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A review by surbhi_reads
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
5.0
“Thinking about history makes me wonder how I’ll fit into it one day, I guess. And you too. I kinda wish people still wrote like that. History, huh? Bet we could make some.”
Wow! This book guys, this freaking book... I am so speechless like, honestly, I have been trying to write down this review for two days now and there are so many things that I want to I need to say but as it happens I am utterly unable to form any kind of coherent thoughts, when it comes to expressing how much I truly loved this book. To begin with, the book is awesome, a kind of story that just held my heart and gave me such gushy & fluttery feelings, the likes of which, I haven't experience in a very long time. A romance so pure and beguiling that will make you believe in the idea of falling in love and in the existence of soulmates. Inadvertently, this is a love story, which, I never thought I needed but having read it, I am so joyous that this book exists because it's everything guys.
To sum it up, [b:Red, White & Royal Blue|41150487|Red, White & Royal Blue|Casey McQuiston|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1558725110s/41150487.jpg|61657690] follows the story of Alex Claremont-Diaz, the first son of the US and Henry, Prince of Wales. The two of them have a rocky start and while Alex considers Henry to be his arch-nemesis, Henry is quite indifferent to Alex or so he pretends. A royal wedding, an ugly confrontation and a destroyed wedding cake land the two of them into trouble that threatens the relations between America and Britain. To cover up the said threat Alex and Henry are asked to fake their friendship for media and the world. Obviously, at first the two of them are reluctant as they already have a lot to deal without the burden of a pretend relationship but things begin to change as they get to know each other better. The story moves from there on as Alex and Henry navigate the diplomatic as well as their personal relationship and discovers a lot about themselves, about what they need and what kind of person and leaders they want to become.
“He kisses Henry until it feels like he can’t breathe until it feels like he’s going to forget both of their names and titles, until they’re only two people tangled up in a dark room making a brilliant, epic, unstoppable mistake.”
[a: Casey McQuiston|17949486|Casey McQuiston|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1547478909p2/17949486.jpg] is queen and I think, this book is one of the best debut novels that I have read after [b: The Hate U Give|32075671|The Hate U Give|Angie Thomas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476284759s/32075671.jpg|49638190]. Again, where do I begin? The plot you ask? Absolutely gorgeous, it's sort of set in an alternate world, where the president of the United States is a woman, that would obviously be Alex's mom, Ellen Claremont, who is almost at the end of her first term and will soon be up for re-election. Therefore, while the main plot is still the romance between Alex and Henry, Casey spends a lot of time developing the sub-plot that revolves around American politics and what it means to be an American. The writing is supremely amazing, like, I can't remember the last time my jaws hurt so much from continuously grinning from reading the banter and the lines that Casey wrote in this book.
However, the character guys, they are all so charming and compelling and I am not just talking about Alex and Henry, who are definitely the stars of this book. (I'll get to them in a bit.) I am talking about all the people surrounding these two. Be it Alex's sister, June or their best friend Nora or even Henry's sister, Bea or his best friend, Pez, they are all just so delightful and so supportive of each other choices. In fact, even their respective employees, Zahara, Cass, Shaan, and Amy cares and protects them like only a true family can and should. Heck! I was so invested. I also loved the dynamic that Alex shares with his parents, they truly let him be the person he wants to be and it was amazing how accepting they were of Alex's choices. Henry is not so lucky with the family dynamic but at least he had his sister and later even his mother to support him with his decisions.
“I’ve always thought of myself as a problem that deserved to stay hidden. Never quite trusted myself, or what I wanted. Before you, I was all right letting everything happen to me. I honestly have never thought I deserved to choose.”
As for the stars of the book, themselves, Alex is biracial and up until he met Henry, he considered himself straight so in a way, this is also a coming out and accepting one's own sexuality kind of story. Also, Alex's character is so amusing, he is so sure yet at times so vulnerable, he is stubborn yet so compassionate, he is so strongly attached to his roots and cares so much, not just for his family and friends but also for his country and for the betterment of his people. And while Alex is an open book, Henry is a mystery, there are so many layers to his characters and Casey peels them off one by one to reveal a gem of a character, who is struggling each day and every day with what he wants for himself and what is the right thing to do for his country. It's painstakingly beautiful and all I wanted to do is hug Henry because nobody should be forced to be someone they are not even if that person is a prince of England.
