One of my favorite books of 2019. A fun read with great character development. I'm not usually a fan of multi narratives but I enjoyed how it allowed the reader to get to know lots of characters and understand their motivations. I'm totally recommending the book to everyone I know adults and teens. I picked it as a Spring  NYPL Staff Pick.

This was fantastic! I've said it before and I'll say it again: this should be a TV show. It has the perfect amount of drama!

If you like stories about royalty, drama-filled reads, stories that will keep you guessing, and books told from multiple perspectives, pick this up immediately.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

I'll admit I saw most of the major plot twists coming. I knew that King George was sick almost from the very beginning, and by the time the last ball started, I knew that he was going to die by the end of the book. I knew that Daphne was involved with her friend's hospitalization (though I didn't know exactly how). However, most of the steps on the way there were total surprises, and I loved seeing how everything unfolded!

Theories for book 2: I was pretty sure until the very end that Beatrice would abdicate to be with Connor, but for some reason, when she brought it up as a possibility, I got the feeling that it wouldn't actually happen. Still gonna put it out there though! Daphne will somehow get what's coming to her, probably through her previous actions being exposed. That will also lead to Nina and Jeff getting back together. As for Samantha, I'm not actually sure what will happen to her if Beatrice doesn't abdicate. She'll definitely become a more involved family member, but I'm not sure of the specifics.

CW: death of a parent (cancer/heart attack); a character drugs their friend, leading to an accident that leaves the friend in a coma; cheating

This novel overall can be summarized as entertaining. The whole book is moved more by the plot than the characters. I could not stop but imagine what could happen next while doing daily tasks. I usually prefer more character driven books but I enjoyed untangling a royal ya drama. I can definitely see this being a favorite to a lot of people that enjoy shows like Gossip Girl. I'm looking forward. to the next book and find out more secrets and qualities of the characters.

There was a lot to like about this book. I love alt history. The concept of American royals is juicy. At heart this book is really a fluffy, soapy drama about the love loves of three siblings, dressed up in alt history royalness. Judged on that criteria, it was page-turning fun. I’m a casual royal watcher (and a big fan of The Crown) and I felt that the royal details seemed really convincing. Beatrice had a lot in common with Queen Elizabeth, especially in a scene toward the end.

Being a long-suffering older sibling myself, I always always relate to oldest child characters. Princess Beatrice has had her whole life planned out for her and wants to do the right thing. Unfortunately, she’s not interested in any of the guys she she’s being encouraged to marry, but in love with someone completely off-limits to her. 

 Beatrice’s sense of duty kept her from coming off as a bratty and entitled as the other two. I don’t want to spoil, but the secret Samantha keeps from her sister for a good part of the book did not reflect well on her, no matter how tough it is to be the second in line to the throne. Jefferson, the third sibling, was the typical clueless guy who has had everything handed to him. The book did do a good job of portraying how brutal the public scrutiny can be when you’re dating a famous guy. Jefferson’s evil ex-girlfriend was also a little too much of a over-the-top cliche mean girl.

Which brings me to one of the things that bothered me about the book: that the main obstacle in all the romances is either a love interest’s “commoner” status or a love triangle-ish situation. Or both. For a long time, real life royals have married people who aren’t of noble birth. I'd love it if the book had delved more into why royal America is so sexist.
All in all, this was page-turning fun with a fun premise, even if I wished for a little more depth.

This book was a really fun read, though a bit out of my usual taste. Really interesting exploration of what it might be like if America had a monarchy, although there were a few moments where I found myself cringing at the alternate history. Ultimately, I'd recommend to friends who fall more on the contemporary side of things. Thank you for the opportunity to read!

Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to read this ARC prior to the book's publication, but I did end up buying multiple copies of it for our library collection and it has been incredibly popular--I hope to read it soon.

American Royals is a page-turning, addicting, can't-wait-for-the-sequel kind of story. It felt like a reality TV show but in all the best ways. It felt real like this is what our country really would look like in every way if George Washington was King instead of President. Beatrice, Samantha, and Jefferson all had their own responsibilities and personalities and their own satisfyingly arcs from beginning to end. And the family dynamics were realistic and nuanced and gave all the feelings. This cliffhanger was hard to read because it sets up high stakes for the next story and because I didn't want to stop living in these people's lives.

What is America had a royal family?  This is another royal romance/ drama.  My teen readers seem to like this type of story, but I'm not a huge fan. Just not for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this copy of American Royals by Katharine McGee. 
I knew I would love this book because I was a big fan of the Thousandth Floor series. This one treads on some of the same territory but with the unique spin of the Washington family being our own American monarchy.
 I enjoyed everyone’s POV including the antihero bordering-on-villain Daphne. McGee was a way of making us relate to her poorly behaved characters even when they do terrible things. I rooted for all of the bad-for-the-monarchy romances especially the one between Beatrice and a commoner. 
I’m looking forward to the next book in this series and highly recommend it to everyone!

