I have so much to say about this weird and wonderful book.

For starters, I almost never read New Adult. NA is this weird category where it sounds like it's just older YA but not quite full blown adult. However, 99% of NA is exclusively toxic relationships and college kids having a lot of sex. I don't know why that has become the criteria. But it seems that way when you look at it on Goodreads.

So colour me sceptical when I pick up a NA contemporary where at least one of the characters is in college and there's going to be a lot of sex. I might not like it.

However, like I explained in my post on reviewing bad LGBT books, sometimes I'll pick up a book that I would absolutely not touch if it was a straight romance.

But an LGBT one? Well, you've twisted my arm.

So, Red, White & Royal Blue is simply put: the first son of the President of the United States and a British Prince must form a fake friendship to save international relations...only to then fall in love.

Requested. Approved. Sent to my Kindle. (Thanks St Martin's Griffin!)

Red, White & Royal Blue does not (yet) have a British publisher. It's only being released in the States. It's also very clearly written by an American who did some minor research on British royalty and British culture. To American readers (who it's clearly aimed at), this may not be a problem. But for me, the first 30% of this book was tough to read.

From the strange dialogue of the British characters to silly plot points that could have been more accurate with a quick Google, the beginning of the book is a bit of a mess for a British person. I don't think I've ever heard a young person use the term 'bloke', but maybe the royals do in real life? I guess I will never know. But then there's the royals themselves.

The love interest is Prince Henry. Which is already strange since the real Prince Harry is called Henry, but he's not based off him at all. Then Prince Phillip, who is Henry's brother, but there is a Prince Phillip in real life but he's Prince Harry's grandfather. Prince Henry also has a sister called Princess Beatrice. AND THERE IS A REAL PRINCESS BEATRICE.

Yes, this royal family is fictional, but having the same names as real royals was so jarring to me at first.

I think the worst things about the lack of research were things that Americans get wrong consistently in shows, movies and books. The 'English/British' problem that no one can seem to wrap their head around. Throughout Red, White & Royal Blue, Prince Henry is called 'Prince of Wales' AND 'Prince of England', but then Alex (our protagonist) says he loves his British accent. 'He's English and has a British accent'. I don't want this post to become a geography lesson. But again, a simple search online and you would see that you physically cannot have a British accent, and England is not all of Britain.

But now let's get to the good stuff.

Despite those 500 words discussing how hard it was to read Red White and Royal Blue, you may see that I've given it five stars. And that's because after the 30% mark, this book has a beautiful romance and a very important commentary on British royalty, tradition, and homophobia within American and British politics.

I know, and after all that nonsense before hand as well. But trust me, this is a fantastic book.

Alex and Henry are the softest boys. We may only read Alex's POV, but both boys are very nuanced, 3D characters that are truly perfect for one another. Henry feels alone, isolated and bound by tradition. Alex is thriving as the First Son and well on his way to becoming a renowned politician himself. But both leave those spaces to find something that neither expected to have too much in their lives. True love.

And while I like to roll my eyes at massive romance plots, I'm such a sucker for when it's done right.

Red, White & Royal Blue also has this fantastic side plot surrounding the state of the White House and how Alex's mother is going to run for a second term. Clearly a side eye at the absolute state of the American government right now, it reminded me of watching that scene in Love, Actually that mirrored the state of the British government at the time. I felt like it was directly speaking to the people involved, and it was very on the nose and powerful.

We love a powerful plot alongside a gay romance!

I hope you enjoyed my rambly review, and I can't wait for you all to read this book for yourselves. If you're British, don't let the strangeness of the beginning of the book sway how you feel about it. I urge you to read on!

I'm so happy to read this and especially since I was approved for it on valentine's day of all days. This was just so cute and so gay and I loved it. I can't wait to recommend this to all my friends and followers who enjoy LGBTQ+ books!

A gay British prince and the gay son of the president of the USA falling in love? SAY NO MORE

Casey McQuiston's prose was so unexpectedly good! Red, White & Royal Blue had the potential to be an epic cheesy rom-com, but McQuiston managed to pack falling in love, coming out, family drama, grief, and international politics into this delightful package. The romance feels real! The relationships between the characters actually feels real! You'll end up rooting for the main characters at the same time as falling in love with them.

This has to be my immediate favourite book of 2019. It's cleverly written, the relationship build up is complex, and the characters are so freaking adorable. I very much love everything about this book, from their hate-to-love love story to the President's son actually asking himself BUT AM I GAY THO? This was too ridiculously funny and well acclimated to everything people want to see in 2019. Make it gay!

Ok.. so there was an enormous amount of hype for this one... and I kept going back and forth between requesting this one. But, I was seeing so many high star reviews. But, I think I'm definitely in the minority on this one?

I initially didn't want to request this one because I felt like the political aspect would get on my nerves. And... I should have trusted my gut because I was correct.

