Overall, I did enjoy reading Majesty but unfortunately, it wasn't as good American Royals. I flew through the book and finished it in a day but it definitely left me wanting more. I'm quite frustrated with how Majesty ended and can't believe this series is only supposed to be a duology. I really hope Katharine McGee will decide to write a third part sometime in the future because I just feel like some of the characters' stories felt unfinished and simply shouldn't end the way they did.

***This ARC was provided by Netgalley for a honest review***
I loved this book but I feel like it left me with more questions than answers and begging for a 3rd book! Katharine McGee is a great story teller with lots of juices secrets along the way to keep the story interesting. Is America ready for a Queen for the first time in history? Is she ready to step in to the shoes her father left behind? I firmly believe the answer is yes but we won’t know for sure without more. How is her relationship going to work now that they have put off their wedding? Will she get married eventually? I have so many questions.

American Royals II: Majesty was just what I was in the mood for. Ridiculous drama and a wild ride. Katharine McGee does not disappoint on that front at all. While most of the time I want a nice and cozy HEA there are also times when I'm ok that things don't work out perfectly like I envisioned. I had so many thoughts and theories heading into this book, some of which were correct.... some were not.

There are quite a lot of characters, but not everyone narrates. Our narrators are Beatrice, Sam, Nina & Daphne. Nina is my favorite and the one I most want to get her happily ever after. Beatrice is now queen and has a lot on her plate, but showed some real growth. Sam is trying, but still has a reputation. Daphne is.... the menace she's always been.

Teddy is Beatrice's fiance and they're navigating their new relationship. Sam is looking for a new boyfriend and might have found the perfect guy for her. Ethan is again involved in some of the drama, but might be heading in the "right" direction. Prince Jefferson is torn between two as well. (Lot's of love triangles (rectangles?) in this one.

If you're in the mood for fast paced drama I highly recommend Majesty.

WHY DID I LISTEN TO AMERICAN ROYALS II: MAJESTY BY KATHERINE MCGEE?
American Royals by Katherine McGee was EXCELLENT via audiobook, so I kind of figured I would greatly enjoy listening to the sequel, Majesty. Sometimes you just need a book that is dramatic and gossipy. Frankly, this book was EXACTLY what I needed. I wanted a not so serious listen, but one in which I could get absorbed in the drama while being transported away from my real life. McGee totally delivers.

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
Here there be spoilers for American Royals, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. Also why read a review of a sequel to a book you haven’t read yet? I don’t understand that thought process. Majesty picks up right where American Royals leaves off. Princess Beatrice’s father, the king is now dead. This means that Beatrice must ascend to the throne and be queen. It also means that she has to break up with her Revere Guard, Connor. Unfortunately for Beatrice’s sister, Samantha, Beatrice is now engaged to Samantha’s boyfriend Teddy. So, Samantha starts fake dating in order to try and win Teddy back. Only, she ends up really liking Marshall, the Duke of Orange who she fake dates. Meanwhile, Nina Gonzalez, Samantha’s best friend who was dating Samantha’s brother, Jefferson, ends up breaking up with Jefferson as well. He listens to some bullshit Daphne Dayton, a social climber, tells him and that’s just too much for Nina. Oh and Daphne’s best friend wakes up from her coma. THERE IS SO MUCH DRAMA IN Majesty!

WHAT DID I THINK OF AMERICAN ROYALS II: MAJESTY?
As I said, there is a lot of drama in this sequel and I am here for it. Seriously, I soaked it right up. This is like reading a gossipy magazine by the pool. Granted, I listened to this audiobook mostly while driving and in the fall. It just evokes a summer feeling though. I thought the reimagining of America to have a monarchy was pretty interesting too. Seeing Beatrice come into her own and embrace her power was awesome. Also? Samantha matures a lot and her role as the spare starts to having more meaning as she takes it seriously. I just loved how things resolved between Beatrice and Samantha. I do think if you were super invested in the relationships in the first book you might not like this one as much, because all those relationships break up and end.


HOW’S THE NARRATION?
Majesty is narrated by Brittany Pressley. I have to say that Pressley is the perfect choice. Her voice is melodic and easy to listen to. She does distinct voices for the different characters. This audiobook is well produced and a pleasure to listen to. Absolutely would recommend you pick up the American Royals by Katherine McGee via audiobook form – it’s perfect for your commute and chores, and any other time you listen to audiobooks.

OᐯᗴᖇᐯIᗴᗯ: Beatrice is now Queen and adjusting to her role and dealing with the people who see her as less than worthy of the crown. Princess Samatha has to leave behind her party ways to step in as the second. Nina is trying to avoid all things royal after her break-up with Prince Jefferson.

ᗰY TᕼOᑌᘜᕼTᔕ: This was an amazing follow-up to American Royals and my most anticipated read of the year. I love how MaGee conveys the strength of the women in this story, making them independent and unwilling to settle. All of the characters move forward in a way that shows growth, albeit in the presence of drama. This series is must read. I hope there's another book!

