I realize as a YA book, I am not the target audience, but I was so enchanted by the “what if” concept of America having established an aristocracy rather than a democracy in its infancy in the first book in this series. The second and now third novel about the American Royals has turned away from this original concept and more to relational gossip.

Beatrice is queen and her chance to make her mark on the world at the Convocation of Kings and Queens is straining her relationship with Teddy. She also quickly makes friends with Queen consort Louise of France, and finds herself with a friend for the first time in her life. But can Beatrice really let her guard down? Sam and Marshall are still going strong, but question what kind of future they could possibly have given their titles. Jeff, Daphne, and Nina continue their bizarre triangle and surprisingly Daphne and Nina become allies.

Rivalries and how we react is the common theme of the novel. This book does it mostly on a superficial level and makes some attempts to expand to rivalries of entire countries. Beatrice continues to be a favorite as she seems to be the most well rounded character. This novel got better the further into I got. Katharine McGee sets us up for a whammy and a fourth novel at the end.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Childrens, and Katharine McGee for the advanced copy of the book. Rivals: American Royals #3 is out now. All opinions are my own.

So excited to see a third installation in this series. I love how the characters develop and change more and more in each novel.

I love the freshness of this third book in the American Royals series, the world expands with introductions to a slew of new international monarchs, we get to see Teddy and Bee struggle with his lack of role in the monarchy, and we get a very unlikely team up between Nina and Daphne! And the ending!!!! The author went full soap opera, and let me tell you... I did not mind. I'm already so excited for the fourth and final installment of this series

3.5 stars

The ending to this one was 😱. I was not expecting that at all. I’m so curious about how the fourth one will plan out because she has surprised me each book. I love when authors can do that.

I absolutely love Samantha and Marshall. I loved their “plan” even though with that ending I am not expecting it to last long.

I wasn’t crazy about the Daphne and Nina friendship because I feel like Daphne still has a lot of character development to go through.

I liked how Beatrice is growing into a queen but was also so supportive of her family. While I’m not a big Beatrice and Teddy fan I was surprised how Teddy wasn’t in the book much. He was growing on me.

I couldn’t love this family of characters anymore if I tried. I’ve grown to love Beatrice, Samantha, and Jeff so much. I was so happy to be back in their midst and Katharine McGee really delivered in this third book. Thank you for the chance to review it and come back to these delightful and complicated characters!

A great installment to this series. I liked it really delved into the characters and brought some insight into their personalities and motivations.

It wasn't my favorite installment of the series but still a solid one. I can't wait for Book 4 to see what happens next.

After finishing the second installment of American Royals, I was absolutely appalled by the ending.
I remember thinking: THIS is how it ENDS? What do you mean, there may not be a sequel?
Ruined the entire book for me.
Then we got a sequel after all and from the looks of it there will be even a 4th installment! Yes please.
This 40 something year old is most definitely NOT the target audience, but I love this alternate world in which the US is a monarchy! I love all of our main characters, but most of all Nina and Sam, and I love to hate our antagonists. Such an entertaining series.
Book 3 to me was better than book 2, but not quite as good as book 1. So this brings my rating to a solid 3.5 stars, which I am rounding up to 4.
Can't wait for the finale!

What a fun continuation of the American Royals series! McGee adds even more layers to the complex world of the ruling elite of America with this next installment. Beatrice steps out onto the global stage as the host for the League of Kings conference and discovers a friend in a previously dismissed person. Teddy struggles with what his role is and will be as the future King consort of America, will he and Beatrice work it out. The twins are as the twins will be. Sam is strong willed and in love and continues to be a highlight of a character in this novel. What would you do to keep the man you loved? The only downside to this series is that Jefferson seems to just be used as a pawn and not a character in his own right. I wish we could get a chapter from his perspective and have a better understanding of what drives him. A truly unexpected part of this book is the new dynamic between Daphne and Nina, can it last? Make sure to check out Katharine McGee's "American Royals: Rivals", you will not regret it and be left eagerly anticipating what will happen next.

This has been such a fun story to follow. I have loved watching all of the characters (and there are many!) grow and evolve throughout. I love the royals aspect of it and all of the drama that of course comes with that!

I am typically not a huge fan of series, but this one has kept my attention for three full books, especially because you just keep wondering how it's going to end for ALL of the characters. Definitely recommend this one for a fun, drama, family-oriented, royals read!

This had better not be the end of this story.

I initially picked up this series after having read Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston hoping to fill the void left, and I was not disappointed.

Starting Rivals, I was ready to say goodbye to these characters, but clearly they have more story to tell. I love getting to follow each characters storyline and their growth. For the first time, I felt for Daphne and her strange drive. My heart ached when Beatrice found friendship for the first time in Louise. I rooted for Samantha and Marshall. And poor Nina, on the outside always looking in. I can’t wait to see where the story goes next.

This is the third novel in the American Royals series. Beatrice has taken her place as Queen, but now must prove herself on the world stage. Sam and Marshall must decide if they are willing to set aside their royal restraints and buck convention. Daphne and Nina team up against Lady Gabriella, who is determined to take them down.

This was a fun and exciting read. All of the characters felt very realistic and multi dimensional. The story was well paced and flowed well between points of view. I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

Great story as expected!! Although is not my favorite book of the series, still was great. The characters are adorable and at times infuriating. Love all the drama and love connections.

