I don’t read a lot of romance but when I read the synopsis of this book I instantly wanted to read it because it is such an original idea. And it definitely delivered. I am obsessed with the romance between Alex and Henry and I loved how real their relationship felt. I can honestly spend pages gushing about how freaking cute the two of them are together but I want you all to discover that all on your own.

In fact, all the relationships in this book are incredibly well done and realistically told. All the flaws felt so real and the characters were all so well rounded. Also, this gives such a positive spin on politics and politicians and it was a breath of fresh air from the world that we live in. The characters were all working towards making the world a better place and it was done in a really non confrontational way.

This is a world that I want to live in. I was crying at the end of this book because I so badly want this to be the kind of world that my boys have when they are older. Where all our differences are celebrated and it’s ok to love whoever we want. Where people are strong enough to push past old ideas and ways of thinking. But it’s done from a place of love and compassion and not from a negative place.

Honestly, this book is just amazing and I really hope that everyone gives it a chance. This is such a positive book with an amazing love story that I think so many people will relate to. I liked how much Alex grew as a character throughout the story and watching him fall in love with Henry was one of the sweetest things I have ever read.

Really enjoyed this romance of the First Son and Prince of England dating. The sexy times are super hot, but there is also a lot of heart, too. I didn’t love the political parts, but that’s just me...they provided a good backbone to the story.

So I was recommended to read this book by many of my book friends.

So glad I read it!

It was entertaining, loved the friends to lovers concept with a good dose of romance and humor.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of Red, White & Royal Blue in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun book about love, expectations and family loyalty and a dash of paparazzi.

Red, White & Royal Blue is the year’s best romance, an intoxicating and beautifully written tale about love between the First Son and the Prince of Wales, finding and accepting your sexuality, and the politics of doing the right thing. It’s an absolute triumph of writing, angst, shippy-ness, and inspiration.

Alex Claremont-Diaz is the son of US President Ellen Claremont, a biracial, wise-ass of a guy who has grand political ambitions of his own and the smarts and leadership to make it happen. He’s just finishing university at Georgetown as his mother is gearing up for a re-election campaign for a second term. Oh yeah, and he’s also handsome and charming. Alex has it going on

The only thing that irks him? Smug Prince Henry of England, second grandson to the Queen. Alex can’t stand the idea of him and the whole monarchy. And Alex knows the feeling is mutual.

This mutual dislike isn’t an issue until the Claremonts end up at the royal wedding of Henry’s brother, and Alex and Henry end up arguing and causing the destruction of an enormous wedding cake. To make amends, both Alex and Henry agree to play up their friendship with some photo ops together. And Alex quickly discovers that there’s a lot more to Henry than just what he’s read in the media. The real Henry is thoughtful, funny, caring, and deeply broken. Oh, and he’s also gay and very, very interested in Alex.

But…Alex thought he was straight. And he thought he wanted to be buried in work and to become a politician immediately. As Alex and Henry try to figure each other out, they also start to question who and what they want – and how much they’re willing to put on the line to get it.

Red, White & Royal Blue is my favourite book of this year. I’ve already read it twice, and it’s only May. But let me tell you that ALL THE HYPE IS TRUE. This book effervesces with the buoyancy of first love, pulsates with the energy of a rally, and soars on its author’s understanding of politics, media, and how it feels to be queer in America. Every word that Casey McQuiston writes is this book is thoughtfully wrought, and the result is that Red, White & Royal Blue just makes you FEEL. You can feel how much McQuiston cares about each and every character, and how much she put into making this book work.

This book is basically the gay version The Royal We mashed up with what we hoped the 2016 US election could have been.

I couldn’t write a proper review of this book, so here is a list for you:

TEN REASONS RED, WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE SHOULD BE YOUR NEXT READ:

1. The glorious, multi-faceted characters. From Alex and Henry and their personal journeys to become who they want to be and love each other, to June, Alex’s sister who wants to be more than a political daughter, to Nora, their best friend who is queer and brilliant at statistics, to Pez, Henry’s wild philanthropist best friend, to Bea, Henry’s younger sister who understands him better than anyone and is a recovering addict…my God, these people live and breathe and are so real. And we haven’t even gotten to the formidable adults. These are people who really make things happen.

