Member Reviews
This is a romance between two princes: one, a member of the British royal family, and the other, the son of the POTUS. They move in the same widely influential monied circles, but in reality, they hate each other's guts. They cause an international situation when they get into a bit of a tug-of-war and fall into the $75k cake at the royal prince's brother's wedding. Oops! Then starts the publicity blitz to showcase their true bromance...which eventually leads to a true romance. But the two are separated by a large pond. How is their romance to flourish?
People have either loved this book or dismissed it -- I lie with the former group. This was a fun romp of a rom-com, not to be taken seriously in the least, especially when real politicians show up in ignominious and inventive ways or characters have names of real people but behave vastly differently. This is not a historical or a true contemporary romance where real people act like real people. I mean, the premise is utterly fanciful. For example, the fact that a college student has wide access to senators and representatives in Congress and is able to see political trends and suss out secrets that loads of staffers and aides haven't while attending college is definitely worthy of a hard eye-roll. But that is precisely the charm of this book. You let go off all preconceived notions of how such a story exists and unfolds and go with the flow.
Swoon! Wow what an amazing novel! This book gives you love, it gives you politics, and it gives you witty banter between characters you wish were your best friends... what more could we ask for?! I can’t believe this is McQuiston’s first novel the writing is flawless. She developed a beautiful world full of LGBTQ+ characters and allies who will leave you smiling from ear to ear. I had chills multiple times while reading this book and it made me hopeful that the America portrayed in this story is the America of the not so distant future. The love story is beautiful, realistic, and sexy. I don’t think I’ve shipped a couple this hard in awhile! I highly recommend this book and can’t wait for the authors next book to be released! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the e-galley.
"History huh? Bet we can make some."
Holy shit, Casey McQuinston you definitely did. This book was a masterpiece, I just need that to be out there before I continue with this review. Firstly, I want to say how easy of a read this is. Despite that, I took my time because I couldn't bare the thought of having to say goodbye to the characters.
The plot of this book is everything I look for when it comes to a romance. Enemies to lovers trope. Rivals. Angst!!! so much of it too, but done really fucking well. I absolutely sobbed my way through the last 100 or so pages, and other than that THE FUCKING INFORMATION.
I learned a good amount about Politics without wanting to gauge out my eyes, most likely due to Alex's very colorful language that I can totally relate too. It was refreshing to read about a woman president as well, and dead ass there wasn't a character that I didn't like! except Richards of course, and the Queen because nope.
Also can I just point out how much love this book was written with, you can literally read it in the voices of every character. AND ALL THE FANDOM REFERENCES. Alex's obsession with Henry being compared to Draco with Harry made me roar with laughter.
I can't even put emphasis's around this point (LET NORA AND JUNE DATE PLEASE)
The emails, the emails were probably my favorite part. It really displayed the differences between Henry and Alex in the most amazing away, and the quoting of the letters from historical figures? Bloody brilliant -as Henry would say-
All together, this book is a must read. It's full laughter, love, and understanding. Honestly, it was like embracing someone after a long hard battle. Alex and Henry's development shed light on knowing that you have choices. The world can be completely against you, but at the end of the day it's your choice if you allow those obstacles to stop you from obtaining the happiness you deserve. Rather its love, a career, a dream, or even getting to know yourself.
It's a story about love coming at the most unexpected times, and finding it in the least expected person but that shouldn't stop you from embracing it. Holding it close. I also feel as if this book is a treasure to the lgbtq+ community. I want to just thank Casey for displacing the love and support that exists in this world that we perceive as wicked and cruel. And that everyone is human, no matter what job or life they undertake. We should be more forgiving and understanding.
Love is Love, and this book absolutely proves that.
Also I want to point out one of my favorite parts of the book,
"His election night was on the wide-open stretch of Zillar Park, against the backdrop of the Austin skyline. He remembers everything. He was eighteen years old in first custom-made suit, corralled into a hotel around the corner with his family to watch the results while the crowd swelled outside, running with his arms open down the hallway when they called called 270. He remembers it felt like his moment, because it was his mom and his family, but also realizing it was, in a way, not his moment at all, when he turned around and saw Zahra's mascara running down her face. He stood next to the stage set into the hillside of Zilker and looked into eyes upon eyes upon eyes of women who were old enough to have marched on Congress for the VRA in '65 and girls young enough never to have known a president who was a white man. All of them looking at their first Madam President. And he turned and looked at June right at his side and Nora at his left, and he distinctly remembers pushing them out onto the stage ahead of him, giving them a full thirty seconds of soaking it in before following them into the spotlight."
