3.5 Stars

I received this book through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley.com, to St. Martin's Press, and to Casey McQuiston for this opportunity.

The President's son, Alex, and Prince Henry have a friendship that grows into something more. They find themselves in a secret romance that could upset the balance of both their nations. For Henry, being gay is unacceptable to the crown. For Alex, he needs to keep his affair hidden because it's an election year and he doesn't want this to scandalize his mother's presidency. Alex is learning that he's been hiding this secret for a while and he's finally realizing what he wants. But can true love exist for him when he's in the spotlight in the midst of American politics?

I didn't realize this was a LBGTQIA book until I had already accepted it, so this isn't normally a book/genre I would read. But, I thought I'd give it a try. It was actually a really sweet book. The characters were both lovable and well developed. Overall, the subject matter was handled sensitively. I think the end dragged a big when the focus switched to the election but, overall, this was a pretty good read.

This book is perfect. I've already read it twice and foresee re-reading it time and time again. I laughed, I cried, and I can't think of a more perfect story.

I absolutely loved this book. It exceeded all my expectations and the hype had them so high. Alex and Henry will officially go down in “history, huh” as an epic romance couple. This was a 400 page love letter and I can’t wait to read it again.

This book was such a lovely surprise, I applied on Netgalley for an eARC solely based on the cover and blurb, not really knowing anything about the author or any buzz around the book.

When I started reading it was apparent that the book was going to be good, this one was anothee book that I just flew through once I really got into it (which was pretty much right away).

The characters are so lovable, they have their own faults and flaws but that's what made them so endearing to me also there's lots of intrigue and politics and that just added a little extra to this love story.

I highly recommend!

I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this cute story after hearing so many fellow readers rave about it. And maybe that was the problem - I went into it with such high hopes, and found myself struggling to finish. It’s been a few months since I started, and Alex & Henry’s cross-continent love story didn’t make me want to pick up the boom and see what happened next, unfortunately.

I do, however, truly appreciate a novel that features two gay men as the stars. More novels about the LGBTQ+ community are welcomed, and seeing how many people loved and reacted positively to Red, White, and Royal Blue is a wonderful start. Inclusivity and openness are so important!

Red, White, & Royal Blue is the hilarious and heartfelt love story of Alex, son of the US president, and Henry, Prince of England. Alex and Henry have never liked each other, but when the pair are stuck together for a weekend to save face following an ill-fated incident at a wedding, Alex realizes it's much more complicated than he had imagined.

Soon the two are sneaking around to spend time together, but it's a risk to both of them. The queen does not approve of Henry being gay, and an out bisexual FSOTUS could risk Alex's mother's reelection campaign. Even so, they're falling in love and it's heart-wrenching... the banter is fun and tender... and in these trying times, you really owe it to yourself to read something so delightful as this.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ebook advanced reader copy! I chose this book from the #SRC2019 campaign, and I heard a lot of good things about it! It was a cute story based on the First Son of the President of the United States and Prince Henry. They hate each other but have to become friends in front of the press. They end up falling in love, even though they are not "supposed to". It felt like it was actually happening with all the pop culture references, which was fun.

This was such a summer read! I kind of wish it wasn't winter in Australia. Alex and Henry had the sweetest romance. I found myself swooning over, not only their relationship but also the writing style. Casey McQuiston did a spectacular job with this book. It was such an easy read that I flew through in one sitting. It was a really enjoyable book that I would (and have) recommended to many friends.

Huge points for the MC being the First Son of the United States and that the President is a woman!!!! So so cute and just overall lovely. The social media hype was what originally drew me into this book and surprisingly it did not disappoint.

Guys, I am a sucker for romcoms. I love them as feature length films and I especially love them in them in the form of a novel.

I do not discriminate. It can be more com than rom, or it can be the steamiest of romance with a couple ha-ha moments. I love a meet-cute, I love an enemies-turned-something more, and as I have discovered with this book, I love when the First Son of the United States falls in love with the Prince of Wales over the course of 400 some odd pages.

After I got into it (I was having trouble focusing the first 20 or so pages… I don’t think the book was to blame), I flew through this one in a couple days. It’s got some hilarious moments (anytime the press is around and they are putting on buddy-buddy faces for the cameras), some political dreamscapes (think: the first female POTUS taking office after Obama’s 2nd term), and some ~*hot and heavy romance*~ (if “The Wedding Date” made you a bit faint, you probably want to skip this.)

I consider this genre a “light” read because in order to really appreciate the cute/swoon factor, you have to suspend a bit of disbelief. However, I appreciated the author’s ability to mix some serious realness in with this unlikely scenario.

