This book is amazing!

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read this; premise sounded great, but I wasn’t sure if I would be into a queer romance. Spoiler, I totally was!!!!

Casey does such a great job getting you to feel all these great emotions about falling in love and you don’t really think about it as specifically between two guys, we’ll except for when Alex is thinking it.

This is equal parts ridiculous and steamy and touching. I loved the hijinks they all got into, I loved that everyone seemed to love everyone, I loved that hate turned into love and then the realisation that it wasn’t hate, but actually a huge crush the whole time!

I am so overwhelmed with love for this book, I laughed, I cried, I grinned to myself; this book was amazing. This is currently my favourite book of 2019 and I’m going out in a limb and saying it might even reign supreme as my favourite book of 2019 at the end of the year. I cannot wait for Casey McQuiston to publish her next novel!

I read the advance copy eBook of this in one sitting on a plane to Japan and then, instead of reading any of the other dozens of books I'd downloaded for the journey, reread it intermittently on trains. This book is like a new dessert you've just discovered and can't help but go back for seconds and thirds of. First of all, it's definitely NOT a YA book. Between the filthy language and the very, very hot sex scenes, it is definitely an Adult book. But what an adult book! The characters jump off the page and take up residence in the imagination, sparkling with wit and aching with unspoken longing. Henry and Alex lodged themselves in my heart promptly, and Nora and June (amazing how an M/M romance can have multidimensional, well-written female characters!) are different shades of Goals.

My poor bisexual heart exploded in joy and satisfaction watching Alex wrestle with his sexual identity and land on bi. His whole internal monologue as he reflects on his life and the people he's been attracted to spoke directly to my soul. Add in a soft but badass trans Secret Service agent and a host of folks of color and this book is representation heaven.

Moreover, it's romance heaven. Casey McQuiston hit me with her best tropes, and I delighted in watching enemies become fake friends become real friends become lovers-but-we-won't-catch-feelings then realize (spoilers, but not really) oh shit we caught feelings. Littered with alternatively poetic and hilarious episotolary elements, biting humor, healthy emotional development, and sweetly heartfelt moments, and set against a softer alternative political universe, this is the perfectly crafted cross-continential romance novel we all need to heal our souls. Or at least, I needed it to heal mine. 500/10; I can't wait to force everyone I know to read this once it's out.

Red, White, & Royal Blue is a unique spin on so many of my favorite book tropes. You have the enemies turned friends who find love with each other, you have the misunderstandings that lead to international incidents, you have loving family relationships that include affection and teasing. It's literally all of favorites in one story. Alex, son of the America's president, and Prince Henry are not fans of each other, but due to an international incident involving a wedding cake and several tabloid photographers they have to forge a fake friendship. Between mending the United States/United Kingdom divide and learning more about each other, the friendship might not be for the cameras any more.

I came for the enemies-to-lovers romance and stayed for the election politics. It was easy to root for Alex and Henry's relationship from the very beginning, through their struggles, to the satisfying conclusion. But I didn't know the book would include Alex's mom's reelection campaign as a subplot and I didn't expect it to make me cry. It definitely brought back a lot of the emotions of November 2016 and left me wishing I lived in Alex's America.
The secondary characters were full of personality (especially Alex's family--I love fun family dynamics). I would love to see a companion novel about Nora, Bea, Pez, and/or June in the future. However, one thing that threw me off about this book was the 3rd person present POV, which I know might be a deal breaker for some people. It jolted me out of the story a few times, but for the most part, I didn't notice it. Still, I wish it was either in 1st person present or 3rd person past.
Overall, Red, White & Royal Blue was everything I hoped for and more. Great for fans of The West Wing + romance novels.

I don't even know how to start this review... I adored this book. Like, really adored. It's so far my favourite book of the year. I had a feeling I'd really enjoy it, and it was better than I'd expected.

For some reason, I thought Alex and Henry were going to be forced to fake date, not be fake friends? I must've miss-heard something. But the basic premise is enemies-to-friends-to-lovers with some other twists thrown on top.

A lot is packed into the story. The romance is the main focus, but there is a lot of political elements thrown in. That does affect the eventual romance, since a romantic relationship between an English Prince and the First Son of the United States would have a certain amount of political consequences. That does play a role in the story, as well as the fact that Henry is a prince and being gay wouldn't be ideal to his grandmother. It's not necessarily angsty, but it does play a role in the story.

