Ahh this was such a lovely ending to this series! I’ve been reading these since the first one came out and I’ve loved every second of the journey! All the characters are awesome and I think this book finally won me over for Daphne 😂 I’ve never liked her but this book changed my mind! I can’t wait to see what Katherine writes next though I will miss the world of American royals.

I love this series so much! It’s such a guilty pleasure of mine. This was an amazing ending (this is book 4 in a series) to a series that is a favorite of mine. I can’t believe it’s over 🥺

this series is about a fictional royal family of the United States of America, the Washingtons. George Washington decided to run the new country through a monarchy and not a democracy. Present day, the throne is set to be taken by the President’s eldest daughter and she has been trained her whole life to do so, but a female has never taken the throne. Is the country ready? Is Beatrice?

The series follows multiple characters but does such a great job keeping the storylines neat.

Ugh, I loved it, please go pick it up.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc to this book. I enjoyed the conclusion to the American Royals series. Katharine McGee's writing is just so easy to read and the story flows so well. Even though I wished we could continue on with the characters, I did like how things wrapped up. It will definitely be a series I recommend to my followers and my students.

I love this series by Katharine McGee. It just a fun take on a monarchy and what it would like in this day and age in America. This specific book really took time to follow Samantha and what was going on in her life more so than the other characters, which I really liked. We hadn't gotten her point of view in the other stories quite as much. I truly like Katharine McGee's writing style and ability to pull the reader into what is happening in the story.
All in all, great book! Can't wait for the next!

I've been looking forward to reading this for awhile because I've really enjoyed following these books. This book, however well intentioned, fell flat for me. It felt like the story was being pushed to the precipice to finish, and in turn the book just did too much at once. Because it follows as many storylines as it does, much of the dialogue felt trite. 2.5 rounded up.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing this read. All opinions are my own.
The 4th installment of this series was just as delicious as it's predecessors. I've highly enjoyed this alternate universe where America's royal family function as the country's leaders. The young royals continue to find their footing after their father's death, with Prince Jeffrey taking the throne while Queen Beatrice is incapacitated. Samantha ran away with her boyfriend, and other courtiers are scheming their way into positions of power. I highly enjoyed reading through the soap opera of their daily lives.

3.5 stars!

It wasn’t that I didn’t like this book, in fact, I love the American Royals series and completely ADORED book #1.

While Reign wrapped everything up nicely, I didn’t think it was as well written as some of Katharine McGee’s other books. The characters felt a little flat, and their emotions felt rushed. I guess it’s pretty typical of YA, but I wanted more depth here.

I do think the whole premise is so fun, and I’ll always look back on the series fondly.

I am not quite sure why I have kept up with this series, but here I am. I think the first one was so addictive to me that I needed to know the rest of the story even though I have found the following books a little lackluster in comparison. I found myself doing quite a bit of skimming.

I’ve probably said this in every review I’ve written about the American Royals series, but I’m just fascinated by the premise. An AU where America became a monarchy and the Washingtons are in the royal family, still to this day? Fascinating. It’s what keeps pulling me back to this series, and makes me sad to see it end since there’s still SO much I want to know about how an American monarchy would function. Therefore, Reign being the last novel is bittersweet, for as much as I’d love to continue learning about this AU, it feels right that the story is coming to a close.

Rivals, book 3 of this series, was my favorite hands down. The League of Kings conference was an interesting change of pace, and it left off on some major cliffhangers, the biggest one being Beatrice’s car accident. I was delighted to see that the drama seemed to continue in the beginning of Reign, with several soap opera tropes (I mean that in the best way!), including:

1) Amnesia

2) Fake pregnancy

3) Running away from home

4) Falling in love with someone not knowing that they’re secretly a royal

I live for mess in my books, so I was thoroughly entertained by these dramatic set ups for our four leading ladies. As usual, I enjoyed Beatrice’s and Daphne’s POVs the most, and was especially interested to see how their stories played out. I enjoyed seeing Beatrice get to fall in love with Teddy again (protect Teddy at all costs!!!) though I did groan when I realized we were going to have to deal with Connor (again). And Daphne. Cunning, ambitious, ultimate Slytherin Daphne. I wanted her to marry Jefferson so, so badly. I wanted her to defy the trope of falling in love with the “normal” guy. I wanted her to defy the YA tropes of “following your heart” and actually get everything she worked for (and I stand by what I said in my review of Rivals– her love for Jeff was still love, even if not the romantic, passionate kind).

