I think this might be one of the first books that I have read where the hero and heroine don’t even meet for the first twenty five percent of the book. I have to say, I absolutely loved it because there was so much character development of the hero and heroine, I felt like I knew Jameson and Dani long before I saw them fall in love. It was brilliant and made me feel like I was part of the story. A story that gives Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan vibes, this one has all the feels. It is a sexy and steamy romance that just made my heart happy. I would highly recommend this book.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

I would have expected to be burnt out on royalty romances by now but I like what I like. A prince being cut down a few pegs by a confident woman and finding out he is very into that will probably always work for me. Dani and Jay have great chemistry. I really enjoyed their initial clashes and how they came to terms with their feelings.
I wish we'd gotten more of the secondary characters. They seemed to show up to drive plot and then drop away. I hope to see more of them in future books.

Listen, I love the story of Harry and Meghan and so I was so excited for American Royalty. And it was just what I wanted and needed in life.

Ahh I loved this book so much! I love royal drama and this book delivered. The relationship between Dani and Jameson is so hot and romantic. I cheered for them the whole time.

Just finished the gem of a book that released on Tuesday, and I highly recommend throwing it in your bag on this long holiday weekend!

I got definite vibes from the golden age of box-office romcoms… very Notting Hill with a touch of the cottage from The Holiday thrown in. Picture it: female entrepreneur falls for philosophy professor with great hair who just happens to be a prince. What’s not to love?

Fav Things:
✨Dani’s internal monologue gives a great picture of her character and how she views the world. Whether in the boardroom or talking to kids on the street, I liked how Livesay wove together what face she was projecting and her often contrasting thoughts. She’s a strong black woman and a nuanced character that’s fun to read.
✨Prince Charming fantasy with 🌶. They bake, they banter, they watch movies, yada yada yada 😉

Thanks to @harpercollins and #netgalley for the arc!

Rating: 3

American Royalty was an okay read. While, there were several moments I enjoyed the overall story and romance just wasn’t what I expected.

It is dual POVs of the main characters and has some great tropes like: opposites attract, close proximity and a Royal romance.

The premise of the story was quite interesting however, the execution and development just fell flat in my opinion. The pacing of the story was quite slow and there were several plot points that felt underdeveloped.

The romance between the main characters was also not the greatest. It was very much insta-attraction, which I didn’t mind but it did seem like that was the only thing they had. Most of their interactions were just physical with no real romantic development or connection. So I did have a hard time feeling and believing in their romance. I will say though, the smut was really good and just amusing to read.

I did like how the main conflict wasn’t between the couple but external so it was easily resolved. However, the ending and everything else did wrap up to quickly and just felt very rushed. The epilogue was also a slight disappointment as it really wasn’t about the couple, which I would have liked.

I was able to listen to the audiobook at the same time and I have to say that the narrators did a fantastic job and definitely made me enjoy the story a bit more. I also enjoyed the music and slight business aspect of the story. The heroine’s motivation and desire for full autonomy in her work and life was amazing to read as well.

Overall, a decent read it just didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The insta-lust made this a little harder for me to get into this. I wished that Jameson had been developed a bit more and that he had more meaningful interactions with Dani to help me root for them. I was missing an emotional connection and wished that there had just been a little more of everything to convince me the two belonged together.

This was amazing. I loved how headstrong Dani was. She knew what she wanted and was ready to go for it. Also the chemistry…. 🥵🥵🥵🥵 they were so hot together omg 😮‍💨 I honestly want to reread it already, never wanted it to end !!!

This book was amazing. I coudn't put it down. It was magical. Higly recommended! The characters, the plots, the writting: wonderful and perfect.

This is the 3rd Rom-Com I have had the pleasure of reading this year and I must say that I am truly enjoying them and will be reading many more. Danielle “Duchess” is a famous American rapper is about the sign a contract to make her one of the richest women in the world of hip hop. Way to go Duchess. Prince Jameson is a university professor a reclusive and is just not a fan of the spotlight. He has been tasked by the queen his grandmother for doing a tribute in honor of her late husband. Jameson comes up with Duchess as the musical guest and he has no idea what he has gotten himself into. When Duchess and Jameson meet sparks fly and there is awesome chemistry between the two of them.

I received an ARC via NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

This book is so much fun! Reminiscent of Harry and Meghan's story, this one features the prince of England and an American pop star. A big name rapper, Duchess, has run into some PR issues on social media. She decides to accept an invitation from the prince of England to perform at a charity concert meant to honor his grandfather. When Prince Jameson invited "Duchess", he really had no idea who she was. He got the name from one of his students where he currently teaches as a professor of philosophy. Jameson likes his life teaching and living outside the spotlight, but his grandmother, the Queen, is demanding he run this charity event.

