Unfortunately, I cannot give feedback on this title as i couldn't finish the first book in the series. This has great potential however, and the Gossip Girl esque tones are sure to delight readers worldwide!!

Katharine McGee has done it again with another great addition to the series! Her books are always so fun (and I love the concept of an alternate world where the US became a monarchy down the George Washington line), but also get at lots of deeper ideas. So many characters went through major changes and growth this book, and with that cliffhanger at the end I can’t wait for book 4!

I was thrilled to read American Royals III: Rivals by Katharine McGee, which I received as an ARC from Net Galley.

The story picked up from book two almost exactly where I had anticipated it would and pushed forward with now-Queen Beatrice, her princess-sister Samantha, her prince-brother Jefferson, Nina, Daphne, and introduced the newest girl-we-love-to-hate, Gabriella. Beatrice has to negotiate what it means to be a ruler, a leader, in the void created by her father's passing, and discovers it to be a role she both loves and hates while she hosts the League of Kings, a G8-type of meeting with rulers from all member nations. Beatrice encounters friendship, betrayal, disappointment, and triumph in equal measure while in this role.

Simultaneously, Prince Jefferson and Princess Samantha work their way through their own situations, mostly in the areas of romance and companionship, and Nina, Daphne, and Gabriella converge and explode a nest of deceit and intrigue.

The subtitle Rivals works on so many levels in this book among the myriad characters. The twists and turns are plentiful and not disappointing. I really enjoyed the novel and am even more happy that there will be a fourth installment when I had only anticipated a trilogy. Looking forward to the next volume in this series.

I love this series! I love the concept of America having a royal family, and I couldn't wait to see what the characters from the series were up to this time around. It seemed like everyone was getting along and everyone was finally starting to find happiness and then...BAM...the ending. The ending was a total shock! Now I have to wait for book four.

I couldn’t put this book down, as usual. But I think it’s true that you can have too much of a good thing. Will I read the next one & anything this author does? Absolutely. This one missed the mark for me. It was more of a filler book than a book to move the series forward.

I absolutely adore Katherine McGee. I binged books 1 and 2 in a weekend before she came to speak to the Bad Bitch Book Club. I think she’s one of the best contemporary writers of our time. And I love this series.

I just have loved watching these characters develop. Such a fun premise that has really bloomed. Already excited for the next one!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this phenomenal ARC. I was delighted to read the third installment of this gripping, delicious series, and this threequel did not disappoint. I love how McGee crafts this vivid world of a monarchy within an alternate present day America with such detail and a ripped-from-the-headlines approach to our central three siblings. I also love how Daphne finally felt like the well-rounded character she deserved to be. I cannot wait for Reign (IV).

So so fun. Like candy for the brain (but not the kind you feel guilty about). It’s smart and clever and I’m looking forward to more in this series!

Thank you to Penguin Random house for letting me write this belated review. (I'm so sorry) This book was well worth the wait! I'm truly obsessed with this series and can't give it enough praise. Katharine McGee definitely knows how to write the perfect American Crown setting. As the title says- RIVALS....is truly an american rivalry. This book did NOT disappoint my expectations and I can't wait for the fourth installment!

Rival is the third book in the American Royals series, and it delivers. I felt that there was a lot of growth within our group of characters, especially Daphne who has historically been my least favorite of the characters. I really enjoy this world, the characters and how each book has had their own "stories" within the greater story. This books does end on another cliff hanger so looking forward to jumping back into this world when the next installment is out. This is my official plea for Nina and Jeff to end up together before the end of this series!

Thank you, Net Galley and publishers, for the ARC in exchange for the honest review of #AmericanRoyalsIIIRivals

I would have read this book if I had gotten an ARC or not, however, this book series as a whole is not one that I am anxiously awaiting the next book. I do still enjoy them though. They're good, zone-out books to reimagine the US as a monarchy and the drama that would accompany it. Queen Beatrice has to navigate love and being a young queen. Nina, Daphanie, Jeff, and all of the others navigate college and love lives being spilled across the front pages, but also their royal/almost royal duties.

