Red, White & Royal Blue
Ratings849
Average rating4.1
Red, White & Royal Blue is just too darn cute. It really is. It's sweet and emotional, and I really enjoyed all of it. It's a bit long and a bit cliche, but the story itself is wholesome and heartwarming. Also, I'm pretty sure there was a subtle Firefly reference near the end, which is A+ in my book.
oof this was so addictive, i couldn't stop reading, i didn't want to stop reading till i was done with it. and maybe this isnt perfect, maybe the fact that theres no proper definition between scenes pissed me off a little, maybe the end isn't realistic, but damn it all. it was beautiful and queer people deserve unrealistic happy endings too, there's already enough sadness in the real world.
i just wanna point out that the friendships is what i liked most about this story. and also that im a bit sad we didn't get to know philip better, what can i do, im a sucker for secondary characters that are assholes but have a big room for improvement and development.
anyway, it was such a fun and cute book.
third read 5 mayhaps this IS the most comforting book of all times second read 5 first read 4-4.5 for someone who's been feeling really disillusioned by the state of the world at the moment this book was a lovely breath of air. it speaks of a lot of hope in terms of what we can change and what we can and will set our hearts and minds to, and i think i really needed to see and read that. it reminds me that there are so many people who are fighting, and that maybe there is a possibility we will come out on top. also i have to hand it to casey mcquiston: this might be the first book about people in their early twenties in which their online behaviour is actually reflective of the way people in that age range use and talk on social media. high quantity of memes and shady comments. also probably the first book ever that makes references to pop culture that doesn't make me want so shrivel up and die because of the cringe.
who knew that all I needed to cure my depression* was a book about an alternate universe where a competent, experienced Democratic woman won the 2016 US Presidential election and because of that, the country (and world) was a better place where her bisexual, biracial son could fall in love with the gay Prince of England and everything could turn out BEAUTIFUL and HAPPY and LOVELY
*jk, go to therapy, kids!!!
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Second read: somehow even better than the first time
This was SO GOOD. It was so good that I legit barely have the words to express it. Like I am in awe. I guess it was like exactly what I was craving to read right now, it fit my mood so fucking perfectly I don't even know what to do.
I love some good ass romance shit and this was some of the best goddamn romance shit I ever read, I was hooked after the first fucking chapter to the point where I literally knew there was no fucking chance I wasn't going to like this book. And I LOVED IT.
And the best part of it is!!!!! That the ending was so fucking perfect for this to not get “boring romantic” as we get to the finish line. This book is set very heavily in the world of politics, but even though politics are very present and influence the decisions of the characters, it is for a good amount still just background noise while we focus on getting the couple together. But then we get to the end and the climax of the political campaign and it is so exciting and scary and wonderful hoping along with these fantastic characters for America to make the better choice. And it's just such a rush again that gives that extra splash to the story of an otherwise great romance on its own. Like I literally don't have anything bad to say about this, it was exactly what I needed right now and I absolutely fucking LOVED IT.
This book is alternate recent political history (yes I'm talking 2016) in the best possible way. It was both a fluffy and brilliant queer romance and a vision of a better world that tackles real problems we are currently facing. I love this, I can't say enough how much
rtc but I'm smiling and crying at the same time and it was so AMAZING and I'm fucking dead
4.5 stars. I am positively giddy over this book. It was such a pleasant, happy, delightful read. It delivers plenty of laughs and warm fuzzies. Alex and Henry are the CUTEST. The supporting cast of characters are great. And considering our current political climate, it was a nice escape into what the future could be like. My face hurts from smiling. I highly recommend this.
i read this book in less than a day. i think that's a good sign
it combines many tropes that i really adore and has some very fun dynamics between great characters. sure, it's not the most epic story of this century and im sure there would be some flaws if i dug a bit deeper and analyzed it or smth
but it's a hopeful and fun book and i think this book could be a comfort read for many queer people (it certainly was one for me, even made me emotional at certain parts,,)
the main romance is cute and mushy and lots of fun and i think im totally okay with its development. and gosh, do i love the two main bois
also, i want a sequel with some of the other characters as the protagonists, not gonna lie
or just. a sequel in general.
Apparently I'm going to read this approximately every two years! Nora/Pez/June is the true OT3 of our dreams. Still 4 out of 5, still cute, still here for the kissing.
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Y'all, this book was so dang cute!
Okay, so here's the thing: if someone talks to me for more than 5 minutes, they will realize I am a giant, sappy romantic, the kind of person who believes true love conquers all and other such nonsense things. This is the flip-side to my horror-obsessed, gothy self. I am a study in opposites! Such a complex woman!
