* Instant NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestseller * * GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD WINNER for BEST DEBUT and BEST ROMANCE of 2019 * * BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR* for VOGUE, NPR, VANITY FAIR, and more! * What happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales? When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, … American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius–his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There’s only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.
Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through? Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue proves: true love isn’t always diplomatic.
“I took this with me wherever I went and stole every second I had to read! Absorbing, hilarious, tender, sexy–this book had everything I crave. I’m jealous of all the readers out there who still get to experience Red, White & Royal Blue for the first time!” – Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners
“Red, White & Royal Blue is outrageously fun. It is romantic, sexy, witty, and thrilling. I loved every second.” – Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six
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In the acknowledgments, the author said she was writing this in 2016 as an “escapist, trauma-soothing, alternate-but-realistic reality,” and that’s officially the new standard for all books on my list going forward.
This book not only gave me great characters to follow but also gave me some escapism from our current political climate. I highly recommend this book!
A non-paranormal book that I read? Yes! And did I like it? I LOVED it and wanted it to become a series before I finished the first hour! I had the pleasure of Red, White & Royal Blue in its audiobook incarnation masterfully narrated by Ramon de Ocampo and it was a thoroughly enjoyable listen. I’m usually able to do some ‘eyes and hands’ work when ‘reading’ an audiobook but that just didn’t and couldn’t happen with this novel! I was so captivated by this story and its characters. Non-paranormal/non-fantasy novels are not normally my thing, whether mainstream, M/M, or LBTQ+. This has proved a wonderfully delightful exception.
I listened to the audio version and the narrator was great. It is written in a smart, sassy voice and the collection of characters are vivid, colorful and complex. Although I knew it was coming, I enjoyed reading Alex’s realization of his love for Henry. I am very glad I listened to it, but think it might be better suited for a younger audience. Though a very original precept and setting, it is a fairly superficial portrayal of love. It was a fun read.
Red, White and Royal Blue is the best book I’ve read this year. No contest.
I wasn’t at all convinced by the blurb though. I mean, a clandestine love affair between the son of the American president and a prince of England? Really? But oh, how wrong I was. Red, white and Royal Blue is epic. I’ve never encountered quite this romance-wit-and-parallell universe-combination before. Hopefully McQuiston has started a brand new genre.
The story is set in a United states that has elected it’s first female president. The hero of the story is Alex Claremont-Diaz, the president’s son. He’s slightly neurotic, utterly outrageous, very perceptive and has the biggest of hearts. He eats, sleeps and drinks politics and thrives as the son of the First Family of America. Because he’s also somewhat of an attention whore.
But being the First son has the press comparing him to the English prince Henry. And Alex hates Henry. However, an incident involving a $75000 wedding cake, forces Alex and Henry to spend time together as a publicity stunt. They need to convince the public that they are, in fact, the best of friends. And what was essentially a pr coup, is the start of an actual long-distance, hate-love friendship between the two. When Alex slowly gets to know the real Henry, their friendship grows into the real deal.
But then Henry kisses Alex, and Alex likes it.
This is such a fabulous story. It has everything you could possibly wish for.
First off. It’s hilarious. I can’t remember the last book that had me laughing this hard.
Then, it’s all the characters. It’s literally impossible not to fall in love with them. Not only Alex and Henry, but their friends, family, staff and colleagues. They’re complex, smart and flawed. Everything’s all so very relatable – even though the setting is a parallell reality that involves a prince.
Also, the love story. It’s beautiful and unexpected. Against all odds. Which of course makes it even more swoon-worthy.
One of the most impressive parts of Red, White and Royal Blue is how McQuiston weaves the story into this exceptional political backdrop. I’m Swedish. I don’t really get the twisted American voting system where the most votes doesn’t necessarily translates to a win. And I’m not at all familiar with the ways of American national political campaigns and the like. But the political intrigue and the likeness – and difference – to specific real-world politicians was captivating. Essentially, it’s just absolutely awesome world-building.
To read Red, White and Royal Blue is an emotional rollercoaster. I laughed, I cried and then I laughed some more. It’s amazing, heartwarming and brilliant. If you haven’t read it, you need to remedy that right now.
