So, this was kinda dumb, to be completely honest.

The premise of this book was EXTREMELY interesting to me. I love alternate history, and it's pretty fun to read about dumb rich people... but this didn't really fulfill any of those needs for me. Here's why

1. The alt-history element? Too weak. There were mentions of some things that annoyed me because they probably wouldn't have gone down that way - for example, at some point the Roaring 20's are mentioned - meaning WWI happened, and the US entered it, meaning Bismarck united Germany and solidified its power by taking Alsace-Lorraine from Napoleon III... meaning Napoleon I rose to power, which wouldn't have happened because the French monarchy is still intact under the House of Bourbon? It just wasn't well thought out, ESPECIALLY when it came to the treatment of marginalized characters (slavery is just mentioned off-hand, and never again? Gay people are seemingly discriminated against but there are a few same-sex noble couples mentioned in the book nonchalantly, meaning it's also not a big deal?)

2. The book's politics read as softcore monarchism to me. Listen, I hate Trump as much as the next gal but the United States would NOT have been better with a monarchy... like holy shit what a bad take

3. The fact that all the romances were basically "aha I love this person but obstacles :(" was so annoying - especially since in TWO of the three, the obstacle was that one was royal and the other a commoner. Like, boo, get some new conflicts! I liked the deal with Sam and Teddy, and I didn't hate Jeff and Nina (other than Daphne but like who the fuck cares) but I could not give two shits about Beatrice and Connor (mostly because Connor was so fucking manipulative and infuriating ugh....). I think it would have been so much more interesting if Beatrice's romance WAS with another noble, but there were other circumstances at play (ex: it's a British noble, we can't have that! It's the crown prince of a different country, what if there's a succession crisis! or maybe IT'S ANOTHER PRINCESS!)

4. I thought it was such a cop-out that

Spoiler

Beatrice, Sam, and Jeff's dad just got cancer and died at the most inopportune time to stretch the drama out further. Like, there was no fucking resolution, and the cliffhanger wasn't even satisfying because I literally KNOW what's gonna happen next because everything is so predictable... Anyway, I think instead of killing him off, the King could have just been like "oh if you love this boring ass boy then you have to abdicate!!" and Beatrice has some qualms about it at first but decides ultimately to do it, giving her the freedom and Sam the relevance she wants? And even if there was still to be a sequel, I think this set-up would provide for more interesting stuff: Beatrice not knowing if she made the right decision or not, Sam trying to govern when she wasn't raised for it but still doing a good job in her very own way, and Jeff now being second in line for the throne, making Daphne's plan way more interesting (bc I honestly do not think that Daphne is beneath trying to kill off Sam so that she could potentially be queen).

Anyway, the book was fine, but it did leave me kinda angry - angry that such a great concept and set up was wasted on something that's little more than a telenovela. I have to admit that it was fluffy fun, and I do kinda want to know what happens next (just to see if it's just as predictable...), so I WILL read the next book, even though I'll probably be just as frustrated with it...