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A review by smasson13
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is a reread for me. I absolutely loved this book the first time around. It was witty and fun but also had some real meat to it at over 400 pages.
The characters are complex but I did notice this time around that they felt, while expansive, maybe a little shallow. The spicy level of this book is great, the build up is excellent, though very close to a fade-to-black.
As well, the pace of the book felt much slower the second time around. I did have a very, very difficult time with McQuiston's second novel being extremely slow (almost DNF), so i wasnt surpised coming back that i found this slower on a second read.
Overall though, the book manages to cover a huge expanse of topics, themes, and tropes. I loved the cuteness of the friendships portrayed and would have loved to see more. It is a USA politics based book though, so it does make references that would be best understood if you were up to date on politics when the book was written.
I really liked this book and will still give the author a shot on their third.
The characters are complex but I did notice this time around that they felt, while expansive, maybe a little shallow. The spicy level of this book is great, the build up is excellent, though very close to a fade-to-black.
As well, the pace of the book felt much slower the second time around. I did have a very, very difficult time with McQuiston's second novel being extremely slow (almost DNF), so i wasnt surpised coming back that i found this slower on a second read.
Overall though, the book manages to cover a huge expanse of topics, themes, and tropes. I loved the cuteness of the friendships portrayed and would have loved to see more. It is a USA politics based book though, so it does make references that would be best understood if you were up to date on politics when the book was written.
I really liked this book and will still give the author a shot on their third.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Biphobia, Cursing, and Outing
Moderate: Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Addiction, and Grief
Minor: Colonisation and Racism