I couldn’t put it down. I stayed up way longer than what’s healthy considering the time I need to get up in the morning. I read during breaks at work. I read while taking my son to the playground. And then, when I finished it, I was heartbroken that there weren’t any more chapters.
And when I realised that this is McQuiston’s first novel, that there aren’t anything else available by her, I almost cried.
So, I have the worst book-hangover imaginable right now. I don’t know where I’ll find another story good enough to get me back to normal. Maybe I’ll just have to re-read Red, White and Royal Blue.
https://reflectionsofaswedishgirl.blog.se/
This book is so much more than just a romance. It’s heart-wrenching, gave me hope for the future and made me smile.
The First Son, Alex hated Henry, the Prince of Wales so it wasn’t easy for him to pretend to be friends with him. But after an incident at a royal wedding that could have caused big problems for the two countries, he had to go along with the deception. Both men were surprised when they actually became friends, then more. As they sent texts, emails and phone calls they started to depend on the other. When they fell in love, they knew they had to keep their relationship a secret for the sake of their countries and families.
Their romance was wonderful. I wish I had their kind of relationship. This emotional romance will have you rooting for the men to have a happy ending.
I loved that a woman was president. AND she had biracial children. While we were taken into the world of politics, this book was strong on family and feelings. Politics can often be dry reading, but that didn’t happen here. The various sexual orientations were handled well and the friendships made me wish I was one of them. The author created an incredible romance with unlikely characters and unusual settings.
I can’t thank the publisher and NetGalley enough for the chance to read this incredible book.
This book lived up to it’s hype and more! Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is clever, funny and everything you want out of a romance! Above all, this book is a love letter to the LGBTQIA community!
Alex, the First Son of the United States, and Henry, Prince of Wales, are forced to pretend to be friends after an international incident at a royal wedding. In attempting to avoid an international scandal, the two have to spend an entire weekend faking a “bromance”. This wouldn’t be a problem if Alex didn’t despise Henry since he was 14 after a scene at the Olympics years before. This is of course the least of Alex’s problems especially with his mother’s re-election campaign right around the corner. In an unlikely turn of events, the two form a friendship over similar difficulties they’re facing with their positions in the world. But that friendship turns into something more, is the world ready for America’s First Son and the British Prince to fall in love?
This book made me feel all mushy inside! It was straight out of a rom-com, with the dialogue, hilarious secondary characters, and even the email/text messages formatted throughout the book — it is probably one of the best coming of age romance novels that I’ve read, and it speaks to this generation. It tackles issues like falling in love, dealing with grief, coming out and just growing up.
I applaud Casey McQuiston for taking something so relevant, U.S. politics and the British Monarchy, and putting them into a love story. The premise is beyond clever! Her pacing and formatting of the emails/texts gave it a breath of fresh air just when it was needed, and McQuiston didn’t drag the story out. Many romance novels rush through the ending, but I felt this was done in a beautiful way that made it a classic, yet modern, romance novel!
I’m not one for getting all mushy, especially while reading romance novels (sarcasm anyone?) but this cold, dark heart of mine melted a wee bit when it made me remember falling in love for the first time. All the emotions, the ups and downs, more downs than ups for me really, but this book made me feel what it was like to fall in love again!
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is a thoughtful, hilarious and overwhelmingly heartfelt romance novel. This book is about being brave enough to accept you’re worth fighting for and chasing after the things you want most! This is a special book and I hope, I really want, everyone else to fall madly in love with it. It truly represents love in 2019! I highly recommend it!
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Casey McQuiston for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Read my full review here: https://bit.ly/2YBxk2V
This is rollicking good fun, and very goodhearted. A beacon of light and hope and love, in a political world that has been rather too dire these past few years. I have my quibbles about some of the details – but I think that kind of misses the point, so it’s five stars from me. Very much looking forward to the film that is apparently in the works! We need more of this kind of thing in the world, absolutely.
