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lucyatoz's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
American Royals by Katharine McGee is an alternate history story of America if George Washington had become a King rather than a President.
It is a really interesting premise for a story, telling the tale from four very different points of view - Princess Beatrice, the heir, Princess Samantha, the spare, Daphne Deighton, ex-girlfriend to Jefferson, the youngest child of King George IV, and Nina Gonzalez, daughter of a cabinet minster and best friend to Princess Samantha.
It is full of teenage angst and romance, with lots of characters and plots crossing over each other, as they each try to figure out their place in their rarefied world of Royalty. I was a little disappointed with the ending although I appreciate that this gave it a lead into the next book in the series.
I borrowed a copy of this book from Taunton Library and listened to it on CloudLibrary. I read this for the 52 Book Club Summer Reading Challenge 2024, for prompt 12, gymnastics rings, jewellery on the cover.
It is a really interesting premise for a story, telling the tale from four very different points of view - Princess Beatrice, the heir, Princess Samantha, the spare, Daphne Deighton, ex-girlfriend to Jefferson, the youngest child of King George IV, and Nina Gonzalez, daughter of a cabinet minster and best friend to Princess Samantha.
It is full of teenage angst and romance, with lots of characters and plots crossing over each other, as they each try to figure out their place in their rarefied world of Royalty. I was a little disappointed with the ending although I appreciate that this gave it a lead into the next book in the series.
I borrowed a copy of this book from Taunton Library and listened to it on CloudLibrary. I read this for the 52 Book Club Summer Reading Challenge 2024, for prompt 12, gymnastics rings, jewellery on the cover.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing
claudiajanette's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Fun read with elements of Princess Diaries, Gossip Girl, and Red White and Royal Blue. There are a lot of characters/plots happening simultaneously, which is both a pro and a con. I like Beatrice the best, and as the book went on I found myself more and more engrossed in Daphne’s storyline. Samantha annoyed me at times, I wanted to see more growth from her. I’m not sure if I’ll finish the series or not - but I’m leaning towards reading the next book because there are a couple plot lines I want to see resolved!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Classism
gem114's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
With that said, I did enjoy the story and the fun thought experiment of imagining the United States as a monarchy. I’ll read the rest of the series happily.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Violence
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
paigedent's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, and Alcohol
piperrhoads's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Alcohol
novella42's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, and Alcohol
christygsp's review against another edition
3.5
Interesting premise and characters BUT too many plots.
No main plot with sub plots, just five smaller plots all happening at once that are all interconnected. Following three royal kids with two outsiders that have other outsiders connected to those was exhausting.
Everyone loves someone they can’t be with because of “family” or “expectations” or “crossed lovers syndrome”. Frustrating and heart twisting (not in a good way) all I got was aggravated and YET I still liked it. I still found the characters and idea of an American royal family engaging.
No main plot with sub plots, just five smaller plots all happening at once that are all interconnected. Following three royal kids with two outsiders that have other outsiders connected to those was exhausting.
Everyone loves someone they can’t be with because of “family” or “expectations” or “crossed lovers syndrome”. Frustrating and heart twisting (not in a good way) all I got was aggravated and YET I still liked it. I still found the characters and idea of an American royal family engaging.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol
brinkley's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
jupitermond's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
I wish the author would have stayed in her lane and written a silly little, tropey romance novel. Instead, she decided to do some incredibly lazy, half-baked and inconsistent world-building, paired it with Baby's First Political Commentary and the silliest twist ending I've encountered in a while; all of it equating to two less-than-halves of a novel. Also, the conceit of the social-climbing plot of one of the four POV characters would have been so much more believable if the characters had been adults. Instead, we're supposed to believe that she has been manoeuvering to marry the prince since she was FOURTEEN. The only good thing I can say for this book is that I did finish it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent