This is VERY spicy for a romance that starts when one of the main characters is underage. The author does stop the interaction, and creates the right level of remorse in the adult character involved, however it was completely unnecessary to the story for the FMC to begin underage.

The cover made the book seem contemporary. I was super confused when a wizard has cursed our protagonist. Oops! It's a reprint so I should have paid more attention, I suppose. I stopped at the first chapter.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blook Books for the ARC.

I’m torn on this one. The book drastically improves and by the end I was happy with the story. The major cliff hanger was frustrating but does set up the second book! My downside is how slow the story moves and I don’t feel like we got to see a romance. It’s VERY spicy, but it lacked the trust building I want/need for this style of romance. Overall, it’s a fun read and I think the plot is set up well for the second, it’s just a slow read.

Holy mother of god 🥵

THAT CLIFFHANGER THO!!

~The President of the United States was her first love and heartbreak. His best friend and Vice President was her second. Greer was once told to ‘keep her kisses to herself’ and she ignored it for them. Now she’s keeping her heart locked up tight.~

I went into this completely blind and I’m SO happy I did! The three of them are 🔥🔥🔥

To be honest, I wasn’t so sure about this in the beginning but I am so happy I pushed through because WOW. This was amazing!! It’s funny how you have opinions of people and situations, and as you learn new information your opinion completely changes. This book is the definition of that. I loved it.

There is so much that happens too, I couldn’t put it down! I never thought I’d have a thing for presidents but here we are. 😏

*I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review with my honest opinion.*

Wow, this book really surprised me and I mean that in a good way. I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did.

This book can't be described easily. It's complicated love story between Greer, Ash and Embry.
Granddaughter of former vice president Greer meets Ash at one of the parties and he gives her first kiss. (It was on her 16th birthday.) Ever since that night, she fell in love and kept sending him emails that reveals her true feelings even if he didn't respond back. When she meets him again but he is engaged and she meets someone else and spends her night. It was an unforgettable night yet he never calls again.
Now Greer is teaching in DC and Ash is the President and her one night stand is the Vice President. Embry comes asking to meet Ash. Now plot thickens.
There are so many plots and twist and it's scorching hot!!!
There are more secrets regarding Merlin, her cousin, plus it ends on cliffhanger.
Can't wait to get into next book about Embry.
Thanks to Netgalley and author for ARC.

Holy moly! I hadn’t read Sierra Simone before but I’m definitely going to read other books now. This was such a good book and quick read but that cliffhanger?!

Now off to read book 2

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was something else!!!!! I highly recommend

Thank you for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book!! Holy cow! I adored this and oh my the spice!! This was absolutely perfect and can't wait for the next book in the series.
I just reviewed American Queen by Sierra Simone. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I was super excited to read these books. I've heard so many great things about them and I have enjoyed the author's other work.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF the series because one of the characters is 16 when adult interactions begin. There is nuance, but it was still to far for me personally.

Thank you Simone, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for my audio advanced review copy. My opinions are my own.

I finished this book so fast. This is the first time that I have read anything with this kind of spice. I was dipping my toes in the water kind of thing and I was not disappointed. The spice was through the roof. The plot and the characters emotions pulled at my own emotions. Simone has a fantastic way to get the reader invested into the story. I immediately started reading the second in the series.

Wow I didn’t know I was THAT kinky! This is not my typical read but the love I feel for this little love triangle is immeasurable. I really appreciate the value placed on consent, the power of submission and the acceptance of all kinds of love. Beautifully written story and characters, ending on a cliffhanger to keep you hooked.

Main characters
Greer
Ash - best friends with Embry and President of the United States
Embry- Vice President of the United States
Abilene - Greer's Cousin
Merlin - Wizard

Sierra Simone did it again with the beautifully written American Queen. This one is as hot as they come but with an amazing plot. The book is based on Greer's point of view. She first falls is in love with Ash and a couple of years later with Embry. Ash and Embry are best friends.
Oh and in case I forget to mention, Ash is the President of the United States and Embry is the Vice President. This story is full of lust, love, yearning and lots and lots of SMUT.
The relationship between this three gets very complicated, full of love and heartbreak.
This book kept me interested from beginning to end. In starts with Greer as a child and continues till she's a smart, beautiful adult.

You will fall in love with all the characters. This book will definitely will become one of your favorites. 100% recommended!

I want not mentally prepared for how spicy this would be but I’m not complaining. The plot was very good and the twists I did not expect. I recommend this book if you want a lot of spice and an equally as good plot.

SIERRA IS A GOD, HOW IS SHE REAL?!?! I worship her I really do. This is one of the greatest spicy as all holy hell books I’ve ever read. I’m serious I was a fucking waterfall the entire time 💦 I truly don’t think it has a single flaw, this is my perfect book. I love these characters, I love this world, this is now my entire personality.

*thank you bloom books for the ARC copy

This book was really good. It had a really intriguing plot and the smut made sense within the plot. The writing was really good, the characters were solidly developed. I really appreciated how this was a smut book with pretty fleshed out characters. They were all interesting and had a backstory that was interesting, the book ended on a cliffhanger and I definitely want to read the next two books! I was pleasantly surprised by the ending and could see kind of where the next books would be going whereas when I started this book, I wasn't sure.

The last important thing that makes this book stand out is the fact that it is a politics book, it is important to the plot but is not too overwhelming. There is the perfect amount of politics to make it interesting and not annoying or boring. This definitely adds to the intrigue. Something about it reminded me of the TV Show Scandal, which I love so it was perfect.

Wow. Spice level 1000. I may have to read the other books now. I feel like this book needs to make the tiktok rounds!

