Majesty by Katharine McGee
Power is intoxicating. Like first love, it can leave you breathless. Princess Beatrice was born with it. Princess Samantha was born with less. Some, like Nina Gonzalez, are pulled into it. And a few will claw their way in. Ahem, we're looking at you Daphne Deighton.
As America adjusts to the idea of a queen on the throne, Beatrice grapples with everything she lost when she gained the ultimate crown. Samantha is busy living up to her "party princess" persona... and maybe adding a party prince by her side. Nina is trying to avoid the palace - and Prince Jefferson - at all costs. And a dangerous secret threatens to undo all of Daphne's carefully laid "marry Prince Jefferson" plans.
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The long-awaited sequel to the beloved American Royals came out this month and I had to read it immediately. I read the first one while on lockdown and it was the lighthearted read that I needed at the time. In this sequel, we follow the same characters as they navigate this new world they've been thrust into. It wasn't as good as the original (when are sequels ever better?) But I was still hooked on the story. It had the familiar Gossip Girl vibe of intricate love triangles and backstabbing but also a touch of The Crown in navigating court politics.
This book follows Beatrice (the new Queen), Samantha (once again relegated to the "spare" heir), Nina (Samantha's bff), and Daphne (the ruthless social climber). Beatrice's story follows her struggles to get to know her newly betrothed, Teddy, while trying to gain a footing in her highly patriarchal government. Samantha spends the book angrily "getting back" at her sister for stealing the man of her dreams and in the process, realizes she's more than anyone thought she could be. Nina is stinging from the heartbreak of her previous relationship with Prince Jefferson and is doing her best to avoid the spotlight and most of all, to avoid Daphne and her schemes. Daphne, once again, is up to her old tricks in her quest to nab the Prince as her own no matter who she needs to step on to get there. It sounds like a similar premise to the first book, but almost everything tied up at the end of the last was undone and re-written giving us plot points and storylines I never expected.
I really enjoyed this book and the new relationships and alliances that were built up. This story did not continue in the thread I expected and nothing that I thought would happen did. My favourite part of the book was following Beatrice's point of view. It was neat to see how a girl in her early 20's would take on the role of leader of the free world in present day. I thought it was neat how her story somewhat followed that of Queen Elizabeth II not only in how she became Queen but also the way her life had to change in order to represent The Crown. It was also refreshing to see different relationships than the first book. Typically in a book like this you expect all the obstacles involved in the last book to be overcome and the characters to find their happily ever after with the person they first fell in love with. But instead, those obstacles were immoveable and the characters found ways to not only move on past them but become stronger from the pain of past heartbreaks. When you're young relationships change, you date around, you travel, you move to new places, and you jump to different friend groups because as you grow you're no longer the same person as you were the day, week, month before. This book really highlighted personal growth and I loved that.
There were a few things I didn't like. Some of the smaller plotlines in Beatrice's story weren't very original and felt like exact scenes pulled directly from some other well known royal-based shows, but they were pretty minor points so I don't think it affected the story much overall. The story moved a bit slower than the first one so it did take me a while to slug through. I also was not at all satisfied with the ending but that's just a personal opinion. I think it was left too open-ended for this being the final book in the series but who knows, maybe that was the author's way of leaving space for a third book if she ever decides too. (Given how it ended I truly hope she does).
Overall I really enjoyed it, the things I didn't like were so minor that they in no way affected my own enjoyment of the book although I do really wish there was some justice in the end (lookin' at you Daph). It's a nice light read to enjoy especially in stressful times. I still find the whole premise of an American royal family so fascinating that I will probably continue following this author if she ever does decide to grace us with another book in the series. If you liked the first, you'll like this one too! 3.5 Star read for me.