American Royals by Katharine Mcgee
What would the U.S. be like if, after the American Revolution, George Washington became a King of a new monarchy instead of the President of a democracy? In present day, we follow the lives of his descendants, still on the throne, and get a glimpse into the life of royalty, American royalty. Following the lives of Beatrice (first female who will become reigning monarch, and her younger siblings: Samantha (the spare child, wild and uncontrolled) and Jefferson (the would-be King whom the nation loves). Not everything is as glamorous as it may seem.
I had my hesitations on this book, I don't read lots of contemporary romance anymore and it's been a few years since I've picked up a YA novel. However, it was on my list since last summer after such a glowing review from one of my favourite book bloggers, The Spines. I was excited to read it after the heavy material that was my last book. And it was perfect timing as my last book was all about the starting of the Revolutionary War so, I had a bit of American history going into this. It was a perfect read! Romance, drama, betrayal, heartbreak, it had everything you'd need to keep you hooked from start to finish.
There was a lot that I liked about this book, the rivalry and jealousy that can exist between siblings, the struggles of maintaining childhood friendships once you're out of high school, the hesitancy of first dates and new relationships. I felt there was a lot of realities of life and what it's like to suddenly have to grow up when you're nowhere near ready for it, which is something I'm sure we've all felt at one time or another. It was very relatable and had all the drama I needed. I also enjoyed how, in America becoming a monarchy, other countries retained theirs as well so France, Russia, etc. still had royal families and it was cool to see a mix of that in present day. I liked the changing viewpoints as well, it kept the pace quick and interesting and you couldn't fully hate or love any character because, in seeing them through different viewpoints, you got to see both sides of each character, the good and the bad.
My absolute favourite part of this book was Nina, best friend of Princess Samantha. She was such a well-rounded character and was a lot more down to earth and mature compared to her royal counterparts. Maybe because she didn't always have everything handed to her on a silver platter? Her struggles with being friends with royalty, her hatred of the spotlight, her supportive family, her bullying in school. She was the most relatable character of the book and in my mind, the main protagonist. We certainly heard more of her story than we did most of the others. I'm really excited to see what happens next for her. Daphne (the resident "Queen B" in any sense of the word and Nina's main rival), on the other hand, I could do without.
There were a couple of things I didn't like as well that I'm hoping will maybe resolve in the second book. We don't really see as much of Beatrice's story as I'd like, the other characters woes and heartbreak are all more woven together but Beatrice's is separate so I feel like we don't see her as much as the others which was slightly disappointing. I also didn't like how cold the siblings were to one another. It's understandable they grew apart but Beatrice doesn't even interact with her own brother the entire book, and being close with my sister, I couldn't understand how little Sam could care that Beatrice was unhappy. Sam's selfishness when it came to her sister made me think she's the Princess Margaret of this story (I really hope not as we know how that ended up). I'm keeping an open mind, however, because it isn't just a stand-alone novel so I'm excited to see what kind of personal and relationship growth these characters go through in the next book.
If you're looking for the perfect read for a day at the beach or in the park or just need a break from life at the moment, this book is perfect for that sweet escape. It was an interesting concept and as entertaining as you'd think American royalty would be! Props to Katharine Mcgee for this book, it's genius. Because I enjoyed it so much and it was the perfect amount of light and fluffy with enough angst thrown in as well, I'm giving it 4 stars.