This book was freaking adorable. The main character Alex represents a millennial perfectly. He is the poster child for America and everyone knows who he is. He goes on a little bit of a self-discovery where he finds out more about himself in ways he didn’t think he would (and they involve a prince).

This book is a great representation of a healthy LGBTQ+ relationship that spurs from a friendship. And by friendship, I mean that they hate each other and then are forced to be friends to appease the media and then actually become friends and then more. It made me so happy to see that they made each other happy. The way that they feel about each other is hard to express but Casey McQuiston made the love feel very real and something that one hopes for in a relationship.

Also, Nora is the epitomy of awesome. She is Alex’s best friend and is bisexual, 100% amazing and very sarcastic but will always get to the point right away. She is that friend that will tell you how it is even if it is difficult for you to see.

His sister June is also such a sweetheart. She is so caring and does everything a protective sister can to make sure that Alex is well looked after and stays out of trouble. She is the sister I would want if I had siblings.

The only thing that I wasn’t a huge fan of was the political aspect of the book. I love that they made the president a female for 2020 but aside from that, I am not really into politics and tend to avoid that subject in conversation. However, it was done in a way that kept it interesting and easy to follow so the book still progressed at a nice pace.

Overall, I would recommend this book. It is a fun LGBTQ+ book with a lot of new ideals that our future could really use and it just made me happy to read it.

Disclaimer: I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Alright, I'm going to try and be as non-gushy as possible but I'm not sure that's saying much. I loved this book, fell outright head over-heels for it. And I normally hate things that cause me a bunch of second hand embarrassment but, for some reason, the way this was written I didn't feel it?

The major thing in the book I loved so much, besides the characters + relationships, was the humor. It's so on point for the age range, and felt very real - and, since I am also in that age range, exactly hit the right spots for me.

Our main characters are Alex and Henry so of course we get to know them the best, but outside of that I felt like I knew the other characters all pretty well, considering. They felt real and developed, the only one I feel like was maybe a little two dimensional was the step-father and that might just be because he was a really nice guy and that's hard to swallow for me.

Anyway - this book is over four hundred pages and it did not feel like it. Full disclosure, I do read relatively fast, but even with that books can take time. This one, as soon as I started it I knew I was going to love it. And could not stop thinking/talking about it in between the times I had to read it.

I started it on the train on the way to meet friends for dinner and spent a lot of that time talking about it before I could get back on the train and read more. My friends are sick of hearing about me talking about this book by now, but they are all excited to read it. I have just started to reference it as "the gay book," even though there are many queer books we all read, it just feels right. I think it started out as "the gay prince book" so.

I don't want to go on too long or give even minor details away, because I think this book is just incredible to expereince. Which is why, if you've noticed, I've cut the synopsis down. The full thing is long as hell, but I feel like mostly all you need to know is son of the first female president and a prince of england. At least that's all I had to know.

Also I'd kill for a spin-off in relation to the side kids in this book, because I think it'd be amazing. Pezza just seems so cool, and I adored June and Nora. And the fact I actually remembered their names speaks of how much I adored this book. I'd, also, be okay with a spin-off novella or something related to one of the white house secret service whose dating someone in England, because she puts up with some much shit from Alex. So much.

I'm going to cut myself off here before I just keep gushing - I did say try not to, this is mild, to be honest. This book is amazing, though, definitely one of my favorites of the year. Honestly, probably just one of my favorites period.

It's a good, feel good book that, after the last few years, was deeply needed. It's got amazing characters who actually speak like people in their twenties do right now. It also has some hilarious moments and some serious ones, and just really amazing characters. I don't think I can say that enough, honestly, but I loved these characters. The writing is amazing, the setting is weird and interesting.

I cannot recommend this book enough, I just can't. If you pick up one book in the coming few months, I hope it's this one. Everyone needs some light in their life. Buy this book, borrow it from the library or a friend, because this is the queer book we need right now.

