* 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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I. Adore. This. Love. Story.
I actually listened to the audiobook (which was fantastic!), and I now have the book as well. This easily made my top five romances list, and I plan on re-reading it again and again.
(Adult romance)
I had heard all the buzz and seen many recommendations for this book and just had to know what everyone was talking about and boy were they all right because this was such a fantastic read! So funny! So swoony! So heartbreaking! A perfect ending! This book was worth its buzz!
I’m slow to jump on bandwagons–I mean, if everyone’s talking about Book X, who needs one more voice singing its praises? (Yeah, the cliches are thick today.) But y’all. I loved. This. Book. So. Hard. Charming, touching, timely, funny, steamy without being explicit. Such a juicy treat! I haven’t been this invested in a couple in a long time. Truly excellent writing and storytelling (not always the same thing). Highly recommend.
I don’t typically read much in the romance genre, but there was so much buzz about this debut, I added it to my TBR list. And I’m so glad I did. Yes – the romance (and sex) are there – but this novel is so much more. The tag line says it all: What happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales? A fun, witty and ultimately hopeful book.
A forbidden romance between a closeted gay prince of England and the biracial First Son of the first female president of the USA is a GREAT formula. But this book, which reads like YA on the sexier end of the spectrum and reaches for the heights of language of the best literature, goes well beyond the formula. The narrator, Alex, is a hyperfocused twenty-something who actually enjoys the opportunities his mother’s presidency afford him to make connections and start his own political career. He’s also too impulsive by half, especially when it comes to his nemesis, the criminally bland Prince Henry. Their own animosity creates a situation that requires them to pretend to be friends and ends opening the door for a relationship that is a lot more intense (and impossible) than the manufactured one.
That’s just the plot, though, “Red, White & Royal Blue” then delves into political and queer history, comments on race through likeable, imperfect characters doing their best to survive in a world that’s a little more hopeful than our own (this being a sort of alternate history where an extra cool Hilary Clinton analogue got elected in 2016) and 2020 is the year of hope and coming together.
If you’re bummed about the current political climate around the world and the utter hopelessness that seems to permeate everything, snap this one up, it’s a first book but the kind that has been polished Casey McQuiston has got the raw talent and the genuine emotions behind her words have been polished to poetic heights that will make you pet the pages. Very much looking forward to whatever she does next!
A nail-biting, passionate love story about two people and about the United States. A magnificent achievement by a debut author.
Red, White & Royal Blue is an amazing book about royalty, politics, and enemies-to-lovers. From the first moment you see Alex and Henry together, you can see how well-developed the characters are. As the story progresses, I fell in love with the relationships between family and friends and of course, Alex and Henry. Their secret rendevous and romantic moments had me wanting more. By the ending I was pulling for them to work out. I also enjoyed the political elements because though extremely present in the book, they were not in your face. I could not put this book down until the very end.
This was so fun! Just a perfect rom-com that had me casting the movie version in my head (Noah Centineo had better get on this) and smiling as I read. Then it got me tearing up at its vision of a world that’s just a bit better and more hopeful than the one we have to live in right now. Highly recommended.
You know those bestsellers that you see literally everywhere, but, for some reason, you just resist the urge to read them? This happened to me with this book, until I finally surrendered to the hype, and I’m glad I did! Not only is the concept of the book very engaging (and marketable), but also, the story is well written, and the gay sex is not cringy (thank you). As for the love story, don’t expect anything too edgy, which is OK given the expectations, but instead a sweet ‘Disney’-ish relationship development, mixed with some hints of drama, intrigues, and escándalo!, which makes the plot juicier.
Believe all the hype: this is a funny, hopeful, sweet, sexy, beautifully-written love story. I finished the book two weeks ago, but I’m still thinking about Alex and everyone else in the novel. Even the secondary characters are unforgettable. I really, really want a sequel set in the New York brownstone.
I picked up this book in audio (my drug of choice) because it sounded cute, tropey and fluffy and i was more than ready for that. I found it to be all those things and a lot more. The characters had real dimension, the story was quite original despite its tropetastic roots, and i love McQuiston’s writing style. I was sorely disappointed when i didn’t find any more audiobooks by Casey McQuiston, but i’ll be waiting.
