Nothing hurts more than absolutely falling in love with the first book in a series…then having your soul tragically crushed by a disappointing sequel.
Folks, I too have been hustled, scammed, bamboozled, hoodwinked, led astray!! *high five if you understand the reference* When I first read American Royals at the beginning of the year, I thought I had found a new favorite series. However, after finishing its lackluster sequel, I now have trust issues.
AMERICAN ROYALS by Katharine McGee
PUBLISHED BY Random House Books for Young Readers (Penguin Random House) on September 1st 2020
GENRE: Contemporary, Romance
PAGES: 374
ADD TO GOODREADS // BOOK DEPOSITORY
Is America ready for its first queen?
Power is intoxicating. Like first love, it can leave you breathless. Princess Beatrice was born with it. Princess Samantha was born with less. Some, like Nina Gonzalez, are pulled into it. And a few will claw their way in. Ahem, we’re looking at you Daphne Deighton.
As America adjusts to the idea of a queen on the throne, Beatrice grapples with everything she lost when she gained the ultimate crown. Samantha is busy living up to her “party princess” persona…and maybe adding a party prince by her side. Nina is trying to avoid the palace–and Prince Jefferson–at all costs. And a dangerous secret threatens to undo all of Daphne’s carefully laid “marry Prince Jefferson” plans.
A new reign has begun….
Content/Trigger Warnings: grief, mention of death of a parent, racism, bullying
Majesty is the finale novel in the American Royals trilogy duology, following the lives of Beatrice, Samantha, Nina, and Daphne. Through their perspectives, we unveil the drama of fake American politics, secrets of high society, and all the angsty romance.
This book takes all the character development and personal growth in the first book…and yeets it into the wind. Their personalities do a 180, and everyone becomes an empty shell of their old character. Beatrice becomes less independent and firey; Samantha returns to her childish self. Nina loses her fighting spirit, but good ole Daphne remains a conniving social climber.
Let’s take a second to talk about the romance…and how I hated it. I was such a big supporter for Beatrice and Connor, Sam and Teddy, Nina and Jeff, and Daphne and Ethan. It made sense but nooOoooOOoo. Katharine McGee thought we needed to change everything up. What was the purpose of developing the relationships in Book 1 if they served virtually no purpose in Book 2?
The author intentionally creates the most frustrating scenes and pushes her characters to make idiotic decisions (with no logic backing them) to get a rise out of her readers to push them to keep reading. Well, it works. At some point, I stopped reading for enjoyment and was simply reading to finish the book.
The ending itself is what leaves me feeling frustrated and unfulfilled. While it is arguably a realistic ending, the execution was both underdeveloped and underwhelming. As a conclusion to the series, this was a huge disappointment because it simply just seems incomplete.
Spoilery Rants 🤬
Okay, I really just needed a place to GET OUT MY THOUGHTS without having to worry about giving out spoilers….so let’s discuss:
- First off, you’re telling me Daphne basically attempts to murder her ex-best friend, but her friend just decides that everything’s okay because she’s moving to Japan?? #WHAT
- AND POOR JEFFERSON. This himbo had no personality other than being tricked and living in ignorance….and that’s his same ending as well. I feel so bad for him. 😭
- I mean…I can see why Beatrice and Teddy would end up together because it’s very Princess Diaries meets The Selection…but what was the point in building up Beatrice and Connor for literally the entire first book??
- Nina was my favorite character in the first book, and she basically lost all her spirit in this one. She just caved and let Daphne win. 😤
- Overall, I’m just A SAD BEAN. I was looking forward to this book so so much, and what we received was…not it. I think what makes things even more frustrating is that this series is a duology. If there were a 3rd book to give us more development, I would’ve been less upset, but this felt like a rushed ending.