Duchess, or Dani as her friends know her, decides to take a few weeks to herself before her performance and is invited to stay at a local estate owned by the Royal family. Dani and Jameson have no idea that the other will be living at the same estate for several weeks but soon find that they don't mind at all. Livesay has written a romance full of both laughter and heat that keeps the pages turning. I loved the ways that these two connected over similar experiences despite how different they really are on the outside. There is serious chemistry. I just loved these two from the start.

If you are looking for a great escape full of fun and fire, this book is perfect for that. I stayed up way too late reading it and finished it before I wanted to. Highly recommend for all those royal lovers out there!

An interesting Harry & Meghan fanfic where the heroine is a badass rapper who is trying to branch out into business and winds up being a headliner for a royal celebration in England.

Starting her own skincare line for women of color is just the first step in Dani's "Duchess" bid to become a successful businesswoman. But a scandal, not of her own making, is threatening to tear it all down. In order to combat the negative publicity - from the one-hit-wonder pop star who is grasping any chance to stay relevant - Dani accepts an invitation to perform at a concert in honor of the Queen of England's husband who passed many years ago.

What she thinks will be a much-needed break from the limelight turns into the vacation from hell when Dani finds herself rooming with Prince Jameson. Their first impressions leave much to be desired and these two uneasily coexist for the next few weeks before the concert.

I really loved Dani's personality and how she was determined to pave the way to her success. She is ballsy, smart, and determined. While Jameson likes to pretend that Dani rooming with him is a nuisance, the truth is that he's unreasonably attracted to her. My least favorite part of this romance was how their first meeting sets the tone for their relationship. It takes a while for the two main characters to even meet, so when they instantly land in "enemy" territory, I felt disappointed.

Despite how they eventually let their guard down enough to get to know one another, I didn't feel like the antagonism left enough time to let true romance blossom. The sexual chemistry was off the charts, but I wanted more emotion when it came to their relationship.

Jameson felt really underdeveloped as a character and is probably to most forgettable one period.

Another disappointing aspect of American Royalty was the number of villainous characters. I think the plot would have been stronger if one or two of the villains were more fleshed out. The pop star was an afterthought for the majority of the book, and every single person in the royal family, except Jameson, was pretty horrible. They felt too mustache-twirly to make a real impact on the story.

Overall a fun ride, but I wanted more.

"Duchess" aka Dani is a popular rapper and is about to sign a deal that will take her beauty brand to the next level. Unfortunately, she is gets caught up in some bad press with a wannabe singer and she needs to repair her reputation for her dream deal to work. Prince Jameson is a professor at Birmingham and is forced by his grandmother the queen to put together a concert to honor his grandfather. Prince Jameson who is not interested in his royal duties picks Duchess to perform at the concert. This is perfect for Duchess to repair her reputation and heads to England a few weeks early before the concert. Duchess ends up staying with Prince Jameson because of some mix up and both of them are instantly attracted to one another. Will they be able to keep their temporary relationship a secret and not fall for each other?

American Royalty is inspired by Megan Markle and Prince Harry and stays pretty high level. I love all things monarchy so I was excited to read this one. The book was overall good but some parts didn't work for me. Some of the forced proximity and drama seemed unrealistic and forced. I struggled a little with the pacing initially, but the it picks up half way through.

Thank you Avon Books for sending me an ARC of this book.

I loved the thought of this book! I mean come on, a rapper and a prince, who would've thought? It was a little slow to me, but was made up through the amount of steam!! It was honestly a really good escape from my little life into something different.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it DID NOT disappoint! I really loved the storyline and the romance between Jameson and Dani. It may be a little "insta-lovey", which I generally do not like at all. However, this was executed so well and the chemistry was so good that I could look past it. And the spice!!! It was steamy for sure.

Overall 5/5 stars and 3/5 on the spice scale.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

This review may be a tad spoilery so please be aware of that!

I could not put this book down!! I immediately loved Dani. She’s a bad bitch who doesn’t take shit from anyone. I rooted for her every step of the way. I loved that the story was dual POV but I think even if it was told just from Dani’s POV it still would have been great because she is such a strong character.

This book is super hot, the physical chemistry between these two characters is off the charts, but there wasn’t as much emotional chemistry as I would have liked. Since they did not actually meet until 27% into the book, there wasn’t very much time between their initial meeting and when they got together.

I also feel like because this ended on a HFN I could totally see there being a second book and I really hope there is because I definitely feel like their story is not over and I want to know what happens next.

This book has so much drama! Normally I would be annoyed by so much drama but I felt like it really worked for this story and I kind of loved how much drama these was.

