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A review by signemai
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
3.0
I have a lot of thoughts about this book, both positive and negative. I think with many books, your enjoyment is often influenced by expectations. And this is especially the case for me with this book. I will admit, my expectations were low going in. I tend to judge books by its covers and I was assuming this would be low in quality in terms of writing and depth. I was mostly right, but it was also an interesting journey. Here are my points:
1. First of all, the writing felt very fanfiction-y, which is fine, if you're reading a fanfiction. But I was maybe expecting a little bit more. The dialogue was cringe at worst and felt juvenile and inauthentic at best. I really don't think people talk like they do in this book. While this was annoying, it never took me out of the book, and I still enjoyed it a lot.
2. If you are expecting an enemies to lovers trope, you should change your expectations a little bit. They were enemies, sure, but not for very long. It's more like a secret Romeo and Juliet kind of thing (which is also something I enjoyed!).
3. In general, I feel like there was a problem with authenticity. The way the British talked felt a little bit like a stereotype or a weird caricature of posh people that I can't quite place. The politics also was not realistic at all, even though it is a big part of it, especially towards the ending.
5. It was EXTREMELY cute. Like a fluffy romance with a little bit of extra cheese. I really loved this for the first half of the book, because it was well balanced with conflict. But then it continued. And continued. And never stopped. I feel like this book severely lacked some genuine conflict. There really wasn't anything at stake, even though there definitely should be, given the premise of the book being an important prince and an important figure in politics dating. But the book never really made me believe I should be worried. It felt like a utopia. I know the intention from the author of this book was to give a form of escapism, but the cuteness overload didn't really do that for me.
(This point is debatable. There WAS conflict, just maybe not as much as I'd like for my own taste).
6. The ending
In conclusion, I had a really good time and I could not put it down. It kind of gave me nostalgia from the times I read a lot of fanfiction, because it really felt like one. I'd definitely recommend this if you love fluff.
(Also LASTLY, I would have loved some more detail in the sex scenes, but maybe that's just me).
1. First of all, the writing felt very fanfiction-y, which is fine, if you're reading a fanfiction. But I was maybe expecting a little bit more. The dialogue was cringe at worst and felt juvenile and inauthentic at best. I really don't think people talk like they do in this book. While this was annoying, it never took me out of the book, and I still enjoyed it a lot.
2. If you are expecting an enemies to lovers trope, you should change your expectations a little bit. They were enemies, sure, but not for very long. It's more like a secret Romeo and Juliet kind of thing (which is also something I enjoyed!).
Spoiler
In my opinion, it would have worked better if the story had started earlier, and maybe given us a little bit more of their rivalry rather than just explaining it. This might've also solved the thing about his sexuality crisis only lasting for ONE MONTH. That was way too fast for me, sorry.3. In general, I feel like there was a problem with authenticity. The way the British talked felt a little bit like a stereotype or a weird caricature of posh people that I can't quite place. The politics also was not realistic at all, even though it is a big part of it, especially towards the ending.
Spoiler
Are you really going to tell me that the Democratic campaign are shitting their pants in excitement over California not being counted? California?? Literally the most liberal state? And you decide to make that a big part of your last ounce of conflict?5. It was EXTREMELY cute. Like a fluffy romance with a little bit of extra cheese. I really loved this for the first half of the book, because it was well balanced with conflict. But then it continued. And continued. And never stopped. I feel like this book severely lacked some genuine conflict. There really wasn't anything at stake, even though there definitely should be, given the premise of the book being an important prince and an important figure in politics dating. But the book never really made me believe I should be worried. It felt like a utopia. I know the intention from the author of this book was to give a form of escapism, but the cuteness overload didn't really do that for me.
(This point is debatable. There WAS conflict, just maybe not as much as I'd like for my own taste).
6. The ending
Spoiler
was really unbelievable. Of course I'm reading this in 2021 in the aftermath of a royal scandal, so maybe I'm biased. But I do not believe for a second the crown would have accepted this relationship. Not even because of it being a same-sex relationship, because Henry is only fourth in line (I think), but because this is a prince dating a foreign politician. If this relationship happened in real life, I imagine Henry would have been forced to abdicate, at least if he wanted to marry Alex. The Royal Family is supposed to be completely neutral. You can't do that if you might become First Gentleman or whatever of a major country as well. Sorry, it just felt like a really cheap ending to me. Making Henry abdicate would have felt much more realistic, or forbidding Alex from joining politics later, but maybe this would have also been too easy, I don't know.In conclusion, I had a really good time and I could not put it down. It kind of gave me nostalgia from the times I read a lot of fanfiction, because it really felt like one. I'd definitely recommend this if you love fluff.
(Also LASTLY, I would have loved some more detail in the sex scenes, but maybe that's just me).