Red, White & Royal Blue (McQuiston)

I’m just going to hit the ground running here by saying that this is one of my favorite books of all time.  I was lucky enough to read it as an advanced reader copy and really only picked it up because one of my reader friends had written a rave review about it on Goodreads.  Sounded cute, figured I could at least give it a try...It wound up being so much more than that to me and here's why...

The first thing you guys need to know to get into the proper mind frame for this book is that it’s based in an America that is run by a woman named Ellen Claremont.  She has two children, Alex and June who I love ever so dearly.  Alex is our local FSOTUS prince charming and is “mortal enemies” with another prince charming across the pond in England, named Henry. SHLKGSEIOGHWOPEBEOPGHSEIOGHEBSIGFSIEG. HENRY. Henry. Henry is THE EPITOME of a SMOL cinnamon roll who is too. Good. For. This. Earth. You can even quote me on that. Their relationship together is….so, so good you guys. They start out as “enemies,” become tentative friends, to best friends, to….so so so much.


Naturally, because Casey seems so good at creating these amazing characters that feel like your own best friends, let me introduce you to our supporting characters: June, Nora, Pez, LITERALLY EVERYONE is soo good. I love June and Alex’s sibling relationship, and their friendship with Nora, and Henry and Pez ugh. Good lord they know how to have a good time. I just want them all in my real life.


It’s really hard for me to believe that this was McQuiston’s first book. Her writing was ADDICTING. Her story, dialogue, characters—all of it. I have already put her on an auto-read/buy list because of this book. I don’t even know how to express how happy this book made me. On the first day that I read a huge chunk I literally walked around all day with a huge stupid smile on my face that wouldn’t leave for anything. I finished the book and felt so light. My heart was ten times bigger than it was when I started. I told one of my friends who has also read it, that it’s one of those books where after you’ve read it you just know that your life had been missing out on something and you didn’t even know it until right at that second when you finish. It just has everything. It has great LGBTQ rep, it has the first female president, it has politics (both American and English), it has people struggling with their identities in a hundred of different ways that the average person can relate to, it has sexy e-mails, it has FAMILY, and it has one of the greatest, sweetest love stories I’ve ever read. What more could you ever ask for? Please please PLEASE, I’m down on my knees, begging you to read this book (especially since Amazon is currently making it into a movie!!!).

June plucks away at “Annie’s Song,” you fill up my senses like a night in a forest, and the breeze keeps moving to meet the highest branches of the trees, and the water keeps rising to meet the bulkheads, and Henry leans down to meet Alex’s mouth, and Alex is. Well, Alex is so in love he could die.

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