Audio Review: Majesty by Katharine McGee

American Royals II: Majesty by Katherine McGee
Narrator: Brittany Pressley
Series: American Royals #2
Published by Listening Library on 2020-09-01
Length: 12 hours and 39 minutes
Reviewing Audiobook from Library
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2022 Audiobook Challenge, 2022 Backlist Reader Challenge, 2022 Beat the Backlist, 2022 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge

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....

You know the saying “a train wreck you can’t look away from”? That is this book to a tee! I devoured it, unable to bring myself to put it down. Majesty by Katherine McGee is the second installment of her series American Royals which reinvents American history by crowning George Washington instead of electing him president. Following the current House of Washington and told from the POV of four women, Majesty is full of political intrigue, romantic entanglements, and drama to the nth power. If you haven’t read book one yet, spoilers for it are ahead. Consider yourself warned!

Beatrice has officially been crowned queen after the unexpected and tragic death of her father at the end of book one. Coping with his loss, she must assume the role she was groomed for her entire life and become “her majesty, the royal highness.” I could go on with those titles, but you get the picture. She isn’t ready, but she plans to fulfill it to the best of her ability.

Samantha, like her elder sister, is reeling from the loss of their father, her fight with Nina, and losing Teddy. She’s angry, wants to lash out, but also has matured from the spoiled princess everyone thought her to be at the beginning of book one. Of all the characters, Sam has grown the most, and I love the changes I’m seeing in her. With Beatrice having no children of her own yet, Sam is no longer the spare, but heir to the throne. She’s taking on new responsibilities, the ones that Beatrice used to do and realizing that her sister is a lot stronger than she gave her credit for.

Nina‘s entire life has changed. The end of her relationship with Jeff has caused an awkwardness between her and Sam that wasn’t there before. Nina isn’t sure of her role in their lives any more. She also isn’t sure she wants to be in the spotlight after the horrible media coverage. I can’t say I blame her for that. However, her choices (which I’ll get to in a moment) are questionable at best. I will say that I love how close she and Sam are and how that relationship has evolved from what it was at the beginning of the series. I’m excited to see how it continues to grow in the third installment.

Daphne….I really dislike this girl. However, she is also the most interesting storyline to follow. Probably because all of her lies are eventually going to catch up with her, and I personally cannot wait to see her crash and burn 😆 There is literally nothing this girl will not crush to get to Jeff. She has her eyes set on becoming his bride and being a part of the royal family. So much so that she misses the happiness that could be hers right in front of her.

Now, as I already mentioned, let’s talk about the romantic entanglements that star in this book. First you have Beatrice-Connor-Teddy and I guess by extension Sam. This one is resolved fairly early on in the book, and despite how I felt about it at first, I wound up really loving it. Next is Teddy-Sam-Marshall. Marshall is a new character we are introduced to early on in the book who I adore. He and Sam are *chef’s kiss* perfect. Finally, we have the one that is given the most attention in the book (I could write an entire post on this one!!): Jeff-Nina-Ethan-Daphne. To say it blows up in everyone’s face is an understatement.

Overall, if you can’t tell, I loved Majesty. I cannot wait to dive into Rivals. While the cliffhanger for this one isn’t quite as bad as book one, there is a lot open to interpretation. I’m so glad McGee continued the series because I have SO many questions. If you enjoy contemporary, YA romance and lots of angst drama, with a dose of political intrigue, I highly recommend it.

*I buddy read this one with Berls @ Because Reading and Stephanie @ Once Upon a Chapter, both of them rated this one highly!

Related Posts