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A review by rachelisathomas22
Reign by Katharine McGee
3.0
3.4/5 stars overall; 3.2/5 for whole series.
Reign, the fourth and final installment of Katharine McGee's American Royals series, was an entertaining and fitting end to her work. The entire series is a treat for those of us who loved the Princess Diaries movies and wished we had more time with Princess/Queen Mia. While I genuinely enjoyed Reign and felt each character's ending made sense to wrap up the series, I wished for higher stakes in the plot and more hard moments that felt difficult for the characters.
The pros of Reign:
I soared through Reign! This was a breezy, cozy read. And I was entertained by the characters. As a light and fun read, Reign succeeds.
The concept of America as a constitutional monarchy and all that comes with it for those inside and close by the monarchy continued to be one of the strongest and most intriguing parts of the book. It helps shape the decisions of each of the four women the book focuses on, and fills in some gaps in the characters motivations and the plot the story would have otherwise.
Samantha's arc & conclusion - a fitting and deserved conclusion to Samantha's choices and desires. It felt like Samantha and Marshall got to make choices for themselves and worked hard for a good relationship. I liked that there were consequences for Samantha and Marshall leaving like they did, despite the fact that I agreed with their choice to leave. While I did not love that she went to live in a random house on a whim, I wished she could have done those things at Nina's or somewhere else, I enjoyed her discovering herself outside of the monarchy.
Daphne turning in the Madisons for embezzlement was great. I laughed so hard!
Beatrice & Teddy's wedding - I'm glad the conclusion of their love ended in the wedding, and that Beatrice came to the conclusion that it was about doing what was best for her and the crown, and that making choices only based on the expectations of others wouldn't move the country forward. I loved this lesson in her story.
The lows:
Nina's arc. Nina throughout the four books felt all over the place. I think Nina had much more potential as a character than she was given. I'm glad Nina did the play, experienced college, and went to Oxford for herself. I just think Nina had the potential to be more than a friend/rival/love interest and be someone who made more of a difference in the world she lived in. And while I think it was nice for Jamie to serve as a catalyst to her healing what she'd be willing to do for a relationship, I was a little disappointed she was dating another prince and the door for her and Jeff remained open. I wanted her to move forward with the only "royal" connection being Sam.
Daphne's arc - Daphne has always been the most complex and cunning character in the series, and to me that has always been an asset. I am happy she found a place that was power for her, that she let real love in with Ethan, and that she did not marry Jefferson. I am disappointed she did not face more consequences for her actions, especially from Jefferson. She hurt a lot of people throughout the entire series and lied about many things. For her to get away relatively unscathed felt like a disservice to other characters and to herself.
Beatrice's amnesia, and the vote to depose her - to me, this whole point felt a bit clunky. Having consequences to the car accident felt right, but it had the potential to have her really reflect on her life and actions in a way we only barely scratched the surface of. And while I appreciated the stuffy old guard sexism, I again wish we could have had more. I wanted it to be a bit more gritty, feel more dire and manipulative. I wanted to see more of the politicking from her and Teddy, and I wanted to see the negotiating and strategizing. I feel like both of these pieces of the plot could have given us the chance to explore Beatrice, Teddy, and the world deeper and it was a missed opportunity we didn't get to. It also put a pause on the conversation between Beatrice and Teddy about his role, and I wished we would have picked that up, seen them work it out together, and come to a conclusion.
These lows are only lows because overall I wanted more, and I believe McGee crafted wonderful characters and world for a reader at the end to want more. For those looking for an interesting YA fiction romance where you can turn off your brain and turn on the fun, Reign is for you!
Reign, the fourth and final installment of Katharine McGee's American Royals series, was an entertaining and fitting end to her work. The entire series is a treat for those of us who loved the Princess Diaries movies and wished we had more time with Princess/Queen Mia. While I genuinely enjoyed Reign and felt each character's ending made sense to wrap up the series, I wished for higher stakes in the plot and more hard moments that felt difficult for the characters.
The pros of Reign:
I soared through Reign! This was a breezy, cozy read. And I was entertained by the characters. As a light and fun read, Reign succeeds.
The concept of America as a constitutional monarchy and all that comes with it for those inside and close by the monarchy continued to be one of the strongest and most intriguing parts of the book. It helps shape the decisions of each of the four women the book focuses on, and fills in some gaps in the characters motivations and the plot the story would have otherwise.
Samantha's arc & conclusion - a fitting and deserved conclusion to Samantha's choices and desires. It felt like Samantha and Marshall got to make choices for themselves and worked hard for a good relationship. I liked that there were consequences for Samantha and Marshall leaving like they did, despite the fact that I agreed with their choice to leave. While I did not love that she went to live in a random house on a whim, I wished she could have done those things at Nina's or somewhere else, I enjoyed her discovering herself outside of the monarchy.
Daphne turning in the Madisons for embezzlement was great. I laughed so hard!
Beatrice & Teddy's wedding - I'm glad the conclusion of their love ended in the wedding, and that Beatrice came to the conclusion that it was about doing what was best for her and the crown, and that making choices only based on the expectations of others wouldn't move the country forward. I loved this lesson in her story.
The lows:
Nina's arc. Nina throughout the four books felt all over the place. I think Nina had much more potential as a character than she was given. I'm glad Nina did the play, experienced college, and went to Oxford for herself. I just think Nina had the potential to be more than a friend/rival/love interest and be someone who made more of a difference in the world she lived in. And while I think it was nice for Jamie to serve as a catalyst to her healing what she'd be willing to do for a relationship, I was a little disappointed she was dating another prince and the door for her and Jeff remained open. I wanted her to move forward with the only "royal" connection being Sam.
Daphne's arc - Daphne has always been the most complex and cunning character in the series, and to me that has always been an asset. I am happy she found a place that was power for her, that she let real love in with Ethan, and that she did not marry Jefferson. I am disappointed she did not face more consequences for her actions, especially from Jefferson. She hurt a lot of people throughout the entire series and lied about many things. For her to get away relatively unscathed felt like a disservice to other characters and to herself.
Beatrice's amnesia, and the vote to depose her - to me, this whole point felt a bit clunky. Having consequences to the car accident felt right, but it had the potential to have her really reflect on her life and actions in a way we only barely scratched the surface of. And while I appreciated the stuffy old guard sexism, I again wish we could have had more. I wanted it to be a bit more gritty, feel more dire and manipulative. I wanted to see more of the politicking from her and Teddy, and I wanted to see the negotiating and strategizing. I feel like both of these pieces of the plot could have given us the chance to explore Beatrice, Teddy, and the world deeper and it was a missed opportunity we didn't get to. It also put a pause on the conversation between Beatrice and Teddy about his role, and I wished we would have picked that up, seen them work it out together, and come to a conclusion.
These lows are only lows because overall I wanted more, and I believe McGee crafted wonderful characters and world for a reader at the end to want more. For those looking for an interesting YA fiction romance where you can turn off your brain and turn on the fun, Reign is for you!