REVIEW: Red, White, and Royal Blue

For as long as I can remember, I have loved stories about royalty. I never dreamed of being a princess; it wasn’t a wistful, “I wish this could be me” kind of love, more so a fascination. So when I heard about Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, I knew I had to read it as soon as possible. 

And ASAP I did. This is going to be one of my favorite books of the year, I guarantee. 

The story follows First Son of the United States Alex Claremont-Diaz, who happens to be the son of the first female president of the USA. Not only that, his father is a Mexican American AND his mother and father are divorced. I would love to live in an America where a divorced woman with biracial children could be president. Like, what? Sign me up. 

Anyway, Alex gets himself into a sticky situation with his “arch nemesis” Prince Henry of England which evolves quickly into a friendship that then grows into something more. 

Yes, we have a gay Prince of England and bisexual First Son of US falling for each other. 

I loved the hope this story gave, the representation it brought to light, and just the overall arc for all the characters. I loved Nora, who is the granddaughter of the Vice President. She’s intelligent, queer, brilliant, and a loyal friend. June is another delightful character as Alex’s sister. The family and friend dynamic is so strong. 

My one issue is that there are a few too many F-bombs that seem unnecessary. I’m not a prude or annoyed by cussing, but sometimes in writing it can feel overdone. Believe me, I swear as much as your next person in real life. If it’s a character choice, like it’s one character’s thing, then fine. But when it’s every characters’ thing, it starts to sound more like the author’s voice and not theirs. 

But overall, this book is getting 5 stars from me. I want to live in this America. I think this will give a lot of people who are struggling with our current administration’s mission to erase their existence hope to keep fighting. Bring on 2020 and this kind of presidency! 

Thank you, Casey McQuiston for this story. And thank you St. Martin’s press for the advanced digital copy! Red, White, and Royal Blue is available May 14, 2019 but you can preorder your copies now!