I loved this with my entire heart. A new favourite book for sure.

I laughed and cried my way through the whole book, and basically sobbed through the entire last third - both at happy and sad moments. All the characters are fleshed out and believable, and I enjoyed their individual personalities a lot.

Though this is a very sweet romance, I also found all the politics and international relations really interesting and thought-provoking. A world where a woman won the presidential election post-Obama is a world that I feel a lot of people wish they were living in right now, and this book is quite hopeful and intelligent in the way it presents a political narrative. Additionally, looking at the monarchy in England and the revisionist history around gender and sexuality was very enlightening!

Ultimately this book is very feel-good and sweet, with a good amount of racy behaviour and humour thrown in as well. If the genres/themes are ones you'd usually enjoy, please pick this up! You'll love it!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2786801029

Firstly, I’m finding this book incredibly hard to review because it feels as though different corners of my brain are having different reactions to it, and then there’s the matter of my heart, which is having its own responses, and there’s just a LOT going on here, pulling me this way and that. As a result, this is probably going to be extremely long, so…apologies in advance 🙈

In order to make things a bit easier for myself and create an illusion of organization, I’ll just go ahead and split this up into what I didn’t like and then what I did! SO:

THINGS THAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME:

1) I was led to believe this was an enemies to lovers type story. It’s not. This isn’t a fault of the book so much as it is a fault of my own expectations, but there is some discordance in the book because it does internally reference this trope though it’s not…REALLY there? From the synopsis alone, which talks about “longtime nemeses” and “pretending to be friends,” I expected there to be a more drawn out hate-to-love thing going on, and I was READY for it. What actually happens is that one of the characters has for some time vaguely disliked the other for no extremely compelling reason, while the other is just a bit baffled by said dislike, and then by Chapter Two, genuine bonding and friendliness is already happening. The “staging a fake friendship” bit lasts but a second, with very little suffering or feet-dragging involved, because it quickly transforms into an enjoyable and genuine relationship for both members. I think the book brings it around later with an “ah, this is why I felt that way about you” hindsight thing, which kinda works! But to me it did feel like a bit of a waste of the framework, because the book doesn’t do anything new or interesting or…much of anything at all with it. This leads me to my next point which is…

2) The relationship development, in general, happened way too fast for me. Though I was still enjoying myself to an extent, I struggled with the first 50% of this book, because my Slow Burn Loving heart was feeling frustrated with the extremely quick pacing. It happens so early on that I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say Alex and Henry are already having sex with regularity by like, the 30% mark. Again, TOTES FINE. But the development from supposed “enemies” to “OH NO, FOND FEELINGS” to Doing the Sex is EXTREMELY FAST, I was kind of sitting there like “so what…what is the rest of the book then?” I was disappointed that their relationship had already escalated to that point so soon, and was dying for more conversations and more character exploration. For quite a while they still felt like Cardboard Cutout Characters from any given fanfiction or romance to me. Luckily by the halfway mark this improves, but that’ll be in my Good Stuff section! :’)

3) The (minor) characters weren’t distinct enough. There’s a decent number of characters in this book and most of them are likable and entertaining! But I didn’t really connect with any of them, aside from Alex and Henry, individually because I felt they all blurred together into a blob of Quirky Characters with almost identical voices. They all curse a lot, they all have the same sarcastic tone, they all act pretty similarly despite McQuiston telling me the ways in which they are different. June and Nora shone the brightest but even they felt too interchangeable for my liking. There were some really sweet, genuine moments between Alex and the rest of the gang that nonetheless fell too flat for me because the other characters didn’t feel real. Additionally, though I get that this is truly the way some people talk in 2019 and it was meant to show how down to earth everyone was, I started to get a little uncomfortable with how often the parental and authority figures in Alex’s life would jokingly say things like “I’m going to beat your ass” and “you’re a dumbass.” There’s a lot of sarcasm in this book (a la “ha ha ha don’t you dare! I will kill you!”) that felt genuine to the way people joke around…but after a while I was slightly [nervous laughter] about the constant violent joking, especially from the older characters.

