Bubbling up with Helena

• Title: A Queen’s Game
• Author: Katharine McGee
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Release Date: 11/12/24
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Age Range: Young Adult
• Rating: ★★★.5
• Publisher’s Summary: The New York Times bestselling author of the American Royals series invites you to visit 19th-century Europe amid the glamour and intrigue of the Victorian era. In this historical romance inspired by true events, three princesses struggle to find love—and end up vying for the hearts of two future kings. In the last glittering decade of European empires, courts, and kings, three young women are on a collision course with history—and with each other. Alix of Hesse is Queen Victoria’s favorite granddaughter, so she can expect to end up with a prince . . . except that the prince she’s falling for is not the one she’s supposed to marry. Hélène d’Orléans, daughter of the exiled King of France, doesn’t mind being a former princess; it gives her more opportunity to break the rules. Like running around with the handsome, charming, and very much off-limits heir to the British throne, Prince Eddy. Then there’s May of Teck. After spending her entire life on the fringes of the royal world, May is determined to marry a prince—and not just any prince, but the future king. In a story that sweeps from the glittering ballrooms of Saint Petersburg to the wilds of Scotland, A Queen’s Game recounts a pivotal moment in real history as only Katharine McGee can tell it: through the eyes of the young women whose lives, and loves, changed it forever.

I loved Katharine McGee’s American Royals series, and I was excited to read A Queen’s Game. Both are full of escapist glitz, glamour, romance, and political drama. While the American Royals series envisions a fictional world in which America was founded as a monarchy, A Queen’s Game explores some real life European monarchies, which made it feel less like an escapist fantasy.

In A Queen’s Game, Alix begins a flirtation with the future Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. I couldn’t get into their romantic relationship because any time they were together, I wanted to yell at Alix, “NO NO, RUN AWAY FROM HIM. THIS WILL NOT END WELL FOR YOU.” Nicholas, of course, was executed along with his family by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution.

I struggled also with the female relationships in this story. I can only think of one relationship that passes the Bechdel test, and the only one that does is proven to be driven by manipulation for political gain. I wanted more “women supporting women” rather than women soley focusing on their marriage prospects. Of course, I understand that women were in a totally different position in Victorian England to modern day, but I still was wishing for more genuine female friendship here.

A Queen’s Game transitions between Alix, Hélène, and May’s points of view. This certainly added to the dramatic irony, particularly around Alix and Hélène’s relationships with Eddy. This did highlight for me that I felt that May was the weakest of the characters. May makes a friend in an American, Agnes, but lets Agnes boss her around and take control. Alix and Hélène both seemed much more able to fight for their own interests.

I enjoyed the snippets of history of European monarchy given in A Queen’s Game. Reading this book lead me down a rabbit hole looking up what actually happened to the real life people portrayed in the novel (and how some of these relationships really turned out). I already wanted a sequel based on how this book ends, but now that I know the history, I really want to see how it plays out in McGee’s version of the story.

After reading A Queen’s Game and the American Royals series, I am curious to see what McGee tackles next. Whatever it is, I’m sure it will be as fun and enjoyable as her other work.