Red, White & Royal Blue
Casey McQuiston
St. Martin’s Griffin, May 2019
425 pages, Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook
Contemporary Romance, LGBTQ Romance

Provided, NetGalley

✭✭✭✭✭

The cover is cute, almost cutesy with its Barbie- doll pink background. The red, white, and blue lettering are effective. But the best part is the two figures leaning against the word BLUE. The one on the left obviously Alex, the First Son, and the one on the right, HRH Henry, the Prince of Wales. It was enough to catch my eye and interest and make me want to look into reading the book.

The story is really good. Two men in highly visible positions on the world stage suddenly find themselves in a situation that the world doesn’t typically find acceptable. But their feelings lead them to a point that they are willing to override the accepted standards and attempt to forge a life for themselves. Their attempt drags palace and White House security and publicity personnel into the mix as well as the Queen and the President. In the midst of an election, some nasty sabotage is uncovered, but can the campaign survive this sex scandal by the two young “royals”? Can the two young men survive the scrutiny of the eyes of the world?

The characters, primary and secondary were written very well. I loved Alex and Henry, the First Son and royal prince. Nora, VP’s daughter, and June, Alex’s sister, were willing to do anything to help. They realized how hard relationships were for the offspring of public figures. I absolutely adored Alex’s father! He’s so cute with all the Mexican food and bunk beds, and then the political support later on to his former wife from his position as a Senator.

The pace was great. There were parts that you just hung on and let your eyes race along the lines of print to keep up with the action as the two young men tried to outpace security and paparazzi. Then there were the times that you shared the morning quiet and coffee and had a chance to catch your breath, the tension always thrumming in the background waiting to pounce with the next incident.

Reality is suspended for the time it takes to read this book. I don’t know if the royal family would ever allow such a thing to be made public. Probably not in my lifetime. The White House probably wouldn’t make it such a public display either. I don’t think the ease with which Alex accepted this change in his sexual identification would have happened quite so painlessly. He simply thinks back to some events in his earlier life and seems to accept it as a given that he is bisexual with no angst or difficulty. I haven’t been through this myself, but I don’t think it’s something usually accepted quite so easily by most people. However, this is a book that is on the light side and very entertaining. It is not meant to delve into the difficulties of being gay or accepting being bisexual. It is focused on the relationship between the two young men and the situation. It does its job excellently if all you read are their emails! I really must give it five stars for a job well done! Highly recommended no matter which side of the pond you are on.

This book... THIS BOOK.

This book made me feel. It made me feel so much joy. More joy than I've felt while reading in so damn long. I know there is a lot of hype over this book. I know people are probably suspicious because of that. I know that a lot of people won't like that this is written in present tense... something I never have an issue with. But OMG, I've never been so happy while reading. Lots of books make me happy. Lots of books make me happy but put me through hell first. Lots of books just rush through the happy and don't give you all the feelings you need to actually connect with the characters. But this book, it's beautiful.

The entire time I read this, I felt like my hurt would burst. I had feelings like I would explode with happiness and joy. It felt so much love and giddiness.

It' not a perfect book. Really, that book does not exist. But this is perfect enough for me. I can't wait to read it again. I can't wait for my signed copy to arrive so I can put it on my bookshelf. I can't wait to hold it and hug it and read it over and over again just to get back a tiny fraction of the happy it gave me. SO MUCH HAPPY.

This is a love story. A love story with so much heart and poetry that I can't recommend it more.

The beginning of this book had a lot of secondary characters that weren't introduced/developed and I found this confusing. It made it harder for me to really dive into the book in the first 50 pages. I also don't care much for the details of politics so there were a few parts I found myself skimming through. Once I was able to get over the side characters all introduced at once I loved the book. I loved the message and the chemistry between Henry and Alex. I also recommend reading the author's note, as she started the writing the book in 2016 and her reflections after the 2016 election.

This reminded me a lot of The Royal We; but the LGBTQ edition. It's funnier though, and set in a delightful alternate universe where President Claremont won the 2016 election, and her son Alex ends up falling in love with the youngest son of the English royal family. It's sweet and sexy, and it's been a while since I stayed up so late reading a book! I may regret it later, but I was fully caught up in Alex and Henry's world.