Was this a sexy and fun romance that will sweep you up with Alex and Henry?! Yes... totally! I was wanting MORE from the two lovebirds. I felt the political events/presidency campaign was just too too much for me in this story. I was hoping the author would have used this as a backstory and focused more on Alex and Henry. I loved them!!

I loved all the characters and loved Casey's writing style! Sassy, humorous, and sexy!

I struggled because there were parts that I absolutely loved! LGBTQIA aspects to this novel were phenomenal! Definite plus plus in my book! But, unfortunately the story seemed to drag quite a bit for me and couldn't really connect until 50 percent in. Than, my attention span was wavering in and out with the political aspect. I would ahve loved to have the book solely focused on Alex and Henry. The execution to the story wasn't really working for me and fell flat. But, I can definitely see how others would love the in-depth views of presidential campaigns.

Overall, 3.5 stars rounded up.

It was a fabulous debut and I will have to say this won't be my last novel by Casey McQuiston.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date: 5/14/19
Published to Goodreads: 2/18/19

Five very adorable stars for this one! I enjoyed the political vibe of the book mixed with the cuteness of these characters. It's so frickin' sweet, and if this isn't made into a movie, I will sob.

Oh my God. This was a rollercoaster of emotions. I instantly fell in love with Alex. He's a hard working, loving, caring and funny character. He's a bit too stuck in his head sometimes and he has problems with going all in on something, even when he probably shouldn't. They way he's portrayed is believable - the humor, the love, the issues. He's the son of the president and he handles it really well. Until, you know, a certain prince comes along. This isn't really a hate-to-love story. It's more like a one-sided-hate-to-friendship-to-doing-it kind of story and I can't tell you more, because it'll spoil everything.

Okay, what can you say then? I can say that this book is full of great characters. Everyone has their wonderful personality - the sisters, the best friends, the bodyguards, the parents and everyone who's on page brings their own thing to the story. This is an accomplishment - to not have characters who are superfluous to the story. I can also say that even though this story was told solely from Alex's point of view, Henry's personality shone through more than enough. Oh, sweet Henry. I just wanted to hug him and tell him he's so awesome.

Why should you read this book? Um, because you're a living, breathing human being? No, but seriously. If you want to read a book with a great set of characters, a story about two people growing, loving, being and finding themselves, shock full of humor and also love letters and want your heart to melt into a mushy puddle - read this. I can't say much more, because I don't want to ruin the story.

/ Denise

This was such a joyful, happy read for me. As a political junkie, I loved how immersed the plot was with the DC scene. The relationship between Henry and Alex was blissfully perfect. I loved that so much of the angst in the plot was external -- in the duties of the prince and needs for secrecy -- and that allowed the love story to bloom for a lot longer than most romances allow. My favorite part were the soppy love letters throughout that let us wallow in their growing feelings. The two were absolutely adorable together.

What a fun and funny book. I was so luckily to have my wish granted on Netgalley for this book! Everything from the characters to the story had me riveted and swooning. I loved the progression from perceived enemies to pretend friends to real friends to lovers.

Alex and Henry were just so multi-facted i adored them and alll the secondary characters were great and fully formed!

My one issue would be there were so many instances where i felt page breaks were left out. Not sure if that was an arc formatting issue but it sort of made things confusing a bit. As very different scenes just ran into each other without breaks.

But overall i loved this rom com

Red, White and Royal Blue takes place is a contemporary MM romance that will absolutely melt your heart. We follow Alex, the son of the first woman president, as he navigates his relationship with Henry, the prince of England. At first, Alex deeply despises Henry for his boring personality and cold demeanor. However, after a scandal at Prince Phillip’s wedding, they are forced to make amends.

The first half focuses on their growing relationship. Alex is dealing with his pending bisexuality and Henry is dealing with being gay and being part of the royal family. I have to say that this book had such tremendous LGBTQ representation. We had a side character who was transgender with a wife and multiple other characters as well.

The second half deals with Alex and Henry’s relationship vs the world. Alex’ mother is campaigning for reelection and can’t chance everyone finding out he’s dating the freaking Prince of England.

Alex and Henry’s relationship was so sweet. It started out slow, since neither one knew the other one liked them. They bonded over having so many responsibilities and the world always knowing who they are. There were so many cute moments that had me squealing like a little girl. Then there were also moments that had me busting up laughing! This book was so fun and I read it so quickly! Can’t wait to see what else this author has in store!

This was quite refreshing!
It had a lot of laughing out loud moments and the character interactions were adorable!
Highly recommend!

I had such high hopes for this one and I'm happy to say it pretty much delivered when it comes to everything I want in a romance novel. I liked the characters, thought the two males had good chemistry, and the obstacles they faced along the way kept the story interesting.

Alex Claremont-Diaz's mother is President of the United States. She is seeking a second term when Alex causes a tabloid frenzy by getting into an altercation across the pond with Price Henry. In order to smooth things over in the press, both men agree to some staged photo ops. They develop an unlikely friendship that turns into something more. But is the world ready for America's First Son and a British prince to fall in love?

