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Description
Amidst glamorous galas and royal intrigue, the challenges of leadership surface, revealing the burdens that accompany the throne. Loyalty is tested and secrets emerge, as the protagonist wrestles with the intoxicating nature of power, reminiscent of a first love that leaves one exhilarated yet vulnerable. The narrative captures the vibrancy of a new era while exploring timeless themes of authority, identity, and the true cost of ambition.
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Like a lot of people I honestly found myself let down by this book. Gone was the strong willed, wanting to fight for what she wanted Beatrice and in her place a woman who was willing to do whatever she was told because she was now Queen. Whilst I thought it was going to be an interesting exploration of how different her first year as Queen would be compared to a man being an unmarried King, I didn't feel like we got any of those comparisons at all. I also felt like her relationship with Teddy was rushed and we barely saw them become friends. Plus he was like "in love" with her sister at the end of the last book which has magically changed now and she didn't seem to care. I adored her with Connor and I truly loved the idea of him coming back and sweeping her off her feet (a sucker for a Queen and her guard here) and even his arrival was a let down.Nina kind of felt like she didn't need to be there at all. Which is disappointing because there were so many opportunities to have her speak out and maybe even actually interact with her ex-boyfriend and figure out where things went wrong. Maybe even actually confront Daphne about what she did. Not that I'm trying to condone or say I wanted a full on girl fight but some kind of acknowledgement from the both of them and even figure it out. Jefferson in the first novel was not the sharpest tool in the shed but he did have eyes and would definitely be able to see what his girlfriend was going through to some kind of degree.I hated Daphne and I hated that she got what she wanted. I personally read contemporary romance and YA for the all around happy ending but I really don't feel like she deserved hers at all. She did nothing to redeem herself other than try to explain that her mother was pushing her into it and even then I really couldn't feel for her. She got her own "best friend" hurt and into a coma for a year and then had her shipped off to another country. Also her being 17 just felt a bit wrong to me, maybe she could have worked as a compelling villain if she was just a little bit older. I felt like it was Daphne regressed back to the start of American Royals and there was no growth.Now Samantha. Samantha had the only storyline that I actually really loved. Moved from being the spare to the heir when she was convinced she was never going to be. I did like that she realised Teddy was just puppy love once she found someone who matched her a little bit better and wasn't going to try and change her. The discussion of race that came from her new relationship was well done but I would have loved to have seen it more, and I liked that she actually took it on board and acknowledged that was going to be hard. Samantha grew from party girl to the heir and I loved it, I loved her.All in all this really just felt like a relationship swap book and nothing from the first book felt resolved. If it was the middle to a trilogy I might have liked it more but as the end of a duology it was unsatisfying and I probably won't read it again.
really good. sooo excited to read book 3 when it comes out!