Few series in the last year or so have held me as tight as the American Royals series has. I once again stumbled upon the next book in this story at a local bookstore, and I snatched that book up as if it were a treasure. I’m glad to have finally settled the tension as to what happens in this next book, though I think the drama has become…old. Let me explain.
The future of America is more at stake than ever, with Beatrice recovering from a car accident, Jeff suddenly needing to hold the Crown in his hands, and Daphne nearly becoming a princess, like she always wanted. Samantha, having run away to Hawaii with Marshall, also needs to figure out where she figures in the monarchy, and Nina’s academic future is very close to being secured. If only everyone’s love lives weren’t so complicated.
This book felt eerily similar to the second Princess Diaries movie, in that you have a royal wedding coming up to keep the crown secure, and a devious duke scheming to take over the throne meantime. Add the drama of Beatrice not remembering the last year of her life and you might as well make this into a cheesy Hallmark series. Luckily, the drama remains compelling and I sped through the book probably unlike most I have read this year.
That said, the drama, while interesting, is also repetitive. Nearly all the characters’ love lives involve them trying to convince themselves that they love one person, but still struggle with their sexual tension with another person. Let’s see: Beatrice still thinks she loves Teddy, but is still kind of in love with Connor; Jeff thinks he is in love with Daphne, but still harbors feelings for Nina; Nina thinks she is still in love with Jeff, but is actually falling for Jamie, Prince of Canada…
And so on and so forth.
Every chapter essentially involves all these characters just trying to figure out how they feel about everyone else. If I had a dollar for every time the air feels charged between one character and their not-love-interest, I could buy a whole other book with a less repetitive storyline. It’s a good thing I find these characters so enjoyable, otherwise I would probably have gotten much angrier reading the same problem over and over. One can only read the same declaration of love so many times before the words lose their flavor and you feel like you’re watching the extended Return of the King cut, except if all the endings were a cut-and-paste.
I’m also not sure how I feel about Jamie, Nina’s new love interest. They meet when Nina is pulled into auditions for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Jamie, playing the Demetrius to Nina’s Helena, just sweeps onto the stage and dips Nina into a non-consensual kiss. She gets rightfully angry at him, and remarks throughout their interactions how self-centered he is, and yet…she still finds herself drawn to him. Sure he grows a little more through the story, but yikes, that’s an ugly way to start a relationship. It kind of felt like, par the course for the series, Nina had to be shoehorned into another relationship with another prince, only this one was more problematic and not-so-very-charming.
I did feel better about this book once I came to the end. And no, it wasn’t because a repetitive story had ended. It was how everything wrapped up.
A few times, the book had me fooled into thinking that one or two characters would not get their happy ending. Silly me; what pastel book cover contains any sort of sad ending for anyone? I was glad to see where everyone wound up, and it was with a bittersweet note that I finally ended this series.
Like I always said, this series is as frothy as a Meg Cabot young adult novel: a fun, drama-filled ride with solid characters and a story that never slows down. I don’t really think there’s a bad book in the bunch, though I do think this one ran the most slowly and was the least fun, if only because the drama became repetitive and I grew a little bored of the phrase “I love you.” But still, if you need to sit down for a whole weekend with some comfort food, fleece pajamas, and a whole lot of romance, this series comes recommended.
The Library Key 