I loved both Alex and Henry as characters. Their dynamic was overall great. Their pre-existing relationship really added to their romance. I love romances where the characters have some sort of history. It made it really entertaining to see Alex and Henry attempt a friendship really enjoyable.

Alex was a great main character. He was a really enjoyable character to read about. I also loved his interactions with his sister June and the Vice President's granddaughter Nora. They're known as the 'white house trio'. For side characters, both Nora and June were really fleshed out. I adored both of them. I kind of want a book that just followed the both of them.

I also adored Henry. He was a really endearing character, and probably my favourite. He made a lot of comments about being gay, which made me love him even more. He also really grows throughout the book and figures out how he can be both openly gay and a prince.

I absolutely adored the romance part of the book. It could be really fluffy at times and I was so happy reading it. Their romance was cute in its purest form.

If I were to have any gripes with this book though it was the way the chapters were structured. These chapters were needlessly long. Usually chapters cover a few events and end on a natural note. The way they were structured here though was that the chapters and a lot happened in one chapter. Like, weeks worth of things. And you know how usually chapters have scene breakers and what not? This didn't have many, a new scene just started through a paragraphs. That was annoying, and I wish it was structured a bit better.

Overall, I loved this romance. It's definitely my favourite book of the year and I can't recommend it enough.

I requested this book because it sounded like a fun, light read that I could enjoy over a weekend. After picking it up, I became immediately obsessed with Alex and Henry's story and couldn't put it down until I found how how it all ended! This book is everything I didn't know I wanted in a romance novel and I completely binge-read it. I literally ran to my computer to write this review so that I could get all my giddy, happy thoughts written down to share what I loved about it.

One of My Favourite Love Stories
I feel like this book was such a breath of fresh air and I absolutely fell in love with Alex and Henry's love story. Reading about them stumbling through their friendship and getting to know each other, Alex coming to understand himself better, their emails (THEIR EMAILS!!), the way their relationship progress, and all of the sexy scenes in between just made my heart so happy. They seem like such opposites until they dig under the surfaces of their public images and really get to know each other, and I'm so happy that we got to see them go through that. They are both massive public figures and watching them trying to figure out how to have a relationship, and what that relationship actually means, makes for a fabulous love story.

Witty and Fun
I was honestly grinning throughout so much of this book. Alex is somewhat self-centred but completely not self-aware, which leads to some pretty great revelations for him when he starts to understand aspects of his life better. I love his entire relationship with Henry and the many, many hilarious antics they get into, either alone or with their friends. Alex really forces Henry out of his shell, and Henry calls Alex out on his intensity. Even the sexy moments are a battle of wits, making them both adorable and funny to read! Because this is an ARC, I can't quote from the book, but I've seriously written down so many funny moments and quotes that all the characters do or say in this book.

Everyone Needs a June or Paz in Their Life
Ahh June and Paz; it's hard to say who I loved more when it came to secondary characters (Zahra and Nora were also in the running, but June and Paz ultimately made the top of the list). June is the protective and supportive big sister that everyone wants. As an older sister, I loved everything she did to support Alex and how their relationship is such a big part of the book. Although she and Alex are really different personalities, they are such close siblings and I loved reading at it. Likewise, everyone needs a best friend like Paz (Henry is so lucky)! Someone who brings out the best in us, isn't afraid to be themselves, and is a genuinely amazing person to have in their lives. We don't spend a ton of time with him, but any moment with him (specifically when him and Henry are road-tripping to Wales ) is amazing.

Not YA, But Not A Traditional Adult Romance
I want to be clear that this is not a Young Adult book (despite the adorable cover) but it's also not a traditional Romance. I feel like that needs to be clarified because I was a bit confused about age-range when I was reading. The characters are in their 20s and do have sex, so it seems like this book falls under the new title of "New Adult" that I've started seeing on Goodreads. I would definitely recommend it to adults over teens if that helps with the distinction.

I absolutely adored reading it and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Romance, LGBTQ+, or just a funny story about two men falling in love. Red, White & Royal Blue comes out on May 14th and I'm so excited for it to get here so everyone can love it as much as I do!