2. The incredible bisexual and gay rep. I’m not bi, but I feel like I really understood, for the first time, what it means to be bi after reading Alex’s thoughts and his struggle to reconcile his identity. Equally, there are a few moments in this books where I really understood how much it can hurt someone to be closeted, unable to show their true identity to the world.

3. The portrayal of grief. This part of Red, White & Royal Blue was just stunning and heartwrenching. Henry lost his father when he was young and the effect on him is explored so gently, embedded so well into his character, that I cried.

4. The emails and texts between Alex and Henry. Oh. My. God. These letters will make you burst into flame, they’re so hopeful and idealistic and sexy. And there are quotes. Hamilton quotes. Vita Sackville-West quotes. Citations from people in history. McQuiston was basically serving gravy to my English lit major heart.

5. The Mexican rep. I say “rep”, but it’s really just there, in Alex and June, and it’s so much a part of their identity. You see it in the way Alex connects with his mentor, Senator Rafael Luna, and in the way that he and June interact with their father…I just loved how it’s both a non-issue, and at the same time, it’s ever present whenever Alex thinks about the fact that he’s the first ever half-Mexican First Son.

6. All the sexy parts. Red, White & Royal Blue is not as graphic as some new adult romance, but people, this is definitely new adult. The scenes between Alex and Henry are really hot but also really poignant and tasteful.

7. The inside baseball locations. The White House and the various palaces that Henry inhabits in are places people only dream of living. I loved getting a little in through McQuiston’s lush descriptions.

8. The political savvy. If you are a West Wing fan, this book is for you. So much policy and even a few scandals!

9. The idealism. This is a book where people are trying to change the world, and the last third of it had me alternately crying my face off and inspired to do the work and take on evil in the world. It’s so powerful.

10. Alex and Henry. I mean, it’s the center of the book, so if you don’t love their romance, you won’t love the book, but these two just banter so damn well together that you want to squeeze the stuffing out of them. They are the reason the term “cinnamon rolls” was coined.

THE FINAL WORD
Have I fangirled enough for you? Red, White & Royal Blue is just everything. It made my weeks and days brighter while reading, it made me stay up too late, it made me laugh and snicker, it made me ache and cry. I feel like it has a little something for everyone. It’s way more than just a fluffy new adult male/male romance. It’s a book that is trying to open minds and hearts in the most honest way possible. Buy it now, give it to friends, get a Claremont 2020 t-shirt (proceeds go to The Trevor Project for LGBTQ teens!), and for God’s sake, please fangirl with me in the comments!

Red, White, And Royal Blue is the story of Alex, the first son of the United States, and Henry the Price of Whales. From the time Alex first meets Henry, he develops hatred towards him. He thinks Henry is a royal prick. Alex and his sister and best friend Nora get invited to Prince Phillips royal wedding and when Alex gets drunk, him and henry have some words and end up ruining the $75,000 wedding cake. The press run the story as them fighting and they have to do some major PR to make it seem like they like each other. Henry and Alex have to put on a show that they are best friends and sending so much time together leads to a romantic relationship. Through the book Alex comes to terms with his bisexuality, ignoring all the signs from growing up that he could have been interested in men. Prince Henry has been gay his whole life, but in order to protect the crown he cannot show his true self. This story is about acceptance, true love in any form, and a whole lot of politics! (maybe a little too much for my taste).
I really enjoyed the themes in this book though. First female president, bisexual first son, gay prince, sex scandal in the white house. I believe that Casey is so brave to touch on these subjects and this book is taking the world by storm already! I am so glad I was blessed a copy of this book by St. Martin's Press!

