Review: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
10:00
Series: None
Author: Casey McQuiston
Published May 14th 2019 by St. Martin's Griffin
Goodreads Synopsis
What happens when America's First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?
When his mother became President of the United States, 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 an 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 the family and state and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: Stage a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instagrammable 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 presidential campaign and upend two nations. It raises 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 ben? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through? , how will history remember you?
Goodreads
Review
Red, White, & Royal Blue is an enemies to lovers story, in which the Prince of Wales falls for the First Son of the American President, and their romance must overcome opposition from all sides. When they first met Alex and Henry thought the other was uptight, and after they get into a bit of bother at an event, in which the paparazzi capture and tabloids spread all over the front pages, it's time for damage control. Both their families and the PR advisers decide on a sort of tour to show there's no animosity between them. They need to do joint appearances and interviews, be friends on social media, and just show that they aren't at odds with each other. This leads them to spending more and more time talking, and when they can be themselves, the chemistry flows and it's inevitable that they fall for each other. But for Alex, as a bi-racial son, of the first Female President of America, there are people out there who want to do anything they can to derail the re-election campaign, and this secret romance could be the right fodder.
I read this book on one of my at sea days on my cruise in 2019, and just could not put the book down. Yes, I had sort of put it off for a while because of all of the hype surrounding it, but for the most part, it was deserving of that love. The banter and chemistry between the main character just made this book what it was - especially through their messages and emails which were swoony to say the least. Everything about this book was diverse, and all of the characters, from Alex and Henry, to the varying cast of side characters, had their own personalities and stories, and helped to flesh out the plot. The angst in the book was a bit obvious, and did set my eyes rolling a little, but I can see why it was done, and the way everything was resolved was perfect. My main negative with the book is one I have with many books by American authors, where they are talking about British culture and get it so wrong. I mean, you know that This Morning is an actual show, but make up the names of the hosts? Why not just call them Holly and Phil?
Dates Read:
August 12, 2019
Rating
4 Stars
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