Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (Book Review)
Hi, everyone! I recently decided to do a re-read of Red, White & Royal Blue (yes, just so I could then watch the movie- which was fantastic by the way!) so here are my thoughts!
Title: Red, White & Royal Blue
Synopsis: First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides — namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations. The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince.
As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?
Author: Casey McQuiston
Genre: Romance, LGBTQ+, New Adult.
Series: Standalone
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Pages: 423
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Date Published: May 14th, 2019.
Rating: 👑👑👑👑 (4.5)
My Thoughts: The only reason my rating isn’t 5 stars or 5.75 is the same reason as to why I DNF’d it when I first picked it up- I didn’t care too much for the political jargon that littered the pages of this book. However, the romance is definitely one of the things that saved this book for me, along with the other sentimental relationships within this book. Watching Alex and Henry slowly realize how gone they are for one another was such a wonderful experience! Their back-and-forth banter throughout the book was truly the best part. There’s a playfulness to their relationship that is just *chef’s kiss* … I thought that it was done a beautifully organic way that didn’t really feel rushed and despite the “fairy tale” aspects of this book, their love story wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows so to speak. There were very real issues and problems that stood in the way of Alex and Henry’s happiness but seeing them support each other through it all and not give up on one another made me root for them that much more. And, oh yeah- the spicy scenes were on point!
Another aspect I really enjoyed was the friendships and familial relationships within this book. They didn’t feel secondary or tertiary to Alex and Henry’s relationship, unlike a lot of other romance books. It felt like even though there were seemingly other people who were going to be affected by Alex and Henry’s relationship/coming out, the people who mattered most to both of them were there for them every step of the way!
In all, I truly loved this book and I’m so glad that I gave it another chance. It didn’t disappoint!
Thank you for reading this review on Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston! I look forward to coming to you all with more reviews soon!
XOXO, Gigi.💗
