So many feelings! This book was just as good as the previous two, but oh that cliffhanger ending! I’m over here wondering how in the works Daphne will get out of her mess and what will happen to Beatrice. Of course, it’s cliff hangers for everyone, so I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

AMERICAN ROYALS III: RIVALS • Katherine McGee • Pub Date: March 31, 2022 • ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Now was it smart of me to request the third book in a series that I had not started reading yet? Probably not, but boy am I glad I did because this has been a wild YA ride.

Abridged Goodreads Synopsis: The third book in the American Royals series tests everyone's loyalty to the crown…and their own hearts. Relationships will be tested; strangers will become friends; and rivals will become allies.

Due to this being the third book in the series, there will be spoilers here! Do NOT continue reading if you do not want spoilers for the first two books of the American Royals series.

I think the best way to review this book is by addressing each individual character's storyline separately. I'll use Goodreads' synopsis of each character's plot line to preview the storyline, then give my thoughts on the execution, and how the third installment impacted the character's arc as a whole. I’ll also add now that this book does not end the series. There will be a fourth book!

Princess Samantha is in love with Lord Marshall Davis—but the more serious they get, the more complicated things become. Is Sam destined to repeat her string of broken relationships…and this time will the broken heart be her own? I have always enjoyed Sam’s storylines. She is my favorite of the royal family! I am also very happy she has found love, and I appreciated that we got to see how finding love is not always enough. There are still going to be complications, mishaps, and heartbreak. Seeing Sam work through that was important, though also a little less fun than Sam's normal chapters.

Beatrice is representing America at the greatest convocation of kings and queens in the world. When she meets a glamorous foreign princess, she gets drawn into the inner circle…but at what cost? Like the preceding two books, Beatrice’s storyline was boring. She is undoubtedly the most uninteresting character to read about, which is a shame given that she has the most dramatic role in the series. Her newfound friend is at least a little more exciting though so this improved her chapters of the book. I also enjoyed that the world of this series was expanded by Beatrice’s storyline, adding some spice in the form of international monarchs. Overall though, I am still annoyed that the entire Beatrice/Connor storyline had such a buildup only to give way to the flat, anticlimactic pairing that is Beatrice/Teddy.

Nina and Daphne have spent years competing for Prince Jefferson. Now they have something in common: they both want to take down manipulative Lady Gabriella Madison. Can these enemies join forces, or will old rivalries stand in the way? ALL HAIL QUEEN DAPHNE. I maintain that she is the best character in the American Royals series, and her storyline in the third book only solidified that. Also, the friendship between Daphne and Nina was something I didn’t know I needed! What a treat. Also, I think that those who struggled to like Daphne in the previous books will find her much more palatable in this installment. Nina also became more enjoyable to read about in this installment.

Now you may be thinking: What about Ethan and Jeff’s storyline? Well, Ethan did not have one. I am choosing to ignore the fact that Ethan went completely MIA. I know Majesty was not well-received, but to just completely ship Ethan off and pretend like he was not just a main feature of this series was a little bit of a weird vibe, but I am accepting it and moving on. As for Jeff? Let’s be honest, this man is a filler character. The only real characters in this series are our leading ladies. The boys are just used to cause drama between them and push the story along.

As I wrap up, I would be remiss to leave out the fact that this book’s ending was INSANE. Due to the ending alone, I have no choice but to continue on with this series and pickup the fourth book.

TL;DR: The first book is still the best. The second book is still the worst. The third book is solid. It cleans up some of the mess that the second book caused, and tries to bridge the gap to what will hopefully be a great fourth book.

I love the freshness of this third book in the American Royals series, the world expands with introductions to a slew of new international monarchs, we get to see Teddy and Bee struggle with his lack of role in the monarchy, and we get a very unlikely team up between Nina and Daphne! And the ending!!!! The author went full soap opera, and let me tell you... I did not mind. I'm already so excited for the fourth and final installment of this series.

I felt invested in the characters in this series after the first two books so was excited for the next installment and from the ending it looks like we have at least one more book to look forward to in the series. This book brought the drama which is putting it mildly. It was great to get caught up with the characters we have gotten to know and love and an addition of some new characters as well like Louise. This book will definitely have readers questioning their opinions about characters we had already formed opinions of from past books. The reason I continue to enjoy this series because the premise is so unique and allows readers to ask the what if questions about America's history and how things could have been so different.