The point is, while I don't often gravitate toward romance novels - fanfic is generally where I get my sappy romance fix - I am most assuredly a sucker for a cute love story. And Alex and Henry are actually the cutest? I am 100% here for all the enemies-to friends-to lovers tropes, and their developing friendship is so adorable. Any relationship based on relentless teasing will instantly destroy my heart.
I cannot believe even mortal peril will not prevent you from being the way you are.
Henry heaves another almighty sigh. He's always sighing when Alex is involved. It's amazing he has any air left.
That is the kind of flirting I am here for!
There are a lot of other things I liked about this novel outside of the love story: Alex has a really strong friendship with his sister, June, and I love the idyllic world where a remarried, Democratic woman with biracial children from her previous marriage is president.
There were problems, of course, the main issue being that the writing was often very “tell” and not “show” which made the dialogue occasionally clunky, but who cares? I'm here for the kissing. 4/5 adorable, kissy stars.
Glorious. Adorable and funny, but with real meat behind the fluffiness. I predict this will be my favourite book of the year.
Pros:
- Cuteness: This book was so cute and I loved Alex and Henry and their antics. This book did such a good job of introducing their worlds and then interconnecting them in a way that did not seem forced. This book was decently long for a contemporary but I wanted more of Alex and Henry being adorable together.
- Research: I feel like Casey McQuiston did such a fantastic job with the research and accuracy of this book. Whether it was the US history or the British Royal Family information, I felt that this book could be true (even if it was in a parallel universe where 2016 went the way we wanted).
- Secondary Characters: I loved all the support system around Henry and Alex. I especially loved the White House Trio and their friendship. They always had each other's backs and Alex (and even Henry) knew they could count on each of them.
Cons:
- Connections: I feel like some of the connections/relationships between some of the side characters seemed forced and overly convenient and while the rest of the book seemed so real and accurate to me this aspect made the book seem less real.
I was absolutely DELIGHTED by the first half of this book and in tears for the second half. Rafael Luna is my favorite.
–reread in September: this book continually delights me
This was the heartwarming, future-looking rom com I needed to kickstart my reading life again. I polished this off in a single day.
It was just so cute. It was just so cute. It was just! so! cute! I went in with such high expectations I figured I was bound for disappointment, but somehow it was even better than I thought it would be. I can't believe it's McQuiston's debut.Plenty of fiction I read contains romance, but I rarely gravitate to romance as a genre. I often get bored with or embarrassed by it. But RWRB just got me. It features characters around my age. It taps acutely into contemporary US politics while providing fun escapism. It addresses a lot (that I didn't realize) I was looking for and not finding in other romance.I have too many feelings about too many things to write a more coherent review now and probably ever. But I would recommend this to fans of [b:The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue 29283884 The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (Montague Siblings, #1) Mackenzi Lee https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1492601464s/29283884.jpg 49527118], [b:Autoboyography 28919058 Autoboyography Christina Lauren https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490425916s/28919058.jpg 49135502], [b:Here to Stay 38571446 Here to Stay Sara Farizan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1519835672s/38571446.jpg 60180442], and [b:A Very Large Expanse of Sea 38720939 A Very Large Expanse of Sea Tahereh Mafi https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1558453377s/38720939.jpg 60301626], all for slightly different reasons.
“Sería una mentira, porque no sería él.” It would be a lie, because it wouldn't be him.
what do you mean i can only rate this five stars?
This deserves more than five stars. I want to live in this parallel universe that the author has created where instead of a completely unhinged egotistical maniac becoming president in 2016, a woman with a mixed race family and gay son wins the election. I would like to live in this world where yes, there are still some assholes who would move our country backwards, but above that, a more progressive and accepting culture is growing. Hopefully someday this can be true. I loved the (extremely diverse!) characters, the romance, the enemies to lovers thing that always gets me. I loved the quirky, funny writing style and I definitely didn't want this book to end. It will be going on my re-read list most definitely.
This review can also be found on my blog.
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own. All quotes have been taken from the advanced copy and are subject to change upon publication.
I put this on my TBR when I saw it on Reads Rainbow's Enemies to Lovers rec list (PS pls follow their blog, Charlotte and Anna share some wonderful stuff and are always beefing up my to-read list!). I was #BLESSED with a review copy from Netgalley and have spent the last week and a half getting my heart destroyed by this book.
Straight people, he thinks, probably don't spend this much time convincing themselves they're straight.
RW&RB is a skillful combination of both the “enemies to lovers” and “fake relationship” tropes, although the fake relationship is a fake friendship rather than fake dating. The main character, Alex, is a bisexual biracial angel who falls in love with the (extremely gay) Prince Henry of Wales after plenty of angst and a lot of drama. I will admit it's a little instalove-y, if that's something that bothers you. Luckily it's not something I mind and I found their relationship so, so precious!