Also, can we please talk about how this is a DEBUT NOVEL? Good gracious. Casey McQuiston, if you keep writing, I’ll keep reading. And spoiler alert? Her Goodreads page already suggestions another queer romcom is in the works!

You know, I tend to forget that June is Pride month because it is so horrifically hot in Phoenix in June that we have our Pride parade in April! If you haven’t read any LGBTQ literature in celebration this month, I recommend picking this up immediately. It checks all the requirements for the perfect summer read and it features an amazing cast of queer characters!

What else are you reading during Pride month?!

Red, White & Royal Blue is a new adult novel that gives you everything one might love:

✔ hate turning to love in the purest possible way
✔ a royal descendant and son of the president falling in love
✔ dating away from everyone's eyes
✔ sexual diversity
✔ individuality exploration
✔ personal and relationship growth through every page
✔ a squad to join
✔ fun banter


This is one of those books that I loved so much, I have no idea what to say other than pick it up, already! The number of highlights I have is shocking to me because I'm not one to highlight every other paragraph and every other line but you know what they say: love makes you do new things, and my love for this book has made me color code this book so frequently because one line makes me gush, one makes me laugh, one makes me cry, one makes me feel the need to be in this book for that's a way to be in the squad.

In a gist, the Prince of England and the First Son of the United States hate each other but soon turn into fake best friends and then into the most perfect one true pairing that every reader is ready to ship like it's the last stage of global warming and we need to sail. What starts with a wedding cake being destroyed at a palace paves way for the most historic, aspirational end. Of course, no spoilers but you really really really would love the end.

For one, I'm not a sucker for a plot that focuses too much on a love story but you bet I was fangirling every time these love birds were developing their animosity-turned-love. Whether it was the late long distance fucking up the timezones phone calls, the lengthy emails they exchanged, the shy meet-ups, or the sex scenes, I loved every bit of it.

I thought, this is the most incredible thing I have ever seen, and I had better keep it a safe distance away from me. I thought, if someone like that ever loved me, it would set me on fire.


Another amazing aspect is the sexual representation and I'm not one to say much about it because I don't belong to the community but as a reader, I absolutely appreciate the raw and authentic visualization of the LGBTQ+. While Henry is confident in his sexuality as a gay and has discovered this identity, Alex ponders over and goes through a series of thoughts before finding his own.

"So," Alex says [...] "I guess I should tell you, I'm bisexual."
"Good to know," Henry says. [...] "I am very, very gay."


Any book with loads of humor makes it to my favorites list quickly, and Red, White & Royal Blue gave me everything from a chuckle to a hearty laugh. Awkward scenes, sibling teasing, sarcastic comments, savagery, narration voice and tone--everything is funny. Trust me on that!

"Oh my God, Alex," she says, lunging at him to yank him into a rough hug, "you made a friend!"
"I have friends! Get off me!"
"You made a friend!" She is literally giving him a noogie. "I'm so proud of you!"
"I'm gonna murder you, stop."


Last but not least, the characters! If you thought the main characters are unforgettable, you haven't heard of the others ↴

▶ Alex: First Son, bisexual, brown (white+Latinx), has undiagnosed ADHD, epitome of self-confidence, has a great sense of humor
▶ Henry: Prince of England, very very gay, precious person ever, slays with his fashion sense
▶ Nora: That best friend, bisexual, data & computer nerd, funnier than Alex (I want to be her.)
▶ June: First Daughter, supportive sister, and friend; intimidating but in the best possible interest and way
▶ Bea: Henry's sister, was a cocaine addict but is now clean, will save you but can also kill you
▶ Pez: Henry's best friend, slays with a fashion sense that doesn't abide by gender roles, straight af, flirts but you know you want him to flirt with you

This book will stick with me forever and if you give it a chance, I think it'll be one of your favorites too.

One of my favourite books I’ve read in recent memory. The banter was spot on. The moment I finished this, I made sure I slapped my staff pick sticker on the cover and added it to a display.

This was a fun, light read - great for summer! The characters were fun, and I enjoyed the banter between the members of the first family. I enjoyed reading this book!

Basically, this book was super sweet. It made me laugh and cry and fangirl (a lot). It also filled me with a sense of hope. We need more books like this. I can't wait to see more of what Casey McQuiston has to offer.

Please see the discussion post on Angel Reads (as linked below).

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy. This was a very cute plot, but I didn’t love the writing. It seemed a little amateurish, but that being said, it was still a cute, light read.

