* 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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5* Meant To Be Love Stars
This was a fantastic fun read with characters you will fall in love with from the first page read. You will have laugh out loud moments as well as some angsty deep moments. The story was unique and creative and very well written.
This was a marvellous debut from Casey McQuiston and I cannot wait to read what she brings us next.
Oh my gosh, I absolutely adored this book! It 100% lived up to the insane amount of hype, which is rare, and I’m already eager for both a re-read and the release of whatever else this author comes up with. This book is the kind of romance we need more of right now – funny and witty and sexy and honest and caught within a version of the world that is so hopeful I found myself soothed just to get lost in it for a few hundred pages. Read this book immediately and prepare to fall head-over-heels in love!
This is the future liberals want.
This book lives up to they hype, okay? This is everything you want in a romance and more.
Great main characters
Amazing family dynamics
Enemies to lovers trope???
THE BANTER!!
When I say I loved this book, I mean I really loved it. I had to put this down every few pages because my face hurt from smiling so much. This just became my favorite book of the year. And you know what the best part is? It was completely unexpected. I came in thinking I’d get my cute romance (which I did) but I never expected to completely fall in love with this cast of characters.
This story is told through Alex’s POV, the Mexican-American son of the first female president of the United States. For the past few years he’s had this ongoing feud with the Prince of Wales, Henry. When a confrontation erupts between the two of them, both their families decide to stage a friendship between the two of them to show both countries can get along.
Alex was such a complex character, he was narcissistic and infuriating at times, but you couldn’t help but find him charming and lovable anyway. His “sexual awakening” was super relatable to me. I want to be his best friend forever. Henry was a very sympathetic character. Being a part of the royal family is not easy for him, and being gay doesn’t help things. He was just trying to survive his family’s crushing expectations and the responsibility. If you don’t like Henry then there is something wrong with you, and that’s that.
All of our supporting characters were a fucking delight. We have the White House Trio, which includes, Alex, his sister June, and their friend Nora. They trio had one of the best friendship I’ve ever read. Pez, Henry’s best friend, brought some humor into the story, though I would have liked to see a little bit more of him. Then we have Alex’s parents. They are the parents queer kids deserve, okay? They weren’t perfect, and I loved that the author made sure to show their flaws, but they loved this children and supported them throughout everything. This book will show you the ultimate family / friendship goals.
The romance! The transition between nemesis, to fake friends, to kind of friends, to then lovers was iconic. Their relationship developed so naturally and it felt so authentic. I’m calling it now, they are the best couple to grace romance novels this year. The banter between the both of them? Perfection.
This story will bring out a lot of emotions in you. The romance will make you giddy. The banter between our diverse cast will make you laugh. Some parts will probably make you angry. And I can admit to tearing up about 75% into the story. Considering the synopsis of the book, politics are definitely a focus here. This book dives into how institutionalized homophobia is in this world, you’ll get a glimpse on how difficult it is for Alex’s mom to be the first female president, and so much more.
The fact that this is a debut novel blows my mind. This book is worth your time!
P.S. President Claremont is the president we deserve.
A lovingly crafted, slow-burn, original romance chock-full of humour and angst. Perfect for modern day readers. Highly recommend it.
Once Upon a Time…there was a young man inexplicably drawn to the picture of another young man. Call it teenage weirdness. Call it curiosity. Call it whatever you want, I call it the beginning.
Red, White, & Royal Blue is a fantastically written story about hope, love, and family. It is warm, sweet, and undeniably romantic. It’s also (fans self) pretty hot! The steamy love letters are the stuff that would make anyone melt! For the first time in my life I can say I have a crush on the Prince of Wales, however, I mean this one! Our fictional prince is aloof, prickly, and unavailable according to all the signals he’s sending out. In Alex’s words, he’s a cardboard cut out until we get to know him.
Fall hopelessly in love with more than one royal in this book. I dare you to not want to be a part of this support system. These friends are #goals. This family in its messy, chaotic way is a feeling of home. Come home with Alex Claremont-Diaz and you will never regret it! Except for Zara, I think she might!
I am half in love with Ramon de Ocampo. His narration was absolutely enthralling. The characters come alive in his different accents, timbers, and pitches.
I’m grateful for great books and great love stories. Today I revisited one of the best—Casey McQuiston’s Red White and Royal Blue. Red, White & Royal Blue is the story of first and lasting love between two impossibly handsome, intelligent and privileged young men from different countries and cultural backgrounds. Alex is Mexican-American and America’s “first son,” the child of the United States’ first female president. Henry is a British prince, second in line to the throne.
It’s an understatement to say that I’m not usually a fan of royal romance, but I love this book. I loved it so much that when I got to the end I immediately began rereading it. This book made me swoon and laugh and cry. I loved the humor, the originality, the depth of feeling and the originality in format. Texts and emails play an essential part in bridging the distance between these two men as they evolve from rivals to friends and then friends with benefits and ultimately lovers.
