Red, White And Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston Review

Hey ForeverBookers, 

How are you all doing this Tuesday? I’m feeling great because I just finished “Red, White And Royal Blue” by Casey McQuiston, and I don’t know what it is about standalones this year, but the few that I’ve read have been AMAZING!!!!!! Most of the ones that I’ve read so far were released earlier this year and have got 5 stars from me! “Red, White And Royal Blue” is no exception either, as I found it to be incredibly relevant and serious, while still having a light and funny take on the events too! I would love a sequel following these characters later in life... 

I buddyread this with a Facebook friend. They’re still reading it but they’re also loving it. 

5 Stars (as I’ve already said!)

Our main characters are two boys in their early twenties. One of them is Alex, First Son of the United States of America (a female President’s Son), and the other is Henry, Prince Of England. “What happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?” is a line from the blurb. As you can probably work out from that, these two don’t have the easiest time falling in love. Can they with the help of their friends and families? Or are they pushed beyond their limits? Also there’s a small splash of politics as well. The comedy outweighs the politics though, which I was pleased about. I also really liked this addition to the blurb, “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?” as it brings the reader in and almost makes us a part of the story because it asks us how we are the people we are. 

I read “Red, White And Royal Blue” for a few readathons, which were:

My NEWTS exams -  For my extra subject - I want to become a writer/journalist, I need History Of Magic, Muggle Studies and an extra subject, I chose Charms. I read “Red, White And Royal Blue” for the A in that because I think it has a beautiful cover (I LOVE pink and the font is also cute.) I also like how both Alex and Henry appear on the cover too. It’s simple but pretty. I now just need to get an A and an E in History Of Magic...can I do it? Wait and see...Wish me luck! 

Reading Rivalry - Book set somewhere you’d love to travel - The USA - In “Red, White And Royal Blue” we see from the UK and the US. I already live in the UK, and I really want to go back to the States at some point - I’ve been there once on holiday.  

The Cardcaptor-a-thon - The Thunder - Read a book that’s had thunderous praise. I have literally heard soooo much praise for “Red, White And Royal Blue,” which it totally deserves, so it’s PERFECT for this prompt! - #6

Fiction Feud Society - Book with a Red cover - the word RED is written or typed in red as well as the authors name!

Popsugar Reading Challenge - A book recommended by a celebrity I admire - I class Chelsea from ChelseaDolingReads on youtube as a celebrity and she LOVED “Red, White And Royal Blue!” 

“Red, White And Royal Blue” is a new adult book so has bad language, as well as sex scenes throughout so if your uncomfortable reading those then maybe don’t pick it up...even though, I think EVERYONE that’s of age should still read it, no matter what your favourite/least favourite genre is or if you like reading sex scenes or not - they’re not really dirty or really erotic. They just form part of the story!!!

Please also note that I’m not American, so I’m sorry if I get the capitalisation or some of the US political terminology wrong.

Spoilers Below!

“Red, White And Royal Blue” starts by introducing us to Alex and his sister June, as well as later, their friend Nora, granddaughter of the Vice President, who are termed the “White House Trio” by the American Press. Alex and June are of course both famous as they’re the son and daughter of the Presidental candidate. “Not much on us this week…Oh, I am a puzzle clue.” This is June, amazed at how they’re names have gotten around so easily so quickly. It’s like their sudden celebrities, which I suppose in some ways they are but they’re new to it, as their mum hasn’t even been elected yet. They live at the White House too, of course. Their mum is trying to become the first ever female President but is already in Office. This is met with some backlash and criticism. This really isn’t the main focus of the book at all but can she actually become President?...You’ll need to read to find out!

Getting onto the heart and central focus of “Red, White And Royal Blue,” the romance between Alex and Henry. When the boys first meet, they hate each other. “June, I am the son of the President of the United States. Prince Henry is a figurehead of the British Empire. You can’t just call him my “‘archnemesis,’” is what Alex thinks of Henry at the start of the novel. We therefore can tell that these two characters have had a fight before events really start. When the American First Family are invited to the wedding of Prince Philip and his new wife, Catherine, that’s the first time we see Alex interacting with Henry. When the boys end up in a disaster at the wedding, what happens? You’ll have to read to find out. 

As I said, they don’t like each other at first, well, Alex doesn’t like Henry. We never really see into Henry’s mind at the beginning. He’s more closed off than Alex. I think this could have been because the author didn’t want to explore Henry as much because he’s meant to come across a stuffy English Royal. It could have also been deliberate because the author is American and didn’t want to delve into politics that she, herself didn’t understand. Most of the plot follows Alex and Henry just fits in where he’s needed. I didn’t mind this. It would have been nice to have seen a little more of the English monarchy as I’m English but I understand why this wasn’t the case. Alex thinks that English royalty are “trash.” That is until he gets to know Henry...

“So you can hate the heir to the throne all you want, write mean poems about him in your diary, but the minute you see a camera, you act like the sun shines out of his dick, and you make it convincing.”