I can not express how much this scene effected me, despite being read from a males POV the stand for women and feminism woven into this story left me completely awe-struck. I can not tell you how many times I reread that single part, tears blurring my sight because fiction or not, that moment was written with such hope for the future of women.
Summing up it up, if I could rate this higher than a five star read, I would not hesitate. It was incredible, and I was lucky to have received an arc in exchange for an honest review. And I am happy to brag about owning my own copy as well, and I cannot wait to see what Casey puts out next!
Publisher: St Martin’s Griffin
Rating: ★★★
Format: Netgalley EArc
This was a victim of the hype for me. I enjoyed it but it didn’t blow me away. I love the diversity and I am deffo excited to see what comes next from the author!
I'm very happy this book exists! I will be honest and say I was not ready to read a book that dealt with politics considering our current political climate but the description intrigued me. It was not long until I got sucked into the story with the breezy, witty, and sharp writing and the lovable characters. I loved the Trio right from the start and now I so desperately want to be in the Super Six.
The romance between Alex and Henry is sweet and developed slowly. I respect the author's decision to not have explicit love scenes, which stayed consistent throughout the book and I loved that their romance wasn't just relegated to the physical.. I thought the emotional intensity and intimacy, especially their emails (my favorite part of the book) brought their relationship to a whole other level. I hated to say goodbye to these characters and I selfishly want to see where their adventure leads. I'm still holding out hope that we get a companion novel or novels that follow June and Nora.
I received an ARC of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really, really enjoyed this one. It covers so many issues that I’m not entirely sure where to start. It was cute, original, hilarious, and at times, heart breaking. Not to mention, I think I learned a bit about US politics. I adored all the characters but in particular, Alex and Henry, the front runners. I swooned at Henry’s prose, laughed at Alex’s jokes, and admired both of their courage.
Great book, fantastic characters. I think the author could make this into a series tracking the lives of each of them. I’d be super interested to see what apex and June do with their friendship, and I’m super curious to know if Nora will end up with anyone.
This debut is an over-the-top ride from start to finish, I just wish I meant that I liked it and not that it was cringe-worthy and a hundred pages too long.
Definitely a fairytale happy ending, which we rarely get in politics. I grinned, giggled, and the plot even pleased the political strategist in me. The nods to real life political/campaign scandals and events, the neurosis that comes with being a part of a politician’s staff, were on the nose. I appreciated the realistic reactions from Alex’s friends to his coming out, but not everyone’s experience is as ...neat as his was with his parents.
A light read, with just the right amount of depth. I’d read more from this author for sure.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2904105026
3 Stars / 2 Steam Fans
It is so hard to write a review for this book. For most of the book I rolled my eyes to the point I got a headache especially when I was being bashed over the head with political stance and social issues. The first quarter of the book turned me off to the point I almost DNFed this entire book. Alex is the first son of the United States of America of our first female president...that would have been cool had this fact not been told to us every turn in this story. Henry is the Prince of Wales and is expected to act like a proper English gentleman and heir to the crown. Alex and Henry have issues that are very much based of the fact that they are secretly harboring feelings for each other. They have an episode with the press and now they have to be fake best friends. There is all the other socially and politically ultra-woke thinking that is intertwined within this story as it continues one. I would have enjoyed the story had the romance of Alex and Henry had been more in the forefront and the political think had only been mentioned as a connection for Alex and Henry. If you are ultra-WOKE then you will probably enjoy this alternative look into what the world could look like. I am being very generous with the 3 stars because the more I think about it I really didn't enjoy this book and suffered through it so I could give it a fair assessment.
This specific video review will be included in the August 2019 wrap-up.
For other video book reviews check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.
5 stars. Round of applause. Standing ovation.
This was everything I hoped it would be: funny, charming, well-written, sexy and romantic as hell.
Quite frankly, the love letters between Henry and Alex alone deserve five stars.
How can a review even do this book justice???
Oh my gosh, SO cute. Exactly what I was looking for in a quick summer romance read. The relationship between our two (gay!) MCs was the cutest thing of my life. So glad I picked this book up (thanks Netgalley!) and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a m/m romance.
Review on blog!