What makes the correspondence special is that Casey Mcquiston incorporates queer history and quotes from real love letters and poems into the correspondence between Alex and Henry. It’s a key part of how the two protagonists get to know each other and come to terms with their sexuality and begin to gain confidence in how they fit into the world. And at one point this correspondence becomes a part of how they heal and find hope and give each other strength in the face of near ruin. From Alex to Henry:
p.s. wilfred owen to siegfried sassoon—1917: And you have fixed my Life—however short. You did not light me: I was always a mad comet; but you have fixed me. I spun round you a satellite for a month, but shall swing out soon, a dark star in the orbit where you will blaze.
This is just one part of why this book is so special. It’s also incredibly well-written. I read this novel on a Kindle and ended up with more than 100 highlighted passages and notes. It’s that well-written and that memorable.
Enjoyed this so much! I think it’s a great example of how to show intimacy between characters without explicit language, but also not just fading to black. This was a page-turner, and I really hope it becomes a movie!
Ok, full disclosure: this book is STEAMY. But the romance is so intriguing! It was the first book in forever that I truly could not put down.
Enjoyed it.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. This book, oh my God! One of the best books I have read this year! It had everything I wanted, and I gotta say that Alex and Henry are just so adorable.
Though I wish that we got Henry’s pov st times, but that is my only complaint.
Go read this book now!
I adored this book so much! I loved Alex and Henry as a couple and individually. I loved their relationships with their friends and siblings. I was a little disappointed in the president with the whole situation. I cannot wait to pick up more from Casey McQuiston!
Oh, what a fabulous summer read! I have been holding on to this for so long waiting for the right moment to dive in, and I’m so glad I did. It was exactly the escape I was looking for—a fabulously written enemies-to-lovers story that was intriguing and fun and heartbreaking and perfect. And coming out of the DC political world, I was impressed by the obvious amount of research into the story. I’m excited to read Casey McQuiston’s next book, too.
very witty and fun to read, main character alex is easy to root for and fun to watch his life progress
there honestly isn’t much conflict and the characters have like zero flaws and also the countries they come from barely have any flaws
it was a cute read for sure but no real like moral message or anything which would have worked with the whole plot but i still enjoyed it. i appreciated the very happy magical ending but it almost made it boring and hard to finish. tho i did read the first 5/6ths of the book in one day and the other part of it the next. so clearly i did enjoy it. very cute romcom ya type book nothing too serious or deep, there wasn’t any real homophobia and no real like internal conflict over it either
I picked this book up at the library, remembering how it catapulted McQuiston to literary fame. Her journalistic flare is evident on every page: she writes clear, crafted sentences and knows how to move the narrative along. Filled with cutesy, on-point millennial banter, Red, White and Royal Blue is also heavy on glorifying, left-wing politics.
“Democrats as Saviors” is a one-sided narrative tiring to embrace. I mean, I get Trump divided the US. And I fully admit, as a Canadian, I watch the US political drama play out from the comfort of my socialist armchair. That being said, not every Republican is a fang-bearing vampire ready to suck the country dry. Unfortunately, McQuiston’s Republican characters play right into this stereotype…alongside a first family that reads like a Democratic wet-dream: a female president, a multi-racial family, and an LGBTQ son.
The plot of the first son falling in love with his arch-nemesis, The Prince of Wales, is fun, although McQuiston falls shy of setting up the conflict between these two men. The story rushes over why they are at logger heads to push them together romantically. As an enemies-to-lovers story, the expectation is to feel tension between the two characters. (It’s half the fun of these types of books!)
On the flip side, once the two got together it all felt very believable. The romantic parts are rendered sweetly, but with enough description to flag readers uncomfortable with same-sex romance. (I assume anyone who picks up this book will not fall into that category.)
The last 25% of the book tipped back into politics quite heavily and therefore, didn’t hold my interest as much. 4.5 stars as a result.
A light hearted summer read that aspires to an America still out of grasp on the horizon.
As love stories go, this book would be a solid 5 stars due to its originality, character development, and ability to really pull you in. So, why not give it full marks? Unfortunately, Casey McQuiston was unable to get over cheap, polarizing personal politics and it ruined the experience when it was completely unnecessary. In fact, it completely went against the incredible characters that were created which was truly saddening. It was disruptive enough that I would have given the story 3* so I allowed it to balance at 4*. Honestly, I may be a little harsh because if the instances of personal Party b.s. hadn’t been thrown in (or had been edited out) this would have been a truly incredible story that transcended race and American party lines to tell a uniquely inspiring story that touched on many issues that I believe people from a multitude of walks of lives could have identified with and had truly enlightening and deep discussions about.
Thank you to NetGalley, Casey McQuiston, and St. Martin’s Griffin for allowing me this opportunity to read and share my honest thoughts and opinions regarding this book.
Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue was so good, funny, charming and heart-wrenching, filled with wonderful, laugh-out-loud banter and side characters who were interesting and three-dimensional in their own right. A classic enemies-to-lovers tale, McQuiston actually managed to also include some hints of Fake Relationship as well (though in this case, fake friendship rather than fake dating!) which was a very nice surprise for me, a clown of a person who gobbles up clichéd tropes as fast as I can manage. The caveat to this outrageous statement is that while I love clichés, I appreciate creativity and fresh angles on them, and Hallmark really won’t do it for me (as a counterpoint). Truly the best I can do to put my review into words and do this fluffy, angsty, hilarious book justice is to include some of my favorite (spoiler-free!) quotes and moments.
