I read Majesty immediately after American Royals, so I didn't have the agony of waiting months between the cliffhanger ending of AR, thankfully! On the flip side, reading them back to back probably gave me a small sense of repetitiveness, since I didn't need the recaps and backstory fill=in that comes with a sequel. I find myself with a small book hangover for these 8 characters, drawing me back to both books to reread my favorite scenes.
Pros:
Well written with good flow, enough surprises to keep me invested, and loveable characters
Nina & Ethan gave off that Joey/Pacey vibe from Dawson's Creek, so I'm always down for that
Beatrice & Connor's resolution was appreciated and well done
Samantha's story arc was an appreciated development, but hope she still goes to university to become a lawyer - she would be such an asset to her sister to have those skills
Ethan was a flat side character in AR1 - glad to see he had redeeming moments in AR2, even though the dialogue for Daphne was too repetitive and ridiculous
Cons:
I am sure I am not the only one scratching my head at how Jefferson can be such a dim wit about girls even though he was surrounded by a vivacious, outspoken twin sister and other caring females (like Nina). I know Daphne is the supposed to be the character the reader 'loves to hate' but I felt like her chapters were far too repetitive, her dialog was just too pat, too trite, too predictable for me to be able to really see her as a flesh and bone person. The Jefferson/Daphne storyline just left me bitter.
I would love to have more of Beatrice & Teddy, of course, and to have a little more information on what was in store for Samantha and Jefferson. I would assume they would go to college in the fall, right? Yet there is no talk about them moving towards that part of their young adulthood. Also, aren't all these people like 18 - 22? It is a little far fetched that a queen of that age wouldn't have more than 1 person to lean on for governmental advice...it would have been nice if she had been given another support that encouraged her - what about her mother?!?

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this ARC! I’ve been aching to find out what happens to Bea, Sam, Nina, and all of the gang since finishing AMERICAN ROYALS and MAJESTY did not disappoint! Seeing Beatrice’s transformation from heir to Queen was inspiring and all of the romance left me reeling! A terrific follow-up!

I have been eagerly anticipating the sequel to Katharine McGee's American Royals novel since I read it last year! With the first novel ending on a huge cliffhanger, the sequel picks up pretty much from where the first novel left off. Beatrice is the new queen, and is forced to lead the country while still reeling from everything she left behind when she inherited the throne. Samantha feels like the spare heir even more than ever, and begins to act out with a new guy she met. Daphne is still up to her same old schemes- and this time Nina is one of her unsuspecting targets. This book moved through events fast, and I would have read another two hundred pages in their world. I am really hoping that there is going to be a third book because I want more of these characters, and I really feel like there's more to wrap up with the storyline! This kind of felt like a middle book to me- the plot took a lot of turns I was not predicting at all, which did keep things interesting, but I also feel like more resolution is needed to neatly wrap up each of the character's lives. I love this series and the cover of this book is gorgeous so really only good things to say!

I want to thank NetGalley, Random House Children’s, and author Katherine McGee for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

I was so, so excited to get the second novel in the American Royals series! I really felt that this matched the first book, if not superseded it. The author doesn’t shy away from developing her characters no matter what, either positively or negatively. I so appreciate that this picked up right after the cliffhanger of the first book, with everyone’s love life up in the air. The pacing was perfect, and this book was such a fun ride. I am looking forward to book three!

I want to thank those named above again for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for shortening my wait time with this ARC.
I finally gave in an read American Royals a couple weeks ago because it kept coming up from different online book groups I'm in. I loved having the opportunity to read this sequel. I continued to love Beatrice, and while I definitely had certain...hopes after the first book, I loved the way that the author introduced new hopes for me.

To be honest, I didn't think I would like this book that much. I barely liked the first one since I felt that it had been too inspired by other contemporary books about royalty. However, some of my students really love it so when I saw the second one, I figured, "what the heck."

This book is the most soap-opera-ish book I have read in a long time. It's not a bad thing. There were so many twists and turns and covered nearly every romance/soap opera trope there is. Enemies to lover? Yup. Fake dating leads to real dating? Yup. Engaged to be married to someone you don't love? Got that too. Falling in love with the fiance you don't love? That's there too. Also, plotting to destroy everyone you know and love to become royal tossed in on the side, just to keep things interesting. The clueless guy who does not understand women? Yeah (although I really did not like what happened with Jefferson's character - he goes nowhere and does nothing except be stupid about everything).

I think this book can be enjoyed even if you haven't picked up the first one. With all the angst at the beginning of the book, you are easily caught right up into the world of American royalty. Now, I'm just wondering if there will be a third book.

A thank you to net galley and the publisher for the advance read of this book.

It’s book two of American royals and I’m still loving these characters, although the antagonist doesn’t seem to know what she really wants, and the prince has no clue what is going on ( would love to see the story from his pint of view at least once), the rest of the characters are well developed. They make the story so believable that the alternate history of it never confused me as a reader. The author did a wonderful job. Normally book two can’t stand to book one, but this one did. I can’t wait for book three.

I really loved this series so I was so excited to read the sequel! It was really good and I even think I like it better then the first. I know the teens at my library will love this book and I will probably make it one of the teen book club books!

Very rarely do sequels maintain the enjoyment from the first novel, but Majesty does. In fact, I may like it even better than the first novel! The drama. The romance. It’s all there. And if you think you had your favorite couples from American Royals, think again. McGee crafts a way for you to be rooting for these new romances. This is a quick read, one you won’t want to put down!

