Dating drama!

I thought like many readers that there would only be three books in the series but there will be at least one more book planned so hang on to your hats when you finish Rivals.

Queen Beatrice didn’t get married to Teddy and she trying to find her way to be the leader that the country needs especially with hosting the upcoming League of Kings conference. Princess Samantha is the heir and trying to decide what she should do in supporting Beatrice and dating Marshall.

Then there is Prince Jefferson going to college and dealing with Daphne and Nina.

Now I want to find out what happens in book 4 because I want it now!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The American Royals series is a guilty pleasure for me, and this installment did not disappoint. Queen Beatrice is learning who she is as monarch, trying to figure out who she can trust (and can’t), and finding her place amongst a somewhat welcoming, somewhat dismissive throng of other royals from around the world. Princess Samantha is weighing what matters most to her. And poor Prince Jeff, well, he is unknowingly caught in a love quadrangle. This story centers greatly on those rivals for Jeff’s heart, as Nina and Daphne become frenemies in order to best Lady Gabriella Madison. The nods to founding families and their complicated relationships, the overtones of feudal class systems in a capitalist world, and the challenges of cross generational values and approaches to social expectations and governing enhance the story. Be warned….as I read the last page, I really, really, really wanted the next book immediately.

Thank you to Random House Children’s, Random House Books for Young Readers, Netgalley, and the author for early access to this book.

Publishing Date: May 31, 2022

Thanks to Random House Books, the author, and NetGalley for the free gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

WARNING.. do not pick this up if you don’t want to end on a cliffhanger cause wow I need the fourth book now….

But this is another great book in the series and we got to see lots of new characters and new sides to some of the old characters.

American Royals is a mix of Gossip Girl and the Crown, and I absolutely love it. It is a YA drama so some of the drama is very -college- but I love it. A made-up American world of royals that gives a hint of make-believe, it is so fun to read about.

This series has definitely had its ups and downs, I know most people LOVED the first, had a love/hate with the second, and then enjoyed the third, BUT it seems like there is definitely going to be a fourth so I am ready to see where she takes us from here.

I realized while reading this that I don’t read a ton of series anymore. I remember reading the first book in 2019 while on my honeymoon and found it to be so delightful, dreaming about what would happen if a monarchy was started after the revolution. I’m not alone in saying the second was a bit disappointing but this one really reminded me why I loved the first book. Nina has become my favorite to follow and I really enjoyed seeing her and Daphne’s relationship over the course of this book. I’m hoping there is a fourth book in the works because holy moly, cliffhanger ending!

This series 🤌🏻 Awesome! I fell in love with the “American Royal Family” from the first of this series and this book does not disappoint. Third in the series, it picks us and carries us further into the world and twisted relationships of Samantha, Jefferson, and Beatrice. If you enjoyed the others in this series there is no way you would not like American Royals III: Rivals!

I found this book frustrating. The first book in this series sets up a universe that strains credibility but is largely pulpy and fun and cute enough that I read the second book. The sequel, Majesty, sort of blew me away when I read it. I was astounded by what McGee did with her established universe - upending relationships and ships I had been invested in and ultimately letting her characters grow naturally and in ways that felt incredibly earned. It felt brave and audacious and I gave that book 5 stars because I was just so impressed by the way the characters in Majesty learned who they were and what they wanted and blew up the ships I had previously been semi-feral over.

I can't say I was super surprised about the announcement of a third book. I thought Majesty wrapped up in a satisfying way but there were enough threads there to pull. I was really looking forward to seeing what more McGee wanted to play with and upend in her fictional universe. I could probably equate my disappointment with this book with how high my expectations were from the second book. Instead of a continuation of the growth and development from the second book, every character in this book regressed in disappointing and baffling ways.

Beatrice, for all her earned confidence and backbone from the second book, became once again the desperate and sad girl from the first book. I thought we were finally getting some interesting character development from Daphne, the only person who ever makes any moves, but she went from finally realizing her potential to doing a complete 180. I actually enjoyed her Nina team up here but of course it was too good to last. Samantha was maybe my favorite part of this story which is funny because she was the one I disliked the most in American Royals, however I just don't understand some of her decision making here.

Perhaps the person I am most disappointed in was Nina. We hear how smart and nice Nina is but she just completely regressed in character development from the second book. Honestly, she needs to move on from the entire royal family at this point. For all her judging about whether Daphne is good enough for Jeff she certainly isn't nor is she prepared for what acting on any feelings she has would actually mean. I missed Ethan SO much in this book. He was the best part of Majesty and I feel like everything in Majesty was just glossed over in a way that actually makes me angry.

