What would the United States be like if we were a monarchy? This is the book that puts that to the test as it follows the present day American royal family, the Washingtons. Yes, that is right. General George Washington became America’s first king after the Revolutionary War. King George IV and Queen Adelaide have three children, Princess Beatrice (the next in line for the throne GIRL POWER!) and twins, Princess Samantha and Prince Jefferson. American Royals, the first of a series, is written in alternating points of view, following a few royal females and supporting females through several months beginning right before the holidays. Princess Beatrice and Samantha are the two royal voices, while Nina, Samatha’s best friend, and Daphne, Jefferson’s ex-girlfriend, show what it is like living as commoners alongside the Washingtons. There was a side plot or two that I felt could have been left out and did not further the main storyline, but I suppose those points just helped in the development of some characters.

I thought it was interesting how the author chose to show only female perspectives in this story. I actually would have enjoyed hearing some of the males’ point of view. Saying that though, I still loved just about every character in the story, and even the villainous characters were well-developed. I thought every chapter was the perfect length even though the next chapter brought along a new perspective. It is difficult for an author to advance a timeline seamlessly between so many perspective switches, however I thought this was one thing that Katharine McGee did so well. The reader never feels stuck in time even though they have to switch from one point of view to another; the book moves along quite nicely.

I loved the little nuances that the author snuck into the text, all of the little differences that might exist if we had a monarchy. For example, would the United States use the metric system if we were not a democracy? I would like to think that we would have chosen the metric system to be like the rest of the world. What would our currency look like if we had kings and queens? What major differences would we see politically if our country was run entirely by one family line instead of elected officials?

American Royals is a young adult novel, and it is very nicely written as such. The language and situations are quite PG. I still felt a lot of maturity from the characters even though the youngest narrator is only 17. Sometimes I struggle to read in the YA genre because I feel like the book would have been more appropriate as an adult novel with adult characters. However, I feel like this book was perfect as a YA novel and the characters were the exact right age for their circumstances and voices.

This book is wonderfully written as the beginning of a series. I am hoping for a long series because I really adore the Washington family. Katharine McGee has stated that the sequel will be out in the fall of 2020, and I am counting down the months to return to the American Throne. If you would like to read American Royals, and I highly recommend that you do, you can purchase the book on Amazon.