This is Zahra, Alex’s bodyguard who wants Alex to attempt to get on with Henry because she thinks it will help his mom’s attempts at becoming President because of the international relations. What she doesn’t know is how things will develop between the two young men. Will she accept them? Who, if anyone won’t accept them out of all their families? You’ll have to read to find out. 

The settings in “Red, White And Royal Blue” aren’t anything too special, in fact they were probably the most ordinary thing about the novel. It’s a contemporary book so there won’t be fantasy castles or lands or anything but I expected a little more grandeur in the settings as one of the main characters is a Prince and the other is the First Son of the USA, but it was all pretty normal. Most of the novel, I think was set in America, for reasons I’ve already gone into above but we didn’t see any posh parts of the White House for more than a few pages. We do get to see a beach scene and a scene in Texas, where Alex was brought up, where he admits his feelings to Henry. Does Henry feel the same? Or do they still have issues to overcome? You’ll have to read to find out...

“I’m saying that I have...people...who interest me.” Henry says, turning his body toward Alex now, speaking with a fumbling pointedness, as if it means something,” 

is basically how Henry comes out to Alex near the start of the novel. He kisses him straight after this quote. This then makes Alex question his own sexuality, because he didn’t hate the kiss, like he thinks he should have. 

“...if he were into guys, it would have felt scary to be with one, but it wasn’t.” This is how Alex feels after his almost sexual experience with his college roommate when he was younger. He’s questioning if he’s gay at this point in the novel, something I’ll discuss in more detail later. 

Henry worries about what his family will think of his gay status, as he hasn’t come out to anyone but Alex yet. He’s a Prince and has standards to uphold, according to his Grandmother, the Queen and his older brother, Prince Philip. Henry has been gay forever, according to him. “I was always a bit different, never quite had the stiff upper lip.” He goes onto say, “Gran sat me down the day I finished my A Levels and made it abundantly clear I was not to let anyone know about any deviant desires I might be beginning to harbour that might reflect poorly upon the crown.” This why Henry is a bit of a mystery to work out at first I think, because his Gran has told him that he can’t be who he truly is. Alex doesn’t have this issue. Everyone in his family accepts and supports his decisions, even his mom. This is what I mean when I say below that America is more open to everyone being themselves than maybe elsewhere. 

“Red, White And Royal Blue” is a novel of acceptance and not hiding from anything. I’m straight, myself so I don’t quite connect on the same level as some probably could to this novel, but it didn’t stop me from wanting Alex and Henry to succeed as a couple. 

The boys keep in contact throughout the novel, mainly through emails because they can’t be together through fear of rejection from the public and their families. An example of this is when Henry writes that he would understand if Alex wanted “more of that—the work, the uncomplicated thing—I would understand. Truly,” meaning that if Alex wanted to pull away from Henry he’d completely get it. He wouldn’t hold it against Alex. They can write what they want in the emails, without any fear or judgement too, or so they think...

Henry has more to worry about as he’s the Royal. I think that Alex finds it easier because America doesn’t have royalty or such standards to uphold. As I said above, I’m not American but I’d have thought that America were more open to LGBTQ than most of the world, because it seems more modern than most places to me. For Henry, his Gran, Queen Mary in “Red, White And Royal Blue” expects him to carry on tradition, as every Royal has before him by getting married, settling down and having children. This isn’t going to happen, though. I liked seeing Henry stick up for himself, which he does finally do in, “I’ve sat about long enough letting you and Gran and the weight of the damned world keep me pinned, and I’m finished. I don’t care. You can take your legacy and your decorum and you can shove it up your fucking arse Philip. I’m done.” He’s talking to Philip here, about how he doesn’t want the life that’s been planned for him. I was rooting for Henry to do this from when we met him and stuffy, proper Philip at the beginning of the book. Philip comes across as a strict, antagonist to me, much as Mary does as well. Can they get behind Henry and Alex, in the end? You’ll have to read to find out...

Well then, I LOVED “Red, White And Royal Blue” sooooo much! I’m giving it five stars because, it was good to see LGBT themes referenced in a very positive way, as well as the romance and comedy aspects, which of course I loved too. What Red, White And Royal Blue does very well, which in my opinion contemporary books like “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas don’t do so well, is they tie in comedy with the serious parts. I was laughing in so much of “Red, White And Royal Blue” but “The Hate U Give” was far too serious, boring and tedious for me. “Red, White And Royal Blue” took me a matter of days to read, whereas “THUG” took me more like a month to get through. The characters in “Red, White And Royal Blue” were very relatable too, even though one was a First son and the other was a Prince. We see them both go through the same issues that anyone goes through. Their positions, politically didn’t make me feel they were better than me. The only thing that I didn’t think too much of were the settings, but that’s so minimal in the grand scheme of things. All of those reasons and more are why I’m giving “Red, White And Royal Blue” 5 Stars! 

I’ll just tag onto the end of this review that I’m going to read a manga next for my A in History Of Magic for the NEWTS Magical Readathon! I don’t review manga on my blog so that’s why I wanted to add it here. 

Stand by for my next review coming soon...

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