4) Lack of originality. This seems like a silly one to say about a book which actually does have a pretty original premise! I cannot say I’ve ever read a book exactly like this, and it’s clearly drawing on and written for this very specific moment. As a whole I think it’s original, but on a scene-by-scene level I often had a feeling of “I’ve read this exact scene several times before.” I think most people who have read a fair amount of fanfiction in their lives will pick up on that. (And, to be clear, my saying “this book is like fanfiction” isn’t a dig at fanfiction IN THE SLIGHTEST. I have read incredible incredible fanfiction and adore it.) Writing ~classic trope-y~ scenes isn’t bad and tropes aren’t always bad! Every book has tropes! But in the first half of the book especially I did feel like certain things were being lifted from stuff I’d already read before soooo many times—even with phrasing and bits of dialogue I recognized—and it made it all feel a little stale and less impactful.

5) An overall slightly forced, inorganic feeling to the storytelling. This is a vague criticism, I know, and sounds like a completely grouchy one. I APOLOGIZE. But I’m not sure how else to express this Feeling I had throughout the whole thing that the author was lurking behind the scenes hoping to please me, a twenty-something Millennial™. Throughout the story McQuiston is clearly trying to capture the way teens and younger adults these days interact, and a lot of that DID feel very true to me—the pop culture references, the group chats, etc. But other times I felt more like she was sitting down and going “okay, how can I write a cool and relatable scene” rather than “how can I create some truly real-feeling characters and interactions?” Maybe this is just because I don’t tend to enjoy books that are more on the fluffy or humorous side, but at certain moments I felt like I was dying for these characters to speak more earnestly to one another. (Which they eventually do! HUZZAH!)

THINGS THAT DID WORK FOR ME:

1) Alex and Henry’s development after the 50% mark. I was so pleased when I got to the halfway point and realized the book was actually going to start dealing more with FEELINGS! Their emails to one another starting at this point in the story were probably my favorite part of the book. Both of them, but Henry in particular, started to feel like actual people with unique histories and lives and regrets and fears, all of which were very compelling. It finally started to make sense why they were drawn to each other, which I didn’t quite get in the first half. Clearly the Big Emotion Arrow struck true in my heart because I DID CRY AT ONE POINT. THAT HAPPENED. And McQuiston really showed up with some beautiful prose and some highlight-worthy heart wrenching passages. I think I would’ve been less frustrated with the lack of development earlier on if I knew a good deal of it would come later. Very pleased! :’)

2) The tone. A wonderful balancing act! This is certainly what I’d call a fluffy book, but it deals with a lot of serious things, many of which are upsetting. It does a wonderful job of navigating it all without flip-flopping awkwardly from super casual/lighthearted to doom and gloom and back again. The most appealing thing about this book for me is simply how it made me FEEL. It is, for the most part, a truly enjoyable read that brings tons of lightheartedness to the table but also tackles difficult things in a way that’s extremely cathartic. Plus, the whole story is built on a foundation of HOPE which can absolutely be felt even during the rough patches. To put it completely inelegantly, when things suck, it’s just nice to read a book that goes, “hey look, maybe some things can NOT completely suck.”

3) It’s predictable…in a good way. I’ve previously alluded to some ways in which this book was predictable in a not so great way, but predictability isn’t ALWAYS A BAD THING. Sometimes it just is, and sometimes it’s actually really frickin’ nice. I could absolutely see where this story was going, and for me that was a pleasant thing for a change. It meant that I trusted in McQuiston to not pull the rug out from under me, to not throw something unexpected and awful my way, to not make a U-turn at the last moment and refuse me the relief and joy I was waiting for. I wanted a bit of escapism and this absolutely delivered. And in a world that has seemed to increasingly value the tragic, the gritty, and unpredictability for unpredictability’s sake, that was a genuinely wonderful and kind thing to experience.

