User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Edit 12/08/21: There
is a God, and we're getting a third book! I have the utmost faith in the author that all of the unresolved issues will now get finished!
THIS REVIEW & MORE → Paws and Paperbacks
ARC provided by Random House Children's through NetGalley.1.5 stars ✨
Buckle up kids, you’re in for one hell of a review.
If I was going to predict my biggest disappointment of the year,
Majesty would never have even crossed my mind. I’m a huge fan of Katherine McGee’s books: they’re full of delicious drama, juicy secrets, complex characters, and angsty romance. I absolutely adored
American Royals and I was really looking forward to reading this sequel.
Reading Majesty felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. This book was not anything close to what I had been expecting and I’m still not sure what the fuck I read.
I’m going to try to try to keep this as spoiler free as possible, but I have to divulge some major plot points in order to explain what went so wrong with this book. So if you want to go into
Majesty completely blind, I would just skip this review altogether.
The first major issue with the book are the romances. If you, like me, think you are going to go into this book with the expectation that the characters are going to work through the angst and mend the relationships left broken by the end of
American Royals,
you will be extremely disappointed. The characters basically play roulette with each other’s partners. This is one of the most frustrating things to me when reading a sequel. Why spend the first book developing relationships and building up the reader’s interest in those relationships only to completely dissolve them all? I’ve already become invested in the relationships introduced in the first book, so not only am I going to be upset with the sudden change of heart, but I’m going to spend my entire time reading actively rooting
against them.
My second issue was with the characters. I felt like they all had a major personality make-over. As with
American Royals, this book is also told through the four POVs of Beatrice, Samantha, Nina, and Daphne.
Beatrice – I really loved her in American Royals. I could not stand her in Majesty. In the first book, a majority of her chapters were focused on her struggle between her desires and the expectations of her. All of her chapters here were dedicated to her swooning over Teddy. I will never enjoy reading about a relationship in which the character suddenly develops feelings for their sibling’s ex. Like, it’s a Big No for me when I read. So reading her chapters and her blooming relationship with Teddy was just nauseating. I skimmed most of them. (view spoiler)[Beatrice and Teddy ~fall in love~ and both fuck over Sam and get a free pass? Miss me with that bullshit. (hide spoiler)]
Samantha – Opposite of her sister, I actually enjoyed her chapters much more this time. In fact, I would argue that her POV was probably my favorite. I was definitely more sympathetic towards her and began to better understand her as a person. Of all the romances introduced, hers was the only one I enjoyed.
Nina – She honestly felt so, blah. There was nothing to her character in this book. First of all, she barely had any page time. And whatever page time she did have was solely dedicated to her romantic feelings. She was my favorite character in American Royals, but I hardly gave her a second thought her because she was scarcely present. (view spoiler)[Can we talk about how much I hate her and Ethan together? Their romance was so unconvincing. It was like they were forced together to make the readers forget about Jeff. Also, as a reader I was so invested in her and Jeff in the previous book and expected a lot more angst and pining in this one. But they literally only speak twice, once off page, and don't give each other another thought. WHAT IN THE HELL. It's like their relationship was completely scrapped and forgotten about to make way for the next thing. (hide spoiler)]
Daphne – The only character who remained the same. She’s still horrible. I still hate her. I’m still waiting for her conniving, scheming self to be revealed to everyone who holds her in such high esteem. And her last chapter? What the fuck kind of ending is this? Her shenanigans are never addressed and basically she gets everything she ever wanted? (view spoiler)[Jeff all of a sudden decides he's in love with her again and wants to give them another shot. He never learns about all the things she did to Nina. He (or anyone) never learns about her and Ethan. He never learns that she manipulated Ethan into dating Nina. (hide spoiler)]
Jefferson was basically nonexistent. You honestly could have replaced him with a doormat and it would have made no difference to the story. And when he did appear, he pulled a complete 180 towards the end of the book. After everything he went through to be with Nina, now all of a sudden he believes himself in love with Daphne. Gag me.
