“Pizza sounds delicious,” she amended. “Mushroom, please.”
He let out an indignant breath. “It’s a pizza, not a salad.”
“If you weren’t going to listen, why did you bother asking?”
“Because I assumed you had better taste than to want vegetables.”
Can you see why Ethan is my absolute favorite?

It’s official. No one writes characters like Katharine McGee. She drew me in with The Thousandth Floor and the plethora of painful characters. Now she’s worked her magic again, but with a twist. The American Royals series is insanely clever because all four povs are women: Beatrice, Nina, Daphne, and Sam. They’re not always likeable, but they’re always interesting. They are the main driving characters of the story, and they all have agency. Their relationships and lives are all messy and complicated, but they’re well developed and thought out. They’re all different too, something that you rarely see in one book. I feel like most YA novels have some iteration of the same heroine, and it’s nice to see one book with so many different types of women. The multiple povs also allow you to get into your heads, and Katharine McGee shows you what they’re thinking and feeling, not just what they’re doing.
As far as the boys go, Ethan is my favorite. Teddy redeems himself quite well after his behavior in the first book, and he started to grow on me as well. I was most disappointed for Jefferson, though, who kind of just fades into the background and becomes nothing more than the object of Daphne’s obsession. We hear a lot about him, but we never really get to see him.Considering that he’s directly connected to every narrator, it was kind of surprising how little he is mentioned at all.
The name of the game this time around is growth, and we don’t see any from Jefferson. Everyone else, though, holy cow. All the aforementioned characters go through complete 180s, which can be kind of disorienting, especially if you liked them the way that they were before. There is a lot of drama, and some of it feels a tad forced, but it’s still pretty fun. The zingly one-liners and bantering between characters was enjoyable, and I sped through this book in two nights.
Somehow, though, this series just isn’t able to raise the stakes the way that The Thousandth Floor series did. The characters are just lacking the same dangerous mix of desperation and determination. The only one that comes close is Daphne; the other characters are just angsty and insecure. This all just serves to villainize Daphne, especially in comparison to all the other characters who are inherently good, if somewhat confused. Daphne is pretty similar to Leda, except she is selfish and single minded where Leda was fiercely loyal and loving.
Beatrice’s struggles to rule America were the most interesting; I was possibly influenced by the fact that I was in the middle of studying about the Presidency for AP Gov, and possibly influenced by my affinity for young monarchs. I would have appreciated some higher stakes for the politics, though. Something to bring some weight to the storyline. Though the first book ended on a serious note, this one just seemed to float along. Still, the references to American government were priceless, and Beatrice’s uphill battle was well expressed.
Out of the four storylines, one wraps up neatly, two reach resolutions, and one still has some underlying tension. It’s a pretty nice ending that gives a good sense of closure but still left me with enough curiosity to pursue the next book. And it doesn't have an overwhelming amount of loose ends that I’ll inevitably forget.
Overall, Majesty was a fun read that really dives into the psyche of its characters all while riding a breezy and fresh plot.

Following up on the delightfully frothy and scandalous American Royals, Majesty continues the story of an American royal family. Merging historical events and places with an alternate reality lends authenticity to the world building. The shifting narrative voices between Beatrice, Samantha, Nina and Daphne highlight the points of view of four young women trying to make their place in the world. Their aristocratic world doesn’t isolate them from heartache and betrayal, and as their stories merge and connect, they each learn what they want and determine what is worth fighting to keep. I sped through this title in one sitting, and I’m excited to meet these characters again and see what happens next!

The sequel to AMERICAN ROYALS, MAJESTY does not disappoint. While America learns to adjust with a new queen on the throne, Beatrice learns to cope with everything that she lost when gaining the Queen title. Princess Samantha is caught up living her life as a princess and partying it up. Maybe she will add a party prince to her side. A new reign has begun. Meanwhile, Nina is attempting to Prince Jefferson, and Daphane has big plans to marry Prince Jefferson, but a massive secret may just end up threatening it all.

