3.5 stars. The third installment of American Royals follows Beatrice as she comes into her role as queen, Jeff navigating college, Sam finding love, and Daphne and Nina partnering up to defeat a common enemy.

As with the previous books in the series, there is plenty of drama, friendships, scheming, and heartbreak. I was a little disappointed as it didn’t seem as heightened as the previous books (or maybe I’m just a little bored of it by now). The final chapters end in dramatic fashion which leads me to believe we will get a fourth book, but I’m concerned we will never get closure with this series.

Overall I enjoyed it and seeing new sides to our characters as they face different challenges and grow into adulthood. I still think this would make a great TV show, but definitely can’t read this as a standalone as you need the context from the previous books to understand the characters and what’s going on.

Thanks NetGalley and Penguin Random House for my advance copy.

I loved the first American Royals book, the second was a little slower but still held my interest, however the third installment lost me completely. I just wasn’t invested in the characters or the plot. I’m glad to see that other fans of the series enjoyed this book, but for me I didn’t find it as engaging as the first two.

Fans of the American Royals series will not be disappointed in the third book of this series about an American monarchy in which all four of our protagonists find themselves in a different rival scenario. While McGee's books are classified as YA, I've yet to meet an adult reader who didn't love her smart, witty prose—in fact, my 70-year-old father was invested in the series prior to his death.

I very much look forward to the conclusion to American Royals—I hope we don't have to wait too long!

👑The story continues for Queen Beatrice and the rest of the American royal family.

I didn’t feel like a lot happened in this book, so much of it was drawn out and it could have easily been condensed. We’re left on yet another major cliff hanger which I felt was frustrating after feeling like I got all of nowhere with the characters and plot.

Fans of the series will find this a quick but maybe disappointing read. If you love all things royal then definitely start with the first book, if not I’d skip the series altogether since it’s the concept rather than the execution that excels here. And yes I will be reading the next one too 👸🏼

I love these books so much! I enjoyed every single POV and even started to like Daphne! (Until the end) lol Speaking about the end, excuse me!? There WILL be a 4th book, yes? I can’t believe the ending! I need another book now!

This book series is so good at making me happy and I enjoy every second of the books.

I needed this book.

I left Majesty on the worst note (I loved American Royals) and needing everyone to read these books so I could talk about it being the worst.

Finished Rivals: Owen. Mason. Gentry. This book. I was back and forth on how I felt about the characters from chapter to chapter. I love you, I love you not, etc. At the start of the book I felt like do the characters not remember anything that happened to them in books 1-2? Really anything? Many new characters were brought in and new problems came up but I didn’t get any redemption or solutions wrapping up books 1-2. But the ending of this book! Read it. Finish it. A must read if you started this series.

I need a book 4.
And Connor’s story.
And to have a sit down chat with Jeff. #teamconnor #jeffersonletstalk

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the early copy of this book!

Queen Beatrice is learning more about the challenges and benefits of her role as she hosts the League of Kings conference; siblings Jeff and Samantha continue to navigate the perils of being royal and in a relationship. This installment is full of all of the drama of the previous two, while the setting is shifted slightly to the West Coast (Orange = American California). Mature themes like sex (off "screen" only) and recreational drug use take this installment to a slightly higher maturity level but it remains appropriate for YA collections and will be a popular pick. The cliffhanger ending will leave readers craving more as we fall more in love with the royal Washington family.

This book was obviously a set up for the next, and I was pretty frustrated by it. I would have been happy to just wrap everything up with this book and have had a trilogy. I'm starting to not care about the characters and that makes me sad, because I really enjoyed the first two books.