I was a bit nervous to read Casey McQuiston’s “Red, White & Royal Blue” because of its many positive reviews and author endorsements, but thankfully, it more than lived up to the hype. This really is as good a book as people say it is, and I highly recommend it. I loved the book’s humor and all of the laugh out loud moments, but there were also a number of serious moments that nearly brought me to tears. I also enjoyed the unusual style of narration in the second person, which made me feel more connected to the characters. Finally, the world building in this story was incredible. I wish the real world was a little bit more like the one depicted in the book!
Alex and Henry were lovable and incredibly well-developed characters, and so were all of the secondary characters (particularly June, Nora, and Zahra). I felt like I got to know Alex a little better than Henry because the narration primarily seemed to be from Alex’s perspective, but Henry still came across very vividly and realistically. I think a lot of that was due to the emails that were incorporated into the story. They allowed readers to see what was going on inside both Alex’s and Henry’s heads as the story was unfolding around them.
I would love to see Nora and June get stories of their own in the future. Also, Zahra seems to have found her HEA already, but perhaps a novella from her perspective that parallels the events of this book might be an interesting companion story? It would be very interesting to see how her relationship developed alongside Henry and Alex’s. At any rate, I look forward to reading whatever Casey McQuiston chooses to write next!
*ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I knew this book would be exactly right for me. I have a thing for the royal trope and the idea of an American first son and a British prince getting together made this a must read. What I didn’t expect was how Casey McQuiston elevated the material putting this enemies to lovers romance on the list of my all time favorites.
Alex Claremont-Diaz is the first son. Henry is the prince. They have secretly crushed on each other for years. They developed an enemies vibe at the Rio Olympics when they had a less than good encounter, especially from Alex’s point of view. Move forward to today and a near international incident set off by the two at a royal wedding. As part of PR disaster control, a story is created that Henry and Alex are actually the best of friends. After some forced outings to appease the press they start talking to each other more and get past their public personas.
One of the things that makes this story works so well is Casey has created an alternate history that many of us would like to see. Claremont took office from Obama so the Trump nightmare never happened. And it’s wonderful that her son is Mexican-American given the current hate filled climate around immigrants. There’s even a couple of lines in the book about how it’s not lost on Alex that there are some people who hate that a Mexican-American took the job of first son.
Alex and Henry talk a lot about the lives they want. They’re both expected to meet family obligations and be leaders for their countries–it’s not really what they want though.
The texts, emails and phone calls as Alex and Henry reveal more and more of themselves are absolutely priceless. At times funny and others heartbreakingly honest, they talk about how they feel trapped. As the first sparks of romance blossom between them their enemy side is quite fiery as they have rage filled kisses before succumbing to the fact that this is something that they both desperately want. The back-and-forth between sweet romance and the slightly angry romance enhanced the story as they fight against their feelings.
The reality stays firmly rooted throughout the story and I loved that. Sometimes the royal trope, as much as I enjoy it, is far more fantasy than reality. It’s part of what makes the trope so good–that chance a prince might be your neighbor. This world could exist–a prince and a member of the first family. Casey gives them all the trappings, including secret rendezvous’s that are partially orchestrated by their security teams.
Of course, as must happen the romance is horribly revealed and damages them both. The guys had to really work for the happy in this book, which makes the ending so sweetly satisfying. There were a lot of ways the end could’ve played out, but I can’t imagine one that would’ve been more perfect than what Casey gives us.
I haven’t felt as overall thrilled by a book as I have by “Red White & Royal Blue” in quite some time. It reminded me of reading Becky Albertalli’s “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” and the wonder of such rich, vivid characters in a charming story that deserves to be real. Casey captured not only an America that I desperately want to live in but a romance that was everything that I ever wanted.
I WANT TO LIVE IN THIS BOOK.
That is all.
Performance – 5
Story – 5
Overall – 5
What a great debut novel!
Okay, I’m not really sure if this is a debut novel or not but I couldn’t find anything else by this author on Goodreads or Amazon. If it is a debut novel – wow, just wow. If it’s not then still wow! I did a combination of reading this and listening to the audiobook (masterfully performed by Ramon de Ocampo).
There were a few places were the novel seemed a bit slow in the beginning so I switched from reading to listening. Then I found myself getting distracted while listening (not the performers fault) so I switched back to reading. The last 35% was all listening and I was totally engrossed. Ramon did a fantastic job with all of the many different voices in this book – and there were many of them, perhaps more characters than any other book I’ve listened to.
