Red White and Royal Blue by Casey Mcquinston | Book Review

Blurb at the back of the book:

When his mother became President of the United States, 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 an 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 and state and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: state a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instagrammable 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 that presidential campaign and upend two nations. It raises 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?

Characters in the Book:

Main Protagonist: Alex: First son of America’s President; Henry: Prince of England.

Some notable side characters: June: Henry’s sister; Nora: June and Alex’s friend; Pez: Henry’s best friend; Bea: Henry’s sister.

Other mentioned character: Zahra, Amy, Cash, Shaan, Alex’s and June’s Parents.

TW: Adult content, Cyber Bullying.

My thoughts:

I wanted to read this book the moment I saw it. I am always very very drawn towards contemporary books and romances. I am glad I picked it up. Oh my god that story! Casey Mcquinston needs to write my love story soon. I mean I just cannot tell you how much I loved this book. All right enough of this now. Let me go into the details and make you fall in love with the book as well. I mean it people! Read this book already.

Plot:

Alex and Henry are two highly recognised individuals in the entire human race. The former is the first son of America and the latter is the Prince of England. They are arch-nemesis until one party when one of them grabs the other to share a phenomenal kiss. Alex and Henry both love their families and do not want to hurt them in any way. This story revolves around what problems and heartbreaks they have to go through in order to be together, is it even worth the relationship or not! They are both very unsure individuals when it comes to the relationship they share. They are both teenagers and it is really soon for them to decide their forever.

This is one of the cutest romances I have read till now. The story has my all-time favourite trope: Enemies to lovers. Alex and Henry are going to be my forever favourite people. I loved the way they bickered all the time.

The Characters:

After reading so much about the character Henry I wish he was real and straight! I would have made a leap across the globe to find him and stay with him forever. I love him the most in this entire story. There were other side characters who were written very boldly like – Nora, who is apparently Alex’s dad’s favourite when it comes to choosing a partner for Alex. She is a brilliant know it all and does not show off about it. She always supports Alex and June in all their ventures and makes sure that they are out of trouble no matter what. She is the epitome of what people call these days as “bff.” I absolutely adored the relationship that Alex and June (Alex’s sister) shared, they were so understanding of each other and one kicked another’s ass whenever required.

Coming to Alex: The phrase “Little bit spice and everything nice” now has a perfect example – Alex. The way he confess his feelings to Henry and the drama that follows is what made me laugh my brains out. I was thrilled by the character Alex, how he could never keep out of trouble no matter how hard he tried.

What I didn’t like:

One downside for me was the politics. I mean I loved everything about this book except for the pages where they mentioned about politics. It’s seriously just about me coz I am not a very political person. I love staying out of it as much as possible.

Quotes I loved from the book:

• “History, huh? I bet we could make some.”
• “Straight people, he thinks, probably don’t spend this much time convincing themselves that they’re straight.”
• “You see, for me, memories are difficult. Very often, they hurt. A curious thing about grief is the way it takes your entire life, all those foundational years that made you who you are, and makes them so painful to look back upon because of the absence there, that suddenly they’re inaccessible. You must invent an entirely new system.”
• “Every person who bears a legacy makes the choice of a partner with whom they will share it with, whom the American people will hold beside them in hearts and memories and history books. America: He is my choice.”