Title: Red, White and Royal Blue
Author: Casey McQuiston
Source: My own shelf.
Genre: Contemporary Romance.
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, secret relationship.
Trigger Warnings: Internalized homophobia, forced outing.
Explicit? Yes, yes it is.
Summary: First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.
The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.
As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?
The edition I re-read contained the addition of Percy Jackson, and the removal of she who must not be named, so I was glad to see that, as well as an additional “ending” which I would prefer to call a beginning, that made me feel absolutely delightful.
My reason for wanting to read this so much totally had to do with 1) it is a book I hope I will always enjoy reading and 2) the movie comes out NEXT MONTH!
I am glad to say on another re-read, that my recent cynicism has not affected the joy that this book brings me.
The dialogue still makes me laugh aloud when it’s funny, and clever, which it often is. It also brings tears to my eyes from time to time, both from happiness as well as sadness and anger. There are memorable moments, that will live in my memory even when I am not actively looking at the page.
Alex’s confidence, his bravado still makes me love him more than ever, as does his want to make the world a better place, whether he means for people at large or Henry.
Henry still makes me ache, wanting him to have the happiness every person deserves, and the lack of shame to be who they are.
The overall plot of this book seems more poignant now than ever, but at it’s heart lies hope.
And the additional moments? God they are so wonderful it’s almost enough to make me beg for more, because Alex and Henry still make me happy. And I hope they always will.
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