Rivals (American Royals, #3) (2025)

Original Pre-Review 12/20/21: Did I hate the second book of this series?

Yes.

Will I read the third one?

Also yes.

EDIT 5/19/22: Wow, as of today this is the most popular review for this yet-to-be-released book and my most popular review to date. I guess I struck a chord with people. I apologize in advance to the author for my low expectations for this final installment, but I really hope to be proven wrong since I liked the first one so much!

EDIT 6/6/22: 3.5 stars. I liked this one MUCH better than the second book. I really like the different direction the author went for the drama, and holy crap that ending. If the fourth book is anything like this one, I will be happy.

All I'm asking for is that Nina and Jeff end up together. Like the monarchy could crumble and all would be fine as long as Nina and Jeff realize they are soulmates ❤️

Just finished reading this and all I have to say is I am not disappointed regarding Nina and Jeff but I am not happy either. Guess I will have to wait for the fourth book to finally come to a decision about them.

Also why wasn’t Jeff more upset that his best friend ethan wasn’t present for the entirety of the book?

OH, THANK GOD.

My biggest issue with Majesty was that it felt incomplete and lacking as the conclusion to the series. I'm so happy the author was given the chance to write the third book and now I'm hoping the characters I had issues will get a change to redeem themselves 🙏🏼

Am I the only one who likes Teddy and Beatrice together? Can’t wait to see whats in store in this one!

BRING BACK CONNOR!!

I feel like I’ve boarded a sinking ship. 😬 It’s feeling a bit hopeless. 🫣 I’m not sure if I have it in me to keep going… if you enjoy soap operas, you’ll likely enjoy this series too. 👍

THERE'S GONNA BE A 4TH ONE TOO???? SCREAMING

I took 2 stars off: one for Jeff and his character and one star for Gabriella because holy crap every time she had any scene in the book I wanted to rip my eyes out and scream.

RTC
—
3 stars

I love the freshness of this third book in the American Royals series, the world expands with introductions to a slew of new international monarchs, we get to see Teddy and Bee struggle with his lack of role in the monarchy, and we get a very unlikely team up between Nina and Daphne! And the ending!!!! The author went full soap opera, and let me tell you... I did not mind. I'm already so excited for the fourth and final installment of this series.

These are so addicting and they just get worsely better every time 😭 I need the next one nowwww

This one was prob my favorite so far, I just love the princess vs princess dynamic and Louise is just so fun.

Can't wait for the next book!!

Same as the others. A little cliche and a little cringy, but still pretty entertaining.
The characters have evolved and that was fun to watch. I found some storylines more interesting than others, but still, it's pretty readable.

Semi-spoilers, I do not seek to share ANY spoilers in terms of plot (what happened to which characters), but I do freely share my thoughts on where stories went and how I felt about the characters in general.

First sentence: Beatrice pulled her arms overhead in a stretch.

Rivals is the third novel in the American Royals series. For those not familiar with the series, the premise is that George Washington became King instead of President. The Washington family has been reigning since the Revolution. There are three Washington siblings: Beatrice, Samantha, and Jefferson. America is not the only nation that has been re-imagined with a royal family. I would say almost all nations/countries have a reigning royal family. Not that McGee spends the majority of her text filling in and filling up her world. The series specializes in the adventures/misadventures of the love lives of the three Washington siblings. Not surprisingly, the book is told with alternating narrators. Surprisingly, Jefferson is not one of the narrators. Instead of Jefferson's voice, readers are "treated" to two potential love interests Nina and Daphne.

To "refresh" your memory, at the start of this novel:

Beatrice is NOT married to Teddy (though she spent all of book two engaged and planning a wedding). But the two are still together.
Samantha (a twin) is head over heels with Marshall (a man that she fell for while pretending to date). The two have some conflict because it is an interracial relationship.
Jefferson is "on" with Daphne. But his friendship with Nina is "on" as well. The previous two books has been very messy with these three. HOWEVER, in the first two books, it was not a triangle but a rectangle. Ethan was always on stand by to switch out with Jeff. Whichever girl wasn't currently with Jeff was secretly (or not so secretly) with Ethan.

So what does the third book offer readers?

[sound of silence]

Honestly, I feel this third book is a huge step backwards from the first two books. Turns out, I must have a secret (or not so secret) liking for Ethan. I don't know if it is Ethan himself, or, the fact that he offers some tell-it-like-it-is chaos. I honestly don't know if that's the best description. But there is no pretense, not really, with Ethan.