I really enjoyed the arc of the storyline and how well it flows. It was definitely an easy-read to take my mind off other matters at hand. I also loved the creative premise of a royal family in the United States. We won't be getting a royal family anytime soon, but it was super fun to at least read about a fictional "what-if." McGee really thought through the details about what would be different if the country was run by a monarchy. The strength of women is especially prevalent in the sequel, specifically among Beatrice and her sister Samantha. Some of the thoughts that these two characters have are a bit sophisticated for 18 and 19-year-olds, and I wish that Dapahne and Samatha were given more depth to their characters. Regardless, this is definitely a must-read if you enjoyed AMERICAN ROYALS.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this review copy of American Royals II: Majesty. This sequel to American Royals follows the alternative historical family of George Washington as King of America. I immensely enjoyed the first book in the series and found the second book to be equally enjoyable. I missed seeing the royal world through Nina’s eyes as she didn’t have as much story time in this book, however it was great seeing the growth and maturity of Beatrice.

The sequel to American Royals, this book follows the four narrators from the first book - Beatrice, now Queen, Samantha, struggling with the death of her Father and her new title as Heir, Nina, heartbroken about Jeff while at the same time falling in love with someone else, and Daphne, still doing everything in her power to be with Jeff.

While I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as the first, I loved the character development of both Bee and Samantha. Bee was one of my least favorite narrators in the first book and shifted to my favorite of this book! On the opposite side, Nina was my favorite of the first book and my least favorite of this book. Interesting how that changes!

Truthfully, I was a little disappointed by the endings of Nina and Daphne but i think that's personal preference!

Majesty
American Royals #2
by: Katharine McGee @katharinemcgee
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️and 1/2
.
I was lucky enough to to get an ARC of Majesty from @NetGalley and @randomhouse. *The pub date for Majesty is 9/10/2020.*
Y’ALL. I loved this, but my complaint about this book is the same as it’s prequel American Royals: it just ends. I need more, and right now this is the last book. This book is told from four perspectives: Beatrice, Samantha, Nina, and Daphne. I thought two of the four stories ended up the way I would have wanted while the other two didn’t. I need more!!! If you loved the first one, you’ll love this one too!

Majesty was definitely exactly what I was in the mood for, but, like, I'm not proud of that?

Dripping with angst and wildly predictable characters with seemingly zero motivation for...anything, there was, nevertheless, something comforting about something easy in these troubling times.

#AmericanRoyalsIIMajesty #NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-arc copy of American Royals II: Majesty.
I think that this series is refreshing and fun.

The royal Washington’s are back! Princess Beatrice is learning how to be queen, the first female monarch in America’s history. Princess Samantha is trying to find her place within the family, and Prince Jefferson is trying to find real love. The road to love and happiness is rocky, and power and wealth make is even more so. A fun yet thoughtful alternative history, this page-turner has romance, adventure, and everything in between.

This sequel to American Royals finds the Washington family and their friends adjusting to Beatrice being the new Queen of America. The romantic drama continues in this fast-paced, alternate history told with multiple narrators. While there is no intense cliffhanger as in the first book, this second novel makes it clear this will be a series. Fans of this fun story will enjoy getting to further explore these characters.

I love the concept of American Royals and the look at what America would be like if it were a monarchy instead. I love that everyone become more confident in themselves in this one. While it was cute, I wasn't blown away by it like I was the first. I think this novel definitely suffers from the curse of the second novel in a series. I'm still excited and invested in their stories.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Random House Books for Young Readers through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

What a wonderful sequel to American Royals! This story picks up right where the first book left off and does a beautiful job telling the next chapter in each character's story. The universe of characters remains consistent from American Royals (love them or hate them!) This is a true sequel, so definitely start with American Royals in the series. Katharine McGee left some of the storylines open, which hints at maybe, pretty please a third book?!

What I loved most of all about this book is that each of the characters becomes much more mature and nuanced, showing true character development. It would have been easy to make this a very action driven book, but while the story does proceed, each chapter spends more time with each character than the first book.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Did I drop everything and devour this book in two sittings? Yes. Yes, I did. Thx to the publisher for the gifted eARC. I’ve been dying to get my hands on this ever since the ending of the first book in the series. We quickly jump back into Royal America and I’m loving the direction we see everyone’s life taking. I’m always pulling for Beatrice to succeed in everything! I don’t want to give too much away but was happy with the Samantha development and I want to punch a great many other characters in the face. I think there’s one more book coming? I HOPE?! Will share a FULL review once the book comes out in September!

