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A review by writervid
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
5.0
Enemies to friends to lovers?
Love letters?
Requited pining?
Political intrigue?
Forbidden romance?
Check, check, check, check, and check. The complex and exciting relationship between our two main characters was perfect (and gay!), and fulfilled SO many of my favorite tropes. However, I can't just assess a book on how much it makes me feel, so I'll talk about the fantastic characters and humor established. Each character has a distinct character motivation and style of dialogue, and none are just there to fulfill an archetype, creating a realistic world populated by characters who felt real. All of these characters mesh together in different ways to create humor that literally had me laughing out loud throughout the book. The pacing sucks you in fast--I finished it in a day--and Chekhov's gun is used extremely well. The only thing that ever threw me for a loop was the story being told entirely in present third, but I got used to it after a chapter or two.
What struck most about this book was how much of a story of hope this is. It is the belief that people do things for the right reasons, that we can right the wrongs in the world, that despite adversity, good wins. McQuiston parallels this across many levels of life beautifully, making it that much more relevant to all readers. I want hope. I want to believe those things. And while reading this book, I did.
Love letters?
Requited pining?
Political intrigue?
Forbidden romance?
Check, check, check, check, and check. The complex and exciting relationship between our two main characters was perfect (and gay!), and fulfilled SO many of my favorite tropes. However, I can't just assess a book on how much it makes me feel, so I'll talk about the fantastic characters and humor established. Each character has a distinct character motivation and style of dialogue, and none are just there to fulfill an archetype, creating a realistic world populated by characters who felt real. All of these characters mesh together in different ways to create humor that literally had me laughing out loud throughout the book. The pacing sucks you in fast--I finished it in a day--and Chekhov's gun is used extremely well. The only thing that ever threw me for a loop was the story being told entirely in present third, but I got used to it after a chapter or two.
What struck most about this book was how much of a story of hope this is. It is the belief that people do things for the right reasons, that we can right the wrongs in the world, that despite adversity, good wins. McQuiston parallels this across many levels of life beautifully, making it that much more relevant to all readers. I want hope. I want to believe those things. And while reading this book, I did.