Alternate history is a subgenre of speculative fiction that focuses primarily on significant historical events playing out in an unexpected way. Throughout history, people have entertained thoughts of “what if”: What if the Russians made it to the moon before the United States? What if a zombie outbreak interrupted the Civil War? What if Adolf Hitler had been accepted into art school before he became the chancellor of Germany? Beneath the speculative fiction genre, alternate history touches the edges of science fiction and dystopian fiction, and for many people, American Royals toes the line between romance and dystopia. After all, in a world where America never went on to make history and appoint the first president, what would this mean for the rest of the world and countries controlled by tyrannical, oppressive leaders? McGee’s characters might be more concerned about love and family relationships, but beneath this seemingly straightforward romance, the question lingers: What else is different about this world, and why is it important?

Within the alternate history subgenre lives the idea of the multiverse, or multiple universes all existing at the same time, each a slight variation of the other and no two exactly the same.