ᖇᗩTIᑎᘜ: ★★★★★

All the juicy drama of American Royals PLUS character development and growth (except you, Daphne Deighton) - what's not to love? I read this installment cover to cover in one day and loved every minute of the juicy drama. I hope there will be an eventual book three because I am just not ready to say goodbye to this crew and their salacious lives yet!

I was really excited to receive a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I went out and got the first book of this series to get the full experience. I LOVED American Royals. This made me have high hopes for Majesty. Unfortunately, this book fell short for me.

Majesty picked up right where American Royals left off. The characters were the same and most of the struggles were still there. The difference now is that Bea now wears the royal crown. I had a great appreciation for her working through the shock and “sudden-ness” of being the Queen. Being a woman in power, when people surrounding you have little faith, is an important message for young women. I feel most of the story surrounding Bea was relevant and important. The downside is the mess of the rest of the characters covered in the book. I feel focusing on just Bea would have been solid.

I feel the author intentionally created frustrating scenes and pushed the characters to make unrealistic decisions. This is a terrible game to play with readers. It worked to keep me reading, but I was constantly annoyed. The ending left me feeling frustrated and unfulfilled. The execution was both underdeveloped and underwhelming. As a conclusion to the series, this was a huge disappointment because it simply just seems incomplete.

3 Stars

This was SO fun. I liked the first one, but I LOVED this one and shared about it on Instagram because it was just so delightful. Highly recommend.

I hope they are coming out with a 3rd book I didn't love this one as much as the first. With that being said it was still a great read and I am not sad I read it. There were some twists and turns and things I didn't see coming. I think it would make a great T.V. show!!

This read very much like a second book in a trilogy. I hope there is a third book, this one was not as strong as the first book.

This was a great sequel! I always get nervous about sequels for books I love because they tend to not be as good but this one I think its even better than the first book. You can check out my review of American Royals here. This book picks up right where American Royals ended. It is hard to review a sequel without giving out any spoilers about the first book but I’ll do my best.

I really like all the characters in this fictional world (except for Daphne but if you read it you know why). This series is a nice escape and I love Katharine McGee’s writing. I loved seeing the growth of the characters in this book, specially Beatrice and Sam. I mentioned this in my American Royals review but this book gives me Gossip Girl vibes without being too childish.

The first book ends in a cliffhanger (makes a lot of people mad) but I’m glad to report that this one does not. Overall this is a great series and I don’t want it to end. I think I heard there’s not a third book but I think there should be!

Happy Monday!

I was a reading machine last week and my current reading list is all different than it was even like two days ago. I am still a long ways off from completing my Goodreads goal for the year, but I am not giving up. I wanted to read this particular book since I finished the first one. I literally screamed with joy when my copy arrived and before that I screamed even louder when the publisher sent me an E-ARC! I was so happy I immediately started reading it on my Kindle. Unfortunately due to school, work, and general adult responsibilities I was unable to finish my E-ARC copy before my hardcover arrived but I recently finished this and wow! I loved it so much and I really want a third one (I think the author has stated they are working on something else but I mean if there was to be a third one it would make my year)! In the meantime, let’s talk about book two (one of my favorite books of the year)!

SPOILERS AHEAD

In the aftermath of the King’s death, Beatrice is becoming queen, dealing with the loss of her father, and marriage. She was deeply in love with her body guard Connor however, her father and family had other plans for her life, they wanted her to marry Teddy (someone from a noble family and who her sister happens to be into). Beatrice decides to go with her role as the new queen of America, including having to marry Teddy. Beatrice agrees to marry Teddy and the palace including her father’s right hand man Robert and her mother begin planning her royal wedding. As wedding planning commences Beatrice begins to try and figure out how to be Queen of America, however, she is starting to see roadblocks in her way, many of the roadblocks are old tired unwritten societal rules and it seems like no one but Robert cares about them, but Beatrice is going to keep trying her best! Aside from her Queen deputes Beatrice is working on spending time with Teddy and getting to know him. They visit his family, adopt the cutest puppy (I loved this part so so much), and even start to rely on each other but come wedding day will they go through with it? Or will Beatrice break the old royal rules and rule alone?

I loved this book so so much! Beatrice and Teddy’s relationship growth in this book is amazing and the chapters where they bond are the cutest, I absolutely love them as a couple. I know Nina, Samantha, and Daphne also had chapters in the book as well (and I love each of them for different reasons) but Beatrice and her story definitely stole the show of this book. Additionally, I really enjoyed the ending of this book, I know it wrapped up all the major story lines but I would still love another book; where were we just see the after and daily life! This is definitely one of my favorite series and I can not wait to see what this author writes next.

Goodreads Rating: 5 Stars

**Thank you so much to the publisher for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a long time to read this book. I loved the first one and in the end, I loved this one but I had a hard time getting through the first half. Maybe it’s because I was trying to read it in ebook format which still isn’t my favorite. But I ended up loving it! I wanted all the love triangles to work out but I was very pleased with how it all ended up!

