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ryanpfw 's review for:
American Royals
by Katharine McGee
Spoilers for American Royals!
Thank God for that introduction. That introduction was good stuff! I’m a sucker for alternate histories, roads not traveled, and the idea of an American monarchy helping to prop up global monarchies was worth considering, especially given it originated from one man signing on the dotted line.
To detract from some terrible romantic elements, I looked for as many world building details as I could find. Washington the city was more like New York City. There was no state religion. Kings filed legislation with the Houses of Congress and serve as Commander in Chief. Okey dokey.
Now let’s get to our four leads, plus Jeff.
Daphne is a piece of shit, and Jeff dates her for three years before this novel. When Nina, who seems reasoned, thoughtful, and who in her capacity as Jeff’s current girlfriend tells him Daphne just confessed to Nina that she, Daphne, is a huge piece of shit, Jeff refuses to believe Nina, thinks she must have imagined it, and all but asks her if it’s that time of the month.
That’s all I needed to know about Daphne and Jeff, the former of which narrated a quarter of the book.
Nina’s character makes little sense. She’s the commoner who is best friends with the princess and who is dating the prince. Given this is the 21st century and everyone has a cell phone and she’s the daughter of a public figure and spends a significant amount of time at the palace, you’d think their friendships and relationships would be common knowledge, but this is written like Nina lives a double life. When Samantha comes to pick her up she ducks down in the back of the car so she’s not seen with the royals and her own dorm room is scrubbed of any connection to them. It’s weirdly written, explicitly, that her commoner friends have no idea of her double life. Got it.
So when’s her romance with the prince is exposed, her commoner friends buy it instantly and aren’t the least bit surprised.. Fantastic attention to detail. Not even a “You know the Princess?!” moment.
Beatrice is the heir apparent, who is in love with her bodyguard, but she is pressured to marry someone more suitable due to her father’s declining health, so she dumps the bodyguard. Sorry, she doesn’t, she continues to sleep with him until the last possible moment. She then decides she made a bad call, makes plans to leave her fiancé AT THEIR ENGAGEMENT PARTY and marry her bodyguard. Her sister Samantha is thrilled, because she’s in love with the fiancé. Strike that, she met him once, made out with him, had chemistry, so of course that means the same thing in this narrative. Anyway, Beatrice then decides to marry her fiancé because of her father’s declining health, so she dumps the bodyguard.
That’s not a duplicate. She’s just incredibly indecisive.
Even when her father is on his literal deathbed tells her she should use her best judgement when making life decisions, she doesn’t even think for a moment he means that she should actually use her best judgement and decides to marry whoever the family wants.
Prediction. If she ever marries the bodyguard, and anything happens that stresses her out, she’s going to leave him and do whatever the family wants.
I’m hoping the sequel redeems this misfire, and if not for the alternate universe this would be an easy 2 star rating. It feels like there’s good bones here for a happily ever after, but the story pivoted to make everyone miserable and let the bad guy win, and then it just ends. I’m assuming this was announced as the beginning of a series at the time, because it’s otherwise a hopeless read with little point.
Thank God for that introduction. That introduction was good stuff! I’m a sucker for alternate histories, roads not traveled, and the idea of an American monarchy helping to prop up global monarchies was worth considering, especially given it originated from one man signing on the dotted line.
To detract from some terrible romantic elements, I looked for as many world building details as I could find. Washington the city was more like New York City. There was no state religion. Kings filed legislation with the Houses of Congress and serve as Commander in Chief. Okey dokey.
Now let’s get to our four leads, plus Jeff.
Daphne is a piece of shit, and Jeff dates her for three years before this novel. When Nina, who seems reasoned, thoughtful, and who in her capacity as Jeff’s current girlfriend tells him Daphne just confessed to Nina that she, Daphne, is a huge piece of shit, Jeff refuses to believe Nina, thinks she must have imagined it, and all but asks her if it’s that time of the month.
That’s all I needed to know about Daphne and Jeff, the former of which narrated a quarter of the book.
Nina’s character makes little sense. She’s the commoner who is best friends with the princess and who is dating the prince. Given this is the 21st century and everyone has a cell phone and she’s the daughter of a public figure and spends a significant amount of time at the palace, you’d think their friendships and relationships would be common knowledge, but this is written like Nina lives a double life. When Samantha comes to pick her up she ducks down in the back of the car so she’s not seen with the royals and her own dorm room is scrubbed of any connection to them. It’s weirdly written, explicitly, that her commoner friends have no idea of her double life. Got it.
So when’s her romance with the prince is exposed, her commoner friends buy it instantly and aren’t the least bit surprised.. Fantastic attention to detail. Not even a “You know the Princess?!” moment.
Beatrice is the heir apparent, who is in love with her bodyguard, but she is pressured to marry someone more suitable due to her father’s declining health, so she dumps the bodyguard. Sorry, she doesn’t, she continues to sleep with him until the last possible moment. She then decides she made a bad call, makes plans to leave her fiancé AT THEIR ENGAGEMENT PARTY and marry her bodyguard. Her sister Samantha is thrilled, because she’s in love with the fiancé. Strike that, she met him once, made out with him, had chemistry, so of course that means the same thing in this narrative. Anyway, Beatrice then decides to marry her fiancé because of her father’s declining health, so she dumps the bodyguard.
That’s not a duplicate. She’s just incredibly indecisive.
Even when her father is on his literal deathbed tells her she should use her best judgement when making life decisions, she doesn’t even think for a moment he means that she should actually use her best judgement and decides to marry whoever the family wants.
Prediction. If she ever marries the bodyguard, and anything happens that stresses her out, she’s going to leave him and do whatever the family wants.
I’m hoping the sequel redeems this misfire, and if not for the alternate universe this would be an easy 2 star rating. It feels like there’s good bones here for a happily ever after, but the story pivoted to make everyone miserable and let the bad guy win, and then it just ends. I’m assuming this was announced as the beginning of a series at the time, because it’s otherwise a hopeless read with little point.