Beatrice. It's not that I hate Beatrice, I don't. I think it's just that the author seems BORED of this character and like her chapters are a chore to write. There seems to be a disconnect with the way this character is written and how the others are written. I don't know that it's fair to say that Beatrice is playing at being a grown up in this one. But I just found her scenes where she is being a FIERCE Queen a bit ridiculous. (There's one laughable scene, not meant as a joke, where she stands up and make a speech ... and I won't continue with spoilers, but seriously. Just no.) Still, I didn't like how this one ended for Beatrice. It was just like the author was like DONE.

Sam. I think Sam is by far a more interesting character. She's had a handful of interesting love interests. Her scenes can have some drama that feels a little CW, but, her chapters move quickly. I do like her relationship with Marshall. But at the same time, these serious "notes" seem a little disconnected with the series as a whole. I have a LOT of questions about this alternate American history. And how this alternate series of events--a royal family instead of elected Presidents (and elected Congress) usually from two differing political parties--would impact EVERYTHING in society/culture. I could think of dozens of questions. I'll narrow it down to two or three--WAS there a civil war? WHEN did slavery get abolished? WAS there a civil rights movement? I could go on and on. Not just about race. But about EVERYTHING. The changes seem to be so small and insignificant they are barely noticeable.

Nina. I do like Nina. She may be even more of a favorite than Sam. But I don't always like how she's "stuck" just being a love interest for Jeff and a sidekick for Sam (when Sam wants one). I get that these three grew up inseparable and that before the series open, there are literally twelve to sixteen (ish) years of back story for these three being TIGHT. But I almost like Nina better when she's not in the shadow of the royal family.

Daphne. Would there be any action in any of the books without Daphne moving the plot forward???? She is the chaos that initiates anything and everything. Mostly. That being said, my FAVORITE FAVORITE part of this book was the new-found friendship between her and Nina. I never in a million years thought I'd be cheering for these two to be best friends. But for a couple of chapters, there was this excitement of what it could mean. What if both girls decided that there was more to life than hanging all over Jeff??? But I was unsatisfied with how these stories played out.

Would I like Jeff MORE if he narrated his love life??????? He just seems SO VERY VERY VERY empty. Like as full of life as Disney's Prince Charming (animated original)--in other words not at all.

I was disappointed with this third book. I had extremely low expectations, mind you, I wasn't expecting sudden genius. But I wanted more entertainment--even if that is twists and turns throughout.

This series is MOST irritating if you in any way like history. The more history you've read in your life, the more irritating the series will be. Same with if you are a genealogist. The idea that there could even be a Washington family to reign and rule for two centuries is absurd. But the wider you expand this fictional world, the more questions you have. Like with genetics. HOW do you get past all the genetic problems from ruling royals. So this book may be above my maturity in some aspects.

Does this series keep getting worse? Yes. Does that mean I’m going to stop reading? Absolutely not.

did i like the first book? not really.

did i still read the second one? for some reason, yes.

was it good? not really.

did i enjoy them?

will i still read this one? yes, yes i will.

Book two ruined my life unless Connor/Beatrice get back together this will be a one star too.

THAT ENDING.
This is the best book in the series yet!

I absolutely devoured this third (and surprise!) installment in the American Royals series, and I cannot wait for the fourth and final book - and a physical copy of this one to reread.

What I loved most about this book is that it has all the drama and romance and parties that the last two books had, but it expands the world greatly. We meet a ton of foreign monarchs and learn more about the structure of the world this world that has followed America's lead by embracing monarchies instead of democracies. There is a new character, the Princess of France, who is introduced and plays a major role in the story, and I loved her character.

I also think that Majesty did a good job of covering the topic of race, but I think Rivals takes it to an even greater level of depth, and I really appreciated the way Katie not only included commentary on this, but ensured she made it a part of the plot.

I loved everything about this!!

