Red, White & Royal Blue
Ratings849
Average rating4.1
this is not exactly my usual read, but boy, that's well written and engaging piece.
My thoughts upon rereading it in 2023:
I first read this book back in March of 2020 and you can read my original thoughts on it here. I wanted to reread it in anticipation of the adaptation coming to Amazon Prime on the 13th of August. I was hoping to still love it this time around and spoiler alert I loved it even more.
I was immediately sucked in again. I didn't want to stop reading it. I was buddy reading it with Yesha and the plan was to read at our own pace and check in every 5 chapters. Well up I flew through this is 3 days and it took everything in me to spread it out over those 3 days because I never wanted to put it down.
I felt the same way about it this time that I felt the first time. I thought it was cute, adorable and funny with a little bit of awkward thrown in and I got that same gushy feeling I got the first time. The only complaint I had the first time was how the last half of the book was more about the politics and less about the romance and that was why I took off the half star. This time around it didn't bother me at all and I loved it more. I guess maybe because I knew it was coming. I don't really know I am just glad I still loved it this time around and I can not wait to watch the adaptation next month.
My thoughts the first time I read it in 2020
4.5 stars
I have been meaning to read this for a while now and I finally got around to it because it fit a prompt for romanceopoly. I am so glad that I finally read it because I really loved it.
I listened to the audiobook for this in 2 sittings. For the first half of the book I was absolutely in love with the story and the characters and the romance. It was so cute and adorable and funny with the perfect amount of awkwardness. I was fully ready to give it 5 stars just from reading the first half.
After finishing the book though I am less inclined to give it 5 stars. Don't get me wrong I absolutely loved pretty much everything about this book but the last half was more about the politics of it all and less about the romance which was what I was living for.
I was getting the same gushy feelings for the romance in this book that I did for the romance in Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda so when it became more about the politics and less about their budding relationship I was kind of pulled out of it a little.
That's really the only bad thing I have to say about this book. I really loved it and can't believe I waited so long to actually read it.
I have this problem where the more I love a book, the more difficult it is for me to write a meaningful review. The more strongly I feel, the harder I find it to be objective and constructive, and just end up gushing. Sooo... spoiler alert: I LOVED this book.
The dialogue was probably my favorite thing about this book. It hums along like a well-oiled machine and the humor is well-timed, well-tuned, and had me chuckling out loud countless times. Their expressions are “now”, which amused me a lot, though it makes me wonder how well it'll age (well, I hope, because it's a super fun book!). The core characters are charming and compelling, with enough flaws to keep them down-to-earth, and the journey is an incredibly enjoyable ride. The enemies-to-lovers situation is fairly quick, but earned, as the groundwork for the evolution of the relationship, I think, was quite well constructed.
The periphery characters are maybe not the most fleshed out, but they were still distinctive and affable, and I felt a lot of affection for them when they would pop up here and there.
I really especially loved the handling of sexual orientation, and that it wasn't a magical light bulb moment. I feel like McQuiston took great care to make sure that this self discovery made sense, with some very believable reflective interior dialogue and anecdotes from that character's past that served as a very sturdy foundation for their revelation and the relationship that unfolds.
I also really appreciate that, while the relationship itself was between two men, one character's bisexuality wasn't just forgotten once they got together, and was referenced (in a casual and natural manner) many times throughout the book. From reading other comments and reviews, it appears that many Bi folks found this to be respectful and meaningful rep, which I dig.
The alternate history feels kind of weird since it's re-envisioning that last few years rather than capital-H history with some distance to the presence. This isn't a negative at all; I don't know how common recent alternate histories are, but I've not read anything like that before, so I found it kind of surreal. But, in the end, it was something I found to be quite interesting and exciting to read.
Was the climax and resolution kind of over-the-top and not entirely believable? Absolutely, yes. And look, your milage may vary on this one, but I personally feel like this brand of willful optimism and idealism is incredibly important these days, and was so refreshing to read. I love my melancholy, but I think a spoonful of sugar is a healthy thing. RW&RB scratched a similar itch for me that Schitt's Creek did with its portrayal of David and Patrick. Maybe we don't yet live in a world where this story would end like that in real life, but dammit, I wish we did! And if we can't have that in our books, movies, or TV shows, then, I dunno, that's really sad to me.
If you want a zippy, affable, easy-to-read rom-com where the stakes feel really high, but also gives you the warm-n-fuzzies, then, you honestly couldn't do much better than Red, White & Royal Blue. I absolutely adored it!
This one is just straight up delightful. It's the most fun I've had reading a book in probably the last year at least. You can't help but fall in love with the main characters. It's hopeful and joyful and lovely without being straight up sugar fluff. Cannot wait to read more from this author.
I hope we get to live in the America of this book someday.
Meh demasiada política, solo me gustó el enemies to lovers y me pareció que fue un poco rápido
So this won not one, but two Goodreads choice awards, for Best Romance and Best Debut Novel...mkay.