This is a perfect teen drama read in my opinion. The drama of a high society show like Gossip Girl but with the fun new setting of an America with a Royal twist. I know I would have devoured this series as a teen.

This book absolutely flew by with a fantastic mix of serious topics and fun romances. American Royals is based on the premise that George Washington became king when America was founded. Now, in modern-day, Princess Beatrice is preparing to be the first queen of the United States, while her younger twin siblings, Samantha and Jefferson, wrestle with their own problems with romances and friendship.
	The book was fun and dramatic, the characters were interesting, and the romances were sweet. Beatrice is a great heroine, and you could really feel for her reluctance to become queen. Samantha and Jefferson were equally as interesting and very well developed. It’s a very entertaining read and a promising beginning to a series.

It has taken me several days to sum up my thoughts once I finished this book. I still do not know truly how I feel. I am looking forward to the sequel as I was a little let down by the ending. Spoiler alert I guess, but I definitely prefer a happy ending and the way that American Royals ended was not the way that I had hoped that it would. 
The book is split up into four different points of view; Beatrice, Samantha, Nina, and Daphne. I really enjoyed Beatrice's part and I always looked forward to when I would get to another one of her chapters. I wasn't a fan of Daphne and I was just hoping and waiting for her to get in trouble for what she had done or at least be exposed for not being a good person. 
I am definitely ready for the sequel and I look forward to getting to know the characters better and hopefully, each of them will get the ending that they deserve.

What happened if America and every other country had a monarchy? It was a fun page turner with great characters from all walks of life. It was interesting to see how differently the heir to throne is treated vs her siblings. Can't wait for the next one!

This was such a fun, fluffy teen read and I'm already dying to read the sequel. I thought the whole concept was really clever.

I wish something, anything had been resolved by the end of this book! Tons of romances are set up but everyone is left in limbo. I will definitely have to read the sequel to see how everything works out.

The characters seemed dull to me and not well rounded. I thought going into this it would have been cute and interesting due to how the plot sounded. I wanted to love this like I loved The Thousandth Floor. It was very melodramatic and felt like a soap opera.

I LOVED this book!!! An imagining of what the country would be like if instead of presidents and first families we had a Royal Family, the Washingtons. Beatrice (Bee) is the future queen and has all the stress and constraints that you can imagine would come with being the heir. I loved how we get to see her Royal, but also her young woman and personal, side. Seeing both made her so relatable. Samantha (Sam) and Jefferson (Jeff)are the younger Washington twins. They both have more freedom than Bee, but that freedom also comes with pitfalls of its own. Seeing the story through Sam’s eyes at times helps us to be able to relate and understand better. I was not at all a fan of Daphne, but as the “villain” I would say she is perfect. Also, I know we’re supposed to like Nina, but sorry I just didn’t. I like the idea of her character and the part (specifically with Sam and Jeff) the character plays, just not specifically how Nina was written.

This book was so much fun! There was lots of drama and insanity, I hope this gets turned into a movie or show someday. This story is what America could be like If we had a king and queen. It follows the Royal family, Queen to be Beatrice, and her two siblings Jeff and Samantha, as the drama of being royal swirls around them. There are four narrators for this story. We see the points of view of  Beatrice and Samantha, as well as Samantha's best friend Nina, and Jeff’s ex girlfriend Daphne. 

I thought the writing was great, and the voices of the different characters were perfect. There was a certain amount of cheesyness, but I was ready for it and it really made the story that much more fun. I am really excited to read the next one in the series! 

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Told through an alternate history perspective, George Washington became king instead of president.  Three siblings enter the picture, Beatrice, Samantha, and Jefferson. Groomed from a young age to take over the American Throne, Beatrice is descended from George. She will be the first Queen of America, but who will be king? Her younger sister, Samantha has always been the “spare” and lived in her sister’s shadow, so has always done whatever she wants. Jefferson has some big decisions to make. Two girls are vying for his attention. Nina, Samantha’s commoner friend he’s known all his life, and Daphne, a social climbing crown grabber who will do anything to get her man back. The characters are flawed, likable, and easy to relate to. The character dynamics are well-done and mix well into the story. The plot is filled with drama without overwhelming the reader. For fans of the Crown and Gossip Girl, this book is a must-read.

All the ingredients were there, but they never quite combined into the tasty dish I'd been saving all my WW points to consume. You know? Just ... meh. Never bonded with the characters; felt no investment in their fates. It was mildly amusing and entertaining enough to finish, but ultimately unsatisfying.