Thank you to Avon for an eARC of this book.

CW: death of a loved one

Royally Good!

Dani, aka Duchess, needs a good PR diversion and a Royal concert would be perfect…as long as she doesn’t become the story by falling for the prince in charge of organizing the concert.

I really enjoyed the chance to get to know both Dani and Jamison before meeting them as a potential couple; so often we meet characters in through the eyes of their potential partner but not here we know who they are before they even meet.

I also liked that they were both honest in that initially it was just physical attraction that drew them to each other but then quickly realize they like the other person now that they understand each other better.

And Duchesse’s lyrics before certain chapters?! Love, love, love!

And let’s be honest who doesn’t love a seemingly straight laced prince who get dirty talk with the best of them?! The chemistry and intimacy between Dani and Jay was perfect!

Finally, I really liked the ending. I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t say more but for me it really worked.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book but all opinions are my own.

This is a story about defying expectations.  Danielle "Duchess" Nelson is a popular rapper but her true love is the company she founded for a line of skin care products.  The company has been very successful, and she seems on the verge of signing a deal with a major cosmetic conglomerate that will take her company to the next level and finally give her control over her life.  But when a video of an incident between Dani and a minor pop star goes viral (driven largely by the pop star's effort to get more attention), the acquiring company gets cold feet about the deal -- and tell Dani she needs to do something to turn around her public image if there is any hope for the deal going through.

Dani is not sure what to do -- until she learns that she has been invited to perform at a benefit concert the royal family is throwing.  Surprising most of the British people, the concert is being hosted by Prince Jameson, one of the Queen's grandsons who has kept a low profile since the death of his father when he was a child.  Now a college professor, he much prefers the classroom to the limelight.  But the Queen insists that Prince Jameson be the public face of the concert.  Little does he realize, this will involve hosting Dani at his country home.

When the Duchess and the Prince first meet, things don't go well -- but soon they realize what they thought was tension is actually a deep and undeniable attraction.  As they spend more time and get to know each other, they find their connection may go even deeper -- but both question whether a relationship between people from such different worlds can survive public scrutiny, or perhaps even more challenging, the scrutiny of the royal family.

I really enjoyed this book.  One can't help but note the parallels from real-life events.  From that kernel, the author creates a richly imagined story all its own. Both Dani and Jameson are fully realized characters -- you get a sense of how their pasts inform the choices they make as adults, including their professional ambitions, why they are drawn to each other initially, and how, for both of them, their relationship grows and deepens.  I found myself fully consumed by their worlds -- and I would definitely be interested in a sequel to find out what comes next in this story.

Highly recommended!

"American Royals" by Tracey Livesay - 4.5/5 stars!
To start, I was immediately drawn in by this beautiful cover! It is absolutely stunning. i am a huge fan of a royalty/famous trope, so the story had me hooked from the first chapter! I loved that it was dual pov and we got to know each of the characters individually before they met. From the very first meeting Duchess and Jameson had insane, steamy chemistry! The initial dislike they had for each other was no match for their obvious attraction. Duchess was such a strong FMC; she was so dedicated and passionate about her music and business, and her personality was very charming and down to earth. She had really strong Meg Thee Stallion vibes, which I loved. Jameson was a royal, turned professor who preferred to stay out of the limelight and live his quiet life. He was also very charming and easy to like. Their relationship felt so special because, while they appeared to be opposites at first, both of them were trying to overcome preconceived notions that others had of them and present their authentic selves. Overall, I thought this book was a really solid 4.5/5 stars and would recommend to anyone who loves romance.
My only complaint was that the relationship felt very fast and insta-lovey in the beginning but then we didn’t get to actually see enough of their relationship post main conflict. I would’ve loved more romance in the ending or an extended epilogue.

I'm so disappointed!!! Celebrity romance is a favorite of mine, and I was especially intrigued that one of main characters was a hip=hop artist. I think the book started off strong and it wasn't totally awful, but there were a lot of elements I took issue with.

1. I thought the pacing was off. Jameson and Dani didn't even meet each other until 30% into the book, and the climax of the book happened about 90% of the way through, which left little time to solve the problem and see how the main characters grew in their relationship. Also the epilogue really made me upset.

2. The whole Samantha Banks situation seemed to have little to no relevance to the story?? Other than throwing off a deal Dani wanted to make which caused her to accept the royal concert proposal. After that it kept being brought up for no reason and added literally nothing to the story.

3. I will say that the spicy scenes were enjoyable, but they seemed to cut off at super odd places on more than one occasion. Also Jameson would constantly be like "we need to talk" and then instead of talking they would just have sex. Do royals ever learn about communication??

Overall this was pretty disappointing for me :( 2.75 stars.