What a truly heartwarming story. In a (better) alternate reality the Prince of England and the first son of the United states have a bitter rivalry. But after the two are forced together it turns out to be so much more.
I loved this book! It was fun, fast-paced, and had one of my favorite tropes, Hate to Love! I loved the uniqueness of the characters backgrounds and found it really important in reflecting the possibilities of society. If only the world had as much love and acceptance and the world in this story had. I sometimes struggle when books include politics in them but this was not one of them. If anything it gave me hope! I recommend this book as often and as much as I can! It was wonderful!
eview:
I've read varying reviews on this novel, many of which were predicated on the way the readers responded to the politics of the novel. Everyone agreed it was a delightful book - extremely intelligent, witty, well-written, excellent characterization, and hits all the romance beats perfectly. Yet, I saw RW&RB scored down because readers were unable to get passed the politics of the novel. This, I believe, is where I see the limits of reader response criticism, where the experience of reading a novel is completely rooted in the experience of the reader at an emotional, sentimental level, regardless of the execution of the work itself.
But readers don't look for reviews to break down the merits and weaknesses of reader response theory. It just got me thinking about who what I'm trying to accomplish as a reviewer if I can pan an excellent book simply because the politics are too close for my historical comfort. I wonder if scoring down a book for that reason isn't the same as downgrading a book for the identity of the character or because it features a pairing you don't agree with. It is criminal in reviewing to possess some types of biases, yet others we tolerate others without self-reflection. However, while those beliefs won't necessarily disenfranchise a group, it can sink a book in someone's opinion.
Enough rambling. RW&RB is brilliant. One of the reasons I treasure this book is because it is one of the few modern LGBQTA+ romances that demonstrates an awareness of the history of the LGBQTA+ movement. To a degree, that makes sense. After all, romance is the genre of escapism and hope. Talking about the AIDS crisis or Stonewall or Compton's Cafeteria Riot might not make for escapist reading. However, given the politics environment of the novel and both Alex's and Henry's roles in their families and respective governments, history and politics form a central preoccupation. The main characters are the sons of the leaders of their respective countries. Therefore, their romance, as it grows, has the power to alter history and our main characters know this, a fact encapsulated in Alex's phrase, "History, huh?"
But there's more to it, right? Because LGBQTA+ people have had to contend with more than just violence and intolerance. We've had to deal with outright historical erasure. It becomes a major theme of the novel. Alex and Henry are constantly analyzing their place in history, especially given the consequences of their growing love for each other. The moment they both embrace the fact that they will, in fact, occupy a glaring spot in the history of both countries, it is both epic and humbling for both characters. One of the most powerful moments is Alex speaking in a press conference and he tells his audience, "I am the First Son of the United States, and I'm bisexual. History will remember us." A constant theme, it is McQuiston's answer to historical erasure is to place the First Son of the United States and the Crown Prince of England on a world stage and dare history to ignore them.
The book is also a coming out narrative, but played out on a worldwide stage. Alex comes to terms with his bisexuality as he falls ever deeper in love with Henry. There is forced exposure of the main character's sexuality - if this is a trigger for a reader, be forewarned that it plays a central role in the plot. But the writer handles this deftly, and the responses by the different parties involved (Alex's mother, his sister and best friend, Henry's family and, finally, the public) are internally consistent for the novel but also realistic on a larger scale. McQuiston paints an optimistic world where some people are ogres about the revelation of Alex and Henry's romance but most are cheering for them and take courage from their love. Essentially, all the right people are on their side, including the British and American public. America comes off a bit better in this novel than it does in real life.
Let's talk romance a minute. There is a wonderful mashup of tropes in this novel: enemies-to-friends, fake relationships here and even forbidden love as Alex and Henry work to find reasons to see each other. The love letters between them are a work of art on their own and McQuiston models their letters on the love letters of famous people throughout history. I have a collection of letters somewhere on my hard drive that I once collected by Virginia Woolf, Alexander Hamilton and Simon Beauvoir, among others and it was thrilling to see some of these show up in the letters between Alex and Henry. Their love and longing is palpable and was one of the highlights of the novel. I could their letters alone and be happy. Alex goes from brusque American braggadocio to poetically waxing about his love for Henry and Henry's responses are positively literary. The wit and banter is hip and clever but when they talk about love, the words smoulder on the page.
And the love scenes - if you are an aspiring writer, each love scene is worth studying as an exemplar of how to write love scenes rooted in strong characterization. They are a splendid combination of sexual desire, emotional intensity and delicacy - truly some of the best love scenes I've ever read.
