Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Dec 17

Synopsis

What happens when America's First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?

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.

*Blurb taken from the StoryGraph

Review

This review contains spoilers.

Characters: Alex Claremont-Diaz (POV) as a protagonist was a wonderfully hopeful, yet fallible, individual that quite realistically portrays the life of a college student in their 20s. Oftentimes this age can pull me out of a story because the character acts too young or immature, but McQuiston did a fabulous job balancing an intelligent individual with the naivety of someone who hasn’t quite stepped out into the world on their own. I found Alex to be endearing and rooted, not only for his relationship with Henry and his journey towards understanding and accepting his queer identity, but also for his (yes, cosmic levels) idealism of what America could be. In the same vain, Henry was the kind of character you want to swaddled and keep buffered from a world that will undoubtedly bruise him. I think that’s part of what I liked these two together so much. Henry was confident in his sexuality and a steadfast confidant for Alex, but he was still wary of sharing his queer identity with the world. Alex came into his own skin through a healthy dose of confusion and support, but would eagerly bare the brunt of backlash if it meant protecting those he cares about. I found both of these characters to be well-rounded and enjoyed the immense amount of growth that occurred throughout the novel.

June and Nora were great secondary characters, though I do think they could have been fleshed out a tad more. Not a huge deal, but I really enjoyed both of them and would have liked to get a little more of each. Percy was clearly an addition simply for the sake of giving Henry a friend and adding some diversity, and he fell as flat as flat can be, unfortunately. And, of course, we get Luna, who ends up being a crucial player, not only in regards to his significance in Alex’s life as an idol, but also in his role exposing the Republican candidate’s breach into Alex’s email account.

Plot: Alex loathes Henry. Henry despises Alex. And both end up covered in a $75,000 cake at the royal wedding. This leads to a PR clean-up that hinges on both Alex and Henry pretending to be “mates”. Much of our forward movement centers on the following three things: Henry and Alex’s blooming relationship, Alex’s understanding of his queer identity, and the presidential campaign for Alex’s mother.

The transition from seething distaste to hesitant friendship to close confidants and, finally, to lovers, was authentic in a way that had me grinning and cooing. I loved the banter between these two and thought it was a nice touch that most of their conversations came from a place that played into both Alex and Henry’s political roles and worldly aspirations. (That being said, I want to stress that this is an EXTREMELY utopian view of US politics, which are, in reality, full of greedy assholes and subterfuge. I do think this book would have been stronger if, like the main characters and their families, ALL of the characters had been fictional.)

While politics is a huge part of this novel, I found myself especially drawn to Alex’s journey as he discovers his queer identity and begins to navigate the world with this new understanding of himself. The characters around Alex support him and love him throughout his confusion and questioning—even Liam, his high school best friend and, kind of, ex-partner—and provide a net of safety that anyone going through such a vulnerable self-realization not only needs, but deserves. When the emails between Alex and Henry were posted publicly, the conflict shifted toward a commentary on privacy and the right that every queer person should have in coming out to those around them on their own terms. It was a violation that many fear, and McQuiston added it into the narrative in a way that allowed their characters to regain control of their story. Truly, I think much about this book was well done.

It was nice to see Alex’s enthusiasm for politics, though I did go through some moments of heartbreak during his campaign accomplishments because damn, I wish we lived in a similar reality where people cared about other people for no other reason than the simple fact that they are people.

Romance: I genuinely bought into this romance and thought McQuiston did a phenomenal job of easing Alex and Henry out of a burning distaste towards one another and into a loving relationship where they deeply understood one another’s hopes and fears. While not a slow-burn, I do think the time spent on this transition is part of what made this romance genuine. Readers see the build up of, not only chemistry, but friendship and comradery between Henry and Alex. Add to this the fact that Alex didn’t quite realize he was attracted to other men until he kissed Henry, and we get a multi-faceted relationship with a deep sense of trust at the center. (Though I do understand the criticism of this romantic storyline being written by someone who doesn’t identify as a queer male, and the potential problem that poses for Own Voices, I can also see a parallel between Alex’s journey and McQuiston’s own identity as nonbinary. It makes me think on R.F. Kuong’s commentary regarding authors writing from the perspective of other races. While this topic would take an entire dissertation to address, I’ll simply state that McQuiston’s intent was not malicious, they never pretended to be someone they aren’t, and they did have personal parallels to queer struggles that are displayed in their characters.)

Smut: We have a multitude of fade away scenes in the novel, but none of them have graphic details. Because the narrative pulls back from descriptions while relying heavily on the chemistry between the characters, it leaves readers to fill in the blanks (with some obvious implications).

Craft: This was an easy read with solid prose. I can’t say that there was anything life-changing about the writing, but producing a novel with writing that fades into the background makes for a great reading experience as well! At no point did I find myself pulled out of the story due to the writing, and I felt fully immersed in this semi-alternate world that had been created.

Audiobook: If you’re an audiobook fan, I recommend Ramón de Ocampo’s narration of the text. There were some voices that blended together, but out protagonist and his love interest were distinct, and that’s what mattered most to me. His vocalizations and pacing were well done, and I especially liked how much buoyancy he gave to Alex. It really did feel as though the character was speaking directly to the reader!

Overall Thoughts: I have to admit, reading this after the 2024 US elections was heartbreaking. Yes, this novel is an unrealistic utopia that forgets politicians, as a species, are corrupt. But man, I would love to swap this storyline with our reality. This was a cute, fast, highly idealistic read that will endear readers to Alex within the first chapter, and Henry soon after. The transitioning stages of Alex and Henry’s relationship—from seething distaste to hesitant friendship to close confidants and, finally, the lovers—came off as wholly authentic and was built on their growing trust in one another. Alex’s journey of understanding his queer identity, then accepting it, was beautifully written and was, by far, my favorite part of this novel. It was refreshing to have a character surrounded by a supportive family and friends as he struggled through confusion, then realization, at being bisexual. And, unlike in our world, it was inevitable that a woman president would be elected. (Sighs.) I do think this book would have been stronger if, like the main characters and their families, ALL of the characters had been fictional, rather than throwing in real names. Those moments made me pause quite often due to the ever-shifting political realm of the US. Even still, there was so much to love in this book, and I RAN to watch the movie (the book was better) as soon as I finished flipping the last page!