3.5 stars — Well….this book left me with very dichotomous feelings. There were aspects of the book that were soaring 5 stars…and there were aspects of the book that just *didn’t* work for me. In the end I’ll round up because the good parts really impacted me, but it wasn’t a slam dunk hit by any means.

Let’s get the gripes out of the way first. The writing baffled me. I totally get that I was reading an advanced copy, and so there was likely another editing pass, but I don’t think it was mistakes so much as the voice/writing style choices. Like, there were so many moments where I honestly have NO IDEA what the author was trying to say. Now, I’ll admit, I’m not a fan of purple prose, and avoid classics like the plague because I have trouble parsing the language. And I’m the kind of person that wants to understand EVERYTHING…EVERY SINGLE GODDAMN SENTENCE. So to say this frustrated me would be an understatement. And. The sentence. Fragment structuring. Like why? Why would you do that to your sentence? I get you’re trying to indicate pauses maybe? Or emphasis? But I don’t think it was always done correctly, and I think there are better ways. Now, I’m not saying the whole book was written in this style, but that’s what made it so confusing. I LOVED it when it wasn’t like this…when the sentences made sense and flowed beautifully. I just wanted the whole book to be like that. And I seem to be the only one frustrated by the writing style, most every other lower rated reviews are talking about other things (that I get, but since they’re not my feelings, I’m trying to ignore). This was my NUMBER ONE con for the book. If the whole book had been like this, I would have DNF’d as not a match for me. I’ll come back to my other little gripes later…

What did I LOVE?? OMG, I don’t even know how to describe it, but there were parts where I ADORED the bantering between the characters (when it didn’t feel like it was trying too hard). I fell in LOVE with Henry and Alex together. The chemistry was just amazing for me. I truly felt so many of their emotions, their struggles, their triumphs. The silly scenes made me giggle, the steamy scenes made me tingle (although I found it weird that the actual sex act was glossed over when so many other details were included), and the heartwrenching moments made me cry fat tears. I loved the friendships that were formed (even as the characters were very odd and could be caricatures sometimes), and the crazy antics they got up to.

Alex wasn’t always my favourite MC honestly — he could be really self-absorbed, manic, pushy, arrogant… It was a shame we didn’t get Henry’s POV as well, because what I learned of him I loved. And Henry is what redeemed Alex for me. The two of them together just made me happy. I loved their crazy conversations/emails/texts. I loved the deeper moments between them as well. The bits of light shining on Henry’s grief actually really affected me, and spoke to my own “teenager-losing-her-dad” heart.

All of those moments were just GOLD for me. What wasn’t as golden was the heavy handed politics in the book. Don’t get me wrong, if I was American, I would be a Democrat through and through…but I’m also not one for vilifying the other side, no matter how much I disagree with those on the extreme end. It glosses over all the ways that my side can be wrong, or heavy-handed, or not as righteous as they want to believe. And this book was polarizing in that respect. I also felt like some of the diversity in the book just felt over the top. I’m all for diversity, I started a fucking challenge for reading more diversely, but…I don’t know. Something just didn’t feel authentic about it, even though it was trying to be. It made me cheer at times, but then it made me pull out my skeptical hat at others.

So yeah. Long review eh? *shrugs* I think there was a lot of goodness in this book…but I also don’t think it’s quite worth the hype it’s getting. But to each their own.

So, I have decided that this is the book I’m going to start recommending to people as a must-read LGBTQ+ novel. I loved this book so much that I am actually going out to get my own copy, a PHYSICAL copy just to have this beauty sit on my shelves. My whole heart goes out to this book ❤️

Everything about this book has me SCREAMING! This book is exactly the type of romance that all novels should follow. The impact of different tropes bouncing off each other, from international relations, enemies-to-friends-, fake friends, FAKE DATING?! IT’S HERE AND I’M LIVING FOR IT!

There are so many adorable characters that I wish to cherish forever. They are all wonderful and precise, and not to mention diverse! Here’s a quick breakdown:

Alex: son of the president

Henry: Prince of England

June: Wonderful sister to Alex

Nora: The besets friend that Alex and June could possibly have, and computer hacker extraordinaire

Bea: Henry’s sister

Pez: Henry’s best friend, philanthropist and stunning fashionista

I have been promoting this book for about 2 months now, and I can’t believe it is finally its publication date! This is one of the sweetness stories I have read this year, and everything about the main OTP of Alex and Henry is perfectly written that it will have you rooting for everything to work out in the end. Heck, their texts and emails? UGH! I loved every second of it!

If this book is not currently on your TBR, ADD IT NOW! You need to read this and fall head over heels for this adorable cast.

