What a truly heartwarming story. In a (better) alternate reality the Prince of England and the first son of the United states have a bitter rivalry. But after the two are forced together it turns out to be so much more.

I loved this book! It was fun, fast-paced, and had one of my favorite tropes, Hate to Love! I loved the uniqueness of the characters backgrounds and found it really important in reflecting the possibilities of society. If only the world had as much love and acceptance and the world in this story had. I sometimes struggle when books include politics in them but this was not one of them. If anything it gave me hope! I recommend this book as often and as much as I can! It was wonderful!

eview:

I've read varying reviews on this novel, many of which were predicated on the way the readers responded to the politics of the novel. Everyone agreed it was a delightful book - extremely intelligent, witty, well-written, excellent characterization, and hits all the romance beats perfectly. Yet, I saw RW&RB scored down because readers were unable to get passed the politics of the novel. This, I believe, is where I see the limits of reader response criticism, where the experience of reading a novel is completely rooted in the experience of the reader at an emotional, sentimental level, regardless of the execution of the work itself.

But readers don't look for reviews to break down the merits and weaknesses of reader response theory. It just got me thinking about who what I'm trying to accomplish as a reviewer if I can pan an excellent book simply because the politics are too close for my historical comfort. I wonder if scoring down a book for that reason isn't the same as downgrading a book for the identity of the character or because it features a pairing you don't agree with. It is criminal in reviewing to possess some types of biases, yet others we tolerate others without self-reflection. However, while those beliefs won't necessarily disenfranchise a group, it can sink a book in someone's opinion.

Enough rambling. RW&RB is brilliant. One of the reasons I treasure this book is because it is one of the few modern LGBQTA+ romances that demonstrates an awareness of the history of the LGBQTA+ movement. To a degree, that makes sense. After all, romance is the genre of escapism and hope. Talking about the AIDS crisis or Stonewall or Compton's Cafeteria Riot might not make for escapist reading. However, given the politics environment of the novel and both Alex's and Henry's roles in their families and respective governments, history and politics form a central preoccupation. The main characters are the sons of the leaders of their respective countries. Therefore, their romance, as it grows, has the power to alter history and our main characters know this, a fact encapsulated in Alex's phrase, "History, huh?"

But there's more to it, right? Because LGBQTA+ people have had to contend with more than just violence and intolerance. We've had to deal with outright historical erasure. It becomes a major theme of the novel. Alex and Henry are constantly analyzing their place in history, especially given the consequences of their growing love for each other. The moment they both embrace the fact that they will, in fact, occupy a glaring spot in the history of both countries, it is both epic and humbling for both characters. One of the most powerful moments is Alex speaking in a press conference and he tells his audience, "I am the First Son of the United States, and I'm bisexual. History will remember us." A constant theme, it is McQuiston's answer to historical erasure is to place the First Son of the United States and the Crown Prince of England on a world stage and dare history to ignore them.

The book is also a coming out narrative, but played out on a worldwide stage. Alex comes to terms with his bisexuality as he falls ever deeper in love with Henry. There is forced exposure of the main character's sexuality - if this is a trigger for a reader, be forewarned that it plays a central role in the plot. But the writer handles this deftly, and the responses by the different parties involved (Alex's mother, his sister and best friend, Henry's family and, finally, the public) are internally consistent for the novel but also realistic on a larger scale. McQuiston paints an optimistic world where some people are ogres about the revelation of Alex and Henry's romance but most are cheering for them and take courage from their love. Essentially, all the right people are on their side, including the British and American public. America comes off a bit better in this novel than it does in real life.

Let's talk romance a minute. There is a wonderful mashup of tropes in this novel: enemies-to-friends, fake relationships here and even forbidden love as Alex and Henry work to find reasons to see each other. The love letters between them are a work of art on their own and McQuiston models their letters on the love letters of famous people throughout history. I have a collection of letters somewhere on my hard drive that I once collected by Virginia Woolf, Alexander Hamilton and Simon Beauvoir, among others and it was thrilling to see some of these show up in the letters between Alex and Henry. Their love and longing is palpable and was one of the highlights of the novel. I could their letters alone and be happy. Alex goes from brusque American braggadocio to poetically waxing about his love for Henry and Henry's responses are positively literary. The wit and banter is hip and clever but when they talk about love, the words smoulder on the page.

And the love scenes - if you are an aspiring writer, each love scene is worth studying as an exemplar of how to write love scenes rooted in strong characterization. They are a splendid combination of sexual desire, emotional intensity and delicacy - truly some of the best love scenes I've ever read.

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."

"But the truth is, also, simply this: love is indomitable."

"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 waist, the freckle above your hip, and when I wake 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?"

"You are a delinquent and a plague. Please come."

"Never tell me the odds."

An enthusiastic 5-star read.

