I’m not normally one for alternate history, but Katharine McGee‘s American Royals series is the exception to the rule. It’s set in modern day, but with a twist: George Washington became King of America instead of leading as president. Now, generations of Washingtons have ruled, but for the first time, a female Washington is running the country as Queen.
Beatrice took on the role as Queen of America in the second book, Majesty, and now in the third book, Rivals, she is starting her reign with a bang. America is hosting the League of Kings, which brings rulers from around the world to one location for legislation and seminars. Beatrice is stressed about making a good starting impression on the other leaders, especially Louisa from France, and prove to her own people that she is capable as their leader. Meanwhile, her fiancé, Teddy, is feeling left out of the work.
As with the previous American Royals novels, this one also follows a couple other perspectives. Beatrice’s younger sister and heir, Sam, has drama of her own. She’s dating Marshall, the Duke of Orange, and created a national conversation about racial inequality and the country’s power structure. She also discovers Marshall’s family doesn’t support the relationship and struggles with what to do.
We also get to see two sides of one rivalry with Nina and Daphne. They’ve been at odds for the first two books, but this time, we see them team up against Gabriella Madison’s schemes to drive wedges between each of them and Beatrice’s brother, Prince Jefferson. There’s all kind of cattiness in this plot line, but I must admit, it’s nice to see two women come together despite their differences and support each other… even if it is a bit twisted.
Really, the female friendships in Rivals are quite nice to see, despite the lows that they face throughout these pages.
But then there’s the end….
Once again, the freakin’ cliffhangers! I don’t know why I had it in my head that this was the end of the series, but with 30-40 pages left in Rivals, I quickly realized there was no way to wrap it up in time. Especially not with all the new twists for our four women that make me impatient for the next installment, whenever that may come.
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Literary HypeWoman 
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