instead of the White House.

I really like how Katharine explores the area surrounding the palace, and the fictional "King's College" as a prestigious school. I hope she expands on this in the next book and maybe get to see what other states are like.

Aesthetics (A-):

I think that the title of the book is pretty self-explanatory, and makes total sense. It's about an American royal family, so it's not an easily forgettable title.

The cover actually reminded me a lot of the cover for the Crazy Rich Asians series. I really like how the colors used on the cover were red, white, and blue. They go really well together and are an accurate representation of a book about an American monarchy!

Recommended!!!