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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted so badly to like this book and leave an honest telling review, but I have to be honest, this book sucked. It's strange as at times I found myself so engrossed and then bam a Harry Potter reference or bam a Hamilton reference as if I wanted to see the characters having a discussion on whether the slave owner Alexander Hamilton was a fucking bisexual man. I only read this, so I could log it here and donate it to a charity shop, this book honestly sucked. The way it was written, this isn't any shade or directed at the author you do whatever you want girlie, but it feels like something you'd read on ao3 and that's not a good thing. The characters, the interactions, the world building etc, it all felt like a story a Tumblr mutual would be describing for me in a Hetalia discord server circa 2014 to distract us from the fact we're both being groomed by the admin.
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I am so mad that it has taken me so long to read this book, because this book is perfect.
I know intellectually that it can't be perfect and that I'm most likely riding the high of an incredible book but I love this book too much to care. It has been the perfect antidote to lockdown malaise. I was giddy reading it. Barely minutes into beginning it, I was telling myself to slow down so I didn't finish it too quickly, because I knew I would be sad when it was over (FYI: I was correct)
There is so much to shout out about with this book. The representation alone deserves to be shouted out about from a hilltop. Representation wasn't a token side character thrown in as appeasement. It was weaved into the very fabric of the novel. When the President of the United States turned out to be Alex's mother rather than father I was irritated at myself for being surprised. This book set the bar high and I'm all the better for it.
Alex and Henry's relationship was beautifully written. It kept surprising me. Even though I knew in my head that there would be a HEA at the end (because that's the rule of a romance novel), there were times when I genuinely did not see how that was ever going to come about. It hit different beats to other romances I've read and I found it all the more refreshing for it because I didn't see big important parts of the plot coming chapters in advance.
And those emails. I can't get over the emails.
But most of all I found it funny and earnest and crazily well written. The dialogue feels real. It's inherently quotable. I laughed out loud more than once, and it wasn't the gentle exhale through the nose kind of laugh. I'm talking the delighted, full belly cackling that makes your stomach hurt.
And yes, maybe the third person present tense thing isn't usually my jam, but I loved every single other part of this book so much that it didn't even bother me.
I'm going to tell everyone I know about this book, because I think they'll love it too.
I know intellectually that it can't be perfect and that I'm most likely riding the high of an incredible book but I love this book too much to care. It has been the perfect antidote to lockdown malaise. I was giddy reading it. Barely minutes into beginning it, I was telling myself to slow down so I didn't finish it too quickly, because I knew I would be sad when it was over (FYI: I was correct)
There is so much to shout out about with this book. The representation alone deserves to be shouted out about from a hilltop. Representation wasn't a token side character thrown in as appeasement. It was weaved into the very fabric of the novel. When the President of the United States turned out to be Alex's mother rather than father I was irritated at myself for being surprised. This book set the bar high and I'm all the better for it.
Alex and Henry's relationship was beautifully written. It kept surprising me. Even though I knew in my head that there would be a HEA at the end (because that's the rule of a romance novel), there were times when I genuinely did not see how that was ever going to come about. It hit different beats to other romances I've read and I found it all the more refreshing for it because I didn't see big important parts of the plot coming chapters in advance.
And those emails. I can't get over the emails.
But most of all I found it funny and earnest and crazily well written. The dialogue feels real. It's inherently quotable. I laughed out loud more than once, and it wasn't the gentle exhale through the nose kind of laugh. I'm talking the delighted, full belly cackling that makes your stomach hurt.
And yes, maybe the third person present tense thing isn't usually my jam, but I loved every single other part of this book so much that it didn't even bother me.
I'm going to tell everyone I know about this book, because I think they'll love it too.
This. Is. So. Cute.
I loved this book. The romance between Henry and Alex is immaculate and the fact that it’s enemies to lovers makes it even better. And there’s no need to speak about the diversity and representation this book gives. Simply mindblowing.
Thanks to the author for making me feel safe <3
100% recommended
Okay this was my third time reading it but this time i read my special edition copy and OH MY GOD THE CHAPTER OUT OF HENRY’S PERSPECTIVE !!! It melted my heart omg, it was sooo cute and showed how healthy their relationship is. Also spoilers but : it kinda hinted that June and Nora are official ?? Not sure I got that right because Pez still seems to be part of the equation but they might also just be in a polyamorous relationship idk.
Anyways that additional chapter brought me back to life.