Based off of the title and cover I was expecting more of a rivalry between Beatrice and another Princess or Queen but that wasn’t really the case. Besides that, I really enjoyed the third book of the American Royals series. But that ending….there’s got to be a fourth in the works!!

Like many third books in a series, this one just didn’t quite hit the mark of the first two. Still lovable, still a great YA pick.

I finished the book 12hrs after a zoom talk with the author, so some details were a little spoiled for me, but the big cliffhanger wasn't, and OH IT'S GOOD. I did see some things coming but not this one...

Two things bugged me in the book.
1) Where's Queen Adelaide? Her 3 kids are grieving too, at an age where everyone makes mistakes. She should've been right there with them, even if she thought they didn't need them, they do. We always do.
2) Not enough of Jeff perspective. I would have love to know what he's thinking...

And honestly, Gabriella is vile. And I will finish with one thing: Communication is everything....

I read this book with the Chick Lit Book Club. Many thanks to PenguinTeen Canada for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This conclusion to the the American Royals series was everything I needed and then some! The drama and romance are so addicting I couldn’t put it down!

Katharine McGee has this talent of throwing everything you thought out the window and creating something new. AMERICAN ROYALS is probably my favorite YA series. I don’t know how to review this properly without spoiling it but the last 50 pages will have you flying by. AND THE ENDING!? I wish I didn’t read my netgalley ARC so early because I just want book four asap. I don’t know what to do with my life anymore.

Book 3 will not disappoint anyone! It was so much fun revisiting these characters. I cant wait to see what everyone else thinks!

When it was announced that Katharine McGee would be continuing the American Royals series in a third book, part of me was excited because Book 2's ending just didn't feel like a complete wrap-up to the series, but I was also cautiously hesitant as I had also accepted that was it.

Unfortunately, it was hard for me to connect with this story, and it felt like a last minute addition rather than a seamless fit that ties the entire world and each characters' story together.

Daphne and Nina's story definitely stood out to me much more than Sam and Beatrice's. For one, Beatrice's character arc throughout the whole series felt choppy. With Book One, we were rooting for her romance with her bodyguard. Then, in Book Two, we gave that all up so she could be with Teddy. Then, in Book Three, we throwing all of it to the wind again.

Daphne definitely grew on me more in this book, but JFLKSADFJASDLK IDK why this series just feels so individual and choppy. We throw away characters the second they've served their purpose (re: Hitomi and Ethan) then we never see them again. Then we throw in a new character (Re: Gabriella) just to stir trouble.

I'm honestly really disappointed by Katharine McGee's storytelling, and while I wanted to have fun in this escapist royal world, I found myself just powering through to know what happens. Will I read the next book? Sigh, I really don't know.

This was probably my least favorite of the series, but I still enjoyed it. I just felt like the plot was weaker than the rest of the books. I think my favorite storyline in this one was between Sam & Marshall. I also enjoyed seeing Nina & Daphne band together. Beatrice’s storyline was just okay to me. I was completely shocked by the ending of the book and I hope there’s a fourth one to wrap things up!

I love this series but if we're being honest with each other, this should have been the last book. Rivals gave me everything I could have wanted - more intrigue with all of our favorite characters, relationships being tested, and political maneuvers. But at some point there are only so many times you can force the same characters back together and vice versa before it just gets tired. And unfortunately, I think we're there.

With some minor changes the plot could have ended with this book, but again we are left on cliffhangers for all of our main characters. I still find myself wishing that the Prince would grow into some sort of personality and show some critical thinking skills - and I'm still disappointed. Every other character has a well fleshed out personality except for him and I think it's a huge oversight.

Will I read the fourth book after how this one ended? Of course. I need to know how everything will end. BUT, the plot is starting to get repetitive and we're very close to jumping the shark, that's all I'm saying. At this point, Samantha is still my favorite and she keeps getting the tough end of the stick and I will keep reading simply for her to get a happy ending so it better happen!

**Thank you to Random House Books for Young Readers and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review**