And last but not least: the fact that apparently this is the last book? I was under the impression that this was a trilogy, not a duology, but the author herself stated that this was the final book. If this was only the second book of a trilogy, a lot of my complaints wouldn’t seem so severe. However,
as a conclusion to the series Majesty feels grossly incomplete, underwhelming, and lacking. I am
shocked that this was written the way it was to be the final book. Nothing has been wrapped up plot-wise. There are multiple loose ends, things left unsaid, broken relationships, and incomplete storylines. The reader is left with so many questions.
2020 really did me dirty with this book. Reading
Majesty felt like I had wandered into a parallel universe and read a completely different story. Who are these characters? Who are these romances? While I still encourage anyone who enjoyed
American Royals to read this for yourself to form your own opinions,
I would caution you to curb your enthusiasm and check your expectations.
Rating: really liked it
Whhhaaatttt theeeee heeeecccck juuuuust happpeeeneeedd?is that all? No, it can’t! This must be a prank, right? This cannot be the real book! No! No! Noooooooooooooooo!
( a few denying hours later)
Yes, my friends, unfortunately this book is real. During my reading, I thought I would find a chapter telling us this was all a bad dream and real story would start up sooner with better conclusion but that chapter never appeared!
I wrote an extremely unpopular review to the first book cause I found the world building nonsense and the girls’ sisterhood dynamic were faker than Kardashian sisters ( maybe author plans to write a sequel named: “Nina and Samantha take Washington.”to clear the messy storylines she recently destroyed in this book but I’m not really hopeful she can!!!)
I was thinking maybe this time the characters start magically growing on me. And there were some unresolved angst and lovely blooming relationships between them which gave me enough hope the second installment would be better!
But the author decided to do something so radical and killed those relationships we’d pleased to see their HEAs and the create the most nonsense and illogical couples! Yes, the couples we we’re introduced at the first novel are separated and matched with not so compatible characters.
I felt like somebody hacked the author’s manuscript and changed the entire storyline ( hacker might be a ex screenwriter who was writing the worst drafts and got fired from her/his daytime soap opera gig! ) for revenge and poor author has no idea the released version of her unique work! It’s the only explanation I can find!
Only reliable character from the beginning of the duology is Daphne. At least she was mean, disgusting, shitty person and she never surprises us as bu turning into a gold hearted sweetheart! She plays her mind games and with her detailed devilish schemes, she gets the guy. Poor foolish Ethan has no idea he was manipulated by her to dare with Nina! Yes, Nina and Ethan became the unreliable couple with no chemistry, love sparks, nada!
And as soon as the author flipped her fingers, Beatrice also turns into a lovesick puppy who adores her sibling’s ex!
I cannot take any more! I’m gonna stop here!
My notes:
-I thought the first book was disappointment but this one is extremely truly heartbreakingly disappointment!
-I don’t know this is a good or bad news but this is final book. Is there a chance the author can save the destroyed storylines of the lovely couples? ( Big and bold NOOOOO!!!)
-Do we get the satisfying conclusion? I didn’t! I hope you think otherwise.
-I wish my future self would come to save me before I started my reading and delete the digital copy from my e-reader! But my lazy future self still watches last episode of “The Boys” on the Amazon prime, nursing her Pinot Grigio, already forgetting this book!
That’s why I plan to do! My future self is always wiser than me! I am gonna act like I never read this book and I never wrote this review !
Rating: really liked it
Y'all, I have been on A Journey™ this evening. I got an ARC of
Majesty earlier today (there is a God and she is a woman named Random House), casually yelped and scared my poor mother (whom I'm quarantining with), and read the entire novel in a single sitting without getting up. My butt and my heart hurt.
