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

emotional funny hopeful
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Disclaimer: I am incredibly wary of political figures. It’s fuck the British monarchy and I hate US democracy. I was pretty cynical from the beginning of this book because it seemed like a very much idealized version of political leaders, and I couldn’t help but be bitter. However, as more of the story unfolded, I became swept up in Alex and Henry’s story. The prose is so romantic, using just the right words that had me falling in love with Henry right alongside Alex. There were many moments where I was moved to tears, because Alex’s love is so immense. And since obviously they’re long distance, the pining is just.. so.. good. I loved seeing them come together and I wish I could protect them from all the bad things.

Most of the political aspects took a backseat in my brain majority of the time, but I was definitely less cynical and more hopeful in a way by the end. In the acknowledgements, the author describes the book as “escapist, trauma-soothing, alternate-but-realistic reality. Not a perfect world—one still believably fucked up, just a little better, a little more optimistic”, and I think they accomplished that, at least with me.
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