The one issue I had with the book is I felt like the language and content is getting to be a bit more than I prefer to see in a book categorized as YA.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

I loved American Royals and then was very disappointed in Majesty's ending, especially since it was touted as a 2-book series. So I was surprised (although excited) to get another shot with Rivals. I think I'm still confused about what my expectations should be for this series given that this one also ends on a cliffhanger. I'm not sure if this had to do with book deals or what but it feels like the series and messaging have been mismanaged which is confusing for fans. I think my expectations would've been different if I'd known what to expect rather than having a bait and switch about the status of the story arcs.

I am fully immersed in this series and really enjoy the political twisted tale! I recommend this book to Y readers and adults. It's that appealing!

I am seriously in love with these characters and this series!! Someone needs to make this into a Netflix show STAT!! Picking up where book two left off we see Beatrice come into her own as a ruler while Jeffery continues to be torn between Daphne and Nina (who shockingly become allies against a common enemy in this book). Samantha falls even more in love with Marshall only to discover theirs is a relationship that may never be without serious sacrifices.

Full of high drama and three dimensional characters trying to follow their hearts while living in the royal spotlight. Perfect for fans of the Royal we series by Heather Cocks. Be prepared for another shocking ending!! Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy!! I cannot wait for the next instalment in the series!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

American Royals !!! was a fun and easy read. It needs to be said that this book would not be as good if it was read out of order. I liked a continuation of the characters that I have gotten to understand and know. I will say that I would really appreciate a POV from Jefferson or the former Queen (mom to Samantha and Beatrice.) I look forward to reading the next installment of the series. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Although I did not like this installment as much as the first two, I enjoyed reading it nonetheless. I especially loved Nina's and Daphne's plotline and character arc, but was sad to see some of the progress of some characters was made completely undone in the end. Still, I cannot wait for the next book.

Great addition to any library! Belongs to series: American Royals. If you are an American Royals fan, this is a must read! Katherine McGee shines in this book. Beatrice is now Queen, and daunting tasks are on the line.

This series remains consistent for me, no matter which Royal is the focus. As the third installment of this series, it felt on par with the other books, but the build for the fourth book (yes, hi, book four is coming!) has me most excited. This was definitely one of the better cliffhangers!

As for our three royal siblings, each have grown tremendously since losing their father, each in their own respective ways. As they’ve aged, they’re learning more and more about not only themselves, but the world around them. You know, as one typically does each trip around the sun. Because of that, I think the themes of sexism and racism were well done especially when young readers get ahold of this one.

As for our side characters, we’ve got a new gal named Gabriella and she can honestly kick rocks. Each scene with her made me want to scream because she takes mean girl to a whole new level. I’m pretty over Daphne although she had some bright spots, and to be honest, I needed more Teddy.

It was cute, predictable, and everything I expected from this series.

Big thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC!

Content warnings: infidelity, toxic relationship, death of parent, racism, drug use, fake pregnancy (ugh)

American Royals III : Rivals by Katherine McGee brings back the drama and fun of the first in the series, with more shake up of the couples and friendships. The inclusion of the League of Kings conference added some great world building (one of my favorite aspects of the book), seeing which countries were kingdoms (Flanders and Hawaii were two I was surprised about) and the drama among the monarchs and their heirs. But I don't know if it was my mood this week or the book but I wasn't picking it up every chance I got. It was an enjoyable read and I adore the series, and it got a solid 3 - 3.5 stars from me. The ending is a definite cliffhanger, so I'm looking forward to Book #4 (title unknown) and finding out what happens. Nina and Jeff better end up together! Thank you to Random House Children's for the e-ARC. Book is out now.

I am absolutely obsessed with this series and the third installment did not disappoint. There were so many unresolved storylines from Majesty, that I had to read some blogs to catch myself up on what happened, but the author did a good job of calling back to things from the last two books with context to help make sense of it all. I’m so glad we hopefully won’t have to wait as long for the fourth book! While Rivals was a slower burn for me in the beginning, by the 70% mark I couldn’t put it down. The character growth of Rivals was more nuanced and complex, which helped tell a stronger story, but ultimately explored the idea that while people can evolve they don’t often fundamentally change. I also appreciated that the characters in this book were taking more risks that felt true to themselves and their story rather than just going by what history has told them. The ending was a huge shocker and left me on the edge of my seat waiting for book four. I can’t wait for the next chapter in this fun series!