I loved the premise for this one and kept thinking throughout the book how awesome it would be if this actually did happen in real life. For the most part I did enjoy the mixing of U.S. politics and the British monarchy although a few times I did question if something was truly realistic. The pace of the story was good and I'm glad the author didn't drag the story out and have a rushed ending which is fairly common in romance novels.

Definitely recommend checking this one out if you are looking for a good romance, enjoy stories with diverse characters, and/or like books that revolve around politics or the royal family.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a free advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This m/m romance was a total binge read for me. I devoured it in less than 2 days right around Valentines Day. I was looking for a steamy romance with substance. I was looking for something a little different. This book met all those needs. The First Son of the US, Alex, becomes entangled (quite literally) with the Prince of Wales, Henry- sign me up!

This rom-com was more than just make out sessions, although we are treated to plenty of those. It explores the impact that Alex&Henry's relationship has within their small circle as well as their respective countries. It was heartwarming, funny, compulsively readable and super sexy.

What I loved most was the sprinkling of queer history presented in emails between Alex & Henry. I relished learning more about how famous people were impacted due to the circumstances of their respective time periods.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the review copy.

(Reviewed by a white, straight, 40+yr old woman.)

This book was a highly pleasant surprise. It hits on every romantic trope that makes for a good, fun time. The characters felt real and present, and the side characters had as much important development as the main characters. Looking forward to more from this author.

I loved Red, White and Royal Blue so much that I wish it weren't fiction.

McQuiston does such an excellent job of setting up a story that plays on both tropes from either side of the pond, and challenging the traditionally straight narratives that have predominated the YA romance genre for so long.

Henry and Alex are lovable characters that complement each other so well and have a little bit of everything for each reader. Their friends and family round off the story and make you feel as if you're a part of their tight-knit circle.

This was definitely the type of story I didn't want to end or put down, and I sped along as fast as I could to reach what I hoped would be a happily ever after that both Alex and Henry deserved. They both went through so much in the novel from their families and from the media, that from the very start you are rooting for them to succeed.

I can't wait to see what other work McQuiston will put out into the world, and my only hope is that it's as amazing and wonderful and heart-wrenching as Red, White, and Royal Blue.

I LOVED this book! It was lengthy, but I really couldn't put it down. The love story between the first son and the Prince of Whales was adorable, funny and even a bit contentious at times!

eARC provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Have you ever read something that you just wanted to recommend to almost everyone you meet? This is it for me. Red, White & Royal Blue is something outside of my typical wheelhouse, but I loved this book, story, and characters so so much and I want everyone to know about it.

Our story follows our main character Alex, the First Son of the United States, after his rivalry with HRH Prince Henry ends up with published photographs of a fight during a wedding. A fake, PR friendship is instigated and our story flows from there. I had so much fun reading this, and was laughing out loud during multiple portions of the book! There were so many funny lines that I just really appreciated. I flew through reading this, and am so glad I read it!

Another thing I loved about Red, White & Royal Blue is our collection of characters and their relationships with one another. Their relationships seemed natural and fluid, and I loved seeing them interact on the page. This is only of my favorite things to see in books, and I really loved how McQuiston accomplished this here.

Again, this is something outside of my typical wheelhouse, but I loved this so deeply anyway! I can't wait for everyone to get their hands on this! This is a strong 4.5 stars for me, and definitely a favorite of this genre for me out of what I've read so far!

This was a fun read, and a great addition to the growing LGBTQ/young adult category. I especially liked following Alex on his journey to figuring out who he was, both personally and professionally.

I absolutely adore this book and cannot say eniugh about it. It got me out of a looooong reading slump too so extra points. It’s super cute, it’s humorous, and I was rooting for a Happily Ever After so hard!! This is one to check out for sure!

This is the book I'm going to be recommending to everyone in 2019- it's the delightful, funny, and very relevant story of Alex, the First Son of the US, and Henry, Prince of England and their journey from having a PR driven "friendship" to a real relationship and love. The story takes place a kind of alternate reality, where instead of having a racist Cheeto for a president, a progressive female Democrat with biracial children won the presidency. Her son, Alex, believes that he's meant to go into politics, and behind his seemingly party lifestyle, he works tirelessly to campaign and research in preparation for his mother's hopeful reelection. The only problem is his nemesis, Prince Henry of England, who seems to Alex to be snooty and rude. After they're photographed fighting with one another at a wedding, the two are forced into a "friendship" for the sake of publicity. To Alex's surprise, Henry is not what he seems at all, and they progress from being real friends to being something more. But because of their notoriety and political careers, the idea of a happy ever after for them is more complicated than it seems.
McQuiston is going to be an author to watch. Her writing is funny, powerful, and she does a great job of having a diverse group of characters, including people of color, LGBTQ characters, and lots of strong women. This book is such a breath of fresh air and a getaway from the real world's toxic political climate, and I'd be quite happy to live in the world McQuiston has created.