“The moment you first called me a prick, my fate was sealed. O, fathers of my bloodline! O, ye kings of olde! Take this crown from me, bury me in my ancestral soil. If only you had known the mighty work of thine loins would be undone by a gay heir who likes it when American boys with chin dimples are mean to him.”
As a couple, they are SWOON-WORTHY period. They make each other better, they fight for each other and they defy all odds to be with each other. Like I said earlier, their love is one, which will give you hope and make you believe in soulmates. They are also extremely witty together, the relationship progression between these two from being sort of enemies to friendship to lovers is absolutely beautiful and the banter between them whether it's sexual or intellectual, it's totally something to die for. Being in a long distance relationship, they write a lot of emails to each other and honestly, I was enamored. So, look I have a thing for love letters okay! and even though I am married and I know my husband loves me, what will I give for him to write me a letter like the ones Alex and Henry wrote to each other. Also, I have seen a lot of people referring this book as YA but well, it's actually not, both the main characters are in their early 20's and the book has a lot of sex scenes, many of them are faded to black but there are like one or two which, can be counted as explicit.
The one thing that I would like to point out here and this is an extremely subjective opinion, is the fact that the book revolves a lot around the US politics, especially the presidential election and for International readers, like me, it was sometimes a little overwhelming. We aren't all well-versed in the US constitution and it's workings so that was a little thing that bothered me. However, the romance in this book is like everything and for that alone, this book deserves all the freaking love that exist in this entire universe.
“In an hour, every person in America will be able to look at a screen and see their First Son and his boyfriend.
And, across the Atlantic, almost as many will look up over a beer at a pub or dinner with their family or a quiet night in and see their youngest prince, the most beautiful one, Prince Charming.
This is it. October 2, 2020, and the whole world watched, and history remembered.”
I don't think, there is even a need for me to write an overall because well, I loved this book so much, I loved these characters so much, they made me laugh, they made me cry and I am pretty sure, I am not going to forget them for a very long time, their presence in the book was just that impactful and they brought so much rainbow and sunshine in my life. I am certain that you won't regret picking up this book.
Trigger Content/warning- Homophobia, anxiety & depression due to the death of a parent, Mention of past sexual harassment, outing, mention of past drug addiction.
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Wow! This book guys, this freaking book... I am so speechless like, honestly, I have been trying to write down this review for two days now and there are so many things that
To sum it up, [b:Red, White & Royal Blue|41150487|Red, White & Royal Blue|Casey McQuiston|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1558725110s/41150487.jpg|61657690] follows the story of Alex Claremont-Diaz, the first son of the US and Henry, Prince of Wales. The two of them have a rocky start and while Alex considers Henry to be his arch-nemesis, Henry is quite indifferent to Alex or so he pretends. A royal wedding, an ugly confrontation and a destroyed wedding cake land the two of them into trouble that threatens the relations between America and Britain. To cover up the said threat Alex and Henry are asked to fake their friendship for media and the world. Obviously, at first the two of them are reluctant as they already have a lot to deal without the burden of a pretend relationship but things begin to change as they get to know each other better. The story moves from there on as Alex and Henry navigate the diplomatic as well as their personal relationship and discovers a lot about themselves, about what they need and what kind of person and leaders they want to become.
“He kisses Henry until it feels like he can’t breathe until it feels like he’s going to forget both of their names and titles, until they’re only two people tangled up in a dark room making a brilliant, epic, unstoppable mistake.”
[a: Casey McQuiston|17949486|Casey McQuiston|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1547478909p2/17949486.jpg] is queen and I think, this book is one of the best debut novels that I have read after [b: The Hate U Give|32075671|The Hate U Give|Angie Thomas|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1476284759s/32075671.jpg|49638190]. Again, where do I begin? The plot you ask? Absolutely gorgeous, it's sort of set in an alternate world, where the president of the United States is a woman, that would obviously be Alex's mom, Ellen Claremont, who is almost at the end of her first term and will soon be up for re-election. Therefore, while the main plot is still the romance between Alex and Henry, Casey spends a lot of time developing the sub-plot that revolves around American politics and what it means to be an American. The writing is supremely amazing, like, I can't remember the last time my jaws hurt so much from continuously grinning from reading the banter and the lines that Casey wrote in this book.