If you're here, it's probably because you want to know if Rivals was as good as it's companion books...and I'm happy to report that I found it was even better than the two that came before it! I don't feel I can give too many details in order to avoid spoilers both for people who haven't read the series and for those that have and are anxiously awaiting this book's release, but I honestly couldn't put this third installment down. Katharine McGee writes like her books are a delicious drama, where things never happening and scandal abounds, and we're all just fighting for a taste of this new addition to the American Royals series. But get ready, because we've got Beatrice, Samantha, Daphne, and Nina on the page like we haven't seen them before! Beatrice takes on her duties as Queen while hosting the League of Kings Conference, Samantha finds her place in the world, and Nina and Daphne team up to take down a common enemy...what could possibly go wrong?

Props to McGee for expanding the world of American Royals to include so many foreign monarchs, and for the way she depicted race. I think this third addition to the series explains race and privilege in a way that people of color can relate to and white individuals can use to begin to understand the struggle. We also got some discussion of gender roles, which was nice.

One aspect that I felt was a little less than stellar was Beatrice's journey throughout the novel. It seems she spends a lot of time either in conflict with Teddy or following the Princess of France around like a sidekick. I really wanted more from her, but I understand why the story was written the way it was so Beatrice would have a chance to grow into her role as a leader in the face of so many other monarchs while attempting to juggle her personal life. I looked forward to her POV the least because I feel like in this installment she got the short end of the stick. Lastly, I still want more for Nina. When will she stop being defined by boys and be able to grow into her own person? Again, to avoid spoilers, I understand why the book was written the way it was but I'd still love more for her then ping-ponging from guy to guy.

I love this series! I'm a sucker for a royalty trope, and I truly love every minute of reading this. The characters are superb, the writing is enjoyable, and it is a quick read!

I couldn’t wait for a third book in this series and with that ending, now I can’t wait for a fourth book! As long as Katharine McGee wants to stay in this universe, I’ll keep reading all of the books, because I enjoy following these characters so much.

I’m also shocked that I enjoyed reading about Daphne so much in this book, since she was my least favorite character - for good reasons - in the other books. I loved seeing her and Nina interacting together and to see a more vulnerable side of Daphne.

Samantha to me was the strongest character in the book and the one that has grown the most throughout the series. Her chapters were my favorite to get to and I liked watching her figure out who she wanted to be and what she wanted her future on her own terms to look like.

While some parts in the middle of the book felt a little too dragged out for me, these books are always so much fun to read and the perfect escape.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!
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I came into this book with the exact right frame of mind and couldn't have been more pleased with this installment in the American Royals series. Once again we have the alternating perspectives of Beatrice, Sam, Nina, and Daphne. Drama surrounding their respective partners is always present, along with Beatrice trying to run her first League Of Kings while Jefferson has to hold down the fort in Washington and start college, and Nina and Daphne are attempting to be…allies? More of the book focuses on the struggle to make and maintain female friendships as we get older, and how differently these four characters approach doing this.
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McGee has mastered the art of transforming a CW show into a novel. The action never dips and the drama is constant, forcing the reader to keep turning the pages as fast as possible. I didn’t love the second book in this series because I was expecting something different, but this time I went in wanting all of the crazy drama and every chapter was like being able to binge a new episode. I wasn’t sure that we were getting a third book at all, but with this ending…we better be getting a fourth novel and soon!

American Royals III: Rivals
Katharine McGee
4 ⭐️

I love this series! The what-if concept, the characters, the conflicts, and ALL the drama. I devoured the first two books and Rivals was no different. You get so caught up in the magic of everything that the pages just turn themselves. There is never a dull moment with in this entertaining world McGee has created. I think this is my favorite of the series so far.

The story and character development was again so well written. I loved the heavier topics this installment tackled and the continued focus on strong female characters. I really enjoy how we get to read all the different POV’s and see the characters we’ve know for so long starting mature and come into their own.

If you enjoyed the first two books, get ready for an emotional rollercoaster. Rivals was a fun, binge worthy addition to the series that answered some questions form Majesty, but will absolutely leave you screaming for the next book! I cannot wait to see where the series goes from here. The wait is going to be brutal.

