Title: Red, White and Royal Blue

Author: Casey McQuiston

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin 2019

Genre: Romance

Pages: 425

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook

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.

This was an utter delight! I loved every single page of this book. I’m always up for a good but realistic romance, and thankfully this one delivers. Alex is such a great main character, full of sash and bravery. I was rooting for him right off the bat. I couldn’t wait to see how he would change and grow throughout the novel. Thankfully we dive in pretty much right away. I loved seeing him re-meet Henry and then fall into a wedding cake. From there on out, I couldn’t read fast enough. I had to see them finally get together and realize their feelings. My one complain about the novel: I want to live in that political world, not our own. I even got a bit choked up during the election night chapters. I just really wish 2016 had turned out differently.

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