This book is a solidly three star book.

It was an enjoyable and easy read. I finished it on two days and sought out the audiobook over music whenever I was doing something that didn't require my brain. That's a good sign.

But I can't help but feel that this premise would be far more interesting and more delicately done in a different author's hands.

I've got three main gripes, but honestly, knowing me there might be more that come up as I go about this review. I'll paste them in a BONUS GRIPES section.

1. All of the male characters are perfect except for maybe one? (I go off on a tangent about the one exception down in Bonus Gripes because writing about it here sent me on a spiral.) But let's look at our four major main dudes: The King, Jeff, Teddy, Connor. Each one is a stand up guy who bows to what the girl he likes thinks. The King is somewhat problematic but is so universally beloved that the reader is enticed to see him just as this great dad who is struggling under the weight of the crown

Spoiler

and a cancer diagnosis

. None of them even blink at how they're mistreated (except for maybe Connor who gets over whatever Beatrice does to him with alarming speed.) Jeff can do no wrong in the public's eyes and only has one less than stellar moment which is so out of character for him that the reader's just like "Uh ok? That's weird." Teddy is put in a tough position and handles it better than literally any other person in the book. The men are perfect and simple. The women are slightly more complex. Slightly.

2. Why is every character under the age of 30 in a love triangle? I mean seriously we've got the triangles of

Spoiler

* Jeff - Daphne - Ethan
* Nina - Jeff - Daphne
* Sam - Teddy - Beatrice
* Connor - Beatrice - Teddy

You might notice that our list of love triangles includes every single main character there and that each of our four narrators are int here. You might also notice that since there's so many love triangles, it would be very easy to sort them all out if the characters communicated/stood up for love like they said they were going to and just don't get around to because something came up.

Because of the fact this is all so easily cleaned up and each obstacle is contrived, I have an extremely difficult time believing that any of the characters could end up with someone other than their true love they can't be with for xyz reason.

3. There is absolutely no reason that this book takes place in America. I mentioned in an update that the only things significantly changed about the country/world is that:
* Instead of states we have baronries and earldoms.
* The Monarchy is the Executive branch instead of the Presidency. (The Judicial & Legislative remain the same.)
* No other country in the world decided to go Democratic at any point because America choose to be a monarchy.
* Washington DC is by Mount Vernon.
* There are a lot of historical names thrown around and references to real and fake history that don't impact the story

And that's it. There's no huge effect of America on this story at all. We even had the Louisiana Purchase--I'm sorry the Louisiana Gamble . This story could be set in some made up kingdom and it'd be absolutely the same.

BONUS GRIPES
Ethan is a weird af character. He's the commoner best friend of Jeff and has been his best friend since Kindergarten, but is also sort of conniving and ambitious social climber despite Jeff wanting the opposite in the people he surrounds himself with. He's called Daphne's equal in manipulation and ambition and cunning but this never shows up.

Spoiler

He lets Daphne plot to ruin Jeff's relationship and future life without telling his best friend???? Because he likes Daphne and they banged once????? Ok.

Some of their dialogue doesn't make any sense.

Spoiler

Specifically I'm thinking of Nina and Jeff's break up argument and the King's revelation that he has Stage 4 Lung Cancer, which is immediately followed by a lecture on the horrors of slavery and how they can't forget them, and then in the next breath he pressures her into getting married before he dies.

It's all so repetitive.
Like literally the same obstacle happens again and again for each of the characters to the point where you're just like. "Ok whatever at this point I hope it doesn't work out for you." I'm talking about

Spoiler

Nina musing over whether she's ready to be in the "Royal spotlight" even though she's grown up at the palace since she was 6 as a friend of the family's. Beatrice putting the country over Connor. Daphne being rejected by Jeff. Sam being mad at Beatrice because no one in the family talks to each other. It goes on.

And it's not just the obstacles that are repeated. It's conversations that come up.

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i.e. Beatrice's grandfather's dying words to her. Even though that happened before the story even started.

Characters' soliloquies to themselves in almost the exact same words.

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I'm looking at you Daphne with your Characters' monologues to other characters.

The book is so heavy handed. Beatrice constantly bemoans how hard it is to be in royalty and have to have a public and private self. Daphne's ambition is caricatured to the point where she's basically just a sociopath and not a 17 year old under extreme pressure from her parents to social climb. We're frequently reminded that Sam is "the wild one." Despite the fact that the most wild thing she does is run away from her body guards (unseen but referenced) and make out with a boy she just met in a coat closet. And don't even get me started on the foreshadowing of

Spoiler

the king's convenient illness

and

Spoiler

what Daphne did with Ethan and did to Hamari

.

The out of place social justice themes. In addition to the King and Beatrice's weird conversation about slavery that I describe above, there are several places this book seeks to prove how "woke" it is. Nina's parents are lesbians. Nina and her mama Isabella are Latina. Each is like a bright flash of light there to show how this America, even under a monarchy, is just as progressive as 2019 America. This isn't to say that there aren't some prevalent themes the book addresses, though. Performance activism is very subtly denounced through Daphne. Classism and sexism come up and are less deftly handled.

Why is this book not about Queen Emily? This character and her story are by far the most interesting in the book. I mean it's only talked about/referenced for like 2-3 pages (maybe less I did an audiobook version) but I want to know about the woman from this alternate history who took the throne only to vanish the next day.

WRAP UP
If I had spent more than 3 days reading this I would have wasted my time, but for the two days I listened along, it was entertaining enough even if ultimately disappointing.