The novel is told in the First Son's POV, Alex Claremont Diaz... the first Mexican-American First Son. His parents are divorced and he lives in the White House with his mother and sister, June... as well as the Vice President's granddaughter, Nora. They're referred to as the White House Trio and honestly, I wish I was their friend because they seem like they have a lot of fun.

We're introduced to Alex as a carefree, playboy who has his sights set on becoming a politician, helping his mother win the 2020 election and working on her campaign. The one character trait that we see immediately is that Alex has a true hatred for the Prince of England, Henry. He despises him with every fiber of his being and that is where the story begins.

While we know that the two are going to fall in love before the story starts, it's very interesting to see how it takes place. The hatred is so strong from Alex's POV that you can borderline feel the sexual tension through the pages. The way that the relationship comes together is very innocent -- after a bit of an international disaster, Alex and Henry are forced to show off their friendship instead of the bitterness that the public saw -- the friendship eventually blossoms into something more, much to the surprise of Alex.

The story rolls on and there is a lot of secrecy as well as familial issues that come along with the relationship. While I can't speak to the LGBT issues that the book touches on, I do think it did a good job at rounding out the story and not making it a true fairytale.

As I mentioned before, I read this book in less than 24 hours. I could not put it down because I simply needed to know how everything was going to play out. I wanted to see how Alex and Henry's relationship was going to develop and play out... and what would happen when/if the world found out about it.

It was a beautiful love story and touched really nicely on politics without getting too in-depth or too political; I loved the marriage of American and English customs/protocol. It was just an incredibly endearing book that I think everyone would really enjoy. It's a modern love story, one that seems outlandish but at the same time, could actually happen. It was just so good.

I loved this book. LOVED. I loved the snark and quirky main (and secondary) characters and the enemies to lovers and the heartfelt emails sent back and forth with their beautiful historical quotes and the sex in well known settings. I loved how the author managed to make this couple’s relationship and the worldbuilding feel fresh and new even though the backdrop of politics and the royal family are so familiar to readers.

I freaking loved that this book is set somewhat in the future (the presidential campaign in 2020), but we have woman president and our real life current president isn’t anywhere on the political landscape. In fact this might have been one of my favorite things.

Red, White, & Royal Blue made me laugh, and get a little angry, but ultimately sigh in happiness. Alex and Henry are lovely and their relationship was such a wonderful slow burn romance that I was tempted to read ahead at times because I couldn’t wait to see how it all played out. I might have also had a little bit of anxiety about how Henry’s family would react to his coming out.

Even though we only get Alex’s POV, this just as much Henry’s story and his journey to accepting his sexual identity and fighting for his right to be his authentic self within the royal family and in this public life. There is also some honest, frank discussion about bisexuality and Alex realizing that he has always had interest in women and men. Thankfully they both had amazing support systems.

Just as a quick FYI, I would be super interested in reading a Nora/June/Pez poly romance. Like SUPER, DUPER interested.

This was such a fantastic, romantic read. I can’t recommend it enough. Go buy this book, you won’t regret it.
Final Grade- A

Favorite Quote:

Alex takes a breath. There’s this way Henry has of listening to the erratic stream of consciousness that pours out of Alex’s mouth and answering with the clearest, crystallized truth that Alex has been trying to arrive at all along. If Alex’s head is a storm, Henry is the place lightning hits ground. He wants it to be true.

I really tried to get into this book, but unfortunately I just couldn't. I've seen amazing reviews and I wish the author the best of luck with this book!