(sorry for this long review in advance) this series had SO MUCH potential – but after finishing rivals, i am extremely worried for its fate.

rivals was legit a hot mess. like, it is worse than majesty in my opinion. majesty at least had good drama, a decent plot line, some purpose...this book was filled with petty drama, childish banter, and a conference with a bunch of random kingdoms. so basically, a whole lot of nothing.

i hate the fact that this book was created to "make up" for majesty and keep the story going. the story did not need to keep going. everything that happened in this book just made the series worse. i could've literally been fine with just majesty as the end.

each character bothered me to my core in this book.

like, there wasn't a single person i LIKED.

beatrice acted less like a queen and more like an insecure, easily persuaded girl. she completely pushed her relationship with teddy to the side and ditched him for the next best thing (louise). her chapters in this book were so. freaking. boring. especially because they took place at the league of nations, which i genuinely did not care about. the car accident was the most interesting part, but she did teddy so wrong that she almost deserved what she got (sorry. ik that's mean)

daphne was off her game in this book. and this says a lot, since she is my favorite character. her rivalry with gabriella was extremely childish, and her plots to take her down were just downright stupid. "oh, let's sneak into her room and find incriminating stuff about her then sell pics to the press!" or "i'm going to be pretend to be her friend so that she tells me a dark secret!" THESE ARE THE MOST DUMBEST AND UN-DAPHNE-LIKE PLANS I HAVE EVER HEARD. an absolute DOWNGRADE from her plots in books 1 & 2. also, her "pregnancy" plan to keep jefferson in love with her is totally stupid. it's not going to work and it's just going to create even more messy drama. (also, i thought everyone would find out about what she did with ethan and himari by now. but I GUESS i have to wait for ANOTHER installment.)

samantha and marshall are just cringy to me, and the fact that they ran away from their respective positions is extremely childish. it's unfair to beatrice and rude on sam's part that just because she's the spare, she gets to run away from her royal life and leave her family/friends in the dust. even though beatrice justifies samantha and marshall's actions, it was not a smart decision at all, and they are going to have to come back from Hawaii after learning about what happened to beatrice. so this plot (i hope) will be short-lived, because i was not here for it.

jefferson cannot make up his mind on what he wants. it bothers me so much that he hops from daphne to nina and back again. MULTIPLE TIMES. even though he is adorable, and super thoughtful and caring, this storyline makes me really dislike him. he is playing with these girls and their emotions, and simply cannot decide which one he wants to be with. one minute he's all like "daph, i care about you. i trust you." and the next he's like "nina, you are the only girl for me. i want to be with you." like ??? you can't just ??? hop back and forth ??? like that ??? i thought he and nina were clearly done, but their plotline in this book felt like it was simply there for drama.

nina is another issue. she's just like jeff – can't make up her mind. she says thousands of times that she and jeff are just friends, but then he kisses her and she's all like "yeah, i'll date you, but we can't do that to daphne." i liked the nina/daphne alliance (even tho it was for a stupid reason) and the fact that nina betrayed that alliance actually bothers me. she knew how much daphne needed a friend, yet she did this and backstabbed her.

now, the ending. the ending was a trainwreck. the car accident wasn't bad – that has me waiting for book 4. it's the fact that jeff is now THE KING. like, the accident JUST happened, and the royal staff is just like "...yeah jeff we're like in the hospital waiting room rn and beatrice is on life support but like take this oath so you can be king." and jefferson DOES IT.

also, i just KNOW nina thought she had her main character moment delivering that last line over her shoulder to the paparazzi. and that BOTHERS ME.

so, yeah. book 4 is going to be a disaster. i'm not even excited for it, like i was for majesty and rivals. but, i'm going to read it because i unfortunately need to know what happens next.

BEATRICE, YES.
DAPHNE, NO.
SAM, YES.
NINA, NO!
JEFFERSON, WHY ARE YOU LIKE THAT?

I'm so glad that these books keep going. I need my trashy yet thought-provoking American Royals! All hail the Queen!

4/5⭐

“I’m sorry means that you made a mistake, and you cannot admit to that. The world will forgive a man, but rarely a woman. Certainly not a woman in power.”