I suspected I would love Red, White & Royal Blue before I’d read a single page. I mean, I was half in love based on the blurb and cover alone. Once I started reading, I just couldn’t (or wouldn’t) put it down for anything. I caught a major case of instalove for Casey’s debut.
I swear, I cheesy grinned my way through basically 95% of Red, White & Royal Blue. The White House Trio was AMAZING. I loved each of those characters so much. None, perhaps, more than Alex however. His voice was honest and authentic and I absolutely adored him. I, like Alex, initially thought Henry was a little too stuffy and boring, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. He was endearing and I enjoyed him so much.
Alex and Henry’s enemies-to-friends-to-love story was just perfect. Their chemistry was wonderful and their banter had me totally cracking up. The progression of the relationship between them was so, so freaking good. They gave me all the feels and swoons. Plus it’s just fun to think about the international relations between a first child and British royalty, right? I sure thought it was.
Everything about Red, White & Royal Blue — from the characters to the friendships to the romance to the family interactions to the political aspects — worked for me. There were some things that hit ridiculously close to home with the current state of affairs in our country, but that made it all the more realistic. I really want this to be the start of a series. I would love love love more from the White House Trio. Each of those characters was so rich and unique, I’m not ready to give them up. In fact, I need to snag the audio of this one because there will be rereads for years to come.
I do not remember the last time a book made me smile so much. I went into this one because the cute cover caught my eye. Well – Thank God!!
It’s a rom com. It’s an m/m love story. It enemies to lovers. It’s smart and sweet, & it’s so witty and funny I smiled like a loon the whole way through. Gah!
The pace is fast and the story moves along in a very genuine way. One special touch is all the on page correspondence that Alex and Henry share. My heart almost burst with how much I loved them! The characters are beautifully developed. Honest, complex and just the right amount of neurotic to make them interesting. The friendships and supporting characters make it such a rich story. And the dialogue – well it’s PERFECTION. I LOLd more in this book than I think I ever have. I swooned over their developing romance and my hurt ached in my chest at times, when the author reminded us of the very real world problems they faced – just because they are two men falling in love.
I absolutely recommend this story and cannot wait to see what this author comes up with next.
Let me start by emitting a squee! I am in my forties, and cannot remember the last time I clutched a book to my bosom in sheer girlish glee. This book is THAT romantic!
I wanted to hate it. For a start, I’m British and partially being about a fake version of our monarchy – well, that never goes well. And trust me, although the royals are fictitious, the titles are real but misused. And royalty do have a surname – it is not Wales! And there’s several inaccuracies along the same lines.
BUT I was able to see past this – it is FICTION!
And Red, White & Royal Blue has been massively hyped – I generally avoid overly talked about books as it’s nigh impossible to live up to such heady praise.
I was able to look past the very weird 3rd person present tense. Present perfect tense is often used, which is jarring. And even present perfect continuous – very rare! But the book is long, so I got used to it.
What we DO get with this is a very sweet forbidden romance.
~ The 2nd in line to the British throne (Prince Henry) is carrying emotional baggage. And obviously the very stuffy Crown denies his right to be openly gay.
~ The first son of the US (Alex) – well, he doesn’t even know his own sexuality. And with his mum running for re-election, the timing of self-discovery is bad.
There is so much angst, it feels like the boys are more like teenagers. But they’re in their 20s.
Will he? Will he?
What we are treated to, is the sparring and banter as the frenemies are forced together.
And then we get the very risky, stolen moments between them.
I loved the sexy build-up. When we finally get to foreplay, the action builds….but there’s no crescendo. The physical act fades to black and sleep. Don’t go shy on me in the moment!!
The most wonderful part of this book, for me, is the email communication – they pour their hearts out and quote famous historical love letters. The pair show their true selves, and it’s precious.
The ‘getting to know you’ is delicious.
The secret touches are tantalising.
The clandestine sexual encounters; electric.
The ‘trying to understand’ is captivating.
The need to know how it’ll play out is addictive.