I'm just gonna say it: I really liked
American Royals, but I loved this sequel more. Ending the first book on a cliffhanger was a risk, and to be honest, I was afraid that
Majesty was going to be predictable and drawn out. But the upside of Katharine McGee giving these characters more room to breathe is that this novel wasn't about establishing who they were; instead, it was all about who they needed to become.
I don't want to spoil anything, but for real: There's no way in hell you can guess what happens going into this book. Brb my heart is still screaming.
Rating: really liked it
More reviews up on my blog Inside My Library Mind
The Old Switcheroo Imagine reading a first book in a series where you spent the entire book getting attached to the characters and their relationships with each other. Imagine that the focus of the book was the romantic relationships, there are several of them, and they’re all built up over the course of 300 pages. There’s angst, there’s pinning, there’s miscommunication and SO MANY OBSTACLES, but they’re all in love and they have to eventually end up together, right? Because everyone has great chemistry with each other and it works. And it’s fun. That’s American Royals for you.
Now imagine the second book in this series showing you a huge middle finger and doing the old switcheroo with everyone’s love interest. Scrap everything that happened in the first book – the relationships developed? WHO NEEDS THEM. The character arcs? NO ONE CARES. Out with the things that make sense, and in with absolute nonsense. That was American Royals 2.
At the beginning of the novel, all of the previously established pairings and ships just get abolished, and everyone gets paired up with a new person, that was previously someone else’s partner. I think this made the first book obsolete and moreover, it made everything feel incredibly forced and contrived.
I absolutely loved Beatrice and Connor’s relationship in the first book. And we spent the whole of the first book rooting for them. More importantly, it made sense for Beatrice and Connor to fall for each other. It was believable and it felt very organic. Moreover, this relationship was juxtaposed with the fact that Beatrice was supposed to marry Teddy, which she felt absolutely nothing for, which made the whole dynamic really interesting. But for some godforsaken reason, the other decided that is not interesting enough, so Connor was out and Beatrice falls in love with Teddy. WHY? Beats me.
Same goes for all the other characters. Ethan and Nina were an atrociously bad coupling, that had nothing going for itself, and was used as this supposedly juicy and controversial pairing (on the count of Nina being in love with Ethan’s best friend like a week ago). This was probably my least favorite of all the new dynamics we got, because it was so boring, it had no chemistry and I just kept thinking WHY. WHAT WAS THE REASON. Sam got a new love interest at least, which is better than her dating her sister’s boyfriend but still, her relationship was just as uninspired as the rest of them.
I Love When Things Make Zero Sense This book succeeded at one thing – it made me hate all of the characters. I just think they made zero sense and as if they got a retouch of their personality from someone who has not used Photoshop before and is like gRaPhIc DeSiGn iS mY pAsSiOn.
Beatrice was such an interesting character in the first book, with her inner struggle between everyone’s expectations and her wanting to live her own life, but in this sequel she just became a character that swooned over Teddy and had this meek, annoying approach to everything. The author also decided to sideline Jeff as a character in this book, which was annoying on a lot of levels, since he is important to every other character in the novel. Nina was such a bland, uninteresting PoV, made insufferable by her relationship with Ethan.
Most frustratingly, I hated that Daphne’s character was so bad. She is like a mean girl in the first book, but you keep seeing this complex side to her, and her trying to compensate feeling worthless by becoming someone important. I think she was a really interesting character, and this book said fuck that. Daphne goes through no growth, ends up in the same place, does not learn and she deserved better than an ending in which she ends up with a person she does not love, being unhappy despite finally getting what she wants. It was such a sad ending to her arc. I mourn for her character. There was so much potential for the narrative to give her what she deserves while still letting her grow. Instead, we got her still being awful and yet she gets all that she wanted. But she’s sad. The point eludes me.
