Red, White & Royal Blue: A Novel

Okay, first things first: I am obsessed with this book. I read it every chance I could get over about four very busy days and it pained me to stop reading it whenever I had to. It’s hilarious and romantic and stressful and beautiful and, damn, we do not deserve this book.Casey McQuiston’s New Adult debut is one for the ages. This work could be that of a veteran author with years of comedy and drama under their belt. It knows exactly what the hell it is doing at all times. The pace is quick and transitions happen seamlessly like that of a Star Wars film. There are, in my humble opinion, no filler scenes in this book. Every word, every piece of dialogue is important.Part of the reason that I now breathlessly Stan this book is because of the character work. Alex and Henry are both so intricately crafted. There are so many layers to each of our boys and Casey slowly peels off a little at a time to show us who they are. Reading their journey, both together and separately, was like a really, really good therapy session. You know the one I’m talking about. The one where you have a breakthrough and you leave that room feeling like you’re another step closer to figuring it all out.Both of these boys are grappling with the intense pressure to be someone they aren’t. Henry’s pressure mostly comes from the Crown and his sense of duty while Alex’s mirrors that but is more self-inflicted. Alex’s family is very liberal but Alex knows that his image means everything when it comes to being a figurehead in American politics and that’s all he has ever wanted. McQuiston’s handling of these two through-lines is masterful and emotional. I’ve not experienced so many distinct and quick emotion swings while reading a book in a long time. Laughter through tears is something that I was used to at the end of the novel.Her supporting character work is also wonderful. We have Alex’s sister, June, who is fiercely protective of her little brother and Nora, his genius BFF. These two are always there for Alex to either take him down a notch or lift him up. They are superheroes and I want a whole book about them.A recurring theme in this book is duty; specifically to the places you come from and the people that raise you. We see how this takes a toll on Henry throughout the novel through how difficult it is to be a member of the Royal Family and how he is only expected to perpetuate the bloodline even at the cost of his own happiness. He’s the freaking Prince of Wales and he is gay AF and all of the rules tell him that he can’t be the one thing he truly is. McQuiston paints a heartbreakingly honest portrait of what that would most likely be like in real life.Alex’s duty is a little different. Not only is his mother the POTUS, but he is also a biracial boy from the very red state of Texas. Alex loves Texas dearly and misses it very much. Throughout the book, we hear Alex talk about how Texas raised him and how he feels a great debt to the state to make it better. His love and care for his home state, his country, and the people in it drives almost all of his major decisions in the book. It’s a very admirable thing and the emotional power that it holds in the book’s final moments is proof that duty, and the finite power we let it have over us, is the key to what makes every choice in this book work so well.I desperately want more books in this bright hopeful AU of the world today. I finished this story with tears on my face and hope for the upcoming election cycle. Casey McQuiston’s characters aren’t afraid to scream their truth. They aren’t afraid to make a difference. They aren’t afraid to be hopeful that everything is going to be alright and neither is she. 2019 is going to be a bright year for McQuiston and, hopefully, 2020 will be a bright year for us all.

Alex is the son of the US President. Prince Henry is second in line for the British throne. And the two of them don’t get along. When an embarrassing incident causes an international stir, the two countries want the young men to pretend they’re friends. Almost against their will, Alex and Henry not only become friends, but over time, they fall in love. And as you can probably imagine, the next international stir looms ahead.There’s a lot to like about this LGBT romance. The plot is solid – set in the political arena, which puts a great deal of external and family pressure on the young men. Messages about love, acceptance, and personal freedoms enter the mix as a natural part of the story.Alex and Henry are likable characters, and it was easy to root for them. Secondary characters are wonderfully distinct, and many reflect the changing attitudes of the younger generation in support of loving who you love. I appreciated that the author takes plenty of time to grow the relationship between the two young men. There are pages and pages of banter via text, and it’s hysterical. I adored the sense of humor and wit that pervades the story from start to finish.There’s also a lot of tenderness and compassion. And a lot of sex. I’m not much of a fan of erotica, no matter who’s doing it, but it's well-written and not overly graphic. In general, the book is a wonderfully written and delightful read, with great characters and endless laughs. Highly recommended.