This series is a favorite of mine and no matter the time that passes when I pick up a new book in the series I am able to just pick up right where I left off with the royal family. I loved the storylines in this book and can’t wait to hear more about the family in the future.

I'm not typically one to live for drama, but I LIVE for the drama of these books. There is just enough drama that I'm not frustrated by any means . . . mind you, there are a number of times where things could have been misconstrued and characters interpret things the wrong way and all hell breaks loose (which of course still happened anyway) . . . but that's what I like about these books. It's not ridiculous drama. It's not over the top. It's drama that I can live with and I know that if the characters actually talked to each other, things could be somewhat worked out.

If you made it through that first paragraph congratulations. I have no idea what I'm trying to say in it. If you made any sense of it, props to you.

Fact of the matter is, I really enjoy these books. I don't know why, really. I find them exceptionally predictable, full of miscommunication tropes that drive me bonkers, and one too many love triangles, but the premise is just so FASCINATING. I love this alternate universe where the world, most notably, America, is governed by monarchs, not Presidents. I would absolutely hate if this was real life, but I really enjoy exploring that reality in a modern, drama-filled way that really needs to be like an alternate reality drama TV series. I'd watch the heck out of it!!

Like the author, I don't think I expected to be three books into this series (let alone four!!!) but here we are. I actually wondered near the beginning of the book if any parallels would be drawn to Princess Diana's life and woooooooweee yeah we're gonna go there. I hate that this ended on a cliffhanger, but I'm already dialed in for the fourth book. Cannot wait to get my hands on it.

I missed this series entirely and one of my students recommended it to me as I had purchased all of the books for our library. I loved it and the latest installment really is a fantastic way to resolve all of the conflicts among the characters. If you enjoy reading about the Royal Family, watch The Crown and regularly read People magazine- I recommend the entire series. It is great for all teen readers and I know many adults will find it fun. I binge read the entire series on the beach and could not put them down. 5/5 - could not put this book down

I have loved this series ever since reading American Royals back in 2020. This third book was nothing short of everything you can hope for some secrets, drama, love, and one heck of a cliffhanger!!!

“Maybe growing up meant letting go of the desires that no longer fit you, and discovering new ones buried in layers of yourself that you hadn’t known existed.”

How lucky are we to get another installment of the Washington family drama? Rivals is packed with the Gossip Girl-esque theatrics we’ve come to expect from Queen Bea, her siblings, and their friends (frenemies?). Each character is kind of thrown out of their respective comfort zones, and they find themselves seeking consolation or guidance from unexpected places.

Beatrice finds herself spending more and more time with France’s princess, who is the closest to age and life experience to her than anyone else in her life. The pair form an unlikely friendship during a meeting of the world’s kings and queens, but how authentic is the friendship?

Daphne + Nina = friends? Whaaaat?

Prince Jefferson is his typical aloof and slightly douche-y self. Am I the only one who doesn’t love him?

Princess Samantha is still going strong with Lord Marshall Davis, but is their relationship doomed?

This was fun, but I definitely wanted more. More closure, more character growth. I love the Royal family concept, and am totally invested in finding out what happens next, but I’m looking forward to getting some HEAs. Thanks to Random House Children's and NetGalley for a review copy.

Another delightful addition to the American Royals Series, I was very curious to see where Katherine McGee would go with this book, since the last one ended on such a final note. However, the book picked up beautifully and the characters continued their growth as monarchs and as teenagers.

Maybe it had just been a while since I read the second book, but this one was disappointing. I know the characters are young, but so much of it just felt incredibly juvenile. Beatrice and Nina stayed the most consistent to me, but Daphne, she is all over the place. It's getting old that she is this two-face character. I guess the point is to show that manipulative people can dupe even those in the highest power, but I just want to shake Jeff the whole time. I felt very little for these characters this time around and wish the author would go a little deeper with some of them, they all are so superficial still. While a good cliffhanger, the ending was predictable.
All in all, I originally felt like this series had promise. But now I think the next book needs to be the last.