I’m a bit of a sucker for books about royalty, I just find the whole idea of being part of that world so interesting because it’s so unlike normal life.

American Royals explores this idea really well and I really enjoyed reading about the struggles Princess Beatrice faced as first in line to the throne. I also thoroughly loved the forbidden love plot.

My favourite part of the book was following Princess Samantha and Prince Jefferson, as royals who get the perks but also have a bit more freedom. I found them to be really interesting believable characters and Jefferson’s love triangle, though frustrating at times, was addictive.

I’m looking forward to the next book in the series!

Overall I liked this alternate history of America and thus the world.
My one issue was with Daphne's age. She was still 17 at the time of writing.
Her scheming was that of a teenager true, but the concept of marriage at such a young age- well. My guess is that the ages of the main characters were to appeal to an YA audience.
It would have been nice to have had more history of America in the storyline. What had happened after the war with the British?
There were odd sentences here and there-eg about lavery & Native Americans, but they only left me wanting more detail.
I'm sure a YA audience will love this new series, after all, so many girls dream about being a: a. a princess and b. To be in charge- to rule.

Glitzy and treacherous. The only two words that come to mind when trying to describe this amazing YA novel. I have a thing about the idea and the fantasy of royalty and I also LOVE the tv show Gossip Girl, so this book just had to be for me, right? RIGHT! Absolutely and then some.
I love the idea of Beatrice being groomed to be the first Queen of America, and how Samantha is the wild child. Sound like anyone in British Royalty that we know? Hmm! Elizabeth and Anne?! Add in a twin brother and a commoner best friend and you can be sure that this book is filled with fabulous teenage drama.
I'm only slightly annoyed that I still have to wait for book 2. lol.

This was just perfect for my current reading mood, words cannot even explain. I’m not even sure I know where to start with this review, it’s been a few days since I finished reading it and I still can’t put the right sentences together.

It is kind of hard to sum up my thoughts on this book but what I can say with certainty is that I live for this kind of drama. It is a winning combination with the mixture of the scrutiny each character receives and how they have to balance that with their budding relationships made for a brilliantly easy going but unputdownable read.

Beatrice is the next in line for the throne and as the first female to get there finds herself under a lot of pressure to be perfect and always do what’s best for her country. I enjoyed her slight unraveling, she seemed so stiff to begin with and it was good to see her rebel a little.

Samantha, Beatrice’s younger sister, was one of my favourites she was the unpredictable one who actually managed to show some growth throughout the course of her storyline. I liked that in a more subtle way she also seemed like she was having to fight against two different parts of herself, as well as for the attention of a certain boy.

Daphne, Prince Jeff’s ex, is the character that you have to love to hate, she is ruthless and cunning and her goals are terrible but you have to give her kudos for being willing to do anything to get what she wants. Whilst I didn’t necessarily like Daphne I did enjoy reading about her, there’s something about the tension of wondering what dastardly thing she might do next or how she will insert herself into the royals lives again that kept me turning the pages, that and I kept hoping she would run into Ethan.

Nina, Sam’s friend, was another favourite right up until the last little bit of the book, she is the normal girl who just so happens to be friends with Sam and ends up at a lot of royal functions. Her chemistry with Jeff was interesting because it was nice to see that dynamic of someone who had been in the shadows thrust into a world that they didn’t want the experience of. I liked that she handled that in her own way by kind of not handling it and that it caused some tension in her relationships. I was however annoyed at the end of her lack of support for Sam, I liked that their relationship wasn’t depicted as perfect but I felt like that was sacrificed a bit too much for the sake of the drama.

What I really can’t believe though is that it ended…right at the most tense part of the whole story!!! And now I have to wait ages to find out what happens next, I could have at the same time screamed and applauded the author with that one.

If you are looking for a wonderfully dramatic read that is a bit of fun but that will have you hooked from first page to last then American Royals will be right up your street, I just loved it.

I loved loved loved this book! I honestly audibly gasped when it ended.
I think reading this at the start of 2020 was a good choice because of the Meghan and Harry drama; it was nice to see royals being able to love in real life and having the struggle in fiction.
The characters were so believable and they all face realistic struggles and react in ways that made my heart ache for them all.
I am desperate for more in this world and I can't wait for the sequel.
The writing in this was so easy to read and I was immersed immediately, I would definitely pick up more of what Katharine McGee writes!

4.5/5 Stars

Please tell me this is either an attempt at tongue-in-cheek humour, or it's targeted readership is 10 to 12 year olds. The writing style is stodgy and infantile, the characters shallow and as one dimensional as a sheet of paper (and almost as exciting) and the story is fairy tale. Unfortunately it lacks the Brothers Grimm bite.

I would rather chew off my own leg than read any more of this drivel. I have up at the 20% Mark for the sake of my sanity, eyesight and my leg.



My thanks to Netgalley for a free download. I now know how truly dreadful this is, and will avoid anything else by this author

I highly enjoyed American Royals, it was a good kind of trashy. Filled with binge-worthy drama such as scandals, drama and royal gossip that keeps you hooked. There were so many moments where I struggled to put my kindle down while reading.

I loved all of the characters, especially when I read about their backstories, I love when we get to see proper back stories of characters in a book. There was your typical sibling squabbles which is what you tend to expect to see in a book. I personally don’t like seeing picture perfect families, but this book kept the family in the real world. The family is as real as any commoner, all while having a regal public persona to keep up.

The writing style was very good in American Royals, I found it an easy read where the story just flowed perfectly. And let’s not forget the romance, who doesn’t love a good romance which gives you some heart wrenching moments.

Surprisingly got sucked into this story and needed up really rooting for some of the characters. Usually not the biggest fan of 3rd person POV but it didn’t annoy me as much as I thought it would. Good read

Although it's a very predictable story, I totally fell for the drama and relationships that happened here. Liked the various POV, four in total. It's fast paced and gripping, same vibe as her other book (the thousandth floor) teen drama, gossip girl, rich people style. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down and had to read all the way through the end. The only thing I disliked were the characters, not all of them, but the vast majority. It's not a book I will bring with me forever, but definitely it's something to read when you're feeling a bit down or to get rid of a reading slump. I will probably keep reading the series

I am a sucker for royal books. This year had us blessed with a lot of great stories surrounding royals, so I am a bit disappointed with this one. I feel like it's my fault, though. I didn't know that this was going to be a series but thought it was a standalone and for that, the story just moved way too slowly. The action doesn't really start until the halfway mark and then nothing is really explained and instead it just moves from action to action without discussing the consequences or impact of them. I also had a hard time finding a character to connect to because they felt a bit superficial. Still, I think I'm going to continue with the series because I did really enjoy McGee's first series.

Katherine McGee is a writer based in Houston. You might have read her Thousandth Floor trilogy, which I haven’t read but looks like an interesting premise. It’s set in a New York hundred years in the future, where men and women grapple with the same issues we do now, but in a setting of futuristic, shiny innovation and genetic enhancement.

“American Royals” is, be warned, the first of what looks like a series of books, It’s built on the idea that the Washingtons were crowned, not founders of the government. It’s a really interesting idea, and makes for loads of opportunities for new characters, new takes on the familiar, which seems to be Katherine McGee’s speciality.

The story unfolds from the perspective of four different women, and it’s testament to the writing that I never got confused about whose chapter I was reading – given that they’re all roughly the same age and two of them are princesses, it could have been tricky to differentiate.

American Royals

Beatrice and Samantha are princesses, along with their brother Jefferson. Beatrice is set to be the first ever Queen as the laws have recently changed to ‘allow’ women to ascend to the throne. Samantha is struggling with feeling like the ‘spare’ child, and in this way the two are separate in their issues, driven apart by their own feelings of shortcomings.

Meanwhile, two girls vie for Jefferson’s attention and Sam’s best friend, commoner Nina, tries to balance college life with her palace alter ego.

I really enjoyed this book – the descriptions of the balls where detailed enough that you could tell what was happening, without lingering too much on the dresses that it got boring. Being introduced to the Duchess of Ohio or the Ensign of Dallas was pretty fun, and it definitely satisfies America’s craving to have a monarchy. It does exactly what it sets out to do – tell a story about different people in a compelling way, offering an escape route from the real world, for a few hours at least.

My only criticism is that the next book isn’t out until late next year – that’s so long to wait to see what happens next!

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the platform, and to publishing house Penguin Random House for the copy.

I honestly just could not get into this book. I felt that the writing style was poor and I couldn’t engage with any of the characters as it didn’t feel like any of them had any personality. I was looking forward to this title so it was a bit disappointing.

This was a book that I couldn't put down and one that I found to be so unique in terms of it's content!

The thought of America having a royal family hadn't even crossed my mind, until I read American Royals and it opened my eyes a lot, especially with regards to the standards and rules a royal family has to abide by. A lot of research must have been done into royalty and I commend the author for that.

The way the story was told, also stood out to me. As it was told through four perspectives I got a feel of what life was like for the heir to the throne, the spare princess, the wannabe princess and the girl next door type. This certainly added to the feeling of originality that the book had and I don't think it would've had the same effect if it was written through the eyes of just one character.

The ending was incredible and I am literally dying for the sequel...NOW!

Loved this. Couldn't put it down - kept returning to it after work and on the daily commute. Fun, full of melodrama, addictive, unique and light of heart. Excellent escapism.

My favourite young adult novel of the year (and I voted so in the Goodreads awards!) Simply stunning storytelling. Highly recommend.

I quite enjoyed reading the book, I do think the Americans could have gone this way quite easily looking back on some of their dynasties such as the Kennedys. However, the book does not wrap up all the stories, so we do not know what happens to everyone. If this is just the first book in the series, it would have been nice to know....

I was really expecting a book that was like Royals, or Red White and Royal Blue. Instead I got something like a bad tv show. Which is something I would watch while folding laundry, but I honestly don't think I want to read the rest of the series if it's going to be similar.

I genuinely didn't think I'd enjoy this as much as what I did, but here we are! Very amusing in some places and I enjoyed it overall :)

I heard a lot of mixed reviews about this book - and I was extremely apprehensive. However I absolutely loved it. I became invested in the characters immediately and loved the multiple POV! I enjoyed the plot twists only issue was I found the ending a little rushed but it was left on a cliffhanger, I can't wait to read the sequel! I have the biggest book hangover after this!

I honestly loved this book. I would rate this a 5 out of 5 because it grabbed my attention from start to finish.

American Royals is a fun read that is perfect If you're in the mood to get out of your head and into a world full of royal drama. This is completely different to Katharine McGee's other series The Thousandth Floor  which I loved, check out my review if you haven't yet. As much as I loved Katharine's other books I have to say American Royals is my favourite by far. The drama, the fame, the friendships and did I mention the Drama?

American Royals is told from a variety of different narrators that all have their own set problems and fun which makes the novel even more interesting. It can be confusing at first but it does allow for you to be inside the head of key characters. My favourite probably had to be Nina maybe because she reminded me of myself and my least favourite probably Daphne even if I did like her at times.


If you're looking for a fun read full of twists and turns and a fan of Gossip Girl and The Royals then I would highly recommend picking up a copy of this book asap as its awesome