♥ I have read this book four times since I got an arc from the publisher after (begging for) requesting one. Every time I think about trying to write this review, I panic because I don’t know how to put into words how much I loved this book. So instead, I just keep reading it over and over again.

♥ Y’all, this BOOK! I was COMPLETELY captivated. I happy-cried, I sad-cried, and I stress-cried, which I didn’t even know was a THING. The enemies-to-lovers trope is a thing of perfection here, and I would like a full novel about every single character in this book.

♥ The inside look at both the white house and the royal family was so fun. I’ve always enjoyed royal family books–The Royal We is my favorite, so finding out that Casey was partially inspired by that one was no surprise. I also love U.S. History, even though these days it’s hard to be proud to be an American. Our current administration is so toxic that it was such a beautiful relief to sink into this book and read about the Diaz-Claremont gang. When you say “White House” now it’s almost a dirty word, but all of the little secrets and behind-the-scenes info that Alex parses out about the space let you forget for awhile that The Orange Cheeto has taken up residence there (lol just kidding he’s never actually in D.C.).

♥ If you haven’t heard the author yelling it from the rooftops by now because booksellers keep trying to list it incorrectly, this is NOT YA. This is 100% NA, despite YA being one it’s most-rated shelves on Goodreads. And it is sexy. I mean, so, SO sexy…

And so goddamn romantic! Every time Alex calls Henry “baby” or “sweetheart”, Henry and I both completely melt.

♥ The gang, the “White House Trio” and eventual “Super Six”. The chemistry between all of them is amazing. I could read an entire book of their group chat transcripts alone.

Final Thoughts: This whole review is nonsense, because I haven’t gotten into the politics, the racism and ethics, the way some people have a really confusing coming-out in their twenties, the difference between a family who accepts you with no questions asked and one who asks you to hide the very heart of you. I haven’t even explained why I will never hear the song “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen without feeling compromised ever again. I haven’t mentioned Alex and June’s sibling relationship that is to die for, witty banter for days, live turkeys in the white house, a soundtrack to end all other book soundtracks, romantic AF emails, Zahara, and way too many favorite quotes to pick just one or two.

Favorite Quotes:
“Thinking about history makes me wonder how I’ll fit into it one day, I guess. And you too. I kinda wish people still wrote like that. History, huh? Bet we could make some.”
“Straight people, he thinks, probably don’t spend this much time convincing themselves they’re straight.”

“First, you’ve been, like, Draco Malfoy–level obsessed with Henry for years—do not interrupt me—and since the royal wedding, you’ve gotten his phone number and used it not to set up any appearances but instead to long-distance flirt with him all day every day.”

“Sugar, I cannot express to you how much the press does not give a fuck about who started what,” Ellen says. “As your mother, I can appreciate that maybe this isn’t your fault, but as the president, all I want is to have the CIA fake your death and ride the dead-kid sympathy into a second term.”

“The next slide is titled : EXPLORING YOUR SEXUALITY: HEALTHY, BUT DOES IT HAVE TO BE WITH THE PRINCE OF ENGLAND?”

“‘Wait, are you watching videos of Justin Trudeau speaking French again?’
‘That’s not a thing I do!’”

This review has been stewing in the back of my mind for over a month now. I keep thinking, maybe given time I'll be able to do justice for how much I loved this book and how good of a review it deserves.

I have finally decided that there is no doing justice to my love of this book, there just aren't words in my vocabulary that will satisfy me for writing about it.

To give you a gist of the story, Alex is a perfectly normal soon-to-be-college grad having a good time and pursuing his goals, except for the fact that he's the son of the President of the United States, and it's re-election time. And he has a nemesis, the Crown Prince Henry who is just so perfect and boring and bland and smug and, and, and... Well, Alex doesn't actually mean to get into a fight with Henry, and technically it wasn't a fight, but it did look like one, and now the press is having a field day with the "international incident at a Royal Wedding." Now to keep his mom's politics on track, he'll have to get to know the real Prince Henry and spend more time with him than ever.

Listen, Red White & Royal Blue is a delight. It is funny, heartfelt, and deals with some complex stuff for all that's it's a light, fun read. Read this book. You will enjoy every word.

Have you ever read a book that you couldn’t shut up about? That was me with Red, White and Royal Blue. I was beyond obsessed and told everyone I could. The writing in this book was amazing. It had moments that made me cackle out loud and moments I felt absolutely gutted for Alex and Henry. It was snarky, clever and so much fun. I can’t wait to read whatever Casey McQuiston writes next! I really hope it’s about another member of the White House Trio. I HIGHLY recommend this one! ⁣