As is sometimes the case, I wish I'd noticed this was a series before begining. While I want resolution to the characters' stories, I'm not sure I want to sit through hundreds more pages of this. So...we'll see, I suppose.

I received a copy of American Royals from Random House Books for Young Readers through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this book had a great premise but was a little disappointed at the lack of history. All we got is that in this verse it is a faux pas to drink tea.
Okayyyy.
The characters are great but there's that lack of communication trope so present in ya novels.

This book was gossip girl Royals Edition and I loved every minute of this dramatic read! From villains you hate to America's sweetheart who can do no wrong. Everyone of them is breaking the rules. The only thing is will they get caught and how much damage will the truth cost. This multiple POV read will have you flying through the pages. I can not wait for the sequel!

First I would like to thank the publisher for allowing me to read this beautiful book early! Have you ever wandered what America would have been like if George Washington had been the first King instead of the first president? If yes this is the book for you! This book blends beautifully traditions from Britain and our modern day America. I got major Princess Diaries vibes and one scene that was so Devil wears Prada involving a massive closet full of fabulous clothes and jewelry! I love that we get such a wide range of  narration as well. You get two princesses, a commoner and someone who is something close to a Lady. This book had me laughing and crying! The writing is so fluid and smooth I felt like I was watching a movie instead of reading a book! I’m  definitely adding this book to my selves when it comes out! The ending left me feeling sad, empowered, and slightly worried about the future of these characters that I grew to love! Can’t wait for book 2!

I really love a good drama. Is it a guilty pleasure? Maybe, but I definitely don't feel guilty about it so it shouldn't be classified as such.


Shows like Gossip Girl and Dynasty always hook me in. Rich people and their intricate problems! But they're just like everyone else, right?


I'm a fan of The Thousandth Floor, so when I heard Katharine McGee was coming out with this, I knew I had to read it.



Katharine McGee has that special way of suspenseful writing that draws you in with just the right amount of details. Countless times during this book there would be little cliffhangers of past events that made you just want to know the whole story right then and there. She does it at the perfect pace so you're not overwhelmed with, "but wait!!!"


Basically, the Washingtons have the perfect, eldest child and heir to the throne, Beatrice; the middle child, Samantha; and her twin, Jefferson who can pretty much do what he pleases since he is the youngest and a boy.


Nina is Samantha's best friend, but also has feelings for Jefferson, who returns them!!! BUT she's just a commoner... she is no stunning political socialite, Daphne Deighton, whose name is so snooty it makes me want to gag myself with a fork.... but it fits her perfectly. Daphne is Jefferson's ex...ish.

I just love love love the drama between everyone. If it's not the best friends having issues, it's the siblings, or the parents causing strife in the child's life. All so perfect and catty.

I will say that my favorite character even though I absolutely despise her at the moment, is Daphne. She has rich backstory that still needs answered and I'm so hoping she goes her own way and doesn't live through her mother's "plans" for her, but! We shall see.

This book was a fun and entertaining ride and I'm excited to keep reading the series! 5 stars for Katharine!

OMG this book was so good. I read it in a couple of sittings because I couldn't stop reading. 

I feel like it ended in a cliffhanger, so I am hoping that there is a book 2 in the series. 

What I love:
-  I loved that the characters were older in their late teens. 
- I loved all four point of views and how the story was developed. 
- I loved Daphne she was such a fun a villainous character 
- I loved how the secrets unfolded throughout the story 

Yes, it was strange to imagine America as a  monarchy but I think the author did a great job world-building. 

The ending left me wanting more which makes me excited if this is a new series. 

I will be posting a review on What to Read Next on September 11,  2019.

This book was not for me. However, if you like Gossip Girl or loved McGee’s other novels, this book will be for you. 
The latest book from the author of “The Thousandth Floor”, gives an alternate American history. What if when George Washington won the American Revolution, he decided to take the crown for himself. What if George Washington became the first King of America?  In this alternate history of America that is just what happens and Beatrice (the heir to America), Samantha (the spare), and her twin brother Jefferson or Jeff are America’s royal children and the next generation to take the spotlight.  
The amount of angst here is astounding. If I had known this was from the author of “The Thousandth Floor” I may not have picked it up. This is a gossip girl style of novel and is not for me. Even in my teen books I have little patience anymore for girl on girl hate and cattiness. It just seems petty and out of place. The synopsis and cover of this book, hooked line and sinked me. The cover is gorgeous and cute. The idea of an alternate American timeline with royalty sounded amazing! It just wasn’t for me. However, if you love gossip girl or The Selection by Kierra Cass, this could be a great read-a-like.
The biggest problem I had with this novel was with just how white it feels. America’s history is a violent and bloody one. If Washington had taken the throne after the American Revolution, then slavery would have already been firmly grounded into American history and the destruction of the Native population would have been on going. But instead of exploring these topics, we get bits and pieces about how history might have changed but the focus of the novel is love interests, girl on girl cattiness, and drama. But maybe that’s the point. Without America being formed with democracy, the equality of people would never have been on the table. 
Will teens like this novel. Yes, I can think of several teens that will like this kind of novel and it will check out from the library. If you have a teen population that enjoys McGee’s other books this might be a purchase for you.