DEEP BREATH. OKAY.

There are other things I could talk about, such as this story not really knowing what it wants to be or its target audience (is this YA or NA? NA that just feels like YA? I don’t even know at this point), every iconic thing Henry said that made me giggle to myself alone in my room (”I truly think I disassociated straight (ha) out of the conversation,”) plus soooo much to say (OBVIOUSLY)—both good and bad—about the way this book deals with politics and its vision of America, which…there’s just not enough time in the day, folks. But this is already far too long and I can’t imagine anyone reading the whole thing.

So I’ll stop and say, lastly, that despite my many critiques, I’m glad this book has brought joy to so many people :’) 💛

Red, White & Royal Blue is an adorable romance between the First Son of the U.S. and the Prince of England. It’s a little of a hate to love story, but even when they’re fighting, Henry and Alex are awesome and interesting. I loved the main characters and the best friend/sibling side characters. The romance was the main story, but also it revolved around the re-election of the first female president and what this romance could do to both countries if it got out. I want an Alex & Henry sequel! Highly recommend for anyone who loves romance, or royal fanfics.

Feel like you've outgrown YA books? Don't like stories about politics? Same. But then THIS BOOK. I had my reservations up until the Great Turkey Calamity, then I just. Could. Not. Stop. Reading. I laughed, I cried, I had to blow my nose on the subway because I made the mistake of leaving the house.

I would recommend this book to anyone. Do you sort of like contemporary novels? Do you have mixed feelings about queer romance? TRY THIS. If you feel like you've been in a reading slump (as I was when I first started reading this), I strongly urge you to give this book a chance. Try it until Chapter 4, at the very least. You can't help but feel hopeful after reading Red, White & Royal Blue.

I loved all the characters and I enjoyed the different family dynamics and friendships, but Alex and Henry will always have a special place in my heart. Their relationship was hilarious and sweet and, at times, painful, but they somehow always made it easy to root for them. This story was an interesting portrayal of the lives of American politicians and English royalty (I won't even question the accuracy of it all, for fear of breaking my happy bubble), as well as a great escape from reality and the sameness of my student life. I'm sad to have finished the story, but I look forward to re-reading it in the future and to reading more from Casey McQuiston.

What a freaking awesome book. How much do I love these guys? Anyone who enjoyed Hugh Grant's storyline in Love Actually (Me!) and wished for an entire book in that vein will absolutely adore this. I can't wait to see what this author comes out with next.

Before I requested this book, I had actually heard quite a few amazing reviews. So that definitely didn’t make it hard to decide to request this one on Netgalley.

Red, White & Royal Blue has a plot that isn’t really unique in the way you know how it’s going to end, but the way we get that story is. I mean, I don’t think I’ve ever read a romance between the president’s son (and come on, we get a woman president in this book, that scores points!) and a prince. That’s just swoon-worthy to start with!

The characters in this story are in no way perfect and I loved that. Seeing both Alex and Henry figuring out how they feel, the characters surrounding them responding to that and on top of that, it wasn’t only romance. Alex really has to think about what he wants in life career-wise and I loved seeing that in this story as well.

From the start I wanted Alex and Henry to get a happily ever after. The banter and way they act with each other is hilarious and it only gets better when the romance gets going. I love how they communicated and the e-mails and texts were my favorite part of the book. I probably would’ve been completely okay with a book full of e-mails between these two.

I think the biggest compliment I can give Red, White & Royal Blue is that it gave me all the feels! While reading I laughed, cried, swooned and had a silly smile on my face. I really came to care for these characters and was actually really sad when the book was over.

I have a feeling Red, White & Royal Blue will be making my favorites list at the end of the year. It has amazing characters, swoon-worthy romance, humor, all the feels and to make it even more perfect, a ton of pop-culture references that made my heart very happy!