Nina’s story threw me for a bit of a loop this time. I’ve never really liked her, and I DEFINITELY don’t like her after this installment (glass houses and stones and all that) but I really liked Jamie so I enjoyed reading her chapters just for him, lol. But she’s serving too much quirky-girl-all-the-boys-fall-in-love-with energy, and I’m not a fan of the not like other girls vibes I was getting.

As for Sam, her chapters have always been my least favorite, but I enjoyed them more in this book. I liked seeing the fallout of when she returns home after totally shirking her responsibility as a royal (especially in the wake of Beatrice’s crash and subsequent coma) and how it’s really strained her relationship with Jeff, as he’s had to act as Regent in her absence, and he was never really trained for it since Sam was the Spare. It was realistic (actions have consequences!) and it was fun seeing her have to try to live like a normie.

The last third of the book was very action packed and I couldn’t put it down- it all comes to a head at Jeff and Daph’s wedding and it was satisfying to see so many plot points finally woven together and exposed to the characters, and the twist they put on the ending was unexpected but satisfying. To be honest though, I would have changed a LOT of the outcomes for the characters (probably for 3 out of 4 of them) and ultimately wish there had been a more daring conclusion for most of them, especially Daphne.

Overall, this wasn’t my favorite not my least favorite book in the American Royals series, and it still to this day is one of the most creative YA series in my eyes.

I was THRILLED to get a copy of this book to review, thank you so much to @turnthepagestour! This was my most anticipated read of August and it was everything I thought it would be. Reign is the finale in the American Royals series which I became obsessed with last year. The series is based on America deciding to become a monarchy back in the day vs the democracy we have now. The series follows 3 royal siblings and their different paths they took through life while representing their royal family. This book tied up all the different storylines pretty much exactly how I was hoping but still left me shocked with a few surprises. I was pleased with the character growth throughout the series but especially in this book. I feel like the author could easily continue the series or do some sort of spin off based on how it ended, and I would read anything written about this series. This is an easily bingeable series so check it out now that it is perfectly complete!

In this thrilling conclusion, we find America's royal family in turmoil with Queen Beatrice in a coma, Princess Samantha missing, and Prince Jefferson reluctantly on the throne. The drama unfolds as some celebrate the idea of a king ruling the nation, while others scheme to maintain the status quo. The story delves into questions about love, duty, and power, keeping us on our toes until the end. Although it's not the strongest entry in the series, I found it to be a satisfying and fitting conclusion. It ties up loose ends, reintroduces beloved characters, and introduces new schemes, all in classic American Royals style. If you're looking for a fun and dramatic read, don't miss out on this series.

What a great ending to a fun series! Loved how this wrapped up all the characters' stories and everyone seemed to be in the right place. So many declarations of love 😵‍💫 Very cute, kind of want to reread from the beginning.

Did not disappoint ! Just as good as the other books in the series. I like how the author draws you into the relationships between the characters. I was looking forward to this advanced copy and I was not disappointed! Great read.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book!
I have really enjoyed the American Royal series since the very first book. It is such a creative reimagining of our country's history amidst really great characters! And Reign was no exception! Many answers are given to help wrap up storylines begun in the last severa books, and it is overall a great and compelling read! Highly recommend!

Thank you to the publisher, Penguin Teen Canada, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Washington family is in a crisis. Queen Beatrice is in a coma following her accident, Princess Samantha has gone missing, seemingly run away from the royal life, so by default, Prince Jefferson is currently ruling the country. For Daphne Deighton, who has tricked her way into becoming Jeff’s girlfriend again, it’s everything she could have wished for. But after a long and tense wait, when Beatrice does wake, things are far from all right. Some powerful people in the country have always wished for a King to rule America and a still healing Beatrice finds her reign under threat.

Reign has been on my TBR for ages now of course, ever since American Royals series was confirmed to be a four book series. I received this eARC very late, only over the weekend in fact along with a few others, hence why my posting schedule is completely haywire for this week and the next – I needed to squeeze in multiple ARC reviews around my pre-planned blogging schedule so as to not upset it completely for the next two months. Plus, I have a vacation planned in October during which I’m attempting to schedule posts in advance, so it has been a rather hectic week on the blogging front for me.

First things first, this review contains mild spoilers, it’s impossible to talk about this book without bringing up a few major points. I wasn’t a huge fan of the direction book 3, Rivals, took, so as eager as I was to know how this finale would play out, I was equally eager for the series to end because I was all for it being wrapped up as a duology. Nonetheless, I tried to go into this book with an open mind, not take it too seriously and just sit back and enjoy the drama that was certain to unfold.

