Majesty

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Princess Beatrice's father has died, which means she will be America's first queen. Beatrice will quickly learn that it's not easy being queen...

I listened to American Royals in audiobook form, and I absolutely loved the YA romance and alternate history involved with America having a royal family. The basic premise is that when George Washington was asked to be king of the USA, he accepted instead of asking to become president. Many things are the same, but some are different (like the flag is red, white, and gold). I was so excited to find a galley for the sequel because I'm dying to know what happens to the royal house of Washington!

Spoilers for the first book ahead, but these are not spoilers for Majesty!

The drama from the previous book continues in this novel. Princess Samantha is in love with her sister Beatrice's fiancé Teddy. Queen Beatrice doesn't love Teddy, but she feels obligated to marry him since her father died when she told him that she was in love with her bodyguard Connor. Nina likes Prince Jefferson but broke it off with him when the attention from the entire country became too much. Jefferson's ex-girlfriend Daphne is still determined to win him back and be a princess, even though he doesn't have feelings for her. Daphne is covering up her secret hookup with (and feelings for?) Jefferson's best friend Ethan and hoping it won't ruin her chances with the prince. And Daphne is hiding secrets that, if discovered, will ensure she never becomes royalty. Basically, this YA book has all the drama of a reality TV show or soap opera that's perfect for the genre.

The drama continues throughout this novel, with love lost and found and fake dating scenarios for more than one character. Most of the characters are planning to get married or date someone else to make their exes jealous, and none of the characters end up where they thought they would at the beginning of the novel. Love sneaks up on some of the characters, and love is lost between some of them as well.

The book's romances are messy, just like real-life ones. I've seen many Goodreads reviews that tear this novel apart and I don't understand the vitriol. Although the American royals are far from real, the characters are very much so. Each character has an ending, or at least the beginning of the rest of their lives, in this novel.

Brittany Pressley returns as the narrator from the first book in the series. She is a great YA narrator and has different voice inflections for each character that makes it easy to understand who is speaking. Her narration voice is calm and easy to listen to.

Recommended for fans of the British royal family, especially American Anglophiles. Readers of YA romance will also love this novel and the American Royals duology.

Katharine McGee is the bestselling author of the Thousandth Floor and American Royals series. She studied at Princeton and Stanford. McGee lives in Houston, Texas.

Series: American Royals, #2

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (print), Listening Library (audio)

Length: 384 pages

Narrator: Brittany Pressley

Running Time: 12 hours, 29 minutes

Release Date: September 1, 2020

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I received an electronic galley copy of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I also received a librarian review copy audiobook from the Volumes app and this is the version I listened to for this review. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.