There are so many stories out there about your average person suddenly learning that they are royalty, or a normal person falling in love with royalty and learning to deal with the ups and downs of being in the spotlight. Royalty has always been an intriguing subject for both authors and readers. So, when I learned about the premise of American Royals by Katherina McGee, I knew I had to add it to my reading list.
This book brings royalty to America, a place that has never really had a monarchy. Ignoring the early colonial time when America was under British rule. But anyway, enough with the history. Because of this disconnect between America and royalty, there is a huge fascination that has grown through the years.
We have movies like The Princess Diaries and A Christmas Prince, and people love them. All year long people love consuming stories about royalty. But not only in fiction. There are a lot of people with huge interests in the very real royal family of the U.K. People who know their entire story.
So, it was no surprise that American Royals by Katharine McGee was a young adult book that gained a lot of popularity very quickly. When it came out in 2019, all I saw was positive reviews about the story. Because of this, I had added it to my Goodreads TBR the year it was released.
But of course, It took me a while, but I have finally read the first book in this series. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this story, but I will say, I did end up enjoying it. Here are all my thoughts.
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The Basics
Title: American Royals
Author: Katharine McGee
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: September 3, 2019
The Review
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Content Warnings: Grief, loss of a parent
I have always been a casual fan of stories about royalty. Although they aren’t my die-hard favorites, I still enjoy watching those movies and consuming those stories. So when I read American Royals by Katharine McGee, I wasn’t expecting a lot. I knew I would enjoy the royalty aspect, but it was a toss-up with everything else. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised.
This book is set in America, in the present day. However, in the alternate reality that Katharine McGee created, America is being run by a monarchy. After America won the revolutionary war, instead of giving George Washington the presidency, they gave him a crown. Ever since then the country has been run by royalty.
With this imagined version of America, this story follows five characters. Beatrice, who is next in line, and will be the first queen of America. Sam, her younger sister. Nina, Sam’s best friend and has no blood relation to the royal family. Jefferson, Beatrice’s younger brother. And Daphane, A royal chaser trying to earn Jefferson’s affections… and a spot in the Washington palace. All of these characters intertwine in a dramatic and heartfelt story about loss, love, and public perception.
I really enjoyed this story. It was exciting to read about such a different version of America. With similarities like invasive paparazzi and cultural interests such as baseball, the twist on what I know was fun to read. It did exactly what I thought it would do in terms of imaging a royal family for America.
The best part of American Royals, for me, was the characterization. McGee was able to create five completely different characters with different interests, motivations, and personality traits. Each character had a distinct voice. I find with contemporary stories of romance and drama, that characterization is of the utmost importance. If you don’t care about the characters, you don’t care about the drama. McGee made me care for the characters. I wanted what was best for Jefferson, Nina, Sam, and Beatrice.
The drama was also really fun to read. It felt like I was reading a soap opera, with the different romances, betrayals, and friendships. I was never bored while listening to the audiobook. It kept me on the edge of my seat and made me want more.
The reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because it didn’t do anything special for me. With how fun it was to read, and the interesting twist of the setting, it felt like any other teen drama/romance story. These are great to read, but once you have read one, you have read them all. This just had a royal twist to it. So it was nothing exciting.
Overall, this was a solid read that I liked more than I thought I would. I can understand why so many people were enamored by the story and characters. Also, I enjoyed that the ending didn’t wrap everything up in a nice bow, as I now have something to look forward to with the sequel.
I have just started listening to the audiobook of the sequel to American Royals, Majesty. With things ending on such a precarious note with book one in this series, I am excited to see where the author takes these characters. I just hope everyone gets their happy ending, but from the reviews I have read, I am not sure that will happen.
Although happy endings are not always necessary for a good story, they are very satisfying. But let’s be honest, books that make me cry always end up being my favorite. I love sad content… sorry.
Do you enjoy reading books with royal settings or characters? Let me know in the comments below! Give me some recommendations!