I'm calling it right now: best YA contemporary of 2019.

This book has everything: romance, humor, scandal, international politics, and lots of parties and booze. Toss in a dash of uptight Brit and hang ten American and you've got the best literary cocktail I've devoured in ages. Stunning.

*This ARC was given to me via NetGalley for an honest review*
This book is everything I want our world to be. It’s the alternative reality I wish existed. It’s what I pray will be our future.

RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE is the most romantic book I have read in years. I laughed until I cried. 

Alex is a smart mouth son of the President of the US, he is smart as a whip and pretty much lives off coffee. His arch nemesis, the Prince of England Henry. But Henry isn’t what Alex thought he was—boring, generic, stuck-up, and handsome—well maybe that last one. ;-)

I love this story and I want everyone to read it. It‘s not only romantic, but it‘s also thought-provoking and genuine. If you don’t pre-order this today, you seriously have no idea what you are missing.

This is the gay romance the LGBTQ world deserves! It has everything I love about romantic comedies: charismatic leads, funny dialogue, sexy scenes, diverse characters... Two thumbs up!

I have not been so enamored with a book in like 2 years. I'm a pretty fast reader and I can usually rip through a great read in a day. However, this book was SO GOOD that I just wanted to make it last as long as possible. Doling out the chapters like a stingy kid who doesn't wanna share her cookies.

ANYWAY - Alex and Henry. I had hearts in my eyes not just for the two of them but for everyone around them. All their friends and their families were simply wonderful. The banter, which is always a win for me, was fantastic.

I read a lot and rarely does a book affect me like this one did. Everything about this was fun, poignant, loving and fantastic.

First Son Alex and HRH Prince Henry of Wales couldn't be more different which is probably why every time they meet their animosity grows until a giant cake disaster at a royal wedding changes everything. Now forced to spend time together and pretend to be friends to fix the PR nightmare, Alex and Henry find more common ground than even they thought possible. They also find their relationship growing in unexpected, and steamy, ways.
This enemies to friends to lovers romance is incredibly sweet and fun with a wicked sense of humor too. The supporting cast of Alex's family and Henry's friends add great dimension to the twists and turns of young love between two young men caught in the spotlight and family obligation. The dialogue was fun and fast-paced and emails between the two secret lovers added so much heart to the story. A great read for fans of first loves, political intrigue and happy endings.

"Red, White & Royal Blue" tells the story of The First SOn of US and Prince Henry. First of all, I would like to thank the publisher for granting my wish and allowing me to read this funny, charming rom-com. I absolutely adored it.

The characters of this book are funny and well fleshed out I was not only interested in the two main characters but also their close ones. With some of the "grown ups" I did feel like they were not very believable (a lot of swearing in a professional setting) but overall I liked the book.

History, huh?

To be honest, I wasn't expecting to love Red, White & Royal Blue. I mean, this is Casey McQuiston's first book, and it's written in present tense (ugh), but love it I did. I loved it HARD.

Red, White & Royal Blue was everything I was looking for and more.

My reading experience was simply me laughing, crying, or swooning in a continuous cycle. Sometimes all three at once. It's been a long, long time since I've wanted to melt into a puddle of goo on the floor because the romance!!! Holy god, this story was the romancey-romance of your dreams.

I'm a sucker for a few things in a romance book, and this story has nearly all of them. We get a sexual awakening (can I get a halleloo?!), an enemies-to-lovers (with all the glorious damn, your face, bruising kissing that I could dream up), witty banter for daaaaaaaaaaays, and a romance with a literal (okay, fictional... but still) PRINCE OF MOTHER FORKING ENGLAND. Did Casey McQuiston worm her way into my brain and pull out my deepest fantasies?!?!?!

I wanted to take a nap inside these pages. I took pictures and screenshots of my Kindle of the Uber-romantic email exchange to swoon over later. I cried and laughed like a lunatic on my couch, huddled in a prison of tea and reading of my own making. I fell asleep with the imprint of my Kindle on my face at 3 am.

Even though I don't like reading about politics or political games, even though present tense makes me feel itchy (did I mention that yet??), and even though the sex scenes are suggestive but still fade-to black I wanted to read this book FOREVER.