[...] Henry, who knows him. Henry who's seen him in glasses and tolerates him at his most annoying and still kissed him like he wanted him, singularly, not the idea of him.
The side characters are equally wonderful and McQuiston does an incredible job of fleshing them out. The two we see the most are Alex's older sister June and his best-friend-sort-of-ex Nora who is openly queer, although I don't think she uses any particular label on-page. There are several other queer side characters, including a trans woman and a pansexual character. I love that this book kind of demonstrates how we gays tend to stick together, since I'd say a good 95% of my friends have identified as lgbtqia.
He rolls onto his side and listens, trails the back of his hand across the pillow next to him and imagines Henry lying opposite in his own bed, two parentheses enclosing 3,700 miles.
Besides containing a truly unbelievably cute romance, this book explores discovering your sexuality, politics, and mental health. Alex and Henry have very different feelings about their lives in the public eye, and the expectations set upon them as the children of leaders conflict with what they'd prefer to do with themselves. Henry also deals with depression, which is touched on but isn't the focus of the story.
“Ugh! Men!” she groans. “No emotional vocabulary. I can't believe our ancestors survived centuries of wars and plagues and genocide just to wind up with your sorry ass.”
Overall, I just loved this book more than I can even convey. I cried several times reading it and am positive I'll return to it in the future. It's fluffy, it's steamy, it's political, and it is quite honestly PERFECT. Casey McQuiston is heading straight to my insta-read author list.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Let me be yet another person who gushes about this book. I LOVED it. I will admit to being too sure with it in the beginning, I wasn't sure where things were going, but quickly I was pulled into this charming story and the pages flew by me.
The unfortunate part of this review is that it has been over a month since I read the book, so I can't recall everything I wanted to say about it. I do know that I am already ready to re-read it.
Look, the characters are charming and likeable. They are ones that I could read 1000+ pages about with no qualms. There is fantastic dialogue– witty, funny, and at times powerful. Even the side characters have personalities that shine through. I would totally read a book about Alex's sister or his best friend, heck even Henry's friend! While at times I feel like the side characters fell way into the background, I don't think it really detracted anything from the story. Still, I could and would read more about them.
I will say that for guys who are so smart, they had moments where I thought “no, duh!” like something would seem obvious, but they just didn't do it...
The romance... so, so, so cute. I just wanted to bask in all it's glory. I wouldn't exactly call this enemies-to-lovers... perhaps rivals-to-lovers??? But, I mean, this is totally a personal take. They are so adorable though. Their conflict 100% made sense and not once did it feel overdone or obligatory. I was with this book every step of the way.
My biggest complaint? This is Casey McQuiston's first book – meaning there is nothing else by her for me to read!! I'm a fan and eagerly awaiting her future books.
If you like romances with witty dialogue, cute moments, with a dash of politics thrown in then you should really check out this book!
5 stars, no question about it. This book should be shelved under “fantasy,” because it's so far-fetched in today's world, but oh how I wish it could be true. The POV MC Alex is the half-Mexican son of the female, divorced, progressive President of the United States. His BFF is the Jewish granddaughter of the Veep. The President's closest advisers include a Muslim (I think) chief of staff and a transgender Secret Service Agent.
Oh, and Alex doesn't know it yet as the story begins, but he's in love with the grandson of the Queen of England, the very royal Prince Henry of Wales.
This is one of those books that you can't put down because it's so engaging, but at the same time you want to put it down because you need it to last longer. The writing is sharp and clever, and debut author Casey McQuiston creates a hilarious, sweet and swoony enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance that hits all of the emotional feels in a perfect arc (no Big Misunderstandings, no long separations, no rehashing the same issues over and over). Plus she sets it in a world in which goodness triumphs and crooked politicians go down in flames. If only!
Alex is a wonderful MC, ambitious, loyal, snarky as all get out, but it's really Henry who steals the book with his wounded heart and quiet courage. He has the tougher obstacles to overcome - as he says, Alex can choose a different career besides politics, but Henry will always be a royal, with all of the obligations that involves. I couldn't help wishing that some of the chapters were told from Henry's POV. I'm not a fan of duologies that show the same events from different perspectives, but in this case I think it might actually be warranted. Either that, or I just want to spend more time with these delightful characters.
It's rare that I read a book that lives up to the hype, but Red, White & Royal Blue does that and more. If you have been heartbroken since November 2016, this book will ease your pain, at least for a little while.
ARC gratefully received from Net Galley in exchange for honest review.