The story has a bit of enemies-to-lovers, or maybe frenemies-to-lovers, vibe as well as forced proximity. Alex feels an unexplained animosity towards Prince Henry. When they met at the royal wedding of Henry’s brother things go horribly wrong. I loved the progression of the relationship between Alex and Henry.
One of my favorite authors writes male/female romance stories centered around royalty and I love them. But for some reason I never imagined someone ever writing a male/male story involving the royal family. I loved everything about this book. It had a West Wing feel to it (an early 2000’s TV show that I loved) so even though I found some of the political-speak hard to follow at times I still loved it.
Most of the sex is fade-to-black but the book is liberally sprinkled with four-letter words. While I’m not offended by this at all, the use of the F-word seemed a bit excessive; so, if this bothers you, you might want to pass this one up.
Speaking of sexy times, a book doesn’t have to be explicit to be steamy. The steamy scenes between Alex and Henry, especially later in the book, are so wonderfully romantic. The love they felt for each other, while not yet declared out loud, was palpable and I could absolutely feel their connection.
This review is already too long and not doing the book justice at all. All I can say is if you’d like to read a contemporary love story that’s a bit different from your average male/male romance I highly recommend Red, White & Royal Blue.
A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.
This book is funny, cute, and just plain beautiful. I laughed and cried. It’s got all the feels!
A truly delightful and unique love story. This was one of those reads that made me furious to do anything else but consume this book.
I couldn’t believe this was Casey McQuiston’s debut novel – what a stunning and witty read!
Considering I’m not a very political person, I found the dialogue to be extremely funny and well-researched. The banter between Alex and Henry is captivating and the diversity of characters within the story had me hooked the entire way. It’s rare to find an LGTBQ romance book these days, and I must say, McQuiston has really outdone herself.
Thank you to Netgalley, St.Martin’s Press and the author for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book. It was basically everything I adored in one novel. It was funny–hysterical at some parts. (If anyone wants to talk about the Great Turkey Calamity, I’m all ears!) I cried tears of laughter, tears of pain, and, for the first time ever while reading, tears of happiness.
Henry and Alex were so, so, so great together. I absolutely adored them and was rooting for them from the beginning, from the enemies-to-lovers banter to the I-love-yous. Henry especially was just so squishy-face I wanted to hug him the whole time, and I absolutely loved the character development that Alex sees throughout the novel. Not to mention that every side character was awesome and played their own critical role.
Simply put? It was fabulous. Funny, fun, at times light-hearted and others soul-crushing, heartwarming, relevant, and so damn hopeful, which is definitely needed in today’s current events.
The perfect, perfect romcom. Honestly, this book made me so damn happy I wish I could read it again for the first time. I smiled through the whole thing.
This book is like that perfect dessert you allow yourself only on the really good or really bad days. And I loved every deliciously satiating page of it.
Amazing story. I loved every moment of reading it and it was also fun to read about an “alternative” political world based loosely on reality…especially since I live in Texas.
I highly recommend this book! The romance and entire story was so, so good!
I tore through Red, White & Royal Blue as if it were a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. By turns hilarious and angst-ridden, buoyant and strikingly real, this novel is a surefire bull’s-eye for any devotee of classic romance, slow burn fanfiction, or heartfelt storytelling. A political love story too timely and too genuine to miss.
This book had a lot of promise. The characters were engaging, and the plot was unique. I thought the author did a perfect job of handling the sensitivity of Alex’s realizations balanced with the sense of duty that both Alex and Henry felt to their family situations. The tenderness and romance between the two came through. What I did not like is that the author felt the need to go very political. I mean, I get it, Alex’s mom is the President, so I understand that there needed to be politics involved. But I like to read to escape, and don’t care for “real life” politics to enter. I felt that the journey that Alex and Henry took was strong enough to stand on its own without needing to rely on apparent bias. I would still recommend the book and would have been a solid 4 stars were it not for the above. For additional thoughts, visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a pre-release digital ARC.