Summoned to a royal wedding, the first family heads to England. Alex, First Son of the United States, is dreading the idea of facing his nemesis, Prince Henry. Unsurprisingly Alex promptly begins drinking to save him the pain of such a meeting and a confrontation between the two men finds them in a shoving match in which a $75,000 dollar wedding cake is decimated, the whole thing witnessed by the guests and media. In order to save face the two families have decided that they would play off the whole interaction as a mishap between friends and several meet-ups and hang out sessions are planned in which Henry and Alex will look for all the world as if they are the greatest friends. What could go wrong?

I was not at all prepared for this book. What I expected: A light and fluffy quick read about two hot boys getting into trouble and falling in love. What I got: An extremely funny and beautiful story of discovery, love, family, & friendship. Thats not all, of course. This book encompasses SO MUCH and gave me ALL THE FEELS.

The relationships in this book are on point whether we are talking about the familial relationships, the friendships, or the romantic ones. Casey McQuiston has a gift for writing authentic characters and dialogue. And they are also hilarious. I laughed out loud so many times throughout the reading of this book I was starting to get odd looks from strangers. Nora, the granddaughter of the Vice President, is also the best friend to Alex and his sister, June. Aggrandized in the media as The Trio, the three of them are inseparable. They each bring their strengths into the friendship and help to carry each other through good times and bad. I absolutely adored all of them but I especially loved them together. Alex and June's mother, Ellen, is the first female president of the U.S. and is married to her second husband, Leo, who is such a wholesome and humble character but not the father of Alex and June. That title belongs to Oscar, who is also a senator and mexican. The dynamic between all parties concerned is definitely an interesting one. Growing up a biracial child with a single mother in politics was not easy. Alex suffers from anxiety and June feels as if she's been thrown into a life that she doesn't want. They all face these obstacles in different ways and, by supporting each other, manage as happy as a life as possible when you live in the eye of the media and can't have a relationship without all parties involved signing an NDA. I loved this family with my whole heart. They add so much wholesome goodness to this story.

Alex and Henry have such chemistry I could practically see it floating around. I am utterly in love with these sweet, beautiful boys. Watching them go from enemies to friends to lovers was an amazing journey. When this story began Alex was in denial about his sexuality and had been pretending any feelings that weren't heterosexual away since he was a teen. He's snarky and brash and very in-your-face but has a heart the size of Texas. Henry is a man of quiet strength and kindness who absolutely knows he's gay and has spent his whole life pretending to be someone else for the world. When Henry let's his careful control slip and kisses Alex at a party it throws everything in the boys' carefully curated lives into a tailspin. Alex is forced to reconcile his feelings and admit to himself that he is bi-sexual. Henry begins to let down his guard and open himself to discovery and all the surprises that come with it. As they realize how deeply they feel for each other they must also face the risks involved in such a relationship. Their love story is powerful and important and sends a beautiful message. That it is never wrong to love someone. No matter who you are, where you're from, or what gender you are. Love can only be good and it's impossible to see it as anything else after you've read this book.

This book represents all different walks of life. Some more prominently than others but each can be found in this book: black, mexican, biracial, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, pansexual. Some hard topics are breached such as divorce, addiction, death of a parent, absentee parenting, undocumented immigrants, interracial relationships and suppression of sexuality.

Trigger Warnings: addiction, grief (death of a parent from cancer), divorce, racism, homophobia, sexual harassment, sexual assault (implied but not shown), sexual manipulation, anxiety, panic attacks, verbal abuse.

If you love themes of found family, fake dating, and/or enemies to lovers you will probably enjoy this book quite a bit. I only had two minor criticisms for this story. One being that I really didn't care for all the political jargon, mostly in the first half or middle of the book. I understand that it was necessary to further the plot at times but at other times I feel it was information that could have been cut from the book and it's absence would have made no difference at all. Which leads me to the next minor issue I had. I felt the book was longer than necessary as a whole (432 pgs), especially for a contemporary novel. I loved every word in this book and wouldn't cut a single one other than some of the more politic-heavy narratives. I think it goes without saying that I recommend this book with my whole heart.

