Book Thoughts: Red, White & Royal Blue
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Full disclosure, before I dive into my review of Red, White & Royal Blue: I have known author Casey McQuiston for years. They have consistently been a bright light in my life, their generosity and ferocity of spirit are pretty much unmatched. I love their writing, especially when they use it to craft compelling, romantic narratives, and this book absolutely embodies all of those things.
Now, let’s talk about this book, which features a mixed-race bisexual protagonist and a ridiculously endearing cast of characters, all of whom I love to pieces. Red, White & Royal Blue is a new adult rom-com from debut author Casey McQuiston, slated for release on June 4, 2019 from St. Martin’s Griffin. Here’s the official plot synopsis:
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'sRed, White & Royal Blueproves: true love isn't always diplomatic.
I’m lucky to have read an advanced copy of Red, White & Royal Blue ahead of its release date, especially because I have been so looking forward to it ever since Casey first started talking about it. The story grabbed me from the first page, since the rom-com shenanigans kick off immediately. Once I really got into it, about halfway through chapter two, I stayed up well past my bedtime in an attempt to finish it all in one go. This story is beautifully paced and reminds me of other m/m love stories that made me feel all the softest, gooey-est feelings, including the first Merlin fanfiction I ever read (Drastically Redefining Protocol by AO3 user rageprufrock, published in 2009) and Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On.
Conveniently, Red, White & Royal Blue also explores a plot line that I’ve loved since I saw Mandy Moore in Chasing Liberty (or perhaps even earlier, considering My Date With the President’s Daughter came out when I was eight): the first child of the United States falling head-over-heels in love with someone they aren’t supposed to so much as look at romantically.
I’m in love with all of the tropes Casey explores here: enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, antagonism disguised as camera-ready, legitimate enjoyment of a person’s company, sappy emails exchanged at all hours of the night. I got swept up in the relationship between Alex and Henry, fell in love with their friends (I would kill for a spin-off starring just Nora, Jude and Pez, with frequent guest appearances by Bea, who doesn’t at all get her due until way too late in RWRB).
Casey clearly did their research on how a relationship between the First Son of the US and the Prince of Wales would have to function and what the ramifications could be, which adds an element of realism to the story that I appreciated. It’s also clear they wanted to write a romance that is desperately, achingly hopeful. I’m happy they succeed, because the alternative — heartbreak, swift and permanent political failure, or some combination thereof — is horrifyingly possible at several points in this narrative and that tension is painful to endure.
Red, White & Royal Blue is also a liberal fever dream. It imagines a world where the United States is less willing to show its white supremacist face, where Texas can go blue, where legislation that doggedly and repeatedly strips rights away from marginalized people is more often replaced by legislation that upholds and affirms their status as human beings trying to live their daily lives. Just one week ahead of the 2018 mid-term elections, during continuing humanitarian crises furthered by a belligerent president and a government that contributes to its destruction from both sides of the party line more often than not, I can appreciate why Casey wanted to create this world. I can understand and appreciate how it would be cathartic for readers who are scared of the power their government holds and how that power is wielded. I think this book will offer a much-needed escape for many, though I often found the optimism in this universe to be too unbelievable and therefore somewhat hard to swallow.
That being said, I really, genuinely loved these characters and found myself almost totally caught up in this book — as evidenced by how quickly I flew through it and how often I had to pause and catch my breath at how beautifully rendered the relationship between Alex and Henry is. This book is sexy and sweet and, if sometimes a little too perfect, still a supremely enjoyable read. I can’t wait to read what else Casey has up their sleeve.
A copy of the book was provided by the author for review.
Overall rating: ★★★★½
Recommended for: Romantic comedy fans who want more and better bisexual and gay representation, particularly from young adult fiction; anyone who feels disheartened by the world and needs an escape that’s heavy on romance, hope, and soft, sultry, non-explicit love scenes
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