An Unsatisfying Ending Is Putting It Lightly I think it’s obvious that this was supposed to be a trilogy and then something fell through. The ending was so unsatisfying and I really felt like no one of the characters ended up where they were supposed to. Moreover, a lot of them felt like they ended up back where we started, as if they had no character arc at all. There was a tone of stuff that was left unresolved and even the attempts to wrap somethings up were so poorly handled. The dialogue in this book also felt so contrived, and fake and stilted, it was so annoying to read and left such an unsatisfying feeling overall.
If You’re Gonna Do Something, Do It Right This book also made some really lame attempts to handle some important topics, such as race and feminism. Firstly, the way this book tries so hard to make some supposed feminist statements and then frames them as these amazing, groundbreaking things really hurt my head.
This book also decided to introduce a Black character and did a lot of things poorly in that aspect. First of all, when we meet Marshall, Samantha introduces him by saying that his family was born into slavery and that they joined the kingdom after the abolition of slavery, and the whole discussion ends there. However, it really begs the question who were the slave owners if not the royal family. Supposedly, Washington became king instead of president and there’s a royal family now, but I feel like there was a discussion here that needed to be engaged and it was not. I feel like Samantha had to acknowledge and engage with her privilege there, but that just did not happen. She is also painfully unaware how the press might treat Marshall because he is Black and yet she is also represented as this woke queen that is dragging the monarchy into the 21st century. There was also a bit at the end that where Beatrice applauded Sam for being so inspirational to her people and stressing that it’s nice that she is dating Marshall because it would be nice for their family to represent the nation. As if Marshall is a token to be paraded around for the fucking royal family. It was just kind of gross to be honest.
To Sum Up One of the most disappointing books I have ever read. I am sad and I might go cry now.
I received an eARC of this novel from the publisher. All opinions are my own. Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest
Rating: really liked it
Oh 2019 Me had such high hopes for this book! 2020 Me feels cheated. This can't be the "closure" ending ending, I didnt get any closure, I feel like she didn't really know where to go with this book. Those 3 stars are me being generous at 2 in the morning...
Nov. 11, 2019 - What if she abolishes the monarchy so they can sll get their happy ending? And
instates "Democracy"?!
Rating: really liked it
1.5/5 stars. ⭐️⭐️
Nothing hurts more than absolutely falling in love with the first book in a series…then having your soul tragically crushed by a disappointing sequel.
Folks, I too have been hustled, scammed, bamboozled, hoodwinked, led astray!!
*high five if you understand the reference* When I first read American Royals at the beginning of the year, I thought I had found a new favorite series. However, after finishing its lackluster sequel, I now have trust issues. Majesty is the finale novel in the American Royals trilogy duology, following the lives of Beatrice, Samantha, Nina, and Daphne. Through their perspectives, we unveil the drama of fake American politics, secrets of high society, and all the angsty romance.
This book takes all the character development and personal growth in the first book…and yeets it into the wind. Their personalities do a 180, and
everyone becomes an empty shell of their old character. Beatrice becomes less independent and firey; Samantha returns to her childish self. Nina loses her fighting spirit, but good ole Daphne remains a conniving social climber.
Let’s take a second to talk about the romance…and how I hated it. I was such a big supporter for Beatrice and Connor, Sam and Teddy, Nina and Jeff, and Daphne and Ethan. It made sense but
nooOoooOOoo. Katharine McGee thought we needed to change everything up. What was the purpose of developing the relationships in Book 1 if they served virtually no purpose in Book 2?
The author intentionally creates the most frustrating scenes and pushes her characters to make idiotic decisions
(with no logic backing them) to get a rise out of her readers to push them to keep reading. Well, it works.
At some point, I stopped reading for enjoyment and was simply reading to finish the book. The ending itself is what leaves me feeling frustrated and unfulfilled.
While it is arguably a realistic ending, the execution was both underdeveloped and underwhelming. As a conclusion to the series, this was a huge disappointment because it simply just seems incomplete.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! Blog (Read By Tiffany) | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Bloglovin
Rating: really liked it
If there is not a scene when Nina runs into the chapel during Daphne and Jefferson's wedding and exposes Daphne for the snake she is, I am going to cry.