Wow, was I ever pleasantly surprised by this book! It gave me all the warm fuzzies and the relationship between the two main characters was healthy and beautiful and raw. I was left with a complete book hangover, which is always a sign of a book well-written if you ask me!

Probably more towards a 2.5 stars...

I did not like the beginning of the book. It felt too frenetic and somehow out of order. There were terms used that were not explained until a chapter or two later and I ended up getting confused keeping the characters straight (no pun intended). So much of it seemed false, especially the “y’all” that somehow only occurred in the first couple chapters (and oddly not when they were back in TX the first time).

The second half of the book redeemed itself. You start to get to know the characters more and they become more real. Unfortunately, I still feel like Nora and June could have been more rounded. The conversation between Nora and Alex was strange. Maybe I am old but it didn’t seem like the way Nora would talk to him. Regardless, the history quotes and long emails worked to open Henry and Alex up. The text messages were flat out hard to read. It could be because it is a proof and it will be better in the final copy.

Ultimately, it was a feel good book and you couldn’t help but root for the two of them.

Notes:
- Bitch McConnell is the funniest line in the book
- How did Zahra have time? Although they seemed like a perfect match
- The Luna backstory was interesting in terms of how it related back to sexuality vs power

There was absolutely nothing about this book I didn't love. I wasn't even interested in reading until I saw all the hype and finally conceded. And boy, was I in for a ride. Red, White, and Royal Blue kept me constantly feeling so many emotions - elated, sorrowful, hopeful - that I did not ever expect. If it was possible for my heart to burst out of my chest, it would have numerous times while I read this novel. I absolutely devoured it and loved every second of it. I will definitely be sure to buy this novel the day it comes out - an honor I (as a broke college student) don't often bestow.

However, something to know before reading is that this book has explicit sex scenes in it, which is almost never my cup of tea. I want to know that it happened but not be there when it happens, you know? However, I didn't mind them in this book. McQuiston writes sex scenes with such intimacy and with just the right amount of imagery so that I didn't feel the need to skim over these scenes as usual. I would recommend those who are wary of these scenes (as I am) at least attempt to read this book as they were not bad like I thought they would be. Even if you do find them to dispel you, I would definitely read the rest of the book. The journey is well worth it.

This book has been cross-posted to Goodreads and Twitter.

I don't read a lot of NA books, and contemporary isn't the genre I gravitate towards that much but I still really wanted to read this one! Red, White & Royal Blue is exactly the type of contemporary story I do love to read. Super cute and honestly the most swoon worthy romance ever!

You can typically tell where a story like this is going to go so the plot wasn't that surprising to me. However, the way everything was handled, how most characters reacted, those things were pretty surprising to me. I don't think I ever read a novel where the supporting cast of characters was actually this supporting. For me personally, this all read very realistic but also extremely comforting. I loved the sibling relationships and how supporting Alex's parents were. 

From the moment you get Alex and Henry in a room together you start shipping them. Their banter was definitely #goals and I adored all their interactions. Although their emails might be my favorite! I highlighted so much of them. The opening to their emails was usually hilarious (To: Alex, First Son of Off-Brand England), the P.S. was usually beautiful and everything in between was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. 

I think that also sums up this story quite well, I laughed out loud, I cried quite some tears, mu heart broke, and it was also filled with a shit ton of love. This has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary novels ever and not many get that much praise. The romance between Alex and Henry was incredibly swoon worthy, they're the best couple of basically ever. I adore them so so much and I might be a little jealous of their relationship haha. The bar for a future bf is once again raised ;) Oh! We also get a ton of references to popculture and I always love that. 

The story was good, but what made it great and unforgettable were the characters. I adored every one of both the main and the secondary characters and I hope we get a novella of a companion novel with them haha. 