The dialogue is something I will remember for a long time. The humor was absolutely everything and elevated this book from good to unbelievably amazing. The feelings were so intense I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest.

Red, White & Royal Blue is worth all the hype and more. It's worth your time and your money, and it's worth it to read something so fun and heartfelt and rare that it made it's way on to my elusive favorites list. With literally thousands of romances under my belt, this one still stands out.

And nothing will matter but just we two, we two longing loves at last come together.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

**I received an ARC in an exchange for an honest review.**
Y’all better hang on because this review is about to be all over the place.
I have to start by saying how much I LOVED this book!! It was so much better than I ever expected and I will be looking to see if this author has other works because I want to read the ALL. (If there aren’t any, I may have to twitter stalk until I have something else in my hands.).
Ok here comes the gush. I love books with romance in them. I love the sweet ones. I love the angsts ones. I love the historical ones. I love the dark ones. However, there are a lot of books that I liked but that would have been so much better if they took some time to develop the characters and set up the story before hitting me with the DRAMA. This book does that PERFECTLY. These characters jump off the pages. Even the ones who are not front and center are very clearly defined. I feel like I properly “met” them all. The family relationships were so delicious. The friendships were fantastic, even when things went awry. The nods to real life individuals was fun.
I am a sucker for wit and good banter. This book had both in spades. It gave such a richness to all the relationships.
I am not a person who chooses or avoids a book specifically because of a characters sexual orientation. I know it’s a hot button for more diversity but if you write a good love story, I’m in regardless of the genders of the couple. Having said that, I loved that there were characters who were still unsure about their sexuality into their 20’s. We’re often made to believe we should have this all sorted out by the end of our college years and sometimes it takes longer. The relationships in this book overlap and weave together and manage to work.
It’s also hate to love. That trope can really be messed up. This book gets it right. It’s gradual and confusing and often surprising.
There’s are also love letters (emails). And they are fantastic. So swoony and snarky and worth stealing.
This book has steamy bits but they are not graphic. For me, it was perfect for this story.
So, other things to love:
A British Prince
An international incident involving cake
A female POTUS who is divorced and her biracial children
A boy who is surprised by an attraction
Star Wars references, a Harry Potter reference, fan fic references, a Seinfeld reference
A bar named the Tipsy Grackle
A comparison of British baking shows and American Cooking shows
A comparison of Turkeys and Raptors
A divorced couple who drive each other crazy but put their kids first
An election with shady practices
Bravery
Diversity
And mostly LOVE
In summation, I adored this book! I hope there will be companion novels because I have some questions about the friends and siblings.
If you love a good romance that makes you laugh, and smile, and just warms you up, this is one to read.

4.5 stars

This book was SO. FREAKING. ADORABLE. I loved Alex and Henry. I loved their adoration of each other and despite how things were going, they cared so deeply for the other's needs and feelings. I loved the political scandals and intrigue sprinkled throughout. It kind of reminded me of West Wing or something like that. I love stories about high ranking political figures, or the families of them, so I knew that this was going to be a favorite. My only criticism of this book is how it dates itself. Since it is specifically referring to the 2020 election, and most of it takes place in 2020, I found myself not being able to picture it "happening now" as I am able to do with most contemporaries. I feel like down the road, this book won't be as relevant, and it can't be timeless because of this. But that's such a small thing, and not too much of a distraction. Overall, I LOVED this book!

I absolutely loved this book. Henry and Alex’s chemistry and raw relationship was so endearing. It also made you wonder when a situation like this will happen in real life!? I found myself laughing out loud, and turning the pages as fast as I could to see if there would be a Happily Ever After!

In the words of Alexander Claremont-Diaz, I have a "Fire under my ass for no good goddamn reason.' and it is all because of this perfect book. I never though I could love a new adult contemporary like this, but then again this book was basically written for me. A charming annoying First Son of the United States (aries) falls in love with the literal Prince of England (pisces), enemies to lovers style. It had love, sex, scandal, politics, pop culture references, an everything else that fuels my very existence.

To loosely quote Alex (my favorite disaster) once again, I stupid love this book.

