Sophie Reads YA: Majesty

Waiting On Wednesday: Majesty (American Royals #2) by Katharine McGee

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2020 Contemporary Romance Challenge

ARC Review: Majesty (American Royals #2) by Katharine McGee

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Majesty
Series: American Royals #2
Author: Katharine McGee
Published September 3rd 2020 by Penguin

Goodreads Synopsis
Beatrice Washington now rules America as its first ever queen, but her family are more concerned about rushing through her arranged marriage to a man she barely knows. No one can know that her heart really belongs to her bodyguard - but even their love is under threat.

Meanwhile, Princess Samantha is under more scrutiny than ever before - and she still longs to be with her sister's fiancee. But with no sign of Bea's wedding being called off, she's surprised to find someone else catching her eye.

Nina Gonzalez is also tangled up with someone she never expected to be. She and Ethan are both nursing broken hearts, and it's not long before they find themselves pulled irresistibly together.

Luckily for Daphne Deighton, Prince Jeff's grief for his father makes him a prime target for her attentions. She's the closest she's been in years to getting what she wants . . . so why can't she let the idea of her and Ethan go?

As the royal wedding of the century creeps ever closer, will these four young women get what they want - or will their hearts be broken forever?
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

After fully embracing her love for her Revere Guard, Connor, Crown Princess Beatrice was ready to break off her engagement, with her father's blessing. But, the King's sudden death leaves the whole kingdom in chaos, and now Beatrice must take up her role as the first Queen of America, and all that entails - including an upcoming royal wedding. Her younger sister, Samantha, has always known that she was the 'spare' and never expected to have to take on responsibility as heir to the throne - thinking by the time Beatrice was crowned, she would already have had children. Now Sam must let go of her partying ways, and be serious to help her sister. Nina Gonzales, Sam's best friend and Prince Jefferson's ex, knows that being close to the royal family is not always for the best, and wants to forget all about the tabloid interest from last year. Helping Sam through her own problems is enough for her, and when Ethan, Jeff's best friend and someone she's known for years, gets close to her, she can't believe it. Here is someone who knows what it's like to be on the periphery of royalty, and seems to really understand her. But, Daphne Deighton is always in the background. Once girlfriend of Jeff, she wants more than anything for him to be with her, as she's been raised to be a princess her whole life. Her feelings for Ethan notwithstanding, she will do anything to make sure nothing gets in her way. Will the upcoming wedding go smoothly, and will America be willing to accept a young queen as their monarch?

Well, this was a roller coaster. Forget everything you knew from American Royals, because it seems to go out the window here. That's not to say I didn't enjoy this instalment, because I did; I loved it! The plot lines were all entangled and running along nicely, and when there were moments when I couldn't work out how things would be restored, McGee threw another spanner in the works, but by the end, pretty much everything was tied together nicely.

I still love Beatrice as much as I did in the first book. Now, she's even more vulnerable, and has so much to contend with. She's only in her twenties, and has just lost her dad - who she was really close to - and now she has the fate of the whole nation in her hands. Her Lord Chamberlain, Robert Standish, is a holdover from her father's regime, and undermines her at every pass. He is adamant the wedding to Teddy Eaton will go ahead, and only then will he let Beatrice have some control. I despised Robert wholeheartedly - but he gets what he deserves!

All of the romances from American Royals have changed now. Because of Beatrice going ahead with the wedding to Teddy, Connor leaves, and the more time Beatrice spends with Teddy - who knows she doesn't love him (at least, not yet) - the better their relationship was, and I really liked them together. They were perfect for each other, and though Sam had once had feelings for Teddy, that was a puppy love kind of love, and the mutual respect and growing affection between Beatrice and Teddy was true, and I can't wait to see that explored more in future books.

Sam was the carefree and feisty princess that she had always been, but we see more of a vulnerable side to her in this book. Just like her sister, she is grieving the loss of her dad, and the added pressure as the 'heir' is weighing heavily on her. Out of the three Washington children, she has always been the ones the tabloids hound, and now is no different. Standish again shows his pompousness in the way he interacts with Sam, and expects her to fail at each turn. To top it all off, she's trying to get over her feelings for Teddy, and meeting Marshall Davis, heir to the Duke of Orange, helps. Both of them want to make someone jealous, but Sam soon develops real feelings for Marshall when she grows to understand him better, and can see that Teddy is falling for Beatrice properly. I loved the way Sam grew in this book, and her final scenes were sensational. The next book will show her even better - I'm sure of it!

Now that Nina is no longer with Jefferson, it's a bit awkward her going to the palace to visit Sam, but she wants to be there for her best friend, especially through her grief and new relationship, so will do what she can to overcome it all. When Ethan comes into the picture at university, she's a bit confused because they've never been close, no matter how long they've known each other, but it seems like Ethan is right for her. I liked seeing them together, especially as the feelings grew more and more real, but the start of it concerned me, because of why Ethan was hanging around, and, of course, that all falls to Daphne.

It seems as if whenever there's a problem, Miss Daphne Deighton is at the helm. Yeah, there are moments when I felt a bit sympathetic towards her, but for the most part, she deserves everything she gets! She cares for Ethan, not Jefferson, but knows that Jefferson is her meal ticket, and that of her parents, and she'd do anything - including trying to blackmail the queen - to make sure nothing gets in the way. That's why Himari, her best friend, was drugged and has been in a coma for the last year, and now that she's woken up, Daphne needs to find out just what she remembers, and get her out of the way if necessary. Daphne also doesn't like the fact Nina is still close to Jefferson, and get's Ethan to pose as a love interest to keep her out of the way, but when it turns into real feelings, Daphne wants Ethan back. She's petty, and, frankly, dangerous, and I want her to suffer - as bad as that sounds.

All in all, this book was everything I wanted from what was one of my most anticipated sequels, and more! I love where each of our heroines are in the final pages, and can't wait for more of them - especially Sam's story, in the next book! If you haven't already read American Royals, make sure to grab a copy before Majesty is published!

Dates Read:
August 14-15, 2020

Rating
5 Stars