The first son of the President of the US, Alex Claremont-Diaz gets embroiled in an ugly war against His Royal Highness, Prince Henry of Wales, after they both knocked down a $75,000 eight-tier wedding cake at a recent royal affair. No, the White House and Buckingham Palace weren't the ones fighting, it was just The First Son and The Prince.

Of course, the press people and paparazzi are always on their tails, capturing every salacious moment. Both parties need to do damage control to put out the fire between two countries. They had to pretend to be best of friends.. Great idea, right? Maybe.. Except they hate each other's guts.

Me, however, I love, love, love, love, love this book!I've read a number of books that are centered on LGBT and I've got to say, Red, White and Royal Blue is undoubtedly my most favorite book! British royal Prince Henry is so wickedly cool. I love how he was portrayed in the book, how he had skeletons in the closet and couldn't find a way to expose his real feelings to the world. The First Son, on the other hand, deals with his identity crisis more appropriately and easily. But in a world that's politically run with greed and animosity and betrayals, with staffs of The President of the United States breathing down his neck, going out isn't exactly as easy as 1,2,3.

Their relationship was something else. I've never rooted for this kind of story about two powerful men in the world, struggling to find their footing against all odds and living their lives the way they want to. I fell in love with Alex and Henry (but mostly Henry) and I also have high respect to the men and women behind them (Pez and Nora and first Sister, June) and even the President of the United States, who was thankfully a woman named Claremont.

There's so much to love and like in this book. Casey McQuiston hit the jackpot with this beautiful book, I could read this over and over again. Two thumbs up!

I haven't written a full review yet, but I wanted to let you know this has to be one of my top 5 favorite books of the year so far. I am amazed, humbled, and awed at the spectacular way this book was written and thought out. I cannot wait to read more of Casey McQuiston's works!

This is a contemporary MM romance set in American politics and the British Royal family. This is the first book from this author that I have read, and I loved it. It is humorous and heartwarming. The characters are well developed and lovable. The pace of the story is great. The story presents some very interesting situations that could happen at any time. I loved this realistic story and had a hard time putting it down.

Such a fun book to read. The characters are charming and the plot, while slow in places, kept me turning pages. I always enjoy throwing in a bit of a twist on a familiar genre on my reading list, and this was a nice change from what I've been reading. Just the story I needed to read!

Politics? Royalty? Enemies to friends? Forbidden romance? Well, that’s one of the ways to gain my attention.

In the wake of the personal disappointment of the 2016 presidential election, it’s really nice to see people use their creative outlets to make ideal worlds.

I really love that this has the Hamilton-esque “history has its eyes on you” vibe. In a current world where everything is pretty upside down, questionable, and makes you think twice, I feel like this is a great “what if” storyline.

I’d also like to point out that this is not YA, but new adult. It’s not bad since it’s mainly fade to black, but just a forewarning that there are some steamy scenes in it!

The FSOTUS, Alex, was a very relatable character for many reasons. One of them for me was the feeling that he needed to do something to make a change. There’s a lot of pressure on him not only because he’s the President’s son and status politically, but because of his social status and ethnicity. As a non white, female, and naturalized citizen myself, sometimes I feel like I need to be able to prove myself, even if it’s irrational. He’s got a very type A personality and definitely tends to throw himself in to his work, despite everything else around him.

One of, if not the main obstacle of this book was the fact that Alex is bisexual and Prince Henry is gay, especially since it is a covered up secret about Henry that could cause scandal and disgrace for the Royal family. While it was a bit fairytale-esque in their solution for their relationship, I did like seeing how that could play out. As an outside witness, it’s sad that being part of the LGBTQIA+ community can cause so much pain, especially from ones own family and that’s portrayed really well with Henry. He feels all of the world’s pressure on his shoulders so his “problem” is a daily struggle. While I cannot identify for even claim to know what how hard it must be for Henry, man, I felt so much empathy. I enjoy reading these types of books for that reason.

I’d also like to give June, Nora, Bea, and Pez a huge mention because without them, the story is a lot more boring and it’s the people around you in life that also help shape who you are.