And Jeff! Is he a character in the book or just some golden retriever? Maybe it is because we don't get his POV but for being an important character seemingly we know nothing about him at all. He seems easily manipulated and rather ignorant in a way I don't believe.

I don't hate cliffhangers in books but this one sort of enraged me. It felt cheap and I was a bit resentful about how I was being dragged along as a reader.

I gave this 3 stars though because ultimately it was compulsively readable and I am, despite my reservations, definitely going to pick up the next installment. I thought that something really cool and interesting was being done with this series but I just think it is meant to be some sort of Royal gossip girl which is fine, I just need to adjust my expectations.

I don't like series, I don't like romance, I don't like YA, but something about this series just WORKS for me. I loved American Royals III as much as I loved the first. Yes, you need to read the first two first, but if you liked those, you will NOT be disappointed.

3.5 STARS

I have absolutely loved the American Royals series. The first two books completely consumed my thoughts when I wasn’t reading/listening to them and every spare moment I had to pick it up to see what was going to happen next. So going into this third book I couldn’t wait to binge it, having those expectations. While I thought it was a good continuation of the series, it didn’t grip me as much as the first books did. I kept waiting for something big to happen that I felt like never came. I still love this series and will definitely read the next one, but overall this third book felt a little lackluster in the drama department.

Rivals comes out 5/31! Thank you @randomhousekids and @netgalley for the gifted e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Books for Young Readers for the advanced copy, in exchange for my honest review! I truly loved and enjoyed the first American Royals book, so I was a bit disappointed when I read the second book and didn't love it or enjoy it as much. This meant that I went into this third book with a little bit of wariness. However, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! That ending… WOW! This book went in so many unexpected directions, but I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next! I will still say that I think the first book was my favorite, but I'm excited to read more from this author in the future.

What a cliffhanger! Can I say how happy I am that there will be a fourth book in the American Royals series?!

Okay, until reading this book, my favorite of the series was book one, American Royals and I admittedly loved book two, Majesty until the ending when I wanted to throw it across the room (just ugh!). But Katharine McGee completely redeemed the series with Rivals--it's the best book in the series so far!

Another thing I'm going to admit is that until reading Rivals, I wasn't a huge fan of any other characters except Beatrice and Nina (so much) but that changed with this book. Jefferson, Sam, and Daphne especially grew as characters. That depth made each character more relatable, understandable, and likable as they fight for love and a semblance of normalcy amidst the pressures of the crown and societal expectations.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the expansion of the world where the American monarchy occurs. In the story, Beatrice is hosting the League of Kings, a convocation of world monarchs, so it was fun to read about the other monarchies and the power dynamics in place.

Drama, shocks, schemes, frenemies...Rivals isn't to be missed (just make sure to read books 1 and 2 in the series first!).

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

-Review posted on Goodreads and Twitter on 5/24/22 and on Amazon and B&N on publication date

3.5 Stars
Bea, Sam, Nina, and Daphne return in this highly anticipated follow up. I can't be the only one who was begging the universe for Daphne to finally get her comeuppance, Sam to have a greater character arc, Nina to get her time to shine, and Bea to feel at home filling her father's shoes. I might be the only one not-so-secretly hoping for Teddy to shove off and Connor to come back a sweep the queen off her feet.
It's crazy how much expectations going in can tamper with my rating choice. Was this enjoyable? Yes. Was it frustrating? 100%
While the cliffhanger doesn't seem as drastic as the others in the past, there were a lot of loose threads dangling. I'll leave it at that to avoid spoilers, but I was desperate for more especially as a fourth book has not been announced (at least as far as I know). The prequel that recently released was far more satisfying.
The best part of this book was the narration by Brittany Pressley. Her voice is just the thing for a romantic dramedy.
Thank you to Random House Children's and NetGalley for the advanced copy and to PRHA for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

If you aren’t already familiar with the American Royals series - it imagines America if George Washington chose to be king, and started a royal family. Fast forward to modern day, we get a glimpse into the lives of the modern American royal family and alllll of their drama. Rivals is book 3 in the series and picks up where book 2 left off.

I adore this series, and book 3 gives all of the things I’ve grown to love about the American Royals books. It gives strong female characters, love triangles, sibling rivalry, tabloid scandals, love, family….truly all the things you could want in a book. It is fast-paced, and I couldn’t put it down. It's the perfect mix of a light-hearted read and so much drama.

In this book, I particularly loved seeing each of the women really start to come into their own in different ways. They have each grown so much from book one and every one of their transformations has been so powerful. Aside from how they each grew as individuals, their relationships are also so wonderful, or at least Samantha and Beatrice’s are. I love seeing the sisters find partners who really allow them to be the strong women they are.

