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A review by neni
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was quite cute. The characters were lovable and not super shallow and tropey, but the premise was sufficiently tropey and self-aware in a satisfying way. The extensive discussion of White House inner functionings and American politics was mostly interesting and entertaining but there were a few points where I started to get bored of it. Mostly, I think, because I'm not very familiar with how it all works and not particularly interested in finding out, so some of the jargon and the drama went over my head.
I adored the emails they exchanged and the respective range of the subjects and emotions: from cute and hilarious to the most romantic sappy shit I've ever seen (reciting quotes from famous author's and american personalities love letters to each other - UGH YES PLEASE). I WAS TOTALLY INTO IT.
Lowkey kinda disappointed the smut scenes were very much not explicit, mostly vague imagery over in 3 lines. I'm not sure if this book is considered young adult or not, but they're both adults and I would have liked the steaminess to have been turned up a notch, especially considering other romance books I read. The fact this was a queer romance story shouldn't mean the sex needs to be censured or less explicit, but an argument can also be made that, unlike other romance novels, this one had a lot going on plot-wise that didn't revolve around the main character's relationship drama - namely the election - so maybe it made sense there was more attention put into plot and character development, than the sex scenes. As much as I'm a ho for good smut, I can respect that decision.
The last few chapters were really wholesome in vibe, I found myself being swept up in the election excitement and actually got a little emotional at the ending results, even though I never thought I'd get that into politics lol.
It's interesting to see how the author didn't go for the usual romance novel route of having half the book being just about them "will they won't they". 20% in and they already had a thing going, the rest was just them navigating their relationship (in significantly complicated circumstances) and quite a bit of plot was dedicated to the election efforts, which I found refreshing.
Overall, I really liked this. It was a perfect escapist read, especially considering the topic (politics) and the optimist "faith in humanity" vibes, which normally don't really come hand in hand. In this current mess of a world, it was quite soothing to read an "alternate universe" where people in power can do good things and be good humans, even though it made the whole thing less "realistic". No one reads romance for the realism though, so I have nothing bad to say on that front.
The romance was quite cute, had some hilarious bits of banter in it, and the characters were lovable and not super shallow. Great read!
I adored the emails they exchanged and the respective range of the subjects and emotions: from cute and hilarious to the most romantic sappy shit I've ever seen (reciting quotes from famous author's and american personalities love letters to each other - UGH YES PLEASE). I WAS TOTALLY INTO IT.
Lowkey kinda disappointed the smut scenes were very much not explicit, mostly vague imagery over in 3 lines. I'm not sure if this book is considered young adult or not, but they're both adults and I would have liked the steaminess to have been turned up a notch, especially considering other romance books I read. The fact this was a queer romance story shouldn't mean the sex needs to be censured or less explicit, but an argument can also be made that, unlike other romance novels, this one had a lot going on plot-wise that didn't revolve around the main character's relationship drama - namely the election - so maybe it made sense there was more attention put into plot and character development, than the sex scenes. As much as I'm a ho for good smut, I can respect that decision.
The last few chapters were really wholesome in vibe, I found myself being swept up in the election excitement and actually got a little emotional at the ending results, even though I never thought I'd get that into politics lol.
It's interesting to see how the author didn't go for the usual romance novel route of having half the book being just about them "will they won't they". 20% in and they already had a thing going, the rest was just them navigating their relationship (in significantly complicated circumstances) and quite a bit of plot was dedicated to the election efforts, which I found refreshing.
Overall, I really liked this. It was a perfect escapist read, especially considering the topic (politics) and the optimist "faith in humanity" vibes, which normally don't really come hand in hand. In this current mess of a world, it was quite soothing to read an "alternate universe" where people in power can do good things and be good humans, even though it made the whole thing less "realistic". No one reads romance for the realism though, so I have nothing bad to say on that front.
The romance was quite cute, had some hilarious bits of banter in it, and the characters were lovable and not super shallow. Great read!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault, Racism, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, and Drug use