Review: Red, White and Royal Blue

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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.

Genre: contemporary romance

Publication date: May 2019

Mature content: yes

Review: I really wanted to love this book because the premise seemed so much fun, but it ended up being just an okay read for me.

My biggest issue was the writing style, which never really clicked with me. It often felt a bit over the top, and I found it difficult to connect with the emotional moments because of it. I also didn't find myself particularly attached to either of the main characters. While their relationship had some sweet moments, neither Alex nor Henry felt especially compelling or memorable to me.

Another thing that pulled me out of the story was how unrealistic many of the situations involving the British royal family felt. I know this is a work of fiction and doesn't aim to be completely realistic, but really, am I to believe Alex and Henry could make such a scene in a night club, in public, and everyone there be sworn to secrecy by the security guys from both sides? At this day and age there's no way someone wouldn't be sharing it live on some social media or other...

I also think the book would have benefited from dual points of view. Experiencing Henry's perspective directly, instead of only seeing him through Alex's eyes, would have added more depth to both his character and the romance.

Overall, I can understand why so many people adore this book—the romance is charming and the concept is undeniably entertaining—but it just wasn't a great fit for me.

If you want, you can watch the film adaptation on Amazon Prime. Quite frankly, I think this may be a rare case (at least for me) where the film is better than the book. Trailer below: