My Thoughts on Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Hey, y’all! A friend of mine recently let me borrow her copy of Red, White, and Royal Blue, and all I have to say is, “I AM IN LOVE!” This book was one of the best YA romances I’ve ever read, so buckle in, and get ready for a rave review.

Red, White, and Royal Blue is a contemporary young-adult novel by Casey McQuiston. It was published in 2019, is 421 pages long, and has a 4.24/5 rating on GoodReads (which is super impressive).

The main protagonist of Red, White, and Royal Blue is Alex Claremont-Diaz. Alex is the FSOTUS (first son of the United States). Alex is 21-years-old an aspiring politician and super-nerd. Alex also has no friends. Except for his sister, June, and the granddaughter of the VEEP, Nora. Alex, June, and Nora make up the White House Trio, and just let me say their friendship is adorable. Alex’s life going fine. Until he ruins the cake at a royal wedding and is forced to do damage control with his mortal enemy, Prince Henry.

**SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT**

Well, said damage control obviously leads to a trans-Atlantic international affair. But I really loved that trans-Atlantic international affair. McQuiston does a phenomenal job at creating chemistry between Henry and Alex. I was rooting for them from the New Year’s kiss through the meeting with the queen, so much so that I couldn’t set this book down. I genuinely fell in love with not Alex and Henry but the entire cast of characters.

I especially loved the themes of friendship in this book. McQuiston puts a spotlight on Henry’s relationship with Paz and Alex’s relationship with The White House Trio, which is rarely done in romances. By highlighting these relationships, she was able to characterize Alex and Henry much more.

Obviously, I loved Alex and Henry’s personalities. They both felt so real, so loveable. When Bea talks to Alex about Henry’s emotional trauma, I genuinely wanted to reach out and give Henry a big hug. I also strongly associated with Alex’s character, as someone “with a fire under my butt for no good reason”.

Overall, I really loved this book, and I give it 4.5 stars. I have to deduct half a point because some of the pacing through the middle was slow. I recommend Red, White, and Royal Blue to fans of the American Royals books by Katherine McGee. They have super similar vibes as well as themes/tropes of royalty.

Thanks for reading!