Title: American Royals

Author: Katharine McGee

Pub. Date: September 3, 2019

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

What if America had a royal family? If you can’t get enough of Harry and Meghan or Kate and William, meet American princesses Beatrice and Samantha.

The duty. The intrigue. The Crown. New York Times bestselling author Katharine McGee imagines an alternate version of the modern world, one where the glittering age of monarchies has not yet faded–and where love is still powerful enough to change the course of history.

This will be a spoiler free review.

I absolutely loved this book. I immediately fell into it and devoured it. The idea of taking the British Monarchy and supplanting it into a fictional America was something I didn’t know I wanted to read. But before I get too into this review, I should probably say that having some basic knowledge of the British Monarchy (its history) is going to help provide some background. I don’t think you really need to know anything to enjoy this contemporary read, with multiple forbidden romances, but I do think it’s an added bonus.

This was Gossip Girl combined with a monarchy and would easily watch an entire series based off this book and its sequel(s). Netlfix, can you get on that? Think of the movie, The Prince & Me combined with the drama of Gossip Girl, and that’s the feeling of this book. It’s full of drama and the weight of responsibility. Beatrice is very much a young Queen Elizabeth II…and I just blew my mind, because I didn’t realize that when I was reading the book, or upon finishing…she knows the weight that rests upon her, and is willing to do her duty, but why should her heart suffer?

Her sister, Samantha, the spare is wild, carefree and jealous of her sister. She has no idea the weight Beatrice has to carry, and she lashes out. Her twin, Jefferson, is similar, but he carries none of the weight that his sister’s carry. He’s the golden boy in the eye of the public, but he’s not without his own troubles.

Daphne, while somewhat enjoyable, came across as a bit deluded and unwilling to see reality. I think that was majorly in part of her mother constantly whispering in her ear that she would marry the Prince, and rather than following her heart, she was led into situation after situation that proved wrong. She was conniving, ruthless and just straight up mean girl. The Blair Waldorf of this book. As for Nina, she was the ‘commoner’ but best friends with the royal twins since her mother worked in the palace. What better way to start a romance than with a best friend? Again, think The Prince & Me.

I will say that there are A LOT of POVs in this book and I often found myself wanting to skip ahead to certain characters. I also want to express that –

THIS IS THE FIRST BOOK IN A SERIES.

I didn’t know that going in, and utterly freaked out at the end of this book because things are not resolved by the end. In some ways they were just getting started and the next book is going to be a whirlwind.

If you have a fascination with the British Monarchy, are into drama and want some forbidden romances, then you’ll definitely want to check out American Royals when it comes out September 3, 2019!