Red, White & Royal Blue was a delight, and I didn't expect to laugh as hard as I did. Alex, the biracial First Son, was trying to squeeze himself into the politics world while still being a carefree young adult. I loved this book because it didn't read like a traditional rom-com, instead Red, White & Royal Blue felt like a coming of age story for almost all of the characters. Alex had the most important growth as he went from someone who liked to party and kiss whoever was nearby. It was wonderful to watch him fully understand himself as bisexual even when he kept making excuses for himself. One thing from traditional rom-coms that I felt was missing from Red, White & Blue was the alternating perspectives. We only have Alex's perspective so we only got to see the relationship through his eyes. I would have loved to see how some of the events unfolded from Henry's perspective. Nonetheless, I had a great time reading this, and I loved the political commentary. If I could change some minor things, it would be to add Henry's perspective and cut about 100 pages.

You know those books that just make you happy you’ve read them? The kind with characters who grab your heart and a story that makes you smile days after you’ve finished reading it? Red, White & Royal Blue is one of those books for me. Casey McQuiston’s debut is bright, engaging, fun, sexy, and the deeper you fall into the story the more it touches your heart.

Alex is the son of the first female President of the United Sates and a California senator. He’s whip-smart, politically savvy, and can charm anyone. Anyone, that is, but the Prince of Wales. From the moment they met, Alex and Henry were oil and water. And when Alex’s irritation with the prince escalates into an altercation at a royal wedding, the two find themselves needing to do some transatlantic damage control. A fake friendship leads to a real one...that leads to something much more.

I’ll be honest: at first I wasn’t sure I’d like Alex. He was smart, charming, and I adored his relationship with his sister, June, and his best friend Nora, the granddaughter of the Vice President. But Alex was also a bit arrogant and had a beef with Henry, who I freely admit won me over from the start. However, by a third of the way in I was getting to know Alex and understand him better. Not only did I start to like him, but by the end of the book I completely loved him. He’s unbelievably funny, deeply loyal, caring, and his desire to fight for what’s right shines bright. He’s also the perfect match for Henry. Henry’s life has never been entirely his own and he’s been taught to guard his heart and hide a big part of who he is. The part of him that Alex originally sees isn’t the true man at all, but the polished, uncontroversial mask he wears as member of the royal family. I loved learning about Henry through Alex’s eyes and to see both young men come fully into their own over the course of their story.

As individuals, Alex and Henry are delightful heroes who are easy to become attached to. As a couple they are phenomenal. Their slide from dislike to friendship to lust to love is beautifully done and allows the love story to develop organically. Between the top-notch banter and Alex and Henry’s fantastic chemistry, I can’t count the number of times the two of them made me laugh or touched my heart. There are so many joyful, sweet, and sensual moments in Red, White & Royal Blue that I dare your heart not to melt.

It’s not an easy road to happily ever after; the reality of both Henry and Alex’s political situations means that love may not be enough to see them and their families through. A good portion of the romance is interwoven with Alex’s mother’s bid for reelection. I loved how Ms. McQuiston handled both and I found this storyline compelling. The America of Red, White & Royal Blue isn’t perfect (homophobia, racism, and sexism do still exist), but the chords of hope, optimism, and determination that run through this book were uplifting and made me tear up a time or two.

I truly loved Red, White & Royal Blue. Henry and Alex’s story was vibrant, emotional, and deeply compelling. The characters were quick on the draw and the banter alone could have made me enjoy this book. Add in a richly-drawn cast and a romance that made my heart sing and it’s clear why I could not help but fall in love with this story. I desperately hope we get books for Henry and Alex’s loved ones (Nora was a particular favorite of mine), but no matter what Casey McQuiston has in store for readers, I’ll be first in line to buy her work.

Set in an alternate reality where Trump is never elected but a democrat, divorced mom from Texas is, this queer romance is so much more than you may think it's going to be! It's romantic, it's sexy, it's hopeful, it's inspiring and I absolutely loved it! The characters stay with you long after you've finished the book and I hope there's going to be a sequel or even a series!! A must read!!

This was such a fun read! I loved the love story and even the politics. There were so many times I was laughing out loud. Casey McQuiston is a author that I lool forward to reading more from!!

Oh my god I love this book. As soon as I heard the premise of this novel I was excited to read it, the First Son and the Prince of England fall in love...yes please! I was so worried going in because there was so much hype surrounding this book, and I was worried it wouldn't live up to my expectations. Thankfully I was so wrong. This book is just as amazing as everyone is making it out to be!