Rating: really liked it
2.5 stars
It
pains me to write this review. Seriously. I was so looking forward to this book. I loved the first book and I was patiently waiting for my library borrow to come in so I could finally get to this book. I love Katherine McGee’s writing and there were some things I liked about this, but overall, I was so disappointed. Mainly in all the romances (except maybe one) and the direction so many of these characters stories took. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone, so I won’t go into detail about anything (view spoiler)
[ I do have to mention how aggravated I am that Daphane never got what she had coming. I couldn’t stand her (hide spoiler)] but I’m truly bummed I didn’t love this one.
Audio book source: Libby (library borrow)
Story Rating: 2-2.5 stars
Narrators: Brittany Pressley
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 12 hours and 39 minutes
Rating: really liked it
I think I am in the minority where I can honestly say that I loved the second installment even more than the first. Majesty continues the journey of Beatrice, Samantha, Jefferson, Nina and Daphne. It picks up six weeks after King George has died and the family is trying to pick up the pieces. Beatrice was left in a position of choosing between her heart and her country.
In American Royals, I felt like the alternating POV’s made it difficult to connect with the characters since they were so new but in Majesty I felt like I really knew each of the characters. There was also a lot more character growth, particularly with Beatrice and Samantha. I really enjoyed the relationships between Marshall and Samantha and between Beatrice and Teddy. I did feel like the Jefferson-Ethan-Nina-Daphne saga fell a little flat for me and I found myself not even really caring if Daphne and Jefferson ended up back together. Jefferson is so easily manipulated that it’s difficult to really root for him. That being said, I loved the book overall and can’t wait for the sequel. There is a definitive Gossip Girl feel to the series. I highly recommend for fans of young adult and royal romances. Counting down to Katharine McGee’s next book!
Rating: really liked it
I loved this continuation of an excellent story. I love all of the characters so much. Majesty develops the characters more. All of the characters mature based on their new roles. Sam is no longer just breaking the rules, but now has an important role.
I won’t give anything away, but I was very happy with the outcome of this book. I love all of Katharine McGee’s books, so that wasn’t a surprise.
I highly recommend the American Royals series to any fans of YA, princesses, and cute romances.
Full review: https://justreadingjess.wordpress.com...
Rating: really liked it
Its been two weeks since i finished this and im still mad at this book, if i write a review then its just gonnna be me complaining hehe....
So I finished this and I'm really disappointed. RTC
Edit: I honestly want to cry my expectations were so high and nothing went the way I wanted to *sobs*
________________________________________________________
Update 3, the same day: I HAVE THE BOOK BYE SEE YALL WHEN IM FINISHED
Update 2: It is now Tuesday and I just got an email saying they have sent out my book to me and it is on its way, I'm sooooooooo exiiiiteeeeed
Update: they didnt have this at the bookstore so i had to order it online, if im lucky ill get it on friday *fingers crossed*
Someone give me this book NOW I don’t want to wait I’ve waited long enough
Also the fact that this book only has 320 pages is really making me worried
Rating: really liked it
#1) American Royals: ★★★★☆
As one of my most anticipated reads of 2020, this was a huge disappointment.The great George IV has died and Beatrice is now the first-ever Queen of America. She is being pressured to marry Teddy so that she looks more mature and can perform her duties. Nina is trying to live her normal life after breaking up with Prince Jefferson. Samantha is trying her best to live her to her position as heir to the throne. Daphne is still the same as before.
This is one of the worst sequels I’ve ever read.In American Royals, I felt that some of the characters were carbon copies of characters from The Thousandth Floor, and in this book, I can see the similarities a lot more. I believe I read a couple of the same lines from The Thousandth Floor in Majesty.
I don’t think a single couple stayed together from the first book. All of the relationships in American Royals are nonexistent here. I’m so frustrated and disappointed by this. Why was there even the first book then? I didn’t care for any of the characters. They were all ruined.
