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A review by lessthelonely
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
TikTok made me do it, I swear!
OK, before I go into what I think about this book, I really want to preface this by saying that this isn't a bad book, at all. At best, it might not have been 100% for me, because there are a few things I definitely didn't like.
First of all, this book is very much on a medium pace in terms of plot or lack thereof: things happen, for sure, sometimes even very emotional or somewhat tense! But the romance? It's very much linear from start to finish, and it's also incredibly fast. I wouldn't call this an insta-love, not at all, but it did seem like the Enemies to Lovers trope was included just to have something before the characters get together: from what I can tell, it was all a misunderstanding, which... OK? All I can say is that the first main moment in the relationship happens before the 1/3 mark. And that's usually pretty underwhelming for me, because I really enjoy the pining stage, but this wasn't really that? The moment happens, there's a little connecting scene before the next moment and that's it.
I did want the main characters to get together because they are very much loveable and likeable, however, as a reader, I'd much more rather have a few super special scenes that'll really stick with me for a long time than a bunch of... well, there's no other way to describe it, fluff moments that are sweet, sure, but they didn't read as that special because of their frequency, you know? There's only so much you can get out of two characters making out and/or having sex, in my opinion.
Granted, I was never bored! It read really nice and light - those kinds of scenes that make you feel warm inside, but if you ask me to tell you about a specific scene? I'm going to have to say that I truly remember none outside of the first moment and another one that's before a big moment in the book. Which brings me to my next point: I 100% understand that putting strain in a relationship is part of romance books. What I don't like is when that strain is used like I feel it was used in this book: to keep it going.
When you lean into the idea that there's always a new problem that's going to come down the road, it's hard for me to feel invested: Oh, yeah! They had a fight and they finally made up and they're on good terms again and really lovey-dovey, wow! I won't think that because if it's not the end of the book, I know something else will probably happen - and while other books usually have a plot to justify that, this one doesn't. It's usually misunderstandings or lack of communication - the one true strain I found compelling was the last one, because it was the only one that actually made me fear for the ending. It wasn't on the main ones themselves, but their surroundings.
I did like the ending - it's very hopeful, in my opinion. I enjoyed it. Just like I enjoyed this book, but I believe this could've been a way more entertaining read with:
OK, before I go into what I think about this book, I really want to preface this by saying that this isn't a bad book, at all. At best, it might not have been 100% for me, because there are a few things I definitely didn't like.
First of all, this book is very much on a medium pace in terms of plot or lack thereof: things happen, for sure, sometimes even very emotional or somewhat tense! But the romance? It's very much linear from start to finish, and it's also incredibly fast. I wouldn't call this an insta-love, not at all, but it did seem like the Enemies to Lovers trope was included just to have something before the characters get together: from what I can tell, it was all a misunderstanding, which... OK? All I can say is that the first main moment in the relationship happens before the 1/3 mark. And that's usually pretty underwhelming for me, because I really enjoy the pining stage, but this wasn't really that? The moment happens, there's a little connecting scene before the next moment and that's it.
I did want the main characters to get together because they are very much loveable and likeable, however, as a reader, I'd much more rather have a few super special scenes that'll really stick with me for a long time than a bunch of... well, there's no other way to describe it, fluff moments that are sweet, sure, but they didn't read as that special because of their frequency, you know? There's only so much you can get out of two characters making out and/or having sex, in my opinion.
Granted, I was never bored! It read really nice and light - those kinds of scenes that make you feel warm inside, but if you ask me to tell you about a specific scene? I'm going to have to say that I truly remember none outside of the first moment and another one that's before a big moment in the book. Which brings me to my next point: I 100% understand that putting strain in a relationship is part of romance books. What I don't like is when that strain is used like I feel it was used in this book: to keep it going.
When you lean into the idea that there's always a new problem that's going to come down the road, it's hard for me to feel invested: Oh, yeah! They had a fight and they finally made up and they're on good terms again and really lovey-dovey, wow! I won't think that because if it's not the end of the book, I know something else will probably happen - and while other books usually have a plot to justify that, this one doesn't. It's usually misunderstandings or lack of communication - the one true strain I found compelling was the last one, because it was the only one that actually made me fear for the ending. It wasn't on the main ones themselves, but their surroundings.
I did like the ending - it's very hopeful, in my opinion. I enjoyed it. Just like I enjoyed this book, but I believe this could've been a way more entertaining read with:
- a better set-up of the enemies to lovers thing;
- a longer pining arc with an efusive, instead of jumping into the big moments (first kiss, confession, making out, sex, etc); The first moment was so anti-climatic.
- I was going to say more outside conflict, but the truth is the final conflict could've definitely been stretched out for the whole book with the right mindset;
So, that's why I'm not giving it 4 full stars: I don't regret reading it, but I wish it was better.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Biphobia, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Homophobia, Hate crime, Outing, and Sexual assault