"Someone else's choice doesn't change who you are."

Red, White, and Royal Blue is hilarious! All of the characters are amazing and so witty. I love the banter between Henry and Alex. Sometimes the words are mean, but both know it means the other cares. It's not just the two main characters that are funny, it's everyone! Alex's sister June and their best friend Nora are also hilarious, as is the president. I love how comfortable with themselves they all are. They make fun of each other, they cuss at each other, they support each other. This was such a great book. Not only was the romantic relationship my fave, but all the relationships were great. I love the friend group of Alex, June, and Nora, and then I love how it expands to include Bea and Pez as well.

The novel follows Alex as he finishes his last year of college, begins working on his mother's reelection campaign, and begins to fall in love with the Prince of England after they start spending more and more time together. Alex and Henry have to do damage control quickly, after rumors of their hatred for each other begin to affect how the public views Alex and his mother the president. The two men have known each other for years, and disliked each other for just as long. As they start spending more and more time together, Alex begins feelings for Henry even though he's straight, or so he thinks. While spending time together and getting closer, Alex begins working through what he thought of his sexuality before and realizing he's actually bisexual. I can't speak for myself, but I've read many reviews where bisexual reviewers talk about how close Alex's experience were with their own, and how it was great to read a story about a bisexual young adult realizing his sexuality. Something I love about romance novels is that they aren't only about the romance, they can also be a place for individuals to see themselves or their experience in stories.

"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."

I also love how political this story is. It's not overtly political, but it's definitely going to be part of the book since Alex's mom is the President of the United States, and he's super into politics. I love this timeline where Ellen Claremont became the president of the U.S. in 2016 after Obama. It also made me so happy to see that she's a Democrat from Texas (Whoooooo!). The politics were woven into the story so naturally, and didn't feel like it overpowered the romance at all.

Overall I really loved this story, and cannot wait to read more by Casey McQuiston (I can't believe this is her debut!!). Red, White, and Royal Blue is definitely one of my favorite books of the year, and one I know I'm going to go back and reread whenever I need a cute comfort read.Have you read this amazing debut yet? What did you think of it?

Y'all, let me see if I can collect my thoughts into a cohesive post that fully covers why the heck you should pick this up. I had so much hope and so much fear for this one little book, and I will forever hold Casey McQuiston in my heart for living up to the hope and completely erasing the fear.

I will start by saying that I love this premise. As a young gay, my dream was always to be married to the first openly gay president (Looking at you, Lincoln). While I wait on an unlikely offer from Buttigieg (man will that reference probably seem dated in two years), this book spoke to that young, idealistic, scared shitless little gay boy.

Next I will say that this is the perfect setting for this novel. Coming out as gay for a lot of us feels almost presidential in scale. A constant check in on the polling numbers before making the decision. As a gay man who did not come out to a totally accepting family, I can say that this is a hyperbole in scale but not in the way it feels to deal with the experience of coming out. The way certain family members of one of the young men involved deals with the coming out is almost verbatim a Facebook message I got from an aunt the first (and only) time I changed my relationship status to show I was with a boy.

Now I want to give the warning to those of you who also may not have done research into author interviews before picking this up: THIS IS NOT YA. Sure most YA audiences are aware of the material in the book, but this would be an awkward title to hand to most teenage members of your family. There are some very steamy scenes in this book.

Also, this book is not perfect. It had the overly ambitious foibles of any debut novel, and I could have done without that one subplot. (You'll know the one after you read the book). But I've never felt so seen or acknowledged in my whole life as a reader. And to get it in the form of a rom-com is more than my hopeless romantic heart could have asked.

Ms. McQuiston, if you happen to find this review AND read the whole thing, I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Here’s a queer rom-com for you that’ll put a big smile on your face! I gotta just say, this one has such a dang cute-ass romance with banter like you wouldn’t believe that had me both laughing AND swooning! I’ve also just never felt so seen before? A Hispanic queer college kid from Texas? HELLO.