This is such fun, cute series. Book three carries on following the American royal family. Beatrice struggle balancing her personal and Queenly lives.
The focus seems to be a little more on Jeff, and therefore Daphne and Nina, and their relationship. I liked seeing Daphne and Nina work together. I liked seeing Daphne becoming more or a 'real" person. Especially compared to the very, terrible Gabriella! Is it wrong that I have some real sympathy for Daphne. Sure, she's a little awful.. but that's how she was raised... every time she tries to do better, life just slaps her back down.
Honestly thinking that Jeff needs some time off from both of them to sort himself out before committing to anyone though!
And Sam?!? I love her relationship. Will it last? May.. maybe now.. but she's going for it.

Quite a cliffhanger of an ending though!! Can't wait to see what book 4 has in store (and it better be good!)

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The third book in the series you do need to read the other two before diving into this one.

This series has been a lot of fun, imagining what the world would look like if America was a monarchy instead of a democracy. This one felt a bit more in between and not a resolution of the story so I think I'll appreciate it more when we get the next one in the series. Very curious to see what's going to happen next with the characters

This is a fun YA series bordering on fantasy with the concept of America as a monarchy. Washington was the first king rather than president. This idea pulled me in and all the drama kept me hooked. I loved that they are all told from the 4 main female characters - the heir, the spare and her commoner best friend, and the one who wants to be a royal more than anything in the world. I decided to feature the books together because I thought that the third book was going to be the last in the series. However I was wrong and there will be a book 4. Thank goodness because the multiple cliffhangers need resolutions! Overall this series is fun and entertaining and fast to read.

TW: death of a parent, bullying, teenage alcohol use, drug use, toxic parenting

Heavy the head that wears the crown…It’s American Royals book 3!
👸🏻
Queen Beatrice: she’s just returned from her faux honeymoon and she and Teddy are more in love than ever, but Beatrice is still struggling with what it means to rule and becomes friends with the princess of France, who she quickly begins to idolize. It’s not until she finds herself betrayed that she realizes the crown is a lonely position.
Princess Samantha: Meanwhile Sam and Lord Marshall Davis are struggling to find their footing when it becomes clear their relationship has no future unless one or both revoke their titles, which neither wants to do.
Regent Jefferson: Jeff and Daphne are back together, but Nina begins spending time with Jeff again now that they both attend King’s College. When Lady Gabriella Madison messed with both Nina and Daphne, the two team up to take her down. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
🤴🏻
REDEMPTION! If you’ve followed me a while you know I ABHORED book 2 in this series (scroll to find my review). McGee definitely redeemed herself with this one, though. It brought back what I loved about the first book, which is all the relationships I was invested in. Highly recommend this one and can’t wait for book 4…there is a book 4 right? After that ending?! 🤯

CW: racism, misogyny, alcohol, drug use, death of a parent, car accident, hospitalization

Fans of the Washington family and of their close friends will want to pick up this third book in Katharine McGee’s American Royals series. Be aware that, since there is a fourth book on the way, there are things left unresolved in this one. (*cough* THAT ENDING!!! *cough*)

This time around I felt more connected to the Nina-Daphne-Jefferson storyline than to the Samantha and Beatrice ones. It was heartening to see Daphne’s growth and to see her unlikely friendship with Nina blossom.

Likewise, it was nice to watch Beatrice develop some friendships of her own, but, as a romance reader, I wish we had seen more of Teddy in this one.

And it was heartbreaking to watch poor Samantha and Marshall yearn to forge their own paths while their duties continued to pull them in opposite directions and the country turned them into symbols.

The cliffhanger ending has me wishing that the release date on American Royals IV comes sooner, rather than later.

I am glad I read this one because I do enjoy the characters of this series and want to see where things go for them. However, I think perhaps I was looking for a bit more. That being said, I would read it again, especially as a lead-up to American Royals #4.

Thank you to Random House Children’s and NetGalley for an e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

I'm not going to give this a star rating since I technically DNF'd it. I absolutely TORE through the first two books in this series but perhaps due to my disillusionment with America at the moment, I just did not care about this story.

There is a strong "white savior" vibe to Sam in relation to her Black boyfriend. I didn't like how a white character, written by a white author, was explaining how "things are worse" for a Black man in America, even in an alternative history (and perhaps that it's an alt history makes it worse?). Going along this same line, there are way too many instances of characters of color explaining what it's like to be not-white to privileged white women. I know this is a book for young people and some of them are perhaps getting exposed to these ideas for the first time, but I think the execution fell a little flat and came across as overtly obvious and cringey. I hope these things get addressed in the end but it was just cringey enough for me to not care about a redemption arc.

I also thought the character development for the four main young women that occurred across the first two books was totally forgotten about in this installment. They felt petty and catty and not at all like I thought they should behave based on the other books.

I can’t get enough of this series and this was a great addition! I just love the world created so much and wow, did this end in cliffhanger! Is book four out yet?!
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Huge thank you to @randomhouse and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the previous ones.

The thing that made the others so entertaining for me was the angsty hot mess drama of all of the romances. This one had little to no focus on romance at all.

Instead it focused more on catty girl fights, ridiculous schemes and trusting the wrong people. The way these characters grew over the previous two books, it felt like they should be moving beyond that.

While it may have left me disappointed, it’s still an addictive series to read and I’ll definitely pick up the next book.