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A review by machuvicchu
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Such a sugary sweet romance between the son of female president of the United States and a prince from England. From reading the synopsis you already have the expectation that this could categorize as fantasy - but this far-fetched set-up adds to its charm.
This book's strongest asset: its characters. I was emotionally invested in everyone. In fact, in my ideal world, Casey McQuiston does a Bridgerton-series style situation (minus all that mess) and gives us a spin-off of every single character: June, Nora, Pez, Cash, Shaan, Amy (I'm listing everyone I can remember but notably minus the Royal Family). Alex has all the aspects I love for a main character; neurotic, emotionally dense (but that's why we love him), funny. There are few books labelled funny that I actually find funny but there were jokes that had me laughing out loud. All these scenes were so vivid in my mind, especially the montage where they're all out to karaoke to Queen.
I know I said this book's far-fetchedness added to its charm but the nature of writing about figures that have a long history of oppression and evil being painted in this kind of light felt off. I found myself rolling my eyes at how anti-colonialist the members of the Royal Family were and it felt... I can't describe it. Just the cynic in me with my personal biases.. but other than that it was a fun and fresh time.
This book's strongest asset: its characters. I was emotionally invested in everyone. In fact, in my ideal world, Casey McQuiston does a Bridgerton-series style situation (minus all that mess) and gives us a spin-off of every single character: June, Nora, Pez, Cash, Shaan, Amy (I'm listing everyone I can remember but notably minus the Royal Family). Alex has all the aspects I love for a main character; neurotic, emotionally dense (but that's why we love him), funny. There are few books labelled funny that I actually find funny but there were jokes that had me laughing out loud. All these scenes were so vivid in my mind, especially the montage where they're all out to karaoke to Queen.
I know I said this book's far-fetchedness added to its charm but the nature of writing about figures that have a long history of oppression and evil being painted in this kind of light felt off. I found myself rolling my eyes at how anti-colonialist the members of the Royal Family were and it felt... I can't describe it. Just the cynic in me with my personal biases.. but other than that it was a fun and fresh time.