Henry and Alex have been “arch enemies”, up until a big ‘ol cake disaster forces them to buddy-up for the press and convince them that there’s no bad blood between two of the most powerful men in the world. WELL... perhaps it’s more of a enemies-to-friends-to-lovers and oh, my heart!
I don’t know what I expected I was getting from the synopsis and cover either, because this one sure had its steam (no, it is not descriptive, but it’s not “fade to black” either)!!

However, I’m still sometimes unsure about this one because the second half kind of took a turn for me. I felt that the second half somewhat struggled to keep a balance between the romance and politics, and in the end, politics won (and then leaving the romance to be a bit rushed). But I didn’t mind *that* so much, as a lot of my beliefs lie alongside those that Casey writes, but I definitely see now why some friends have given this one lower ratings given its political nature. RWRB is politics-heavy, and if that’s not your thing...
It also tried to reflect a lot of our own current political climate and given that its first half was actually romance-heavy, it didn’t have a ton of space within the story to truly carry out some topics. And I’m sure if I didn’t keep putting this one down and picking it back up, I would have enjoyed the ending much more!

In the end, this was just such a great debut rom-com that had me smiling like an idiot and also left me with a little bit of hope.

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.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely LOVED this book. I haven't read a book in a long time that made me feel as happy as this one did. The quality of the writing in this book is exceptional, especially when compared to other books in the same genre. I laughed, I cried, I squeed with joy, this book had everything that I wanted in a feel-good, lighthearted read. I was also extremely impressed with the relevance of the story. It might be a bit far fetched to think that the FSOTUS and the Prince of Wales could be in a romantic relationship, but the background story of the political situation in the United States actually completely fit in with the current state of affairs. The ending of this book wrapped the story up nicely, so I don't anticipate a sequel . . . But I would read Alex and Henry stories forever, if I could.

READ. THE. BOOK.

I suspected I would love Red, White & Royal Blue before I’d read a single page. I mean, I was half in love based on the blurb and cover alone. Once I started reading, I just couldn’t (or wouldn’t) put it down for anything. I caught a major case of instalove for Casey’s debut.

I swear, I cheesy grinned my way through basically 95% of Red, White & Royal Blue. The White House Trio was AMAZING. I loved each of those characters so much. None, perhaps, more than Alex however. His voice was honest and authentic and I absolutely adored him. I, like Alex, initially thought Henry was a little too stuffy and boring, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. He was endearing and I enjoyed him so much.

Alex and Henry’s enemies-to-friends-to-love story was just perfect. Their chemistry was wonderful and their banter had me totally cracking up. The progression of the relationship between them was so, so freaking good. They gave me all the feels and swoons. Plus it’s just fun to think about the international relations between a first child and British royalty, right? I sure thought it was.

Everything about Red, White & Royal Blue — from the characters to the friendships to the romance to the family interactions to the political aspects — worked for me. There were some things that hit ridiculously close to home with the current state of affairs in our country, but that made it all the more realistic. I really want this to be the start of a series. I would love love love more from the White House Trio. Each of those characters was so rich and unique, I’m not ready to give them up. In fact, I need to snag the audio of this one because there will be rereads for years to come.

Favorite Quotes:
“Jane, I’m the son of the President of the United States. Prince Henry is a figurehead of the British Empire. You can’t just call him my ‘arch nemesis’. ‘Arch nemesis’ implies he’s actually a rival to me on any level and not, you know, a stuck-up product of in-breeding who probably jerks off to photos of himself.”

It’s not a grudge, really. It’s not even a rivalry. It’s a prickling, unsettling annoyance. It makes his palms sweat.

“Stop telling me what to do! You’re not the prince of me!”

One does not foster a lifelong love of Star Wars without knowing an “empire” isn’t a good thing.

You are the thistle in the tender and sensitive arse crack of my life.

“Numbers on me being into dudes?”
“Seventy-eight percent probability of latent bisexual tendencies. One hundred percent probability this is not a hypothetical question.”

There’s something about the two of them, the way they ignite at different temperatures, Alex’s frenetic energy and Henry’s aching sureness.