I loved this book. The romance between Henry and Alex is immaculate and the fact that it’s enemies to lovers makes it even better. And there’s no need to speak about the diversity and representation this book gives. Simply mindblowing.
Thanks to the author for making me feel safe <3
100% recommended
Okay this was my third time reading it but this time i read my special edition copy and OH MY GOD THE CHAPTER OUT OF HENRY’S PERSPECTIVE !!! It melted my heart omg, it was sooo cute and showed how healthy their relationship is. Also spoilers but : it kinda hinted that June and Nora are official ?? Not sure I got that right because Pez still seems to be part of the equation but they might also just be in a polyamorous relationship idk.
Anyways that additional chapter brought me back to life.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I would be a fool to give this book anything less than a 5/5 star review. It hit every mark in my books. LGBTQ+ specifically and FINALLY giving a voice to bisexuality, American Politics, romance, heartbreak, drama, twenty year olds acting like real twenty year olds (drunk nights and hangovers included). Casey McQuiston provided us a world that we LGBTQ+ Americans/political nerds can only ever dream of. I hope we get there one day.
Alex's mom is the president of the United States and Henry is in line for the royal throne. McQuiston really got to the point with them getting together, but that wasn't the point. Alex has to come to terms with his own sexuality and his confusing feelings for Henry (which was so fresh to finally see! no bi erasure for ONCE). Having gone through the same things that Alex went through, and literally studying American government for 4 years, I feel like I was hooked to this book because I related to Alex more than I have potentially ever related to any character I've ever read.
One thing I specifically loved was not only the boys' love and passion for history, but their deeply thought out quotes they email back and forth (not sure if this is really a spoiler but its literally one of my favourite additions to the book).
This book does more than display a gay love story (in very long detailed scenes occasionally), this book creates a utopia I could honestly say I wish I was living in. With a female president, a gay member of the royal family, and the shocking voting results of an election, Casey McQuiston rewrote history the right way. I wish these things could be true in our lives today, I wish we could see the end of the Republican and Democrat issue, and I wish it was a woman that could have been our president in 2016, going up for reelection in 2020. I hope I live long enough to see McQuiston's world come to life, but I am so deeply happy that this book exists.
Whether you're Queer, straight, into politics, or just the promise of a better tomorrow, Red, White, and Royal Blue does it all. This book will not only have you falling in love and figuring out what your life is supposed to mean in your 20s, it will give you hope that this fiction can one day become a reality if things do change, and this book makes me really hope things do change.
Alex's mom is the president of the United States and Henry is in line for the royal throne. McQuiston really got to the point with them getting together, but that wasn't the point. Alex has to come to terms with his own sexuality and his confusing feelings for Henry (which was so fresh to finally see! no bi erasure for ONCE). Having gone through the same things that Alex went through, and literally studying American government for 4 years, I feel like I was hooked to this book because I related to Alex more than I have potentially ever related to any character I've ever read.
One thing I specifically loved was not only the boys' love and passion for history, but their deeply thought out quotes they email back and forth (not sure if this is really a spoiler but its literally one of my favourite additions to the book).
This book does more than display a gay love story (in very long detailed scenes occasionally), this book creates a utopia I could honestly say I wish I was living in. With a female president, a gay member of the royal family, and the shocking voting results of an election, Casey McQuiston rewrote history the right way. I wish these things could be true in our lives today, I wish we could see the end of the Republican and Democrat issue, and I wish it was a woman that could have been our president in 2016, going up for reelection in 2020. I hope I live long enough to see McQuiston's world come to life, but I am so deeply happy that this book exists.
Whether you're Queer, straight, into politics, or just the promise of a better tomorrow, Red, White, and Royal Blue does it all. This book will not only have you falling in love and figuring out what your life is supposed to mean in your 20s, it will give you hope that this fiction can one day become a reality if things do change, and this book makes me really hope things do change.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Hmm. Mixed feelings.
From technical execution standpoint, quite good, with the exception of the beginning—which feels slow and happenstance.
But, uh, in the current human Rights landscape it's not even a bittersweet fantasy: it feels like a joke, like it's taking a jab at 2024 and beyond. And I know, of course, that McQuiston did not intend this, but it puts a damper on the story anyways.
From technical execution standpoint, quite good, with the exception of the beginning—which feels slow and happenstance.
But, uh, in the current human Rights landscape it's not even a bittersweet fantasy: it feels like a joke, like it's taking a jab at 2024 and beyond. And I know, of course, that McQuiston did not intend this, but it puts a damper on the story anyways.