There is quite a bit of US political talk, but it’s nothing that is overcomplicated and super in depth. A quick Google search might even be helpful if you need to double check what something means. However, while politics play a big part in the story, it’s not overwhelming and someone who isn’t engrossed in politics would enjoy it. It’s more of a supporting subject.

Red, White & Royal Blue was a really fun and fluffy story for a world I would like to see. Something idealistic and a great read that gave me many emotions! I gave it a deserving 5 stars.

So I absolutely loved, loved this book. This is the biracial, queer, just all out amazing love story I needed.

Meet the 2 main characters, HRH Henry, and the First Son Alex. Insert their entourage and the many other characters that you will want to meet in real life. I wish that this story was real life! It gives you hope, which is something the whole world needs in this day and age.

Thank you to Netgalley for the proof to read.

Unfortunately this book did not work for me and I couldn’t finish it. It pains me to not finish a book but I thought it read too much like y/a for me and I wasn’t into the politics.

had the privilege to get an eARC of this book, and I absolutely adored it!
Here, you follow Alex and Henry, both very important people, who will be forced to pretend to be friends. The rest is... history.
This book is a real mood cheerer, you can always pick it up, and it’ll make you laugh and smile. It’s the perfect combination of cute and funny.

Terrific, romantic, surprisingly emotional rom-com love story, filled with politics, scandal, and swoon-worthy first love.

I loved this book so much! Once I started reading, I couldn't stop. This was the political queer parallel I didn't know I needed in so many ways. RW&RB is so well written and there's so much diversity! This novel breaks the political ground in so many ways with a female president, a biracial First Family, cultural accuracy, and international relations. My only issue was the format of text messaging in the book. This might just be due to my copy being digital, but I found it difficult to tell who the speaker was for each text message because there was no clear distinction.

It's often exhausting to live in contemporary America—and not, generally, the fulfilling kind of exhausting, either. We spend our days at bullshit jobs (she writes, affectionately) making less money than we need in order to get out of debt, contributing to crowdfunding campaigns to pay our friends and colleagues' medical bills, and then we go home and consume stories about how dark an imagined past was or an imagined future will be, pretending the story we're consuming isn't actually about the dystopian world we're currently living in.

I don't think the world is without hope, joy, community, or love—far from it—but I do think nihilism, violence, social isolation, and the abuse of power tend to be the realities of our modern world that are most often reflected back at us through popular culture.

Grimdark storytelling is way overrepresented in our pop culture to the exclusion and deprioritization of other, kinder aspects of contemporary life. It actively affects how hopeful we are about our current world and our potential futures, which actively affects how motivated (or not) we are to engage with working towards that future. That's why it's so worth celebrating when pop culture puts something softer in our paths...

Red, White, and Royal Blue is a queer romance novel about the relationship between the U.S.'s First Son and the Prince of England, set in a fictional alternate universe where the president is a divorced-mom Texan Democrat elected in the 2016 Presidential Election. (Can you imagine? Within the pages of this book, you don't have to.) It is emotionally-engaging, politically-soothing, and a whole lot of fun.

Our protagonist is Alex Claremont-Diaz, the brilliant half-Mexican son of his mom the President, who is up for re-election. Unlike his sister, Alex has always seen his politically successful family as a fortunate stepping stone to his own ambitions: namely, his own career in politics, through which he hopes to make the country and world a more just, inclusive place. #goals

The other main character in Red, White, and Royal Blue is Henry, the seemingly stuffy, unfeeling Prince of England. Alex has hated Henry since he met him a few years prior at the Olympics (as you do), but, when the tension between the two causes a PR problem during a royal wedding, they are forced to pretend to be best friends for the 'gram.

This isn't a straight-forward "coming out" story (if that even exists). While Alex is initially surprised by his bisexuality, he doesn't freak out (much) about his attraction to men. He's never afraid that his family will disown him, so much as he is worried how the public knowledge would affect his mother's chances at re-election. As she is running against a bigot with a cornucopia of abuses of power in his history, the stakes are quite high.