Pub Date 5/31/22

Thank you so much NetGalley, Random House Children’s and Katharine McGee for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

American Royals III is clearly the third in a young adult series imagining if the United States was ruled by a monarchy similar to European countries. I would suggest first to read the previous two novels in the series to have a better understanding of the plot and characters.

Katherine McGee has hit her stride in this series and I found the novel to be enjoyable however not particularly memorable. Focusing on the three main royal characters - Queen Beatrice, Princess Samantha and Prince Jefferson, each has aged and moved on into more adult roles within the royal family. That being said, the novel is still heavy on the teen romance and drama. The immaturity of the now twenty something year olds makes this novel a good fit for a younger teen audience.

To say I adore this series would be an understatement. I've enjoyed the American Royals series for the escapism, and I think this third book is my favorite! The main characters Beatrice, Sam, Daphne, and Nina have compelling arcs and of course, there's a major twist near the ending...so I really hope we're getting a book four. The struggles that Beatrice face are similar to ones we would experience in the "real world" and i think they are relatable. I especially loved that we learn more about Daphne and Marshall.

Katharine McGee, I'm obsessed and already awaiting the 4th installment!


A huge thank you to Random House Children's & NetGalley for providing an ARC.

This is a story about how rivalry & poor communication lead to no one acting royal.

I really liked this book, and I think it did a good job of juxtaposing positive relational communication & problem resolution vs poor relational communication. I came out loving the characters I love even more, and feeling even more frustrated with the characters I didn’t love prior. For intelligent, thoughtful, capable characters- the degree to which they lack the capacity to have a problem solving conversation is maddening…. But I’m holding out hope that my faves will get to have happy endings in the next book.

Thank you so much Netgalley & Random House Children's for the eArc!

First of all, Katharine McGee — how dare you.

We die hard American Royal watchers have been impatiently waiting for this installment after knowing in our souls that Majesty wasn’t the true end, so you take advantage of our beautiful souls and THAT is how you leave us? You should be ashamed (and proud, obvi).

Okay, now that that is out of the way I can continue.

I have been looking forward to Rivals since the end of Majesty. I knew Majesty couldn’t have been the end, and I’m so so glad to be able to get into another layer of the American Royals monarchy and the social structure around them. I’m nosy by nature, so these books are a little treat to my people-watching nature. Rivals starts on the slower side but steadily builds it’s depth until you’re invested in multiple plot points and will have you both hating for a chapter/POV to end and anticipating what the next POV will contain.

Without spoilers I can assuredly share that EVERYONE who has been following the Washington royal family will be beating down McGee’s door and begging for another installment. We the people need to know what happens next.

This series certainly needed a 3rd book and hello, holy cliffhanger, I’m glad to hear there will be a 4th book as well!!
The concept for this book has been one of my favorites. I adore all things royal and these books are without a doubt unique.
I did feel the plot was a little slow in the book until the very end. At 95% I was getting nervous. I knew there was way too much too wrap up and not enough time.
I don’t want to give anything away, but Daphne had some growth and (some regression) and Beatrice, who’s been my favorite, was not so much a favorite in this book. Samantha’s journey was refreshing. All in all, I enjoyed it! Now, when is book 4th?!?

DNF. I made it to chapter seven, but didn’t want to continue. I really enjoyed reading the first and second installments in this series, but the tangled set of relationships became too frustrating for me as a reader. It felt like any romantic bliss was too short lived. I know my students are looking forward to this title, and I’ll be purchasing it for the school library collection. This book seems like it is for the readers who could power through the ups and downs of the Red Queen series.

This is the third installment in the American Royals series. These are very the Crown, but CW version and set in America. This third book was a bit of a drag through the middle. There were several new, all unlikeable characters and no real progress with the original characters. The book ended on the most exciting portion which was frustrating as it seemed this book was a prolonged set up for the fourth book. I will read the fourth though.