This book is a sequel to American Royals, and it was just as drama filled! It continues where the first left off, with Beatrice a new queen engaged to Teddy, Samantha now the heir and still jealous and hurt, Nina broken up from Jefferson, and Daphne as scheming and awful as ever. As they approach the Royal Wedding day, each of them will find out more about themselves, OR become just that much more horrible (I’m sure you know who I’m talking about).

I can see that there won’t be any more after this, but I would like to see what happens after this book ended. Another book, even if it was set in some time later, would be cool. Some of the characters had pretty good endings, but others I want to see if things changed, or if they happen as we think they will. I like the writing style, so this was a pretty fun book for me!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Review will be available on my blog, The Reading Fairy on December 6th.

TW: grief, mention of death of a parent, racism, bullying, sexism
Rep: Prominent Black guy


“But we fell in love, day by day, he’d said. Real love comes from facing life together, with all its messes and surprises and joys."

Y’all know that one book where you want to DNF, but keeping giving yourself another chapter because you’re hoping that the book would be better. That happened to me as I kept saying until Chapter 20 because that’s like close to 50%, and somehow I was able to finish the book. I should have DNF’d this book instead of finishing it because I hated every single minute of it.

I was not a fan of American Royals especially with it’s white centered view, and the erasure of BIPOC history in it-but this book took the cake. This book was so bad that I have no idea how I was able to finish it all, and I don’t understand what people actually like about this book. But I feel like it’s perfect for those who like trashy books that have no plot, and no chararization because this was it.

I’m blaming younger me a few months ago in requesting this book on NG and getting accepted. What was I thinking? Why did I think I’d love this series the second time around and hoping that maybe it’s me, and not the book when it is clearly the book. I’m trying to comprehend what was this shit-hole because this was not it.

Can we just talk about how problematic this type of thing is, and it’s still even more problematic. I feel like this book tried to inclusive and all around diverse when it came to side characters, but it is really problematic as a whole. McGee included a Black guy as a side character who’s family was born into slavery and joined the kingdom after slavery ended, and than being paraded by the kingdom like a token just to be seen as inclusive.

That is literally yikes and how is only a few people commenting on that.

It was yikes all around because this whole concept as a whole is problematic, but that whole section is so problematic that I am wondering why this was even published. There is still no answers on the whole Washington owned slaves and who the hell ended slavery in this “alternative world” and that small conversation about Indigenous folks from the last book still remains very problematic because this was not it.

This was really racist now that I am thinking about it. It is not sitting right with me, the more I think about it-the more disgusted I am. There was also a topic on feminism and that whole bit did not go well at all. I am very reminded that this alternative history book is really bad.

Anyways moving on from all the problematic shit in this book. This book made the characters from the last book who went through quite a bit of development and did a 180 quite literally. I hated all these characters more and they weren’t even great to begin with. All these characters are so shallow, so flat and honestly I don’t like them one bit with only one character remaining the same, mean person.

The ending was so unsatisfying. I read through some of the other reviews on GR and they all mentioned that there should have been a third book and I have to agree with that. This book was so messy, very problematic and I don’t understand what happened in this book.

I fell in love with the first book. The problem with sequels is that most readers are rooting for certain personalities or relationships and it’s often hard to fulfill the desires of the entire audience. Unfortunately, Majesty left me completely unsatisfied. In my opinion, all of the characters strayed too far from their original personalities and storylines. The romances I was so desperately rooting for fizzled. The plot was there and she only needed to build on it. Don’t get me wrong, her writing is fantastic. But story falls short. I think the majority of readers who loved the first will agree with me. Three stars because I like her writing style and certain parts of the story, but she certainly didn’t my hit this one out of the park.

An awesome follow up! I loved the direction the characters took, coming more into their own as adults, while the book was still appropriate for teens.

I love how Katharine McGee's writing sucks you into the world instantly. This was a delightful continuation of The Royals series and was a lot of fun to read, and a welcome distraction from the current world we are living in. I love Beatrice as a character and I enjoyed reading about her finding her way as queen while also grieving the loss of her father. I also appreciated that McGee didn't shy away and wrote more about social issues in our country and how the royal family handled those issues. Overall I would rate this as a strong sequel.

American Royals II: Majesty
Katharine McGee

The American Royals series/ duology conclude with this book, the Majesty by Katharine McGee. The writing was amazing and I loved the follow up to the American Royals, which I find is absolutely amazing read and very creative concept when I read this last year. You definitely have to read the first book to learn about the characters and the whole concept of the world Katharine created in the American Royals - which was absolutely fantastic. The characters were all amazing and the drama is just incredible.

Without giving anything away, I want to let you know that there are a lot of surprises to come along the way, and please do not hate the book because of it. I know we all want our HEA but this book throws a few curve balls.

Fantastic writing, very creative concept, and a great YA read. I highly recommend.

This second book of the American Royals series was so satisfying and much better than the first book. I loved the character development and growth of some of the main characters. I am eagerly awaiting the third book!