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!

LOVED LOVED LOVED. Just as good as the first - the ending felt like there could be more coming.... if there's a 3rd book, great... if not, I wish some ends were tied up a little more but overall I do love how everything came together. I don't wanna say too much as pub day is still far away but I adored this sequel!

Didn't know I could love a royals book as much as American Royals until I read Majesty! I loved the relationship shake ups and am sad that I finished it so quickly.

God is great, and my witchcraft powers are strong. Back in late-March, I helped launch the Future Female Leaders book club. For our first book in April, we ended up selecting American Royals, by Katharine McGee. I loved the book, and coincidentally, I first read an arc of it LAST April, so yay serendipity. I reread the book for book club and loved it all over again, and then God smiled and the e-ARC of the sequel, and the concluding book in this narrative, Majesty, dropped into my inbox. AHHH!!!! So yes, I read this over a two and a half day period in April, but I loved it,it's a good conclusion to the story, even if it's not what I wanted for some of the characters, and I'm so happy you all can read this story soon!

Spoilers ahead for American Royals, obviously. 

When American Royals ended, Beatrice's father died and she was officially becoming the first Queen of America. Now that she's in charge, the forces at large are pushing her and Teddy to set a wedding date. But what about Connor? Will Beatrice follow her heart? What if her heart changes directions? And what is she going to do to stake her claim as queen and make sure she comes out as strong as her father was?

Samantha has spent her life as the spare,but will she rise to the occasion when she becomes the heir? With Teddy engaged to her sister, Samantha starts looking elsewhere for a love connection, and she may find her heart doing a little more beating than she thought it would for someone else who appeared in Beatrice's binder of suitors. 

When the first book ended, Nina and Jeff were officially over and Nina was ready to turn her back on the royal life...but is she ready to turn her back on love? Maybe not...but that doesn't mean it's not just as complicated. 

Daphne will do anything to get Jeff and become a true princess, but is she willing to risk her reputation, and her heart?  When someone that could ruin everything for Daphne gets a chance to speak, will Daphne do what it takes to silence them? And will she get her happy ending?

And then there's Jeff, Ethan, old characters and new, and a chamberlain who I think should be sent to the guillotine. 

Overall, I don't think this book was as strong as American Royals, but there is also no way it could have been. I wish we had seen a little bit more of these characters--another hundred pages, please!--but I have hopes for an extended universe. This story is wrapped up when this story ends, and I think the ending makes sense for the characters...almost in a way that hurts, ya know? Maybe I was expecting a little more uh...death and murder, a la Thousandth Floor. Alas, haha. But I loved the romances in this one as much as in the first, I loved the way Beatrice had to deal with the big issues, and I'm glad there was less Nina because she was kind of boring in this one, TBH. Also...Daphne, girl...girl....