“Red, White, and Royal Blue” has been in my TBR since I decided to jump back into reading at the beginning of this year. I've been a sucker for "White House-related” romances since I can remember and this book drew me in like a magnet. But I'm a fantasy junky so I didn't pick up the book until the first trailer for a “RWARB" movie came forth from Amazon Prime.Fast forward two days before the movie comes out. I had just finished reading another fantasy book and after much debate, I decided I wanted to read the book before watching the movie. So I proceeded to do nothing other than work and come home to completely devour this book.By the end of chapter one, I was hooked. This book is unapologetically funny, I've never laughed harder while reading a book, every other page if not every single page. Even the sad or slower pages had me screaming laughter. Casey's comic timing deserves a medal, truly spot on *chef's kiss*.As for her charters, Alex is PERFECT!!! His internal battle over Henry, over his sexuality, over his career, is so painfully real. He's so relatable. His charm and personality which he's built over the years, are clearly built for others, not himself. Henry is DREAMY and also painfully perfectly imperfect. Always wearing a shield his family build so no one sees him for who he truly is. Alex being the only person who's broken the shield, finally seeing him the true Henry, not what the royal crown has created of him. I love how hard yet easy it was for them to learn how to take care of and love each other. Henry's anxiety and ticks, Alex's trauma responses. The plot twists are truly delicious. A bit predictable but in the best way possible.Alex, June, and Nora will forever be one of my comfort trios. How they complete each other. How they protect each other. Each one having a role they play so beautifully it should be a sin. June's relationship with Alex is everything a sibling should aspire to have with their sister or brother. Nora is the kind of best friend everyone wishes they had but is incredibly hard to find in this world. Nora with the emails killed me. Luna and Nora completely sneaked up on me in that chapter but filled my heart with so much joy and love knowing it was Luna, I almost cried.Speaking of which, can we just talk about the diversity of this book? Holy crap! Casey truly didn't hold back. Alexander, named after Alexander Hamilton, the mixed son of the first divorced, Woman President of the United States of America. One of Alex's mentors, Raphael Luna, is an openly gay senator who's also Hispanic. How unapologetically strong Zarah, the president’s Chief of Staff. All these people strong and beautiful and portrayed as they should be. All the mentions of gay, bi, etc characters. Nora, Bea, Liam, etc. Again, Perfect.Is there a little bit of spicy? yes. Is it tasteful? absolutely. I read this book with the audible narrator (which I 1,000% recommend, he's brilliant) and it made the experience 10x better. Nothing was overly explained, They came together and they made love, simple as that. In more words obviously but you get my point. Not really smut, more sensual than sexual. I love smut but this was beautiful and exactly what it needed to be.It's almost impossible to put into words how beautifully rich this book is. In story. In love. Inequality. The way the story unfolds reminds me of aged fine whisky, smooth and rich in flavor. Pacing, like the majority of this book, was spot on as well. I was never bored or trying to look ahead, it was incredibly well-paced so I was just living in the moment. Enjoying every page, paragraph, and sentence. Without much effort at all, this book has become hands down my comfort read of 2023, possibly my comfort book forever.If you decided not to read this whole thing, I understand, it’s a lot. And it’s more for me than it honestly is for you. But, nonetheless, at least read this sentence. Take this one thing with you. It’s worth it, read it. Enjoy it. Devour it. You won’t regret it!

RW&RB foi uma leitura muito divertida. Não vou negar que parece uma realização de desejo, realidade alternativa, fanfiction gay (bi) (o autor admite totalmente que a história foi inspirada por ter ficado desanimado com a vitória eleitoral de Trump em 2016!) mas isso não significa necessariamente que seja uma leitura ruim. É interessante ver como “YA” passou a abranger histórias da idade universitária agora também - acho que a geração Y/geração Z mais do que nunca misturou seus anos de adolescência e faculdade nesta fase de “semi-idade adulta” e RW&RB mostra esse tipo de coisa muito bem. Alex está na faculdade, mas ainda está sob o controle de seus pais (o powerpoint de sua mãe era muito engraçado). A história às vezes fica bem boba e um pouco cheia de referências que estarão desatualizadas daqui a 10 anos, mas é um ótimo romance MM para ler na praia.

The media could not be loaded.  Me llegó en tres días, pedí la Collector’s Edition. Mi mayor miedo era que lo enviaran en sobre pero llegó en caja. Con algunas manchitas en a portada pero se pudieron quitar fácilmente. El libro es precioso, el precio es bueno, incluso más barato que comprar en físico la versión en español. No me arrepiento para nada de esta compra, me hizo muy feliz.

Bel libro, pagine particolari (forse carta riciclata), bella storia.

Not much to say about the lovely Novel about Henry and Alex and how LOVE conquers all.

I went browsing an English language bookstore in my city because I had some time to kill before a meeting and came across this book way before the movie came out (which I also adore to pieces) and thought why not even though it cost 30$ in my currency. Never regretted that impulsive decision.Henri and Alex's story is the type of love story most people (especially women) wish they had. It has its drama but love conquers all in the end and there is no doubt this is a HEA. I'll be honest and say it doesn't have a revolutionary plot and it is full of cliches but I'm willing to argue until my face is blue that the tropiness and cliches are what make this romantic comedy gold standard.It's delightful with feelings and makes you root for our boys even with all their drama queen actions.