Short version: This book felt overly lengthy, uninspired, and quite dull. It was overloaded with politics when all I really wanted was a straightforward love story. I couldn't connect with a narrative that ultimately idealizes a lot of aspects of American imperialism and British colonialism.
Long version
While the book aimed to be a contemporary romance novel, it often felt more like an idealistic fantasy. The central premise of the First Son of the United States falling in love with a British prince was certainly intriguing, but the execution left much to be desired. The characters, especially Alex, the First Son, and Henry, the Prince, came across as one-dimensional and failed to undergo significant development throughout the narrative. They were plagued by stereotypes and clichés that made it difficult to truly connect with them on a deeper level.
Alex being the son of the first female president of USA, who's not only divorced and re-married but her first husband is Latin-American, and him being instrumental in turning Texas blue is straight up out of this world. As much as I wanted to believe in this scenario, I just couldn't suspend my disbelief. The heavy propaganda around American democracy didn't help either, as it's quite obvious that America is not the beacon of democracy it claims to be, not even on the democratic party side.
On the one hand, the book attempts to address and challenge some social issues with which I can align with. It contributes to the lgbtq+ representation in mainstream literature and tackles some diversity and inclusivity. These are commendable efforts towards fostering a more inclusive literary landscape.
However, my skepticism toward American politics, in general, made it challenging for me to fully embrace the story's portrayal of the political landscape. The book leaned heavily into idealized and oversimplified political caricatures.
The character development also left me wanting more. Alex and Henry, and the side characters, came across as one-dimensional and static. I had hoped for more growth and depth, particularly considering the potential of their unique love story. Instead, their relationship sometimes felt rushed and superficial, making it difficult for me to become emotionally invested in their journey.
For those who could look past its political arc and embrace its message of love and acceptance, it might have been an engaging read. However, for readers like me, who approach American politics with a significant degree of skepticism, the book's backdrop proved to be a stumbling block to fully enjoying its romantic narrative.
This book was pure, sickening, marshmallow fluff. That's all. And I loved every second of it.
thank you, casey mcquiston, for quite possibly might be my favourite contemporary ever
there's not a thing about this book i didn't like, and not a moment where i wasn't enjoying myself reading it. i laughed, i cried, and i smiled like a dumbass whenever i had it open.
god, i wish this was the world we actually lived in
The kind of fiction I wish was around when I was growing up gay. A romcom tale where the meet-cute and the couple are two gay boys, from very privileged and popular families. It is very saccharine, very predictable, but worth every page.
This was great: really funny, hot romance, serious 2016 elections feels, and more heartfelt and emotional moments than I expected. So good!
Sometimes you just need to inject sweet, fluffy, liberal crack riiiiiiiight into your brain stem.
Living in this story was just delightful. A balm for a tired soul in the year of our Lord 2019. Let's call this an alternate history, shall we!? We've got our first woman president! Who is divorced and remarried, and has biracial children! One of whom is bisexual! They are snarky and funny and tight-knit and beautiful, and open to handling issues together and talking things out and being as honest as they can with each other. They're from TEXAS! There is so much Texas in here.
Alex and Henry's relationship was adorable and messy and swoony and adorable again. Enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, but also SECRET RELATIONSHIP! Again, just delightful.
There's “but private email server!” hand-wringing because OF COURSE there is, but even though I knew that it was going to have to blow up at some point because this is post-2016, I didn't mind - I gave a good eye-roll - but also the stakes felt more legitimate in this context than they did in the real world?? The entire political aspect of this book was just great; so much of the focus was on helping others in the best ways you can, and leaving a legacy of good.
I... might have cried a bit while listening to the last chapter. Review to come once I've stopped MY HEART FROM SCREAMING
just read this book pleasepleaseplease
This book. WOW. When I first began reading this one I was like “okay okay. it's cute and all, but I still don't get the hype”.... but then I got to approx. page 40 and was HOOKED. Each character in this story is SO unique and nuanced. The dialogue was freaky real. Like yes, it's kind of cheesy but McQuiston did an amazing job actually of capturing how people speak nowadays. The plot itself falls somewhere between YA/Fanfic/everything I never knew I wanted to read in a gay love story. It's cute, romantic, and steamy too! The cast is diverse in race and experience, showing that cultural boundaries can really effect what it means to come out! I definitely recommend anyone, queer or ally to read this one!
Super duper cute. An LGBTQ+ story that isn't terribly sad nor do the characters die; it's surprisingly rare to find in queer fiction. Overall, it's got really well-developed characters and just enough narrative drama to push along the character-driven nature of the story.
This was amazing. Waited months to get it at the library, then promptly bought it the second I finished it. What a delight.
What an absolute gem of a book! I completely loved this - I laughed, I cried and I smiled the entire time I was reading it.
I don't think I can remember a book where I've loved every character this much, they were just a delight to read about, with the exception of the queen!
I just wish I had had the time to devour this in a day or two, I just ended up having very little time to read at the time so it ended up taking me over a week!