5/5 stars

This book. THIS BOOK. I honestly can't speak highly enough of it? I keep returning to it again and again when I'm sad. It pulled me out of a funk, made me believe in love, gave me hope for the future of America...honestly. This book.

Absolutely loved this book! I have never read a romance novel with a homosexual couple - I'm glad that this story puts real couples like this on the map so that others who are similar can feel included, like their own stories can get told, too.

While I enjoyed this book a lot, I didn't love it as much as everyone on Booktube did unfortunately. I guess I'll start out with the negatives: I think there was actually a little too much politics and not enough romance, especially in the last 35% of the book. While this story centers around two political families and a reelection, I just felt that it could have been more focused on Alex and Henry's relationship overall. I also think that this book could've maybe been a little shorter. For me, 423 pages is a little long for a new adult romance.

Back to the positives: OMG I LOVE ALEX AND HENRY SO MUCH. I love how complex and multifaceted McQuiston wrote them to be. I also loved the pacing of how their relationship developed from hate to love. I enjoyed all of the side characters as well. This book also made me wish that we had an President like Ellen in real life.

I would definitely recommend this, but I wouldn't advise against having as high of expectations as I did going into it. Overall a wonderful LGBTQ romance!

I went into this novel expecting a fluffy little rom-com, but Casey McQuiston has blown me away. This hopeful tale of friendship, politics, and a history-changing love is funny and sweet and beautiful and it ripped my heart to absolute shreds before putting it back together and filling it with pride and the hope for a future that could be ours someday. For sure adding this to my Faves of 2019 list!!

Much thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s/Griffin for an advanced reader’s copy for early review.

Things I Loved about Red, White and Royal Blue

1. The Diversity
This book is about Alex, who is biracial (Mexican/white), has ADHD and as he realises throughout the book, he is bisexual. Alex happens to be the son of the female president of the United States, and he falls in love with Henry, the gay prince of England. As if that wasn’t amazing enough, there’s also diversity when it comes to the supporting characters, there’s a biracial character, a bisexual character, a character with no regards for gender roles and a character that struggles with addiction. And that’s just the most prominent secondary characters, there’s even more diversity when it comes to minor characters. How fantastic is that?!

2. The Romance
Now, the main focus of the story is the romance and let me tell you this book is the perfect example of the dislike to like to love trope. I was swooning so hard while reading this book, the romance was cute and angsty and hot and everything I could have ever asked for. Also, for a big part of this book, Alex and Henry communicate through emails, which are sweet, romantic, thoughtful and just thinking about them makes me want to smile.

3. Amazing side characters + coolest friend group ever
Each of the two main characters in this book had two people in there lives that were really close to them. For Alex, it was his sister, June, and his best friend, Nora. And for Henry, it was his sister, Bea, and his best friend, Pez. Throughout the book the six of them form a friendship and they become the coolest, most badass group of friends ever and I’m so here for it! I love all six of them.

Also, I need follow up books so I can get stories for the other characters (I feel like they are hints of June and Nora having a thing, but I have mentioned it to some people and no one else seems to have noticed it, so I’m fretting that I made it all up in my mind and now I’m invested in it and it won’t happen, so if you read the book and you also saw the June/ nora hints, let me know!)

4. The political aspect
Lastly, this book deals a lot with politics, elections, electoral campaings and all that sort of thing since Alex’s mom is up for reelection and that has an impact on Alex and Henry’s relationship. I know that may be divisive because a lot of people may not like how big of part politic plays in the book, but as someone who graduated as a political scientist, I LOVED it! I thought it was really interesting and well reserched, even if the ending didn’t feel completely realistic, it was more on the hopeful side but it went well with the tone of the book.

There are so many other amazing things about this book like the supportive family and the humor, but these were the main four things that made me fall in love with Red, White & Royal Blue.

I absolutely loved this book and these boys! I absolutely loved the slow burn between the two and the relationship felt so healthy and natural. This author has a voice for adorable romances!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC of this novel. Regardless of the way I acquired the novel, the thoughts, opinions, and views stated in this review are completely unbiased and one hundred percent my own.

There is a good chance this review is going to be an incoherent gush because I LOVED THIS BOOK AND THESE BOYS SO MUCH.

I don’t know who in the publishing/writing world decided summer 2019 would be Young Adult/New Adult Pride Summer but I am l i v i n g for the queer representation that’s been all over the book channels this summer. Yes. Queens. Live your literary truth.

Alex and Henry are the perfect characters, for me, in this novel. They were each so unique and individual, while leading seemingly parallel lives. I loved how their stories intertwine, how they meet, how their feelings for each other grow and unfurl like a beautiful peacock tail (I’m really not sure why that’s the imagery I came up with in this moment…).

I read another review that mentioned they wished Alex and Henry had alternating POV’s throughout the novel. I think I liked having this first novel be all Alex because it was his discovery of himself, and his mom’s big election, so it made sense that everything was handled through his world view. However, I love the idea of getting inside Henry’s POV, and if/when we get a book two, having Henry take the lead would be, everything.