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“Do either of y’all know what a viscount is?” … “I think it’s that thing when a vampire creates an army of crazed sex waifs and starts his own ruling body.”
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President Mom aka Ellen, and her fucking POWERPOINTS and binders with their ridiculous titles and subsection headers – a ~classic~ that honestly stuns me every time I think about it.
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And finally, the gooiest, most meltingly sweet and romantic thing I have maybe ever read: “Should I tell you that when we’re apart, your body comes back to me in dreams? That when I sleep, I see you, the dip of your waist, the freckle above your hip, and when I wake up in the morning, it feels like I’ve just been with you, the phantom touch of your hand on the back of my neck fresh and not imagined? That I can feel your skin against mine, and it makes every bone in my body ache? That, for a few moments, I can hold my breath and be back there with you, in a dream, in a thousand rooms, nowhere at all?”
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For fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope, and witty, humor-driven political romances, Red, White & Royal Blue reads to me as a YA melding of The Politician and The Christmas Prince (LOL). I saw some criticisms that the Political subplot was too idealistic and pro-Democratic party, painting them as heroic do-gooders who sincerely only care about their constituencies, and to some extent this is true, particularly given that the presidential administration is composed of a white divorced-and-remarried female Texan Democratic President, her Mexican-American children from her first marriage, neither of whom are straight, and their personal lives are pretty much un-criticized in the course of elections and during office – but the extremely calculating way Alex, Nora, Rafael Luna, etc. all seemed to constantly be running plots through their heads really gave me such a strong reminder of The Politician, a show which can by no means be said to ignore the vicious underbelly of American politics, that I was left with an impression that even if motivated by the greater good, this administration wasn’t a bunch of Disney heroes, that they might be tempted towards questionable tactics on occasion. The portrayal of President Mom is a bit too wholesome, I agree, but the bottom line, for me, is that this is a YA romance first, and really shouldn’t be read as a political drama with expectations of realism. I’ll add though, that for me, reading is a form of escapism from the woes of the real world, and I don’t necessarily need, or even prefer, realism in my reading material… just one gal’s preference!
I listened to the audio version of this book. I was kind of surprised at how very much I loved this book!
Like REALLY, REALLY liked this book. Alex and Henry were up against so much, but at the same time had so much going for them in the support of the other. As if sexual orientation wasn’t hard enough for them to deal with, one is the son of the first female President of the United States and the other is a Prince in England–and they have a thing for each other. Wow, just wow! That would be so much to deal with!
I not only loved the relationship of Alex and Henry, but I loved the support that Alex got from his sister and mother and the support Henry got from his mother. It was just so good!
The narration by Ramon de Ocampo was truly outstanding! I felt like his voices for the two men really gave an even greater idea of the characters. Loved this book sooooo hard!
What happens when your mom is the President of the United States and you unexpectedly fall in love with the Prince of England? Well, “Red, White & Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston shows how it all might go down. What starts off as an arch enemy situation between First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry of England turns into a forced friendship after an altercation at public event goes viral. Little by little the friendship grows and soon Alex discovers that not only can he stand being friends with Henry but those feelings might just be even deeper than expected. Better yet, Henry seems to feel the same way. Despite how the boys feel, they must take into consideration the consequences any sort of relationship could have on the fate of their respective futures, families, and countries.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book! The characters are vivid, fun and diverse. And even though the main characters are royalty, they are still very relatable. The story flows very smoothly and is an easy read. The narrative stays fresh by adding in correspondence between the two main characters in the form of text messages and emails on top of the typical written story. A lot of the story is predictable but it’s enjoyable nonetheless.
Ok, so I was watching a sourcebooks Casablanca book club on utube and they were picking out some of their favorite romcoms. Red, White & Royal Blue was one they had suggested. So I read it. Btw I read the ending twice. Finished the book and re-read the last few chapters then went through and re-read all my favorite parts. I loved loved loved this book. It had everything, enemies to lovers,fake friendship, forbidden love, long distance relationship, and politics. First son Alex and Prince Henry don’t really get along but somewhere along the way they just might figure it out. Loved this book!!!!!
A fun story of love conquering all.
This is my first book by Casey McQuiston and won’t be the last. The characters were fun and the story intriguing. It’s cute. Royals and the closest thing America has to royals getting together and being gay! Sounds like a winner.
The writing style sort of put me off at times. I’m not a fan of present tense writing, but this might not be a turn off for all readers. There were times when the story was choppy, but again, this might not be a bad thing for all readers. It was me. I would’ve rather had the story from Alex and Henry’s point of view, instead of the way it was done—but that’s on me.
If one is looking for super hot scenes this one might not work, but if you’re looking for cute, sweet scenes where it’s implied things are happening in the bedroom, then this one is for you.
A cute story for a lazy afternoon.