Mais quel bonheur que ce roman ! Si j'ai mis bien plus de temps que d'habitude à lire ce livre, je l'ai savouré de la première à la dernière ligne, et je me suis vraiment régalée du début à la fin !

Ce roman nous plonge dans une espèce de réalité alternative, mêlant ainsi personnages de fiction et personnalités politiques bien réelles (qui sont simplement évoquées, mais du coup, cela donne un air de vraisemblance au récit), une réalité dans laquelle le fils de la présidente des États-Unis fricote avec le petit-fils de la Reine d'Angleterre !

Ce qui débute par une opération de comm' habilement orchestrée prend un tour bien différent lorsqu' Alex et Henry grattent sous la surface et découvrent qui est réellement l'autre. C'est touchant de découvrir qui est Henry, derrière ce masque de stoïcisme et de flegme britannique, tout comme c'est touchant de découvrir ce qui se cache derrière l'exubérance et l'assurance d'Alex.

La façon dont l'auteur explore l'identité d'Alex, ses préoccupations, son idéalisme est à mettre en perspective avec la période durant laquelle l'auteur a écrit ce livre, soit après l'élection américaine de 2016. Ce livre fait passer un beau message de tolérance, d'acceptation des différences, et sous la présidence Trump, on peut dire que Casey McQuinston a voulu ici plonger son pays dans une réalité nettement plus douce et carrément plus tolérante, et pas seulement au niveau de la sexualité de ses personnages. Car Alex et sa sœur ne sont pas blancs, ils ont des racines mexicaines et américaines, et ils viennent du Texas (plus conservateur, tu meurs ! quoique ces jours-ci, c'est plutôt du côté de l'Alabama et de la Georgie que les vieux mâles blancs font des ravages, mais ceci est une autre histoire ...). Du coup, un métis tel que lui face à un prince anglais, aristo de père en fils depuis des générations, cela fait un sacré choc des cultures !

C'est vraiment une chouette histoire que l'auteur nous offre ici, et outre la romance, on plonge dans les coulisses du pouvoir et des élections américaines, ce qui pourrait déplaire à certains lecteurs, mais moi, j'ai trouvé cela passionnant, et la fin est d'ailleurs haletante !

Les personnages secondaires sont extras, et très présents. Ils sont bien développés et ont une personnalité attachante, ne servent pas de faire-valoir et j'ai pris plaisir à les voir évoluer aux côtés d'Alex et Henry (et je ne remets toujours pas de la diatribe de Zahra vers la fin du livre, j'ai adoré son pétage de plomb !)

Ce que j'ai préféré dans ce livre, c'est la correspondance entre Alex et Henry, tout bonnement adorable, j'aurais pu lire un livre entier compilant leurs sms et emails tant c'est charmant et bien écrit (et plus on avance dans le bouquin, meilleur c'est !).

En revanche, j'ai quand même eu du mal avec la narration au présent, et j'ai trouvé que bien souvent, il y avait des ruptures assez brutales dans le récit : d'une ligne à l'autre, on peut passer à tout autre chose, à un autre lieu, ou faire un bond dans le temps, sans aucun saut de ligne ou astérisque ou autre signe nous indiquant le changement. Peut-être est-ce parce que j'ai lu une copie en avant-première, et que dans la version finale (et payante), toute cette typo a été ajoutée/corrigée, mais cela m'a gênée à plusieurs reprises.

