Sara's Reviews > American Royals

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed McGee’s previous series of novels, The Thousandth Floor, and was intrigued to see her take on the alternative history genre with an America ruled by the descendants of King George Washington. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. This has a lot of froth but no substance, and although the The Thousandth Floor has interesting characters and an overall plot arc, this just doesn’t really have anything, with a plot that feels contrived, predictable and just dull.

The story is divided into several POV, ranging from Princesses Beatrice and Samantha, both struggling with their responsibilities and falling in love with the wrong people, Daphne the ex girlfriend of Prince Jeff and Nina the childhood ‘commoner’ friend of Princess Samantha who’s having a secret affair. I didn’t find any of the stories particularly interesting, or different from anything that’s gone before them and the voices lack any distinct qualities. At times it was a struggle to remember who’s chapter I was reading as the tones are all very one note and nondescript. They were all too similar to each other, and none of them is developed enough to carry a proper narrative arc on their own.

The character’s individual stories never really intertwine, and their conclusion is incredibly obvious from the start. Even though nothing actually is concluded here, as over the course of the novel nothing at all is resolved, clearly hinting at further novels, which I found incredibly annoying. I also found the whole concept of an American royal house a little bit too absurd. Yes, you can suspend your disbelief for most aspects of the plot and just go with it, but I found that in reality I just wasn’t invested in the concept. The world building itself is none existent, and the reader is never really told how this world has been shaped by Washington’s apparent decision to take a crown. I know very little about American ‘history’, and found that without any background here to support the story, I didn’t want to know it either.

As a positive, I will say that the writing is good and flows well, making it easy to read. McGee has the real potential to turn out an excellent novel, if given the right story. I just wish the subject matter was a little more exciting. Disappointing.