Beyond boringggggggg. Characters beyond bland. Nothing really happened. I was expecting more but it just did not live up to my expectations.

Katherine Mcgee is amazing. This book is perfect in every way. It never once crossed my mind to think about America having a monarchy, and this was such a fun read.

I'm super into the whole Contemporary-Royalty thing that's happening now, but I just couldn't get into this book. Everything was immediately just so two-dimensional, the royal family acting like Kardashians. I see the appeal in both the Kardashians and this book, but it just wasn't for me.

This is a fascinating alternate history of the United States. It was entertaining, but also intricately crafted.

The blurb sounded so good but it's not my favorite. The characters were a bit two dimensional and it reminded me a lot of the characters on Gossip Girl. It's okay but not my fave.

As many historical fiction books there are about the American Revolution, I haven't come across many that take the perspective of...what if George Washington had not "taught them how to say goodbye?" He had all the power and confidence of the new nation, so it would have been natural to carry on and become the first monarch. This book is interesting because it combines Americans' obsession with all things royal with a twist in our own national history. There are more love triangles than can be counted, but lots of emphasis on service as a royal. It's a good book. Can't wait for the second to come out!

This is a look at what might have occurred if George Washington had been offered a crown instead of the presidency. This is a YA romance that is also exploring the political consequences of those romances. This follows the current heirs to the throne, Beatrice, Samantha, and Jefferson, as they navigate political life.

Like a train wreck, you just can't look away. Gossip, betrayal, lies, tabloids...all the stuff you love to hate is in this book and more. It's that guilty pleasure like eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's all by yourself - you feel terrible afterwards, but you had fun while you were doing it. And yes, I'll indulge in the second book...

One of my favorite books of 2019. A fun read with great character development. I'm not usually a fan of multi narratives but I enjoyed how it allowed the reader to get to know lots of characters and understand their motivations. I'm totally recommending the book to everyone I know adults and teens. I picked it as a Spring NYPL Staff Pick.

This was fantastic! I've said it before and I'll say it again: this should be a TV show. It has the perfect amount of drama!

If you like stories about royalty, drama-filled reads, stories that will keep you guessing, and books told from multiple perspectives, pick this up immediately.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

I'll admit I saw most of the major plot twists coming. I knew that King George was sick almost from the very beginning, and by the time the last ball started, I knew that he was going to die by the end of the book. I knew that Daphne was involved with her friend's hospitalization (though I didn't know exactly how). However, most of the steps on the way there were total surprises, and I loved seeing how everything unfolded!

Theories for book 2: I was pretty sure until the very end that Beatrice would abdicate to be with Connor, but for some reason, when she brought it up as a possibility, I got the feeling that it wouldn't actually happen. Still gonna put it out there though! Daphne will somehow get what's coming to her, probably through her previous actions being exposed. That will also lead to Nina and Jeff getting back together. As for Samantha, I'm not actually sure what will happen to her if Beatrice doesn't abdicate. She'll definitely become a more involved family member, but I'm not sure of the specifics.

CW: death of a parent (cancer/heart attack); a character drugs their friend, leading to an accident that leaves the friend in a coma; cheating

This novel overall can be summarized as entertaining. The whole book is moved more by the plot than the characters. I could not stop but imagine what could happen next while doing daily tasks. I usually prefer more character driven books but I enjoyed untangling a royal ya drama. I can definitely see this being a favorite to a lot of people that enjoy shows like Gossip Girl. I'm looking forward. to the next book and find out more secrets and qualities of the characters.

There was a lot to like about this book. I love alt history. The concept of American royals is juicy. At heart this book is really a fluffy, soapy drama about the love loves of three siblings, dressed up in alt history royalness. Judged on that criteria, it was page-turning fun. I’m a casual royal watcher (and a big fan of The Crown) and I felt that the royal details seemed really convincing. Beatrice had a lot in common with Queen Elizabeth, especially in a scene toward the end.

Being a long-suffering older sibling myself, I always always relate to oldest child characters. Princess Beatrice has had her whole life planned out for her and wants to do the right thing. Unfortunately, she’s not interested in any of the guys she she’s being encouraged to marry, but in love with someone completely off-limits to her.

Beatrice’s sense of duty kept her from coming off as a bratty and entitled as the other two. I don’t want to spoil, but the secret Samantha keeps from her sister for a good part of the book did not reflect well on her, no matter how tough it is to be the second in line to the throne. Jefferson, the third sibling, was the typical clueless guy who has had everything handed to him. The book did do a good job of portraying how brutal the public scrutiny can be when you’re dating a famous guy. Jefferson’s evil ex-girlfriend was also a little too much of a over-the-top cliche mean girl.

Which brings me to one of the things that bothered me about the book: that the main obstacle in all the romances is either a love interest’s “commoner” status or a love triangle-ish situation. Or both. For a long time, real life royals have married people who aren’t of noble birth. I'd love it if the book had delved more into why royal America is so sexist.
All in all, this was page-turning fun with a fun premise, even if I wished for a little more depth.

Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to read this ARC prior to the book's publication, but I did end up buying multiple copies of it for our library collection and it has been incredibly popular--I hope to read it soon.

American Royals is a page-turning, addicting, can't-wait-for-the-sequel kind of story. It felt like a reality TV show but in all the best ways. It felt real like this is what our country really would look like in every way if George Washington was King instead of President. Beatrice, Samantha, and Jefferson all had their own responsibilities and personalities and their own satisfyingly arcs from beginning to end. And the family dynamics were realistic and nuanced and gave all the feelings. This cliffhanger was hard to read because it sets up high stakes for the next story and because I didn't want to stop living in these people's lives.

What is America had a royal family? This is another royal romance/ drama. My teen readers seem to like this type of story, but I'm not a huge fan. Just not for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this copy of American Royals by Katharine McGee.
I knew I would love this book because I was a big fan of the Thousandth Floor series. This one treads on some of the same territory but with the unique spin of the Washington family being our own American monarchy.
I enjoyed everyone’s POV including the antihero bordering-on-villain Daphne. McGee was a way of making us relate to her poorly behaved characters even when they do terrible things. I rooted for all of the bad-for-the-monarchy romances especially the one between Beatrice and a commoner.
I’m looking forward to the next book in this series and highly recommend it to everyone!

This is a perfect teen drama read in my opinion. The drama of a high society show like Gossip Girl but with the fun new setting of an America with a Royal twist. I know I would have devoured this series as a teen.

What happened if America and every other country had a monarchy? It was a fun page turner with great characters from all walks of life. It was interesting to see how differently the heir to throne is treated vs her siblings. Can't wait for the next one!

This was such a fun, fluffy teen read and I'm already dying to read the sequel. I thought the whole concept was really clever.

I wish something, anything had been resolved by the end of this book! Tons of romances are set up but everyone is left in limbo. I will definitely have to read the sequel to see how everything works out.