Pour autant, j'ai passé de délicieuses heures de lecture avec ces deux jeunes hommes et leurs amis de choc, et je crois que je peux dire que c'est un livre que je relirai avec plaisir, tant l'humour et le sarcasme des échanges entre les deux héros, mais aussi cette belle tendresse, a fait mouche pour moi.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I think this one will be one of the most difficult reviews I’ve ever written. That’s because I totally freakin’ love this book, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to do justice to it and to express all the feelings I felt during this read. And it was really a roller coaster of emotions! I promise I’ll try to do my best.
Alex and Henry are our two main characters here. Alex Claremont-Diaz is the son of the first American female President, Ellen, and he’s trying to build his own political career. Henry, the British Prince, is seen by the First Son as his nemesis. He’s handsome, charismatic and he always seems to be better than he is.
But then, after an incident with the cake at Henry’s brother wedding, the two are forced into staging a fake friendship in order to avoid problems between the two nations.
This fake friendship will lead not only to a true one, but also to a fascinating love story.
(beware of spoilers)
At first glance, Henry comes across as cold and stand-offish, but this is just his way to protect and hide from the world a heart that has been torn into pieces over and over again. Alex discovers all of this and, also, that even if he comes from a world of privilege, he genuinely cares for other people. He’s incredibly kind, emphatic, and sweet, therefore it’s easy to understand why Alex starts falling for him.
And we can easily understand as well why Henry falls for our First Son. Sometimes is a little bit haughty, he never stops talking, like EVER, and he knows how to work people in order to get what he wants. But he’s also an incredibly dedicated and loyal young man, full of love and care for others. And this last thing is the amazing one they have in common: they feel everything deeply.
Their relationship is perfectly paced and developed. We witness every shade of their friendship and then of their love. We become friends with them and along them and we fall madly in love with both these amazing young boys. McQuiston did really an amazing job.
The love they share is so pure and heartwarming that you can’t help but be full of joy when Alex calls Henry ‘baby’ and Henry calls Alex ‘sweetheart’. I mean, I can’t even!
And not to mention the tender emails they sent to each other… my heart almost exploded.
I will leave you here one of the parts I loved the most from one of Henry’s emails:
“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?”
So, tell me, how can I ever be able to recover from this?
And I almost died when I discovered Henry’s favourite English author is Jane Austen and he can recite Keats It’s just too much for my weak little heart.
Another thing that I appreciated a lot about this love story is that they are always there to support each other no matter what and no matter how torn things are. They love each other so deeply they’re ready to do anything. And this will only help them to get out of their shells and be finally free to express themselves. Alex and Henry will do history by doing that.

History is another main theme of this novel.
In Alex and Henry’s emails to one another, some quotes from LGBTQ+ people (even if some of them never had the chance to come out themselves) who definitely left a mark on this Earth appear. We have Alexander Hamilton, James I, Allen Ginsberg, Hendrik Christian Andersen, Virginia Woolf, Michelangelo, and many more. I think these additions are little gems.
Many times, throughout history, LGBTQ+ people have been oppressed by patriarchy, and they had to hide their true selves from society. I think the quotes Alex and Henry use are a way to reassert the voices of these people who have been shut down during their lives. They have a history, they existed and still exist. They matter, just like everyone else.
In fact, “Red, White and Royal Blue” provide us with good representations and that something we really need. We have a Prince who’s gay. A USA President who is a woman. A First Son who not only is half-Mexican, but also bi. We have lesbians, straight people, women who are strong and independent. The strength of this novel resides as well in the secondary characters, who are just as brilliant, inspiring and innovative as the main ones.
We need to read more about people like these, we need to know more about diversity, in order to see how we’re all just the same: people with feelings and dreams and hopes.
And hope is something on which this book focuses a lot. There’s a hope for a better and brighter future, where everyone feels free to express their true selves. It’s never too late to change things. Maybe it won’t be simple, but we must do everything in our power to try to change our little world, because this may change also the whole world. And that what this book teaches us. “History, huh?”

I’ve already written too much about this book, and I’d like to say even more and more things, but I don’t want to be long-winded. I’ll just say, in case you haven’t noticed it yet, that I strongly recommend this book.
It’s an enjoyable and light read that has the power to open your eyes and your hearts on important topics in a simple way. This is not just a wonderful love story between two amazing people, it’s a love story among us, the world and all the people who surround us, and the courage to change our society in order to stop hiding who we are for foolish reasons.

What a fantastic, fabulous, heartwarming, emotional and beautiful story! I absolutely adored this book! It had depth and raw feelings, struggle and heartbreak, wit and humour and above all joy and love! It really was an all around stellar story!