[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Random House Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
An alternate history where General Washington was offered a crown at the end of the American Revolution – and he accepted, becoming King George I.
Now, two-and-a-half centuries later, his descendant, King George IV sits on the throne, and his oldest, Princess Beatrice, is in line to be the first Washington Queen of America. Beatrice’s grandfather changed the succession rules so instead of her younger brother, Jeff, being groomed for the throne, that is Beatrice’s path.
The pressure on Beatrice is enormous. And it doesn’t get better when her parents tell her she has to find a husband soon so she has a partner to help shoulder the load when it’s her turn to rule.
Beatrice isn’t the only member of the royal family struggling. Beatrice’s sister, Sam (Jeff’s twin) is watching the young man she has feelings for slip through her fingers. And Jeff is keeping a secret girlfriend from his twin and the rest of the family. The king himself is keeping the biggest secret of all – one that will have ripple-effects on each member of his family.
Review
It took me awhile to find the “why” of this book – why is this story being told? The alternate history angle was fascinating to me, so that kept me turning pages until I understood where the story of this family was going.
There are a series of love triangles at play in the book among the royal siblings. Normally I don’t care for love triangles. But these were interwoven and intriguing enough to pull me forward through the story to see how things would play out.
Unfortunately, I didn’t like any of the characters. Maybe I’m not supposed to like the royals. I don’t know. I actively disliked the manipulative, back-stabbing character, but the rest were rather “meh.” I kept reading to see how the circumstances changed, but not because I wanted to know what happened to the people. I’m not sure I will try the sequel since I didn’t actually like any of the characters in this.
It wasn’t until after I finished this that I saw some online criticism of the concept of this book. Some readers are bothered by a story that would have the first George choose a crown – something they were fighting against in the Revolution. Another complaint was that a colonized country, built on slavery and stolen land and abuse of native populations, would have a monarchy. These are not factors that occurred to me as I read or before I picked the book up. Readers will have to decide on their own where they stand on those issues. (Language, sex, drinking)