Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston Published by St. Martin's Griffin on May 14, 2020
Pages: 418
Genres: LGBTQ, Romance
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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, 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’m going to cut to the chase; I was utterly bored by Red, White & Royal Blue. It received a ton of accolades, so I really think this is a case of it-must-just-be-me.
Alex and Henry are appealing characters and their romance is sweet, but almost saccharine. I did enjoy their email exchanges. However, their rivalry is half hearted at best, and their romance seems almost instantly intense so there’s nowhere for it to go. The coming out of a gay member of the royal family has more ramifications than that of America’s first son. I blinked, though, and every conflict seemed to be wrapped up in a tidy bow.
It could easily have been a satisfying short story, but by elongating it to a full-length novel, the shortcomings are more obvious. Despite a secret affair, a scandal, and a close presidential campaign, it failed to sustain my interest, and I found myself repeatedly putting the book down and taking a break. Perhaps it was just my mood or my expectations, but Red, White & Royal Blue just didn’t do it for me.
About Casey McQuiston
Casey McQuiston is the New York Times bestselling author of Red, White & Royal Blue, as well as a pie enthusiast. She writes books about smart people with bad manners falling in love. Born and raised in southern Louisiana, she now lives in New York City with her poodle mix and personal assistant, Pepper.
I am so sad it was not your jam Angela!
Better luck next time. 🙂