The ending had me shook and I cannot wait to see where book 4 takes us!

Thank you to Random House Children’s for the advance copy!

Pros: This series is so much fun, and I was thrilled to read this third installment and learn more about what happens to Beatrice, Samantha, Nina, Daphne, and the rest of the cast of characters. I’ve had favorite characters from the beginning and was surprised by who I ended up cheering for in this book and which storylines I cheered for. What I was most surprised with was the ending! I assumed this would be the final book in the series, but with that ending, there better be another one!

Cons: None except I don’t have the next book to read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s, Random House Books for Young Readers for the opportunity to read this book.

I really like this fast paced and soapy world of the "royal family" of America. Lots of drama and angst and plot twists fill this series. But as a reader, I don't think I was prepared for not one, but two more books. It hits so many important themes and topics and is a quick read, but felt like I was biting off more than I could chew.

absolutely adored this one!!! I think it might be my favorite one of the series yet!

I did a quick re-read of the first two before I read this one - and it definitely helped.

the way the author continues to adapt and create new characters in this unfamiliar world is absolutely incredible and I cannot believe how far these characters have come since the first novel!

I would highly recommend this entire series to anyone who is a fan of: the selection series, the hunger games, red queen series

rating: 4.5 stars
wine pairing: california chardonnay

4 stars - I liked Rivals a lot better than Majesty, although there were still some things that felt unbelievable to me. I loved the growth in Nina & Daphne’s relationship (up until the end, which was incredibly stressful and I’ll need to read the 4th book to determine my opinion on!). I also thought the plot twist at the end was bonkers and will definitely get me to keep reading the series. Jeff needs to figure his shit out though - he’s becoming more and more unlikeable!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4452069277

As with the other American Royals books, I love this premise so much and these characters are great yet the plot under delivers. Most of the book there is barely any plot and then in the last third things take off in a big way, only to leave you with a huge cliffhanger. Overall, it was fun to be back in this world but the plot and pacing did not make it a very satisfying read.

The third instalment of "American Royals" was full of our favorite characters growing up! What started out as a fun book about America if it were a monarchy has turned into a series about young women dealing with the pressures of society, new relationships, and big life changes.

I really loved the story lines of Beatrice and Nina in this one. As a YA Novel, this book so beautifully tells the story of what can happen when we live our lives trying to impress others. We see how difficult it can be to succumb to the pressures of others in so many characters of this book from Daphne to Beatrice to Louise. Katherine McGee does such a beautiful job taking a fiction book and making it so relevant to the real world.

My new favorite in the American Royals series! I do feel like the title is a misnomer due to the fleeting “rivalry” between the two, but it was highly enjoyable and really brought me back to the feeling of reading the first one the very first time.

After reading the craziness that was Majesty in 2020, I had my fingers crossed for another book in this series and couldn’t wait to dive in when it hit my Kindle. But, I have to say that I felt similarly let down with where the plot went in this one.

I love the concept of this series - seeing a hypothetical world where the US is ruled by a monarchy in the Washington family is really fun, but I think the execution leaves something to be desired. More often than not, it feels like a monarchy version of Gossip Girl…everyone is keeping secrets, no one knows how to communicate and no one takes the time to think through the implications of their actions rationally.

Beatrice is totally entrenched in being queen and her duties, so much so that everything else falls to the wayside, including her family and Teddy. I liked the little allusions to the gender inequality female rulers face but Beatrice’s story felt a bit uninteresting. Sam’s quick switch from party princess to responsible heir was a little disorienting. But her relationship with Marshall and their struggles to figure out love and duty were interesting to read and set things up to get really complicated in the future. My least favorite storyline though was Nina, Daphne and Jefferson - Nina continues to lean into her naivety in this book and Daphne seems to grow but then quickly switches back to her conniving ways when the situation calls for it. Jefferson continues to irk me since he’s the only Washington whose POV we don’t get in these books. I’d love to hear from him so that I can think of him as more than the people pleasing, go with the flow, human version of a golden retriever that he’s written as. Also, where was Ethan in this book? I missed his character more than I expected since he was so integral to this group’s progression over the years.

It felt like so much of the actual action that mattered happened in the last 20% of the book and, because of that, everything felt rushed and not fully fleshed out. There were a lot of big developments, some you could have seen a mile away and others that were a complete surprise. I’m kind of curious to see where things go from here, but the turn that things took in the end is making it difficult for me to be excited about the (potential?) next book in this series.