I thoroughly enjoyed American Royals and after finishing American Royals II: Majesty, I want to read both of them all over again. I felt every emotion there is to feel within the first few chapters and fell even more in love with the characters throughout this feministic story. With the different perspectives, it makes it feel like you're reading more than one story, which I absolutely loved. The ending wasn't as dramatic as American Royals, but it was just as important and had me feeling like I could live my life differently. You know those movies that you see in theaters and once it is over, you feel like a different person? This story will do that to you. Read it, wept through it and I absolutely loved it.

This was the perfect follow-up to the first American Royals! Similar escapist read and an interesting look at what it might be like if America had a royal family. If you're looking for a book that really feels like eating cotton candy (in the best way possible), I'd definitely recommend it.

I read Majesty immediately after American Royals, so I didn't have the agony of waiting months between the cliffhanger ending of AR, thankfully! On the flip side, reading them back to back probably gave me a small sense of repetitiveness, since I didn't need the recaps and backstory fill=in that comes with a sequel. I find myself with a small book hangover for these 8 characters, drawing me back to both books to reread my favorite scenes.
Pros:
Well written with good flow, enough surprises to keep me invested, and loveable characters
Nina & Ethan gave off that Joey/Pacey vibe from Dawson's Creek, so I'm always down for that
Beatrice & Connor's resolution was appreciated and well done
Samantha's story arc was an appreciated development, but hope she still goes to university to become a lawyer - she would be such an asset to her sister to have those skills
Ethan was a flat side character in AR1 - glad to see he had redeeming moments in AR2, even though the dialogue for Daphne was too repetitive and ridiculous
Cons:
I am sure I am not the only one scratching my head at how Jefferson can be such a dim wit about girls even though he was surrounded by a vivacious, outspoken twin sister and other caring females (like Nina). I know Daphne is the supposed to be the character the reader 'loves to hate' but I felt like her chapters were far too repetitive, her dialog was just too pat, too trite, too predictable for me to be able to really see her as a flesh and bone person. The Jefferson/Daphne storyline just left me bitter.
I would love to have more of Beatrice & Teddy, of course, and to have a little more information on what was in store for Samantha and Jefferson. I would assume they would go to college in the fall, right? Yet there is no talk about them moving towards that part of their young adulthood. Also, aren't all these people like 18 - 22? It is a little far fetched that a queen of that age wouldn't have more than 1 person to lean on for governmental advice...it would have been nice if she had been given another support that encouraged her - what about her mother?!?

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this ARC! I’ve been aching to find out what happens to Bea, Sam, Nina, and all of the gang since finishing AMERICAN ROYALS and MAJESTY did not disappoint! Seeing Beatrice’s transformation from heir to Queen was inspiring and all of the romance left me reeling! A terrific follow-up!

I have been eagerly anticipating the sequel to Katharine McGee's American Royals novel since I read it last year! With the first novel ending on a huge cliffhanger, the sequel picks up pretty much from where the first novel left off. Beatrice is the new queen, and is forced to lead the country while still reeling from everything she left behind when she inherited the throne. Samantha feels like the spare heir even more than ever, and begins to act out with a new guy she met. Daphne is still up to her same old schemes- and this time Nina is one of her unsuspecting targets. This book moved through events fast, and I would have read another two hundred pages in their world. I am really hoping that there is going to be a third book because I want more of these characters, and I really feel like there's more to wrap up with the storyline! This kind of felt like a middle book to me- the plot took a lot of turns I was not predicting at all, which did keep things interesting, but I also feel like more resolution is needed to neatly wrap up each of the character's lives. I love this series and the cover of this book is gorgeous so really only good things to say!

I want to thank NetGalley, Random House Children’s, and author Katherine McGee for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

I was so, so excited to get the second novel in the American Royals series! I really felt that this matched the first book, if not superseded it. The author doesn’t shy away from developing her characters no matter what, either positively or negatively. I so appreciate that this picked up right after the cliffhanger of the first book, with everyone’s love life up in the air. The pacing was perfect, and this book was such a fun ride. I am looking forward to book three!

I want to thank those named above again for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for shortening my wait time with this ARC.
I finally gave in an read American Royals a couple weeks ago because it kept coming up from different online book groups I'm in. I loved having the opportunity to read this sequel. I continued to love Beatrice, and while I definitely had certain...hopes after the first book, I loved the way that the author introduced new hopes for me.