The characters really drove this book in the best way. It was all from Alex's point of view, but the author allowed the other characters voices to shine just as loud. I just loved everyone so much. Alex was charming, but realistically flawed. It was so interesting that I related to him SO MUCH when we are like in the most different positions ever, but I think that is just the kind of character the author wrote him to be. Realistic, fun, and extremely love-able. Henry was a stiff blank piece of paper at first, because that is how Alex saw him, but as we get to know him with Alex he is the kindest cutest dork to ever grace the halls of Buckingham Palace and I would kill for him. Alex would help me. The side characters, friends and family of the those nerds were also amazing strung out characters who, honestly, I would love to see some spin-offs from. Yes, this is me begging.

The plot moved so effortlessly in some of the best pacing I've seen in a contemporary book, especially one this big. I loved how everything just fit and I want to give the highest regards to the author for all the extremely detailed research she obviously did. She wrote it in a way where I was never confused and understood everything happening. And I loved everything that was happening even when it was stressing me out so much I gulped down an entire can of diet coke in .5 seconds. The writing was just as good. The author was genuinely funny and also inserted some lines that really hit me hard. It was fun while also containing so much substance I may have shed a few tears at points. I really think this is now one of my favorite books ever.

Oh, this book was so much fun. Alex is the son of the first female POTUS, and he's got his future mapped out for him: graduate from college, work for his mom's re-election campaign, and eventually run for office himself. He's pretty much the country's pride and joy, but his position as Golden Boy is threatened when he and his mortal enemy, the Prince of England, are so busy trading barbs at a royal wedding that they accidentally trip and fall into the $75,000 wedding cake. To prevent an international incident, the guys agree to a fake bro-mance around the globe, but as they get to know each other better, they realize that they don't actually hate each other as much as they thought they did...maybe it's actually something that looks a lot like love.

The banter between Alex and Henry is top-notch, and I laughed out loud more than once. Alex is surrounded by amazing, strong women, including his sister, his best friend, his mom, and his mom's Chief of Staff, Zahra, who was probably my favorite because of her amazing ability to bust everyone's balls with love. There was a lot of diversity in this book, too: Latinx characters and gay/bi/trans characters were all mixed in with white British royalty to great effect.

Mostly, I appreciated this book for the joyful parallel universe it provides in comparison to the way our country has looked since the 2016 election. The author said in the acknowledgments that she wrote it after Trump was elected and everything went to hell, and she felt the need to tell a positive, hopeful story as a flip side to real events. She absolutely accomplished that here. The woman is elected president, the boy gets the boy, and everyone lives happily ever after. What a fun escape to the way the world COULD be.

**Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a delightful read!**

Thanks St. Martin's Press for approving me for this eARC on Netgalley!

4.75 stars (I would've given it a full 5 stars, but there was WAY too much swearing)

I honestly didn't think that I'd love this book as much as I did. But omg, it was so good. I couldn't help but love pretty much the whole cast of characters. Their bonds, friendships, and relationships 💙

Alex/Henry is definitely a ship I fully support!! They're so precious 😍

I'm gonna need another book about them, ASAP 😭 Even if they're side characters, in a companion novel featuring one of the sides from this book as the lead!

Red, White and Royal Blue was the best surprise of 2019 for me! I’m not sure I’ve ever been so invested, so enamored and engaged with so many characters in a book before. I laughed out loud at times and cried at others, all while rooting for this dramatically entangled love affair.
Alex is the First Son, sister to lovely June and ex-lover to Nora (the VP’s daughter). While originally despising the Prince of England, Harry, Alex is forced to put on a show of friendship. Readers are invited to join in on this “coming of age” journey as Alex discovers that it is love that ultimately is missing in his life and that Harry is the source of light, joy and above all love. Of course the public eye, paparazzi and royalty make this story so much more complex and horrific (in a fantastic way!). I was charmed by the friendships (I wanted to hang out with Nora & June), comforted by the families (Alex’s mom, step dad and biological Dad are just doing their best), interested in the politics (how does a family survive a very public scandal at the beginning of a campaign) and swept away by the love-story that grows page by page.
The writing style was easy to follow and the banter between both friends and lovers was sweet and absolutely tear-jerking hilarious. I honestly had no idea what to expect when I received the ARC of this book, but I feel so privileged and lucky to have a preview of this wonderful story.
A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!