I absolutely adored this book! A delightful reimagining of America as a monarchy. I loved all the characters— even loved hating those I was supposed to hate!— and their joys and struggles felt familiar yet fresh. I can’t wait for Book 2!

What the heck?! Yes! This was so cute and sweet! I loved this idea of this and ever teen girl is now gonna be dreaming of this!

I love a royals story, but have concerns about the premise of this one. The fact that it completely erases any mention of what happened to Indigenous peoples when the revolution happened concerns me for the implicit message it sends. It's an entertaining read, but not sure I can avoid the concerns. At the same time, the ending made me want the next book to know what would happen next, the way a good romance book should.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book but honestly I just don't think I mesh well with the writing style which is really unfortunate.

Recently I’ve fallen into a book slump. Nothing was really catching my attention until I started reading “American Royals.” This is the first book in a series about the American royal family (yes, America is a monarchy) and is told from the narrative of 4 different female characters. At times I find multiple narrators frustrating but I think in this case it added more to the story. All of the narrators were not created equally, some were multifaceted and you saw a lot of character development, while others fell flat for me. Princess Beatrice and Princess Samantha were by far my favorite characters. At times I even thought about skipping ahead to their next chapters. Both of the Princesses are multidimensional. There is a lot more to them than meets the eye and that is examined throughout the book. The other two narrators are Nina and Daphne. Nina is the best friend of Princess Samantha and love interest to Samantha’s twin, Prince Jeff. Nina is your typical college student who just so happens to have a mom who works for the King and is best friends with a Princess. Although Nina is supposed to come across as the girl next door, I did find her to be too self deprecating and even bratty. She has a lot going for her but is the first one to tear herself down and what’s the deal with her wanting to keep her oldest, best friend a secret? Next there is Daphne, the ex-girlfriend of Prince Jeff and your typical evil villain. While Daphne’s story was interesting, it was also predictable. There wasn’t as much character development for these two characters, especially Nina, and I wish there was more. Hopefully the next book in the series will round them out better. 

This story reminded me of a mix of “The Princess Diaries” and “Gossip Girl”. There is royalty, drama and romance. One of the big differences for me between “Gossip Girl” and this story is that although there is a lot of forbidden romance there are no steamy parts. There are some descriptions of kissing but the few times that sex is directly mentioned it is glossed over. I personally would have liked more dirty details, especially since I think this book is more for people in their 20s (all of the characters are college aged) than teens. I did think that some of the romantic relationships were unnecessary and took away from the heart of the story. There was almost too much forbidden love for me. Ultimate this book is about showing how complicated people’s live are, especially for those in the public eye. 

I found “American Royals” to be a quick, intriguing read. This book is perfect for people who love watching and reading about the royal family. I would also recommend this book to those who like romance without all the details. I think both teens and adults will enjoy this book. I would not recommend it to history buffs, they might have a hard time getting over the concept of America having a royal family.

American Royals is a pitch perfect young adult re-imagining of an America in which George Washington becomes America’s first King instead of first president.  Readers who love all things Royal will love this book, and it would make a great addition to any classroom choice reading program.  American Royals is told from multiple perspectives and the characters are generally well-drawn enough to make each of those perspectives a worthwhile read.  This text does very little world building and focuses primarily on relationship building (and destruction).  History enthusiasts will note that McGee pulls often from the recent history of the British monarchy. Overall, this text is a quick, engaging read which appeal to royal watchers and lovers of YA romance alike.  The cliffhanger ending will definitely keep readers coming back for book two!

I think you can sense a theme of what kind of books I’m drawn to. I’ve read a lot about royalty, presumed royalty (like Alice Roosevelt in American Princess), and fictional royalty. When I saw the cover of American Royals by Katherine McGee, I knew I had to have it. 

If you liked The Royal We (which is one of my favorite books to reread), I think you will really enjoy this. I read it pretty quickly, in two days, and am looking forward to the possibility of a sequel. However, if you’re tired of the classic “heir and spare” dynamic, maybe skip this one, because it’s discussed A LOT. 

American Royals focuses on a future where George Washington became the first king of the United States and in 2019, his descendants are still ruling. Beatrice is the heir to her father’s crown and thanks to a law passed by her grandfather, she will be the first Queen to rule in her own right and NOT have the crown inherited by the eldest male heir. She’s under a lot of pressure to be perfect, to make the people love her, when all she wants is to be loved for who she truly is. Her twin siblings, Samantha and Jefferson can what the please which has landed them all in quite the sticky situation. 

