A review by rory1387
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I bought this book because it's all over BookTok, and honestly, I was kind of disappointed. The majority of the book is just explicit sex scenes -- the sheer number of sex scenes has no real purpose -- and the book just read like a smutty fanfiction on Wattpad. The storytelling felt lazy, especially in the central conflict: the fact that Alex and Henry must conceal their relationship because of the crown's homophobia. But this isn't elaborated upon until the last hundred or so pages, when they have already been outed. The ending was alright, I suppose, and somewhat redeemed the book, but not enough for me to give it 3 stars. 

(Also, this book brands itself as enemies-to-lovers; it's not. They're dating by chapter 4, and their only real "enemies" moment is a badly written, angsty misunderstanding.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Sexual content, and Homophobia

Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Death of parent, and Chronic illness