Book Review: American Royalty
Author: Tracey Livesay
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Avon
Publish Date: June 28, 2022
Format: Paperback
★★★★★
This book is perfect for those that like: Royal Romances, Forced Proxmity, Bad-Ass Female Friendships
You might not like this book if you aren’t into: Grumpy Dudes Who Yell Instead of Admit Their Feelings or Controlling Families.
The Book
Sexy, driven rapper Danielle "Duchess" Nelson is on the verge of signing a deal that'll make her one of the richest women in hip hop. More importantly, it'll grant her control over her life, something she's craved for years. But an incident with a rising pop star has gone viral, unfairly putting her deal in jeopardy. Concerned about her image, she's instructed to work on generating some positive publicity... or else.
A brilliant professor and reclusive royal, Prince Jameson prefers life out of the spotlight, only leaving his ivory tower to attend weddings or funerals. But with the Queen's children involved in one scandal after another, and Parliament questioning the viability of the monarchy, the Queen is desperate. In a quest for good press, she puts Jameson in charge of a tribute concert in her late husband's honor. Out of his depth, and resentful of being called to service, he takes the advice of a student. After all, what's more appropriate for a royal concert than a performer named "Duchess"?
Too late, Jameson discovers the American rapper is popular, sexy, raunchy and not what the Queen wanted, although he's having an entirely different reaction. Dani knows this is the good exposure she needs to cement her deal and it doesn't hurt that the royal running things is fine as hell. Thrown together, they give in to the explosive attraction flaring between them. But as the glare of the limelight intensifies and outside forces try to interfere, will the Prince and Duchess be a fairy tale romance for the ages or a disaster of palatial proportions?
The Review
Listen. I am in love with this entire book. The love story was everything I’ve come to know and love about Tracey Livesay’s books - tension, lust, great sex - you just know already that when you pick up one of her books you are going to be hit in the feels. But for me, I didn’t love this book just because of the romance aspect of it. What really drew me in was the main character. I fell head over heels in love with Dani, aka Duchess. This woman was EVERYTHING. Not once did she ever compromise herself or her goals throughout this book. Like this woman was ready to give up her careers and love if it meant keeping true to herself. It wasn’t even a thought in her mind to change who she was or give up her hard-earned independence when put to the test and I LOVED her for that.
And her friends? Like, yes, I’m here for Horny Jay, but at this place in my life, GIVE ME ALL THE FEMALE FRIENDSHIPS. Dani’s friend Nyla is the friend we ALL need in our lives. Ready at a moment’s notice to comfort you (and legit fly across the world to do it) but also to be the one to tell you when you are being messy. She’s the one that will remove the phone from your hand when you are about to do something stupid online. She’s the one that will tell you that maybe what you think you want isn’t actually right for you. AND she will also be the one to apologize if she got it wrong. Their whole relationship gave me joy - even if I wanted to tell Nyla to kick rocks at her advice at the royal ball, lol.
So, come for the romance and stay for the amazing friendship between Dani and Nyla. I hope we get to see more of Nyla (and Professor Thor) in the next book in the series.
The Author
Tracey Livesay’s latest release, American Royalty is a dangerously sexy rom-com that evokes the real-life romance between Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle, and is one of the most buzzed-about books of 2022. She’s the 2021 Emma Award winner for Best Interracial Romance for Like Lovers Do, which was also named one of the 100 Best Fiction Books of 2020 by Kirkus Reviews.
In addition to being named to USA Today’s list of “100 Black Novelists You Should Read,” she’s been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Entertainment Weekly, and on CBS This Morning. A former criminal defense attorney, Tracey lives in Virginia with her husband–who she met on the very first day of law school–and their three children.