Alex is our main, main character as we only read from his perspective. He's the biracial son of the first female President of the USA and he's figuring out that he made not be straight like he always thought. Alex was a great main character and I enjoyed reading about him a lot! Henry is our other main character and the Prince of England. Does it get any more romantic than that? He is a closeted gay to almost everyone and he's the most precious thing ever. It breaks my heart that there are people out in the world who can't be themselves because other people are assholes. And reading about Henry just made that really clear once again. I truly hope reading this book can be a source of comfort for a lot of (queer) people. 

There is also the amazing cast of supporting characters. Most important are June, Nora, Pez and Bea. June and Nora are Alex's sister and best friend and they're the White House Trio. I adored their relationships and I think Nora was just the best. She was quite relatable for me! Pez is Henry's best friend and Bea is his sister and I believe the only person in his family that knows he's gay. I loved all of the sibling love in this novel! And Pez was one of the most colorful characters I ever read about haha. All of these characters are simply amazing and made this story so wonderful!

What a fun book! I love the concept. I can't wait for it to be published so I can start recommending it at the library. It was a charming story, the characters were lovely and I melted when they got together. All in all very satisfying.

3.5 stars to Casey McQuiston's smart, snarky and relevant debut, Red, White & Royal Blue.

As someone who has loved romantic comedies with a bit of steam the past few years (I'm looking at you Christina Lauren, Helen Hoang, Abby Jimenez), I was pretty excited to see that this genre was moving to include a male/male romance - obviously a straight female, you might wonder why - but who doesn't love to see representation of all relationships in their books! Love is love, y'all (yes, that is a nod to the Texas theme of this book)!

Royal families and politics antics galore, when first son Alex Claremont-Diaz and royal Prince Henry fall in love - things aren't as easy as they might be for two nobodies! Our two leads are adorable characters and the peripheral characters only add to the fun. The reason I am giving this a 3.5 is that I felt the book was about 100 pages too long for this kind of story and at times, the length took away from the enjoyment. I did love the banter and storytelling but felt the story would have flourished with less. McQuiston did an excellent job with her debut and I'd certainly be curious to see how her work evolves with her next novel!

Thank you to St. Martins for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Witty banter filled royal based rom-com . A delightful little read I really would recommend. This book was graciously provided via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hands down one of my favorite books this year. It has all these elements that I love: hate-to-love romance, British characters, LGBTQ+ characters, and more. The storyline was amazing, even though political intrigue isn't usually my thing.

Will update with links to my blog post when it goes live.

I've been hearing about Red, White and Royal Blue all over the internet for some time. I thought I was going to have to wait another agonizingly long month (plus shipping days!) before I would be able to read it. However, thanks to NetGalley, I was able to have access to a review copy. Right off the bat, I fell in love with the main characters, such as Alex, his sister June and their best friend Nora. The writing is captivating the storytelling amazing. I think the ending felt just a little bit artificial, but I'm not exactly mad about that? Overall the book itself was really hard to put down. I'm going to miss Alex's adventures, and will definitely be purchasing a physical copy to add to my shelf.

I want to start by saying that this book meant a lot to me. I'm not in politics, I'm not someone who identifies as LGBTQ, but none of that matters, because this book speaks for us all. I cannot avoid talking about the things addressed in this book. And so, with the publication of this book nearing, I warn you that I cannot write a review that doesn't contain plot points, character development, and the ending. The majority of this review will, like normal, be spoiler free, but bits of this review will contain spoilers.

I read this book expecting fluffy contemporary themes. I read this book knowing there was a gay romance between the Prince of England and between the First Son of the United States, and I was all for it. I read this book expecting YA angst, romantic elements, light politics, and to be honest, not a a lot more. I really couldn't have been more wrong.

This book was well written, funny, clever, knowledgeable, and so current. The author has absolutely mastered making this book feel so real and so raw. The characters are genuine, complex, reliable, and the relationships they have are those you expect to find in real life, and less in fiction. The themes and stories are also close to the bone, the issues faced throughout are represented EXACTLY how I would expect them to be in the world's media, the political landscape concerning close to real elections, and the general people's reactions worryingly real and phobic.