I was over-the-moon excited when I read that I had been approved for this ARC from Net Galley since I loved American Royals so much. The story picks up where the first book left off, but it brings in some major plot twists. McGee definitely knows how to structure her plot to keep you turning pages, but did I like her story? I still don't know. (It could be my own faulty expectations. I was expecting this to be the end of the story that was started in the first book, but it read more like book two of a trilogy.) She wrote in a way that made the characters' choices seem believable, but I wanted more closure and much of the story is "to be continued." In particular, Jefferson's story line has a lot of unanswered/unresolved issues. All of that said, I inhaled this book in two days and could not turn the pages fast enough. If you are the sort of reader who needs to have closure and everything wrapped up neatly, then wait until book three is released to start this one. If you love being immersed in the fairy tale of American royalty, you will not be disappointed. (I can't discount the fact that all of my reading currently is being done through the filter of our current situation of world pandemic, enforced staying-at-home, etc. -- it seems I'm craving more "nice, tidy endings" these days.)

The author does a fabulous job of creating dimensional characters that keep you cheering for them while also continually guessing what is going to happen next.

Last year, when I read American Royals, the book ended and I knew what I wanted for each of the main characters. After about 5% of this book, I knew I was wrong. Katharine McGee managed to write such an amazing story that I was convinced everything she wrote was really what was meant to be.

McGee did an amazing job evolving these characters and giving us more insight and knowledge into the secret life of "American Royals". This alternate American reality made me wish this was how our country was.

In this book, Beatrice became my favorite. While I will always love Nina, she took a seat on the side burner and let Her Majesty Beatrice really shine!

All around I adored this book and was left with one question: When do we get book #3?!?

This sequel went in a different direction than I anticipated after reading the first book, with new relationships forming as the characters grow and mature. But I thoroughly enjoyed seeing how each character changed and will be awaiting the next installment. Recommended (but books should definitely be read in order).

I don’t know. I’m pretty underwhelmed by this one. It picks up right where American Royals left off but it feels like all of the characters completely changed in this book.

This book picks up about 6 weeks after the King has died.
We learn more about each of the characters, including one that was silent previously.

I really have trouble choosing which is my favorite Bee or Sam. Both learn a lot about themselves and make some great decisions along the way.

A great sequel!

Oh, my goodness, the drama! This is the second book in Katharine McGee's American Royals series. I won't say much about the plot because I don't want to spoil the first book, but this picks up almost immediately after the cliffhanger, with every character's love life in flux. The second book introduces several new love interests, which makes for an interesting tangle of love triangles, squares, and other assorted shapes.

McGee really knows how to pace a story, and the multiple narrators made for a fun and varied ride. I read book one this winter, and it felt fantastical because of the idea of an American royal family. The second book felt unreal in a different way, because of how much the country has actually changed this year. I am hoping we get book three soon!

Beatrice is getting used to being called "Her Majesty" while following her father's and other King's footsteps while wanting to make her own. Her wedding for Teddy is a lot sooner than she hoped, but how can a Queen rule without a king?

Samantha is now the Heir to the Throne. With this title, she has to take etiquette lessons, which she hates. She is trying to make her sister upset and Teddy jealous by fake dating Marshall Davis a playboy from Orange, he agrees to make his ex jealous but is there more than a fake relationship brewing?

Nina is finally out of the gossip magazines. Ethan, Jefferson's best friend is suddenly in one of her classes, and after they hang out a few times Nina is starting to have feelings for Ethan. They keep their relationship to themselves until a report calls Jefferson's cell phone (how did she get is number) and asks for a comment.

Then there is Daphne evil and manipulative Dahape. She bribes Ethan to distract Nina so she can make her way to Jefferson again. Her best friend wakes up from a coma and when she realizes it was Dahnpe who mixed her drink she says something which Daphne takes as a threat and goes to The Queen and blackmails her with a small piece of gossip she heard from Sam to get her best friend out of the picture.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for this eARC.

I didn't think I would pick up this sequel, but the podcast Worst Bestsellers did an ep on the first one and mentioned that this one was on NetGalley - my strength is limited in a pandemic.

I liked this one more than the first, it kind of had the same fluffy feeling as the <i>Selection</i> series (though a very different plot) and there was much more resolution at the end of this one than the first. I expect the series will continue, but this book had a better conclusion than the first. Still has some issues, but fun for quarantine reading!

I loved the sequel just as much as the first! After the cliffhanger ending to American Royals, I was so pumped to get my hands on a copy of Majesty to see how the story would continue. It picked up right where it left off and developed each of the characters even more, while also tying everything together with a couple of unexpected plot twists, without feeling like the ending was rushed. I devoured this book and read it in a single day because I just could not put it down. And it still left me wanting more! Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

Review: American Royals II: Majesty
Final Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this, so thank you to Netgalley for hooking me up!

As a rule, I am wary of sequels. Will it live up to the hype? Will all of my questions be answered? Will that one couple I’m rooting for find a way to make it work, or not?

This book gave me all of the things I wanted and needed (and some I probably could’ve done without) and then some. All of the characters I fell in love with in American Royals came back stronger and better than before. And Daphne was there, too ;)

One of my favorite things about Katharine McGee as an author is the way in which she takes truly pivotal moments in American history and molds them to fit into the world in which America is ruled by a monarchy instead of governed by a President. Once again, she excelled, reimagining such an event in order to bring us the Party Prince to potentially complement Samantha’s Party Princess persona.

Watching (reading) Beatrice and Samantha as they struggled to morph into the women they were always meant to be was nothing short of agonizing but also prideful for me as a reader. I even found myself empathizing with the characters I didn’t particularly care for the first time around.

While it absolutely destroyed me that American Royals ended on such a giant cliffhanger and I had to wait months to get my hands on this beauty, I can assure you it was worth every second.

I only wish I could’ve known what the boys were thinking at certain times, but you can’t have everything ;)

Go preorder this book NOW!