I really just want to gush about how sweet, and cute, and steamy these two romantic boys are, but that would give away all the best parts of the novel. I definitely got very emotional more than a few times while reading their love story.

The only negative thing I have to say about this novel is that it got a little political heavy. This was totally in character for Alex, our future leader of the free world, but it got to be too much for me, the reviewer who can’t even watch an entire news segment without cringing or turning it off. That’s really the only reason this doesn’t get the full 5 star rating, because I found myself skimming over some of the political discussion just so I could get to our next scene faster.

Other than that I adored this book. I ADORED the setting, and the fact that our characters included the First Son of a female President, and the Prince of England. And I adored how they navigated their relationships with their family, their countries, and each other. You guys, just read it, okay. It’s so. Cute. I want to hug them both. Love is love is love is love is love...


4.5/5

This is a difficult book to rate. I didn't connect with any of the characters. The dialogue between Henry and Alex didn't seem appropriate for their ages. It was very immature at times. Also, I don't know many 20 year old young men who speak so in depth about love and their feelings. It all just threw me out of the story and became unrealistic and because of that I never meshed with the love story.

The secondary girl characters were kick ass and I wanted more dialogue from them. I liked how Casey showed Alex and Henry's vulnerabilities. How afraid they were, but needed each other. I felt a bit disconnected to Henry more than Alex because Alex character was more fleshed out. We learned more about Henry near the books end. At that point I didn't care to know.

Now, I can definitely see why this book is beloved. A story about two high profiled young gay boys secretly having a love affair where the stakes are high. Most Americans love anything that involves Royals.

These are my quick thoughts.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the advanced eARC.

Loved this book! At first I wasn't sure, but I quickly feel in love. It's a read in one sitting kind of book!!

I unfortunately was not a fan of Red, White & Royal Blue and I feel as if I am in the minority with this opinion. Alas, it is my opinion though and I don't want to hold back.

It took me several tries to get through this book. Several months even. I would pick it up, read a few pages, and then have to put it back down because I just couldn't do it which is a shame but I was actually really excited to read this book. This one just didn't do it for me and I think it boils down to the writing. The sentences were choppy and just didn't read well to me. And the story line was SO CHEESY. I was expecting it to be slightly cheesy simply because it's a romance book and I tend to always find them cheesy but this one really took the cake. I found myself laughing at times but not in a good way sadly.

What I did like is how this book didn't hold back when it came to LGBTQ+ rep, I wish more books had the capacity this one did. I also like that Red, White & Royal Blue is definitely not Young Adult but rather New Adult. I think more books need to branch out into this category. We can have books with early 20 characters in this genre without the story being all smut. I hope this book helps break through that stigma!

This book was fantastic! The witty personality that Alex has is amazing and had me laughing out loud a few times. This is one of the best romantic comedy I have read in a long time and just fell in love with this story. I will definitely be buying this book and rereading it a few times.

I can see why everyone and their mother loves this book, it's cute and witty and just a fun time while also shining light on important political matters. I admire the author for their work and I hope to read more from them in the future.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an exchange of an honest review.

The ARC came to me as a PDF for me to read on my phone...I was less than thrilled by this due to the fact that my phone is a third of the size of my kindle.

The plot had me intrigued though, First Son secretly dates The Prince, so I opened my microscopic ARC and the next thing I know I had spent hours squinting and page adjusting and it was totally worth it!

This story is sexy, clever and so much fun! I was so elated by the end I didn’t care how it was sent to me as long as I got to read the story. Now go out and read it too!

O.M.G.

This is one of the CUTEST novels I have ever read!! I was living for Alex and Henry. I will say though, Henry is real close to Harry, so for about half the book I thought his name was Harry. Oops.

I loved all the characters. I instantly fell in love and cared about them. I wanted them all to do well in their chosen careers and in their personal relationships.

There was just enough political intrigue to keep me interested without being too political-y. There was backstabbing and switching sides PLUS some royal politics. It was amazing.

I loved how the book ended. It left me wanting more, but it was all tied with a pretty bow. I just loved Alex and Henry SO MUCH I wanted to keep hearing about their day to day lives.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves YA contemporaries, LGBT romance, political intrigue, and just a good time. Red, White and Royal Blue had me laughing and crying. I could definitely see myself re-reading this book in the future.

Isn't is amazing when a debut book is so good? Red, White & Royal Blue is one of my favorites reads of the year. Refreshing characters, an amazing story line and a new author for my favorites list.

This book is an absolute gem, and one of the brightest lights among 2019 debuts. I can't wait to see what Casey McQuiston does next.

I loved this book! What a cute, fun read! I would highly recommend this book to anyone that loves Chick-Lit.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.