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Katharine McGee’s novel imagines an alternate reality in which George Washington was not voted president of the newly independent United States of America, but was installed as king of the new country instead. So now, there’s a king of America, whose oldest daughter, Beatrice, is next in line for the crown, and who also has twins named Jefferson and Samantha. They face all the concerns royals do, or at least that we commoners imagine royals have to deal with, as evidenced by popular books and movies.
This book has one clever idea to recommend it, but the rest is as cliché as it gets: American Royals copies familiar storylines used in movies such as “The Princess Diaries” and “The Prince and Me” and trots them out in predictable fashion. The reader can guess what’s coming next: Here’s the first crisis one set of young lovers will face, then conquer, then here’s the next they will face and conquer — for now. There’s another set of young lovers with everything going against them, and, oh, another!; the story also features a manipulative young woman, a clear villain, who will let nothing stand in her way of marrying a prince.
This is all not to say that a book full of tropes can’t be a guilty pleasure; it can be juicy and fun and romantic and addictive. But this one is just a bit too write-by-the-numbers to be pleasurable. The reader can practically see the recommended outline of a standard book lying underneath like a skeleton, thinly covered by the finery that dresses it up. The dialogue is reasonably well done, but there is too much in the way of exposition, which is stilted, rather amateurish, and not as engaging.
I guess I’m disappointed because I had high hopes for this being a good beach read, like The Royal We or The Heir and the Spare, which were both predictable but well-written enough I was able to sink in and enjoy being transported.
Rated: Mild. This is supposedly a young adult book, but I’d really put it in the new adult category. The characters are all over 18, high school graduates and college students. It’s definitely mild for an older audience; there is actually only one instance of moderate language (maybe two?). Sexual content includes kissing and references to sex happening or having happened but no details. There are references to these characters (young adults of almost or just at legal drinking age) sometimes drinking too much and making some bad decisions when drunk.
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* I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