The story arc for each of the characters was basically the same. Fall in love, break up, and make up. The worst thing about this is that they all happened at the same time. It felt so repetitive and boring.
The ending is super unsatisfying. There are so many loose ends and I have a lot of questions.
Rating: really liked it
Sadly I didn't love this one as much as the first one. It was still enjoyable but some story arc's I didn't like. My favorite story arc was Beatrice, gah I adore her and I enjoyed Sam's growth in this book a ton as well!
Nina was underused in this book and Daphne...still horrible.
Rating: really liked it
The main reason I didn't enjoy this was just because IT DIDN'T ACTUALLY GO ANYWHERE
The only character that had any sort of resolution was Daphne, and she did not deserve to - the others are all more or less stuck in their loops of anxiety?
And I feel like some characters like Jeff were just horribly mistreated here.
Rating: really liked it
First off, I want to start by saying that my disgruntled review does not come from Katharine’s actual writing. Katharine McGee can tell a story. It’s just this specific story that was terrible. Yeah, terrible.
This book could hardly be considered a sequel.
My biggest question: why have us get so attached to specific relationships and take us through all that was said in the first book, only to rip things away with no explanation at all?
You’re telling me that Beatrice was LITERALLY about to give everything up for a man she loved so much, then in a split second tosses him aside like a damn wash rag? It’s something I could hardly comprehend.
In the first book, you feel for Sam and want nothing more than to see her and Teddy get the happy ending they deserve. Then the second book comes along and boom! Bye Teddy and Sam. Just like that.
Not to mention Beatrice’s total lack of remorse for going through with the wedding. All of that beautiful transformation in Beatrice’s and Sam’s relationship in the first book, they finally come together as sisters and promise one another that they’ll always have each other, then JK! Didn’t mean it! Psych! Done.
I really just don’t understand. I enjoy a good plot twist, but I truly believe that it didn’t make sense here. It’s not what we’re here for.
The stories in the first book were amazing, I’ve read it multiple times and will consistently give it 5 stars. But after reading Majesty, I feel like everything in the first book was simply thrown out to the trash. Gone. Didn’t matter. Even though you spent over 400 pages getting attached to specific characters and all that they’ve been through.
I’m frustrated, because I quite literally waited months and months for this sequel, only to have it take away all that I was excited for. Beatrice and Connor. Teddy and Sam.
And my goodness, let’s not get me started on Beatrice and Teddy. I loved Beatrice and was so excited by the fact that she wasn’t going to repeat her fathers history - giving up someone she loved for the crown. I admired her tenacity when it came to calling off the wedding and not letting outdated laws dictate her life.
But giving into it all? That’s not the Beatrice I respected in the first book. It verged on the edge of pathetic.
I won’t lie, Nina and Jeff I could do without, and I love me some Ethan, but why flip flop so many things? In my eyes, it simply wasn’t necessary.
And character wise, this book was just so dang BORING. Beatrice was my favorite in the first book but I literally grew to completely dislike her in this sequel. Everything with her and Teddy was terrible. She was a crappy sister and all of these feelings for Teddy were so random. And does she not have a conscience? How can you just go for your sisters ex with no remorse? It was so weird and such a let down.
Sam is easily the best character, but her relationship was the most predictable. A fake relationship that becomes real? Profound!
Nina was boring as hell. Not much to add there.
Daphne ends up with Jeff? I don’t even like Jeff and I know that that shouldn’t have been what happens. All of the horrifying things she did and no consequences? Nothing? It’s all good? What on earth?
Jeff never even learns what Daphne did in the first book. Nothing is resolved or addressed and it’s ridiculous.
I’m sad, disappointed, and clearly if you couldn’t tell, I’m bitter. I’ll be reading American Royals again, but Majesty is a one-and-done for me. Sigh.