Much of the angst Alex has surrounding this development in the understanding of his own sexuality is about the identity of the man in question—a person he kinda, sorta thought he hated until five minutes ago—rather than that man's, um, manhood.

The relatively quick progression of Alex and Henry's physical relationship is perhaps one of the most notable differences in telling this story about twenty-something adults for the new adult field rather than about teenagers under the YA book umbrella, the latter of which is often where queer romances tend to be most frequently championed.

Alex and Henry are two characters who are much more comfortable in their sexuality, generally, compared to teen characters. While neither character has expansive relationship experience, in no small part due to the added pressure and scrutiny that comes from their fame, they both have a fair amount of dating (in Alex's case) and sexual experience (in both of their cases).

When Alex and Henry first admit their attraction to one another, there is very little waffling in terms of their sexual relationship. It gets steamy and, as they spent more time together, finding time for clandestine hookups on both sides of the Atlantic, Alex realized that it's quite possible he has been misreading his intense feelings towards Henry for a long time. (Spoiler alert: he has been.)

In fanfic slang, if you speak that language, this is the Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Royalty, Fake/Pretend Relationship-ish AU with notes of Families of Choice and depictions of Anxiety that you've been waiting for. It pairs well with Netflix's Knock Down the House documentary, the wonderfully soft hockey bros comic Check, Please, Mackenzi Lee's The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue, and Frank Turner—or all four! Make it a month of hopeful media. I dare you.

This book made me cry—not because of the excellent, well-written romance at its center (which is both fun and emotionally rewarding), but because it imagines a world in which Trump was never elected, a world in which powerful men who have grown up in power respect and love women, a world in which America's soul is challenged and found whole.

The world of Red, White, and Royal Blue, as touched upon in the book's excellent author's note, is not a perfect one—"still believably fucked up, just a little better, a little more optimistic." When McQuiston began writing the book in 2016, she said it was meant to be "a tongue-in-cheek parallel universe," but, as our sociopolitical cycle progressed, it became an "escapist, trauma-soothing, alternate-but-realistic reality." Oof.

It's hard to truly understand the ways in which most mainstream storytelling is not made for you until you find a story that feels like it is made for you. Red, White, and Royal Blue references Jane Austen, quotes Alexander Hamilton's love letters to Eliza and John Laurens, and obviously thinks Doctor Who is cool. It is a millennially-minded West Wing meets Jane Austen meets the Hallmark Channel meets something much more diverse than anything that has ever aired on the Hallmark Channel.

Most of all, Red, White, and Royal Blue is incredibly hopeful and empathetic, which is a perspective I am actively trying to hold on to in a world that seems to always be finding new, terrible ways to try to steal it from me. Reading this queer romance political AU felt a bit like coming home: a safe, familiar, cozy place to rest my head for a while. Red, White, and Royal Blue doesn't ignore some of the very scary realities of living in our world right now, but it hopes with everything it has nonetheless.

Sometimes, it can feel like we punish ourselves with the pop culture we make and consume, as if engaging with fun, hopeful, or kind storytelling is an irresponsible luxury we can't afford rather than a practice that makes us better equipped for dealing with life's complex, devastating, sustained challenges.

Yes, seeing the ways in which things are bad can be a helpful tool for both conversation and action, especially when grimdark storytelling has something important and specific to say, but it can also often make us feel like we are doing something when we are not—as if watching The Handmaid's Tale is the same thing as taking place in direct actions against institutional misogyny or actively supporting and believing the women in your life. As if watching consuming the "right" media makes us more moral.

I don't need fictional reminders of the ways in which our society is failing; it's all too clear in the world around me. What I do need from stories is hope that there are futures that look different from the grimmest parts of our present extrapolated out into various flavors of apocalypse. I need stories that hope engaging with real-world problems can make a difference, and call that hope something other than naive.

I need stories that fill me up with something other than anger, fear, and desperation, that offer possible solutions or at least sources of comfort in the face of solution-less problems rather than simply pointing out the harsh realities and stopping there, as if there is more skill involved in screaming your pain into the darkness than there is in finding love, healing, and empathy in spite of that pain.