Greer Galloway is the granddaughter of a former Vice President and while she knows how to expertly navigate the political world, she has chosen to live a quieter life rooted in academia. When current Vice President Embry Moore shows up to facilitate a meeting between her and President Maxen Ashley (Ash) Colchester at the President’s request, she knows her quiet life is no longer hers. Because she knows both these men intimately- her first kiss belonged to the President long before he became the most powerful man in the world, and his best friend and second-in-command owned her heart after one night together years ago. As her relationship and feelings for Ash intensify, Embry is always there in the background and with the public eye always on her now, how does Greer reconcile her feelings for both men? Love, lust, political intrigue, and war all abound as the two most powerful men in the world make it clear that Greer is their American Queen.

This is my first Sierra Simone book and wow it did not disappoint! While I’d consider this high on the spice scale, there was still a strong plot line to keep it from faltering. Although Greer is definitely empathetic and kind and honest to a fault, she is no pushover. She is smart and resourceful and has years of experience reading people under the tutelage of her grandfather, making her an asset to the presidency. She is comfortable voicing her desires and wants, and has no problems saying no either. The love she feels for Ash and Embry is confusing to her at first; each man offers her something different than the other and she needs and wants them both.

Ash and Embry were not quite as well-formed characters for me as Greer was, BUT there are two more books in the series with each one focusing on one of them so I am confident we’ll get a deeper look into these guys. I still really liked both characters though. Greer’s cousin Abilene was a disaster and while it seemed obvious to me that she wasn’t as fantastic as Greer thought, I can see how she would make room in her life for her best friend/cousin no matter what her faults were.
Something I loved about this book was there was no mention of identifying in a certain way sexually. The characters were attracted to each other without the weight of heteronormative standards on their shoulders. There were no definitions given or needed between any of them to explain how they felt about each other. It was refreshing!

The book ends with a cliffhanger which was frustrating (in all the really good “oh I need the next book NOW” ways), so I am already counting the minutes until American Prince arrives on my doorstep. I will definitely be reading more Sierra Simone books.

4 stars and 5 spicy peppers!

There’s a lot to unpack in this book! Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read it.

American Queen is the first in a trilogy - The Camelot Series and I’ve seen some previous reviews that were pretty positive. My understanding is this is the authors take on the Arthurian tale. It’s tough to discuss it as well without spoilers particularly given the importance of them so be forewarned …

We start with Greer, the orphaned child living with her elderly grandfather who is a former VP of the United States and thus has an in with societies well- to do and political circles from an early age. At 7 she encounters a political aid called Merlin who makes some predictions that stay with her into adulthood.. Merlin .. (enough said) .

At 16 she meets Ash who is 26 and they share a moment. The book depicts it as loving and quite positive (me, I found it uncomfortable, lecherous, and overall ick). Ash goes off to fight in war against a (fake) country somewhere near Ukraine or Poland and Greer emails him, despite him never responding.

Five years later Greer and Ash cross paths again, but this time Ash is engaged (despite them sharing another uh … moment).. Greer feels so utterly rejected she sleeps with Ash’s friend Embry, and in an unbelievable twist they fall in love, but after leaving her number Embry never calls.

Another five years pass and Greer is an esteemed university academic, and Embry seeks her out on behalf of Ash. Because Embry is now the VP of the United States and Ash is ….. the freaking President. Conveniently Ash’s wife died and now he wants to see Greer. They meet and he declares he’s always loved her, despite being married … and she says that’s okay with her. But they both want Embry as well.

What follows is a story of Greer. Ash, and Embry and their ‘love’ for one another. There’s a lot of sex MMF, MM, MF and BDSM. I’m no Pearl clutcher but it’s a lot, without a whole lot of emotional connection or discussion of dynamics … more a case of suck it and see (pardon the pun).

My struggles -
* there’s no way I can be convinced Greer is a smart, emotionally mature, independent woman. She’s not a submissive, she’s a doormat. She also has to have some insight into what her cousin (one of the villains) is like - everyone can see it!
- this book is really Greer’s perspective which is a shame. I know the view of Ash and Embry are in later books, but this girl is so beige and one dimensional….
* Ash is plain nasty - in bed and out of it. He treats both Greer and Embry appallingly on numerous occasions despite being told no and that
something isn’t what they wanted.
* the political stuff sounded too far fetched. Ash is 35 FFS and POTUS.
* lack of accuracy in relation to cultural depiction of Poland and Ukraine. (I can suspend disbelief as much as the next person but some accuracy would be nice).
- that the now First Lady toddles off in the middle of the night without. Security detail is ludicrous. I did wonder if I would have been just as happy to not read the last chapter at all? That cliffhanger was the thing we all knew was coming….
- chapters alternated between the last and the present, but given the characters were not distinct in their voices, the delineation between time periods wasn’t as seamless as it could have been.

In saying this. I am interested to read Embry’s story. He’s the most palatable of the characters so I’m hoping the second instalment will provide some insight into how he has reached the point where he’s at.

Oh…. And Ash sleeps with his half sister. I tried to block it out but nope, just couldn’t.

American Queen is my fourth book by Sierra Simone and she delivered! I enjoyed this other vertical of Simone's work and am grateful for the opportunity to read this e-book via NetGalley

Loosely based on Arthurian legend, this piping hot romance held my attention as I devoured it's storyline.

Favorite elements:
-Second chance romance(s)
-Deception
-Love triangles
-Mystique and prophecy-esque warnings
-Positions of power + Political landscape
-Flashbacks/multiple timelines
-Greer, Ash and Embry are all certainly flawed characters, but I love their imperfections
-Poly

It was very spicy with the right amount of plot and has certainly been a topic of conversation in my bookworm group chat. I will be pursuing the following books in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 Stars--- I will be recommending, but to niche audiences/readers