This novel is also multi-perspective. I’m not always the biggest fan of this style; I think it can be done really well but I always form certain allegiances to characters and I can get bored or impatient if we doin’t revisit their perspective enough. I love Beatrice and found her perspective the most interesting! Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect to Nina. Sometimes I wasn’t sure what she was trying to say or represent as the “commoner”. I didn’t feel like she was 100% relatable, especially since she wanted to hide her friendship with Sam. Nothing makes me sadder than an unequal friendship. Daphne is bananas as the villain and made me so angry, but it was fun anger since I can’t imagine a real person being such a social climber. But those people exist! 

I personally think the concept is really clever and a fun “what if” to play with. Do you ever wonder what the United States would be like today if George Washington HAD accepted the nomination for King? I think about it all the time. 

This writing is fun and engaging and typical of a YA/Adult Fiction book. I enjoyed this book, it’s a really fun read and a fun topic especially if you love all things royal. Which I definitely do. All in all, a four star read for me! Thank you to Random House for the advanced e-copy!

Princess Beatrice has always known what she will do with her life. It's her destiny to one day become Queen Beatrice and rule America, just as her father did before her, and his father before him, going all the way back to George Washington. Her younger siblings, twins Samantha and Jefferson, are less sure of how their lives will go, and question whether, as the "spares" anything they do really matters any way. All anyone seems to care about is who they will marry, though that has issues of its own.

So, twist of "what if America had royalty?" is cute, but  it doesn't really impact the story, which at heart this is your basic princess YA book. Will the Princess follow her heart or her duty? Will a social-climbing schemer get the man, or will he stick with his true love? What if your best friend falls in love with your brother?  Nothing here is especially new, but it's a well-done example of the genre. Romance lovers will enjoy this.

American Royals is the story of the Washington family, the descendants of George Washington (aka George I, first king of the United States). Beatrice, the Princess Royal, is set to become the first Queen Regnant of America, after her grandfather decreed during his own tenure as king that the firstborn child, regardless of gender, would ascend the throne from then on. In this alternate America, however, there are still trolls who are sure that a woman isn't fit to lead, so Beatrice's father encourages her to marry so as to ensure stability when she ascends the throne. Of course, the heir to the throne can't just date any old person, so a list of suitors is compiled. While Beatrice struggles with her love life (or lack thereof), her younger siblings, twins Samantha and Jefferson, are drifting in the world. Beatrice has her life planned out for her, but they're just the spares- what are they good for? 

The book is fantastic. Let's get that out of the way immediately. If you're a fan of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan or The Crown on Netflix, you'll love this book. It's told from the perspectives of each sibling, plus Nina, Samantha's longtime best friend (and a commoner), and Daphne, daughter of a baronet, Jefferson's ex-girlfriend, and schemer extraordinaire. It perfectly encapsulates the trapped feeling celebrities, particularly young ones, have described- the incessant paparazzi, feeling like your life isn't your own, every move you make or outfit you wear being scrutinized and judged. Samantha is reminiscent of the real-life Princess Margaret, also a spare who was unsure what to do with her life, so turns to parties and alcohol. The only negative thing I would say about this book is that it needs more resolution. Very bad things are done to people in this book, and there is no comeuppance, no aha moment, no sign that anyone will ever even know the details. There's one moment where a villain is drunkenly confessing all, and I was desperately hoping that the person with them was recording everything on their phone to take it back to the people who needed to know, but nope. I suppose this all could be addressed in a sequel, but honestly, I hope there's not a sequel. The book stands well alone. I just needed bad guys to pay!

I just couldn't relate or empathize with the characters. The premise was an exciting one but it was executed in a way that kept me compelled to continue reading.

This was a fun book with a very unique and interesting twist on American History. What if we had created a new monarchy instead of a democracy. The characters are all likeable, and even though they are mostly royals, their interactions with friends and family are relatable. While I disagree with this book being labeled Young Adult, I do think it will have appeal for both young and older readers. The dramatic scenes and twists will entice readers to want to keep checking back with this planned series.

I love Katharine McGee and her writing style and after reading the summary I thought this would be a home run for sure! Don't get me wrong, it was good but I wanted it to bring something new to the royals and it didn't. It had some interesting characters and I am curious to see where the series goes, but just don't expect it to be a new take on the royal lifestyle.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book
I really liked The Thousandth Floor trilogy by Katharine McGee, so you know, I have to read this one!
I liked the author's writing style and storytelling style as usual.  However, I still feel a bit weird that in the story we had royalties... ...