Favorite Quotes:
"Thinking about history makes me wonder how I’ll fit into it one day, I guess. And you too. I kinda wish people still wrote like that. History, huh? Bet we could make some."
"But the truth is, also, simply this: love is indomitable."
"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?"
"You are a delinquent and a plague. Please come."
"Never tell me the odds."
An enthusiastic 5-star read.
5/5 stars
This book. THIS BOOK. I honestly can't speak highly enough of it? I keep returning to it again and again when I'm sad. It pulled me out of a funk, made me believe in love, gave me hope for the future of America...honestly. This book.
Absolutely loved this book! I have never read a romance novel with a homosexual couple - I'm glad that this story puts real couples like this on the map so that others who are similar can feel included, like their own stories can get told, too.
While I enjoyed this book a lot, I didn't love it as much as everyone on Booktube did unfortunately. I guess I'll start out with the negatives: I think there was actually a little too much politics and not enough romance, especially in the last 35% of the book. While this story centers around two political families and a reelection, I just felt that it could have been more focused on Alex and Henry's relationship overall. I also think that this book could've maybe been a little shorter. For me, 423 pages is a little long for a new adult romance.
Back to the positives: OMG I LOVE ALEX AND HENRY SO MUCH. I love how complex and multifaceted McQuiston wrote them to be. I also loved the pacing of how their relationship developed from hate to love. I enjoyed all of the side characters as well. This book also made me wish that we had an President like Ellen in real life.
I would definitely recommend this, but I wouldn't advise against having as high of expectations as I did going into it. Overall a wonderful LGBTQ romance!
I went into this novel expecting a fluffy little rom-com, but Casey McQuiston has blown me away. This hopeful tale of friendship, politics, and a history-changing love is funny and sweet and beautiful and it ripped my heart to absolute shreds before putting it back together and filling it with pride and the hope for a future that could be ours someday. For sure adding this to my Faves of 2019 list!!
Much thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s/Griffin for an advanced reader’s copy for early review.
Things I Loved about Red, White and Royal Blue
1. The Diversity
This book is about Alex, who is biracial (Mexican/white), has ADHD and as he realises throughout the book, he is bisexual. Alex happens to be the son of the female president of the United States, and he falls in love with Henry, the gay prince of England. As if that wasn’t amazing enough, there’s also diversity when it comes to the supporting characters, there’s a biracial character, a bisexual character, a character with no regards for gender roles and a character that struggles with addiction. And that’s just the most prominent secondary characters, there’s even more diversity when it comes to minor characters. How fantastic is that?!
2. The Romance
Now, the main focus of the story is the romance and let me tell you this book is the perfect example of the dislike to like to love trope. I was swooning so hard while reading this book, the romance was cute and angsty and hot and everything I could have ever asked for. Also, for a big part of this book, Alex and Henry communicate through emails, which are sweet, romantic, thoughtful and just thinking about them makes me want to smile.
3. Amazing side characters + coolest friend group ever
Each of the two main characters in this book had two people in there lives that were really close to them. For Alex, it was his sister, June, and his best friend, Nora. And for Henry, it was his sister, Bea, and his best friend, Pez. Throughout the book the six of them form a friendship and they become the coolest, most badass group of friends ever and I’m so here for it! I love all six of them.
Also, I need follow up books so I can get stories for the other characters (I feel like they are hints of June and Nora having a thing, but I have mentioned it to some people and no one else seems to have noticed it, so I’m fretting that I made it all up in my mind and now I’m invested in it and it won’t happen, so if you read the book and you also saw the June/ nora hints, let me know!)
4. The political aspect
Lastly, this book deals a lot with politics, elections, electoral campaings and all that sort of thing since Alex’s mom is up for reelection and that has an impact on Alex and Henry’s relationship. I know that may be divisive because a lot of people may not like how big of part politic plays in the book, but as someone who graduated as a political scientist, I LOVED it! I thought it was really interesting and well reserched, even if the ending didn’t feel completely realistic, it was more on the hopeful side but it went well with the tone of the book.
There are so many other amazing things about this book like the supportive family and the humor, but these were the main four things that made me fall in love with Red, White & Royal Blue.
I absolutely loved this book and these boys! I absolutely loved the slow burn between the two and the relationship felt so healthy and natural. This author has a voice for adorable romances!