As always, let's start with the characters. I really don't know how to explain how much I love these characters. They're glorious in their honesty, they interact brilliantly, and they're flawed. A flawed character on his or her own is something that is difficult to perfect, and McQuiston has managed to create a book full of them. Whether it was the European or American side of the Atlantic, each character had been thought through, their importance to the plot planned, real, and understandable. There was no true character that proved to be an antagonist, more the ideas explored and the way stories handled, again something I think was a powerful message to carry in the subtext of the plot.

Alex and Henry were brilliant. They were the adorable squishes that I was desperate for them to be, yet this was far from their only claim on their story. They were paradoxically powerful and vulnerable, a wonderful mix of completely different and extremely similar. They were loving and kind, but they did not do this at the expense of others. They sacrificed themselves and their own happiness rather than those around them. They fought through the life they lived in the book with grace and grit and were so much more than I expected from the leads in a romantic novel. I believed in them and I routed for them, not because they were wonderful together (they were), not because I wanted them to be happy together (I did want this), but because they stood up and were themselves to everyone around them. And they were themselves throughout the book, they grew and evolved individually and together, and were impeccable examples of romantic leads being their romance and yet being so much more than their romantic storyline.

The rest of the super six were just phenomenal. I have to say that June is formidable and possibly the most gutsy of the lot. I never really realised until the end just how influential she was, but her companionship, tenacity, and intellect were actually quite inspirational. I loved Nora's powerful intelligence and absolute certainty in who she was. She oozed everything I would expect from a lesbian computer whizz, but she never did it at the cost of anyone else's shine. Bea was everything I imagined a female version of Prince Harry to be. She battled through her father's death in her own was, embraced press vitriole and the Daily-Mail-all-over title of 'Powder Princess' with impeccable grace and almost gratitude. She was unabashedly herself, a feminine power in a royal family full of powerful women that were different from her. She used their insistance on taking her down to forge a new path for herself, one based in addiction support, familial support, and ultimately trans-atlantic friendship. I feel like she is the royal we celebrate in Harry, and was a really great example of a woman neither pushing ahead of her masculine siblings, nor being hidden by them. And finally Pez, loud, brash, and eccenentric in a way that I think only rich people can be. There was no requirement for the Prince of England's best friend to be either African, Black, or eccentric, yet in this story, it would have been at odds if he had been what we have come to expect as run of the mill in our own royal family and in romance novels in general (something that is, once again, a testament to the author.)

When we expand outwards to her family, and to those associated with the characters, we find a complex mix of backgrounds, characters, and personalities that would be the example of a modern day working/personal dynamic. Alex's mother toes the line between mother and president incredibly well, and is not afraid to drop the Mum act and pick up the political standpoint when required, or to fall back to her family and drop her public persona when her family require her. They're accepting, and have a great family dynamic that really shows how divorce does not mean the end of relationships completely. I really commend the author on her supporting cast of characters, who were instrumental in making this a stellar read. Alex's father is a great example of acceptance and embracement of one's true self, supporting the efforts of his family, and his friends (especially Raf the hispanic gay politician).

My personal favourite was Zahra, whose no nonsense attitude was exactly what was needed, and I imagine would be present in a woman of her postion. Her relationship with staff around her is bordering on dictatorial and it is glorious that a woman has been given such power in a book which also has a female president. The incorporation of similar positions within the Prince's household was symbolic, their differences and similarities as marked and detailed as the differences between the Prince and FSOTUS themselves. They were the great example that the Royal family were not - some of which were thinly veiled satire of the current British Monarchy and made me cringe and laugh in disbelief.