However, the character guys, they are all so charming and compelling and I am not just talking about Alex and Henry, who are definitely the stars of this book. (I'll get to them in a bit.) I am talking about all the people surrounding these two. Be it Alex's sister, June or their best friend Nora or even Henry's sister, Bea or his best friend, Pez, they are all just so delightful and so supportive of each other choices. In fact, even their respective employees, Zahara, Cass, Shaan, and Amy cares and protects them like only a true family can and should. Heck! I was so invested. I also loved the dynamic that Alex shares with his parents, they truly let him be the person he wants to be and it was amazing how accepting they were of Alex's choices. Henry is not so lucky with the family dynamic but at least he had his sister and later even his mother to support him with his decisions.
“I’ve always thought of myself as a problem that deserved to stay hidden. Never quite trusted myself, or what I wanted. Before you, I was all right letting everything happen to me. I honestly have never thought I deserved to choose.”
As for the stars of the book, themselves, Alex is biracial and up until he met Henry, he considered himself straight so in a way, this is also a coming out and accepting one's own sexuality kind of story. Also, Alex's character is so amusing, he is so sure yet at times so vulnerable, he is stubborn yet so compassionate, he is so strongly attached to his roots and cares so much, not just for his family and friends but also for his country and for the betterment of his people. And while Alex is an open book, Henry is a mystery, there are so many layers to his characters and Casey peels them off one by one to reveal a gem of a character, who is struggling each day and every day with what he wants for himself and what is the right thing to do for his country. It's painstakingly beautiful and all I wanted to do is hug Henry because nobody should be forced to be someone they are not even if that person is a prince of England.
“The moment you first called me a prick, my fate was sealed. O, fathers of my bloodline! O, ye kings of olde! Take this crown from me, bury me in my ancestral soil. If only you had known the mighty work of thine loins would be undone by a gay heir who likes it when American boys with chin dimples are mean to him.”
As a couple, they are SWOON-WORTHY period. They make each other better, they fight for each other and they defy all odds to be with each other. Like I said earlier, their love is one, which will give you hope and make you believe in soulmates. They are also extremely witty together, the relationship progression between these two from being sort of enemies to friendship to lovers is absolutely beautiful and the banter between them whether it's sexual or intellectual, it's totally something to die for. Being in a long distance relationship, they write a lot of emails to each other and honestly, I was enamored. So, look I have a thing for love letters okay! and even though I am married and I know my husband loves me, what will I give for him to write me a letter like the ones Alex and Henry wrote to each other. Also, I have seen a lot of people referring this book as YA but well, it's actually not, both the main characters are in their early 20's and the book has a lot of sex scenes, many of them are faded to black but there are like one or two which, can be counted as explicit.
The one thing that I would like to point out here and this is an extremely subjective opinion, is the fact that the book revolves a lot around the US politics, especially the presidential election and for International readers, like me, it was sometimes a little overwhelming. We aren't all well-versed in the US constitution and it's workings so that was a little thing that bothered me. However, the romance in this book is like everything and for that alone, this book deserves all the freaking love that exist in this entire universe.
“In an hour, every person in America will be able to look at a screen and see their First Son and his boyfriend.
And, across the Atlantic, almost as many will look up over a beer at a pub or dinner with their family or a quiet night in and see their youngest prince, the most beautiful one, Prince Charming.
This is it. October 2, 2020, and the whole world watched, and history remembered.”
I don't think, there is even a need for me to write an overall because well, I loved this book so much, I loved these characters so much, they made me laugh, they made me cry and I am pretty sure, I am not going to forget them for a very long time, their presence in the book was just that impactful and they brought so much rainbow and sunshine in my life. I am certain that you won't regret picking up this book.
Trigger Content/warning- Homophobia, anxiety & depression due to the death of a parent, Mention of past sexual harassment, outing, mention of past drug addiction.
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