Read By Tiffany 
This is the third Majesty review I’ve read and I am pretty certain I’m never going near this sequel now and will be happy with the ending of American Royals, it absolutely sucks that this was so disappointing 😥
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Part of me wants you to read it so we can rant together, but it just ruined the series for me 😭
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MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!!!!! I was so sad because I loved American Royals so much 😦
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TOP 10 ANIME BETRAYALS 😭💔
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I enjoyed American Royals when I read it earlier this year, but I have been reading so many negative reviews for Majesty and they all brought up similar points to yours…. I’m sticking to my plan to read this book but I’m going to need to keep my expectations low 😐 Thank you for this review Tiffany!! 💗
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Ooo yes!! I would still encourage you to read the book since I think you’d like some closure from American Royals….but….it’s not going to be the BEST closure. 😭 I’m glad that my review was able to help you make the decision!! ✨
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Ahh I completely agree!!! literally what was the point??? in any of this?? Connor was such a big part of the first book and he was in this book for what, 5 pages? and I could see Teddy and Bea working if he hadn’t been with Sam first like… I’m sorry but I’m never going to be on board for dating your sibling’s ex… just nope. and Daphne was a horrible person and there were literally zero consequences she just get everything she wanted?? also I hate Ethan so much he’s such a tool lmao am I really supposed to believe he and Nina have a happily ever after? I mean I started hating Nina too so I guess they both such so they’re perfect for each other in their suckyness… but no.
I feel like this series was critically so bad and low-key pretty problematic too but I was gonna overlook that because I was trash for the addictive drama and romances and this sequel was like aight ima take the only thing that didn’t suck and make it suck too haHA
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OKAY I’M GLAD WE’RE ON THE SAME PAGE.
I was SUCH a fan of Connor and the royalty x bodyguard trope 😭💔 Teddy would’ve been fine, but the fact that he just brushed off all his feelings for Sam?? and alaksjflkadf it’s so FRUSTRATING.
Daphne is truly the WORST. Nina was honestly too good for him too, but I hate how the characters had negative growth throughout this book.
It’s definitely a problematic book with its themes (kind of like Gossip Girl). AHHH I’m so disappointed 😭💔
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I’m pretty sure Majesty wins most disappointing book of the year and sums up 2020 in bookish form. It SUCKED. Also your comment about trust issues made me LOL.
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LOLOL I’m so glad that my review made you smile 😂 UGH this was truly such a disappointing sequel and book for this year!! I wish the whole thing could be rewritten because it’s what AMERICAN ROYALS fans deserve 😭
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Wow! I almost never see you leave a review this low. I currently have American Royals on my Kindle from the library but now I’m hesitant to read it if the sequel will just SUCK. Tanking a storyline in latter books is a pet peeve of mine. 😒
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😅😅😅 I’ve written a few negative reviews, but this is the first in a long time. AHHH. I’m so conflicted because I really enjoyed the first book, but the second one was just so disappointing. 😭💔 Maybe you can read to see for yourself?
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I have heard so many good things about the author, especially her previous series. Sad to know this didn’t work for you.
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I really enjoyed the first book and thought her other series was super entertaining, and while this one was also very thrilling….the frustration it causes was just a new level 😭
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Haha totally get it
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My review was such a mess, and I love how coherent yours looks hahahahah But yeah, you know my thoughts on it! I definitely agree, it was such a disappointing sequel,and I’m still salty about it being a duology …
And, obviously, amazing review!! ❤
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NO OMG!! I loved your review so much. I’m glad that we could rant about this book together 😅
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I loved American Royals and I was so hyped for this sequel. When I learn that it was the final book, I was a bit disappointed. BUT, I really liked seeing the evolution of the characters and I just can’t choose between the relationships of the first and of the second book (apart from Beatrice and Connor…♥).
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Ahh okay, I’m so glad that we had similar thoughts! I really wish that it were a trilogy instead of a duology 😦 The relationships between the first books and second book have SUCH CONFLICTED FEELINGS.
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Dang! This book surprisingly caught my attention but I might have to reconsider now. Thanks for sharing your honest thoughts! It was helpful!
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The first book was soooo much fun, but this one was really frustrating 😭 I think if you’re still interested it’s worth reading to see!
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Ah so sorry, I have been so very behind on blog posts so am late today. Excuse me as I catch up on the queen haha.
But oh no, I’ve heard this sequel is the worst. I haven’t started the series yet, I was waiting for this one to come out so I could marathon. Also, I can kinda tell that the publishers are having a hard time because you know when Netgalley approves you AFTER the book comes out, it usually means they’re desperate? Bc that happened to me with this one *hides*
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aww don’t feel bad!! this sequel was truly SOMETHING but part of me still wants people to read it just so we can rant together 😂
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