I really don't want to spoil this completely, but I can't help but mention the incredible commentary on real life that is present throughout the narrative. In a world of social media and instant access to information, the power of the press and the manipulation of stories and how they are presented is painfully close to the current climate of modern day fame, monarchy and politics. I feel like such a small paragraph at the end of a rather large review is not justice enough, but to go into more detail would spoil elements of the story that I do not want to reveal. The use of relationships as smoke and mirrors, the denial of LGBTQ romance, the apparent sexual predilection of people in power and the cover ups that entail, the corruption within politics and the media, and the apparent ability to be above it all. It was painful to read this in fiction and draw parallels to the real world, to real presidents and press matters, and to realise that this sort of prejudice, racism, sexism, homophobia, and inappropriate, immoral, and illegal behaviour is still both present and somewhat accepted in modern day society.

Overall, this book was spectacular in it's delivery, hilarious and charming in it's story and character development, and monumental in it's message. It is a stellar example of using a genre to raise awareness and comment on issues whilst maintaining a charismatic and enjoyable ensemble of characters and storylines. It took me by surprise, made me laugh out loud and feel true pain, and was simply a special book that I cannot recommend highly enough.

ARC provided by St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

What can I say that hasn’t already been said about this book? I absolutely loved it. It is delightfully Gay- in both senses. As a queer reader, I find it difficult to relate to a lot of romance novels or really get into them. But this book is easily one of my favourites of the year.

I absolutely loved the inciting incident, I was initially under the impression that it would be something terrible that the protagonist would have to spend the whole novel fixing but instead, it bowled me over laughing. And that's the thing about this book. It was actually funny. I laughed out loud more than once reading this and that almost never happens. Casey McQuiston capitalizes on millennial humour and culture without being cringe-inducing or making up new words to replace a trend that died three months ago. This is a funny book about funny people written by a funny person.

But not only that her writing was personal, intimate and heartwarming. To see a story so romantic and outright LGBT friendly still shocks me, nothing about this book- for me, was fetishizing or uncomfortable like a lot of other Male/Male romances that I have read. It felt like a love letter to the gay community, Alex figuring himself out will be relatable for a lot of readers.

Diverse characters litter this novel and if I were to discuss every aspect of it then I would be writing an essay- not a review. Alex is bisexual and mixed race, Henry is gay, Nora is queer and it's implied that a lot of the other characters are too. (Overall just really good representation). Addiction, politics and the downsides of celebrity are all explored at length. The theme of grief also runs through the novel and I think it was handled very well for New Adult book. The discussions felt mature, realistic and the way the characters acted really emphasised that they were still struggling with it. I think it was an important part of the story and I would like to read more books that cover the topic in a similar way. (I recommend The Astonishing Colour of After by Emily X.R. Pan for a YA Contemporary that tackles the complexity of grief.)

Every character is distinctly complex and likeable. Alex is the best kind of an asshole, June is bold, Nora is strikingly smart and Henry is literally Pince Charming and by the end of the book, they've all changed completely. Even their parents are first-class characters. That's something I really enjoyed about the book. The parents were involved in their children's lives and didn’t just let them swan around and bugger everything up. Actions had consequences.

But, it isn’t without its flaws. While I enjoyed the romance very much but I didn’t realise the book took place over such a long time scale. This didn’t take away from my enjoyment of it but sometimes I just missed the time skips and it felt slightly jarring when scenes changed so quickly. Although, I did receive an ARC so this may change in the final copy. Then that will be ‘History, huh?’

Overall, I loved the book and I intend on buying it as soon as it comes out on the 14th of May 2019.

Trigger Warnings for:
Homophobia, Racism, Depression, Panic Attacks and Anxiety, Cancer, Death Addiction, Assault and Being Outed.

I just couldn't finish this one. It was very cute in the beginning....it just didn't hold it for me. I almost felt like it was a YA Romance...with steamy scenes and cuss words.
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I wanted to like it. I loved the characters. I loved the idea. LOVED it...it just didn't deliver for me.
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I think other people will really enjoy it and if it hit the big screen...I would be there in a second. It felt like it would be a great romantic comedy on screen...but alas, it didn't work on paper.