I'm starting to realize how much I love this series... at first, I thought it was pretty meh. Like, I rated all the books in the series so far four stars, but it wasn't that memorable for me. But now that the novella and this book came out, I remember EVERYTHING. And I just love it! It's not the best series ever, but the author does a great job making you love the characters and get you hooked on the plot. It's a really original story, and the characters go through a lot of drama and personal growth that is so entertaining!
Now, to my thoughts on this one...
I still don't ship Bee and Theo, but I also don't ship her with Connor. I ship her with Louise and no one can change my mind. The way she looked at her and her thoughts? Bee is literally in love. They would make such a strong and incredible couple!! Please make the Queens queer, author!! Bee in this book was fantastic, I'm really proud of her and her development.
Another couple... Samantha and Marshall. I have to admit that Sam is one of my favorite characters ever, I wanna be her so badly lmaooo. and the couple?! a power couple. I'm really happy for them and the decision they took in the end, I hope they don't regret it and they can live happily.
And now, Nina, Jeff, and Daphne. This trio took me by surprise because of their interactions. Sadly, miss daphne had to ruin it like always.... when you think you finally like a character and then they throw all their character development away... AGH. We need Ethan to come back ASAP.
I want the next book to come out already because that ending? NO.

Out of the whole series so far, I liked this book less than the others so we’re staying at 4 stars…

I do have to say though that I really love the inclusion of different races and sexualities, it’s refreshing to see.

The alliance between Nina and Daphne was actually really sweet and I’m a little bummed it didn’t last long… THANKS JEFFERSON!

I felt bad for Beatrice at the meeting to discuss her climate accord thing🥴 she really deserved better, especially from Louise. Speaking of Beatrice, THAT ENDING!!! I hate being left on cliffhangers😩😩😩. I need the fourth book asap to figure out what the heck happened!!

Let’s talk about Gabriella and how UTTERLY ANNOYING I find her. She’s worse than Daphne; like….. way worse. I can’t stand her.

Samantha and Marshall seem pretty serious and I hope she realizes what she’s risking by deciding to be with him forever.

Overall, a nicely written book!

Always a delight!

This is such a fun series! I love the drama, mean girls vibes, the humor, and the royalty aspect!

This is the third in the series and you definitely need to read the other two in order to enjoy this book. The characters have really developed and I loved that this one took a deeper dive into Daphne, the villain we loved to hate. I also really enjoyed that we got some new characters like Gabriella who was just truly awful and Louise who was a fun and complex character.

Much of the novel takes place during the League of Kings. I was intrigued that all of the royals from around the world could just up and leave their responsibilities for an entire month and it made me wonder how often this conference takes place. Reality aside, it made for a great setting for more parties and of course, more drama.

I also enjoyed that Jefferson was now in college and was starting to experience life outside the palace. I wish we could've seen more growth with his character and it frustrated me a bit how naive and childish he is made out to be.

It was nice that Beatrice finally found some happiness with Teddy and it will be interesting to see how that relationship plays out as she navigates her new role.

I really enjoyed that this book tackled some deeper themes of racism and sexism. Previously, not much had been made of Nina's ethnicity and I thought it was important and well done how she discussed it in this novel. Marshall's character also really blossomed from the party boy to a much more significant and serious part of the book.

However, as much as I love Marshall and Sam together, their relationship just moved too fast for me. I understand that things are much different for the royals, but the fact that they are already discussing their future so seriously just seemed unrealistic and unnecessary. It also felt a little weird that Sam's history with Teddy was completely ignored and Bea's history with Conner was totally downplayed and criticized.

Overall, this was a super fun read and a great installment in the series. Yet again we are left with a major cliffhanger so it's obvious this series will continue and you can bet I'll be picking up the next one!

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a copy of this novel.

i didnt even want to read this but the end of the previous book was an absolute no! 😯😧

i read this thinking i would be free at last but then theres another book??🙁 i dont want another book.

i'll probably end up reading the next—and hopefully last—book bc the author keeps ending these books with these huge plot twists that come from nowhere and are just so stupid 😒😒

the writing just gets worse and worseeee. it was as if they were in a childrens book with all those exclamation marks and childish, immature talk

in terms of plot, i am lost. wtf was that bro 😭 this thing just dragged on forever and ever and nobody was interesting i only got through bc the writing was fucking elementary-grade.

the miscommunication at the end made me want to commit murder 😯😯😯😯
uhghhghh fix ittttt istg ☹️

this book = a crappy, addictive reality show u want to stop watching but cant bc then u'll miss out on the ending

salut mwuuauh!

I am seriously in love with these characters and this series!! Someone needs to make this into a Netflix show STAT!! Picking up where book two left off we see Beatrice come into her own as a ruler while Jeffery continues to be torn between Daphne and Nina (who shockingly become allies against a common enemy in this book). Samantha falls even more in love with Marshall only to discover theirs is a relationship that may never be without serious sacrifices.