Yeah, this is a proper page-turner despite it’s foibles. And adorable love story which hooks you in.
I didn’t want to love it, but I did!
What took me so long to read this book? I loved it!
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Rating: 4 stars
Steam: 1.5 flames
Genre: MM / Enemies to Lovers / Romcom
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There is no reason I should have loved this book…politics, adorable, low steam (fade to black scenes), slow-burn, and history… but by golly it worked!
Alex, the First Son of the US and Prince Henry, the spare heir to England. These two couldn’t have been more perfect together. The witty banter, the emails (OMG the emails), the issues they faced, and the angst was a blend of perfection.
Alex has a strong supportive family, his mom is the POTUS for peats sake, has always had his life figured out…. school then politics. That is until there is an international incident between him, and Prince Henry and they are forced to play nice to avoid a political nightmare.
Prince Henry, the spare heir, doesn’t have much support from his family, and the expectations to be the perfect prince, live the perfect princely life is a weight that is almost too much to bear. Especially, when he is anything but perfect in the eyes of the crown.
The two of them start off as enemies, then grow to friends and then… one kiss changes it all. SWOON. I loved the storyline, the secondary characters were fantastic (I need a Nora book and a June book), and the romance was the kind that wormed it’s way into your heart and started to squeeze! You can’t help but love Henry and Alex.
I pushed the US politics of the book aside and simply enjoyed the storyline book, embraced the history, and loved the romance that grows between our two MCs. I thought this was a wonderful book and to discover it was the writer’s first book…. WOW! I adored this book and I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a lighter read mixed with wonderful characters.
Probably one of the best contemporary romance book I’ve read in a couple years. I was on board from the beginning thanks to the perfection of Alex’s voice. His motives were clear and consistent, his rationale’s relatable, and so damn witty that I was willing to tag along anywhere he took me.
The romance of the book was organic and swoon worthy. The political background was well researched and tangled up everything in delicious ways. So, so, so good.
My one complaint would be that the book went on a chapter or two too long. The ending didn’t have the clench my heart feeling I would have liked but I’d still recommend this book to anyone and everyone.
I have no interest in the British royal family and a strong dislike of American politics, but I loved this story. Presidential son hates British prince and then . . . they fall in love. And it’s surprisingly entertaining.
RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE really messed with my brain. McQuiston has taken real life and fiction and mashed them together. There’s a Princess Beatrice! And Prince Henry’s father is from the Fox dynasty of British actors. I kept putting faces to names and then having to remove them.
But the upshot of this mash-up is a sweet romance that is both incredibly entertaining and also (astonishingly in a book in which American politics features so heavily) surprisingly upbeat. If you haven’t read it, go read it!
Super romantic, fun, easy to read, and I loved the characters and their relationship. I will definitely be looking forward to future books from McQuiston!
This may be my favorite royal romance novel (and I’ve read quite a lot of them). I borrowed the ebook from my local public library and the suggestion of a friend and ended up loving the book SO MUCH I purchased the paperback copy so I could reread it whenever I wanted. This book checks all the boxes: British royalty, the American first family, two super handsome leading men, and a romance for the ages (“HISTORY, HUH?”). The author masterfully tells the story of the American first son falling for a British prince in a way where every character feels like a real person and despite the fantastical nature of the story (THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN), it truly FEELS LIKE IT COULD HAPPEN. And even if it couldn’t, YOU WANT IT TO. Despite going into this book knowing exactly what happens (how could you not), the author keeps the reader on their toes and offers so many interesting details and events you can’t help but get lost in the story. Nothing about this book is typical despite being a #royalromance. Would wholeheartedly recommend.
It takes chutzpah to write about the first son of the United States (who hasn’t realized he’s bi) and the crown prince of England (who knows he’s very, very gay but forbidden to come out) falling in love and dealing with the emotional and political fallout of that. No, they aren’t the actual people in this novel (different royal family, different female prez than the one we didn’t get, sob), but the author does a great job of making it all seem a bit plausible in some alternative reality a lot like ours, but arguably better. A fun read and an interesting one, especially if you enjoy politics, but probably also if you simply enjoy romantic comedy.