This book lived up to it’s hype and more! Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is clever, funny and everything you want out of a romance! Above all, this book is a love letter to the LGBTQIA community!
Alex, the First Son of the United States, and Henry, Prince of Wales, are forced to pretend to be friends after an international incident at a royal wedding. In attempting to avoid an international scandal, the two have to spend an entire weekend faking a “bromance”. This wouldn’t be a problem if Alex didn’t despise Henry since he was 14 after a scene at the Olympics years before. This is of course the least of Alex’s problems especially with his mother’s re-election campaign right around the corner. In an unlikely turn of events, the two form a friendship over similar difficulties they’re facing with their positions in the world. But that friendship turns into something more, is the world ready for America’s First Son and the British Prince to fall in love?
This book made me feel all mushy inside! It was straight out of a rom-com, with the dialogue, hilarious secondary characters, and even the email/text messages formatted throughout the book — it is probably one of the best coming of age romance novels that I’ve read, and it speaks to this generation. It tackles issues like falling in love, dealing with grief, coming out and just growing up.
I applaud Casey McQuiston for taking something so relevant, U.S. politics and the British Monarchy, and putting them into a love story. The premise is beyond clever! Her pacing and formatting of the emails/texts gave it a breath of fresh air just when it was needed, and McQuiston didn’t drag the story out. Many romance novels rush through the ending, but I felt this was done in a beautiful way that made it a classic, yet modern, romance novel!
I’m not one for getting all mushy, especially while reading romance novels (sarcasm anyone?) but this cold, dark heart of mine melted a wee bit when it made me remember falling in love for the first time. All the emotions, the ups and downs, more downs than ups for me really, but this book made me feel what it was like to fall in love again!
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is a thoughtful, hilarious and overwhelmingly heartfelt romance novel. This book is about being brave enough to accept you’re worth fighting for and chasing after the things you want most! This is a special book and I hope, I really want, everyone else to fall madly in love with it. It truly represents love in 2019! I highly recommend it!
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Casey McQuiston for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Katie's Corner 