Full of high drama and three dimensional characters trying to follow their hearts while living in the royal spotlight. Perfect for fans of the Royal we series by Heather Cocks. Be prepared for another shocking ending!! This was great on audio read by one of my favs, Brittany Pressley. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance review copy!! I cannot wait for the next instalment in the series!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rivals Review 👑

Genre: Young Adult
Trope: Romance
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 5.31.2022
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

"Change happens one generation at a time. HOPEFULLY, if I go through hardship, future generations won't have to."

I have been dying to get my hands on this book since Majesty (book two) ended, and as soon as my copy arrived, I sat down and began reading. But then I had to stop because I, apparently, forgot everything that happened in books one and two 🤦🏽‍♀️ I did some digging and found a summary and felt like I could start reading again. There are many characters to get used to and to remember, but after 50ish pages, I was back into the swing of it! Rivals does pick up right when book two ends, so there's no missed time.

I adored this book. It was full of drama (it would make an excellent TV series), but the book's heart was a whole lot more than who was in a relationship with whom. Yes, the story does have some romance to it, but it's also about the complex nature of female friendships and how quickly a rival can become an ally (if we stop letting society get in our way).

Several current political issues were interlaced within the story, which made it feel much more relatable. I've always thought the concept of these books (if America had never become a Democracy) to be fascinating.

🎬 Would make an excellent TV series
😵‍💫 Lots of characters to get used to
👏🏼 Picks up right as book II ends
❤️ Nina + Jefferson 4 life
👯‍♀️ Romance but also about female friendships

And, in true fashion for this series, Rivals ended in a cliffhanger (it's a doozy), and now I am itching to get my hands on book four (publishing in 2023).

I recommend you read Rivals if you enjoyed the other two books in this series or if you enjoyed reading Royal We. But, please remember that the American Royal series MUST be read in order, or you will have no idea what's going on.

______

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More thoughts can be found here.

This was by far one of the better installments in the series. There are definitely elements to the plot that I wished I could have seen expounded upon. In so many ways this was a lot more quiet. It's less focused on big changes happening as it was on characters growing, testing out new dynamics and seeing how they are all still chaffing against the roles they've placed themselves in.

I love these books so much, I love the world of mess and schemeing and controlled chaos that they all exist in.

AND THAT ENDING....

When I read Majesty I was so sad to think that I had to say goodbye to the characters and the world when there was so much more story I could see. While this is not at all where I thought things were going to go, I am very much curious to see how these events play out. It is the perfect level of soapyness that I want from this series, that I have come to expect and feeling like a quartet is inevitable after having read this is definitely going to help get me through the rest of this year.

this was SO good. literally like im watching a reality tv show but in book form!

i love all of the drama and everything that happens in these books, but i especially loved the character development we got in this one! i really liked when nina and daphne were friends because it made daphne so much less insufferable, and i hope they can get through this little fight/miscommunication/whatever and be friends again because at this point i DO NOT like daphne. she is such a lying snake and what she did to jeff? girlllllllllll youre actually insane.

i also never ever in a billion years would have expected that ending?!?! literally what the heck i need to start the next book right now because WHAT? i hope we get some issues finally resolved in the next one!!

sorry for the short review but hey at least i read this one in 5 days instead of over a month! im finally settling into a routine in college and finding more time to read so yay!

This was such a fun and quick read. The audiobooks are fantastic. Another fun installment of this series and the ending was phenomenal. Definitely can’t wait for the next one. Full of drama and secrets, this series is a fun one!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain my own.*

Holy Cliffhanger!!! So I totally thought this was a trilogy, but that was definitely not an ending and I need more.

I adore this series, I have come to love these characters and can't wait to see what happens with them...Daphne is still the worst, I don't care if she almost became better that last bit made me go straight back to hating her.

This series has become one that I can so easily stay up past my bedtime just to see what happens next in the alternate version of America that has a Monarchy instead of a Democracy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 stars

This installment is very good, but gosh I hate that all these characters are suffering!!!!

-----------------------------------
What a pleasant surprise!

I really did not like book 1 in this series, but book 2 really pleasantly surprised me and I was hoping the series would continue on.

But, PROTECT DAPHNE AT ALL COSTS.