"What I hoped to do, and what I hope I have done with this book by the time you've finished it, my dear reader, [is] to be the spark of joy and hope you needed," McQuiston writes in her author's note. Mission so very much accomplished, Casey McQuiston.

"Should I tell you that when we're apart, your body comes back to me in dreams? That when I sleep, I see you, the dip of your wiast, the freckle above your hip, and when I wake you up in the morning, it feels like I've just been with you, the phantom touch of your hand on the back of my neck fresh and not imagined? That I can feel your skin against mine, and it makes every bone in my body ache? That, for a few moments, I can hold my breath and be back there with you, in a dream, in a thousand rooms, nowhere at all?"

Just rereading this quote makes me want to swoon, smile until my cheeks break and die because my heart exploded with too much love, all at once.

It's been almost two months since I finished this book - since I got an ARC for it, which was one of the happiest moments of my year at the very least (eternally grateful to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity!) - and I've been dreading the moment I would have to sit down and write a review.

How do you translate giddiness into words? How do you explain, in a manner that other people would understand, warmth spreading through your insides, starting at the pit of your stomach and climbing into your cheeks, a sense of happiness so bright and truthful that for a moment, for the single moment you're reading a book, you actually forget about things that were making you feel bad?

There are people who hone the kind of ability to do that for years. Alas, I am not one of them. All I can do is try.

You've probably heard of this book by now. It's been hyped to the moon and back. And it deserves every single word that sang its praises.

The story of love flowering between the U.S.'s first son and the prince of England might make you go, "Why has no one thought of this before?". There probably has been some fanfiction written about it, I'd think. But I'm so thankful that the one person who got to pull this concept off was Casey McQuiston.

Because the truth is, what makes this book are its characters, both the main ones and their cohort of friends and family. There's something to be said about finishing a book and longing for its characters the way you'd long for a childhood friend who's lost touch; someone who's been with you for years and who knew you inside and out, and vice-versa. I am someone who values character building and dimensional relationships above all else in a book, and as such, whenever I find one of such gems, I keep them close to heart.

I could try to go on and do my best to wax poetic, but I don't want to be repetitive. This book's birthday was yesterday and you've probably been seeing reviews flock here and there recommending it to any and everyone. What I can and will do here is be supportive of those people: yes, you should read it. Yes, you should jump on the hype bandwagon.

Trust me in one thing: you will not regret it.

First: look at that cute cover; isn’t it adorable!! As for the story, it’s an irresistible romcom between offspring of two powerful family that had me captivated from start to end! RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE pretty much indulged readers’ (as in ME) imagination on love story between ginger-haired English prince and an out, proud, political-aspire first son of America, by deftly taping into modern way of networking, communication, and - of course - social media. While we often read/watched stories US president as black or woman, McQuiston upped the ante by presenting people from mixed-race as the first family. Another point on diversity without being in-your-face about it.

Revolving on the life of Alex Claremont-Diaz and Henry of Wales, RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE also chock full of lively episodes, the ups and downs made merrier by assorted supporting characters spanning from likable to dubious. As a newbie to the author’s writings and a non-regular NA reader, it was a bit of a gamble for me picking up this book but boy was it worth it!! Alex, Henry, their friends, and sisters had me on a ride I had so much fun following their escapades. The even pace, slow burn romance, and even slower secret romance between the prince and first son spanned months but flew so fast on page! I smiled, snort-laughed, sniffled, cackled, scorned, and whooped with joy along with them.

Reading this close to my own country’s general election served as eye-opener. I commend the author to employ as much as reality into the story while infusing hope and best-possible outcome to come to play. The conclusion might not be something of a surprise (although still a relief for this reader). But I was thrilled with how the author go about it. For sure after (reading) this book, I’m going to check out McQuiston’s backlist titles and [fingers crossed] relive the joy I found reading the banter, camaraderie and pleasure in RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE.


Copy of this book is given by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.