And it certainly delivered on expectations there! Between Sam’s troubles after finding out what has been going on since she ran away, Daphne being blackmailed by a mysterious person who seems to know everything she’s done, Nina trying her best to finally leave Jefferson in the past, and Beatrice’s woes after waking from her coma, there was plenty going on and in drew me back into the story immediately like I read Rivals only yesterday.

This book was well paced and the writing easy to follow, making this a very engaging read. The pages seemed to fly by and I didn’t even realize I was nearing the end of the book until the last chapter. Reign had the same four narrators as the previous books: Beatrice, Sam, Nina and Daphne, and all four of them were given equal page time in this installment, making the narration itself feel balanced as a whole.

Sam has had the most interesting arc of the four main characters by far, and it is the situation she finds herself in in this book that really drove home how much personal growth she went through from book one.

Daphne was pretty much Daphne, scheming and manipulating to climb as high as she can, but her arc did take an interesting turn as she finally started to look beyond power and prestige. For a character I’ve disliked since she was introduced, I liked her story best in Reign, shockingly enough, though i’m still a little disappointed that she didn’t really have to face the consequences of her actions.

Nina had the least going on in this book, but her arc was refreshingly normal – when she did make a re-entry into the main storyline, it felt forced and out-of-character for her and I wasn’t a fan of that particular plot twist and how it played out.

As for Beatrice, her arc turned to one of the tropes I dislike most – memory loss. What was the point of her arc over the last two books, learning to be queen, her relationship with Teddy and more if one plot twist was basically going to undo all of it? Essentially, most of this book was her trying to remember everything that recently happened while also fending off an attempt at a coup by her own government which was interesting from the political intrigue standpoint, but not particularly riveting otherwise.

Reign introduced new love interests for all four characters, which in my opinion was kind of unnecessary because there was plenty going on without complicating the plot further, especially given that only one of them ended the story with something concrete in this aspect.

The way this book ended was surprisingly sweet and a whole lot tamer than I expected. Most of the shocking reveals and twists happened well before this point, so the ending was almost gradual and done in such a way that left me with a very satisfied feeling about the series as a whole. While not really a happily ever after for everyone, I liked where the story left each of the main characters and their paths forward, even if they were a little open-ended.

Overall, I think this was a great conclusion to the American Royals series and I’m glad I picked it up. So if like me, you weren’t too impressed by the last book or two in this series, I would highly recommend reading Reign regardless as it brought the series to a fitting close and was a very entertaining read!

What a delightful end to this series!

The American Royals series is filled with drama and fun and plenty of interconnected story lines. I loved how the series ended and was very satisfied with how all the story lines played out. Hard to talk about this one without spoilers as it's the fourth and final book, but the character development was good and the alternate history where America has a royal family is well done.

The last book in the series.

I read the first three (and a half) books of the series within a month last fall, so it was fun to be re-introduced to the characters I had come to love. Even Daphne. Without spoiling anything, this final book of the series did them all justice and gave them all a clear, happy path forward.

I’ve loved the American Royal series by Katharine McGee since it was first published. I was initially drawn to the interesting concept of America having a royal family and quickly became enchanted with the characters.

Reign is book 4 of the series and the finale. It was bittersweet to read the book. I was excited to read more about my favorite characters and sad to see it end. This book gives you exactly what you want- love, friendship, family and royal drama. You get to read how the story plays out for your favorite characters and some new ones are introduced. I loved seeing how the characters have changed and grown throughout the books. Overall I enjoyed the book and am happy with how things turned out. If you haven’t read this series yet I highly recommend it.

I loved getting the chance to read the conclusion to this series. From the start, I was fascinated with the concept of how the world may be if America became a kingdom, rather than a democracy. The series has not disappointed and this conclusion was the epitome of perfection. I enjoyed getting to see the journey these characters have gone through in this final chapter - Beatrice was particularly interesting with her storyline, and I enjoyed seeing her fall in love with Teddy and come to terms with her position all over again. It was also nice to see the progression these characters have made - leading to the most satisfying ending. My only wish is that we would see the story from the male characters' points of view. While I prefer to have female narrators and protagonists, in this case it would be interesting to see their viewpoints throughout the series - might be a great idea for a bonus chapter or novella!
Thank you to Random House Children's for a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review! I cannot wait to purchase several copies for my students!

This was a bittersweet read for me because I have been reading this series for years and while I was glad to get a conclusion to the Washington family’s story I was sad for it to end. McGee wraps up everyones storylines and doesn’t leave any loose threads which was very much appreciated. I can’t wait to read whatever McGee comes up with next!