i’ve heard SO much about RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE that i knew i just had to have it. so the second it was delivered, i ripped the package open and began reading.
and i fell head over heels in love.
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.
this book.
this goddamn book.
i don’t even have any words to describe just how much i love it. RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE is the definition of complete and utter perfection.
it is tinged with raw emotion, heartbreak and love, discovering yourself and the journey to get to that place where you finally find yourself. with the people you love and who love you, too.
this book is the story of two young men who, despite the odds and the societal norms, fall in love. it’s about their journey, it’s about getting from one place to another, when it seems like everything is about to fall apart.
the diversity and the inclusion in this book is EVERYTHING. the writing is so powerful yet also simple enough to bring one to tears.
it certainly brought me to tears.
“sometimes you just jump and hope there’s not a cliff.”
Alex is an incredible character and i felt like i could understand him so well. i loved his growth, and i love his flaws. he’s real. he felt more real than any other character i’ve read about before.
his relationship with his family is one that’s full of banter and love, albeit slightly dysfunctional and crazy with his divorced parents and him trying to hold it together. i loved the insight into his, and Henry’s, past.
it made the story even more real and tangible.
“and because you were so young, and because it was one of the first big things to happen in your life, you’ll always carry it inside you. every time something terrible happens to you from then on, it doesn’t just stop at the bottom—it goes all the way down.”
the hesitant and beautiful relationship he forms with Henry, that starts off as a reluctant friendship, is one i hope to have one day with someone i see forever with. maybe i’m just an emotional mess, but i lost count of the number of times their emails to each other made me cry.
even towards the end, when shit hit the fan like it usually does in real life and in books, i cried.
“i can love you and want you and still not want that life.”
even the quotes they used in their emails to each other are heart-wrenchingly beautiful and it made me so soft for my two favourite characters.
(and i will so get myself those poetry books/letters/journals, somehow. one day.)
“i’ve kissed your mouth, that corner, that place it goes.”
RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE is, honestly, my absolute favourite book of 2019. undefeated.
it’s worth so much more than just ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ because this book speaks volumes about the fear of going into something new for the first time. the fear of what may happen and the love that goes against every traditional belief and choosing to love someone. choosing to stay and fight for them no matter what the outcome may be.
it’s everything.
have you read RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE? did you love it or just like it or totally hate it? let me know!!
Sumaiya, x
