[Book Review] Red White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston & Raphael’s Coffee Red White And Blue Blend

Red, White & Royal Blue are the colors of love as American First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz and English Prince Henry fall into a secret romance in a charming and witty fake relationship, enemies to lovers, and forbidden romance all rolled into one.

Book Info

Title: Red, White & Royal Blue
Series: Standalone
Author: Casey McQuiston
Publication date:  May 14th 2019
Page Count: 432 pages
Age Range: NA/Adult (language, semi-explicit spicy scenes)
How I got my hot little hands on it: bought with my own green.
Publisher’s page: St. Martin’s Griffin

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. 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.

Spoiler-Free Summary of Red, White & Royal Blue

American First Son Alex Clairmont-Diaz can’t stand England’s Prince Henry. And by all appearances, the feeling is mutual. Which just infuriates Alex more. While attending the royal wedding for Henry’s older brother, Alex just has to press the issue. He can’t help himself when it comes to the “beautiful”, “boring”, and “stuck-up” blond prince and confronts him, leading to an altercation that ends in both covered in the remains of a $75K royal wedding cake as the whole world watches.

What follows is damage control. Alex and Henry pretend that Cakegate was just two friends playing around too much and not an almost international incident. A few public appearances together, a joint interview, some friendly social media posts and everything should be fine. And it works.

A little too well.

Texts that skirt the bounds of friendship and late-night calls, develop into more. Alex regularly notes men he finds attractive and is flirty with Henry, but thinks nothing of it. Poor, closeted, gay Prince Henry is confused about where they stand.

And then Henry kisses Alex and throws him into his bisexual awakening.

Once they realize the attraction is mutual, the two can barely keep their hands off each other, even knowing they have to keep it hidden. Although responsibilities keep them apart, emails sent back and forth like a Jane Austin romance bring the two closer, opening up their deepest selves to each other behind the safety of a screen.

As lust turns to love, the question becomes, how long can a love this big be kept a secret?

My Review

Red, White & Royal Blue is so cute and charming. The kind of romance that has you blushing and kicking up your heels and obsessing over it. It’s a fake relationship, enemies to lovers, and forbidden romance all rolled into one.

I confess that TikTok made me read it. My fyp flooded with people talking about how much they loved this book right before the movie came out. My curiosity won out and I bought the book fully prepared for it to be overhyped. It wasn’t. This might be my favorite romance of the year.

There’s so much character and charisma coming off these pages. The book is from Alex’s POV, but both boys are charmingly smart-mouthed and the banter between them is top-notch. Watching them go from enemies to reluctant acquaintances, to frienemies, to friends, to lovers with every text, call, and email is everything. And then when the angst hits? oh boy. I was so invested, I was wiping the tears from my face.

The supporting characters are just as fun, quick-witted, and charismatic. June, Alex’s older sister, obsessed with gossip mags, but desperate to use her journalism degree for something bigger. Nora, granddaughter of the VP, sassy and smart, with a photographic memory. They make up the “White House Trio” and I love them. Also notable is Henry’s older sister Bea, a princess with her own not-so-squeaky-clean past who’s willing to do anything for her brother and always has his back.

There are a few spicy scenes and they are very well-written, long, detailed, and drawn out. They are also semi-explicit, so it’s more about how it feels and less explicitly saying what goes where.

I loved this book. I adored it. It’s definitely in the re-read pile of go-to comfort books. Casey McQuiston is a new author to me, but you can bet the next time I see her name on a book, I’m putting it in my cart.

Let’s Talk Coffee

Raphael’s Coffee Red, White & Blue Blend is such a fun coffee, flavored with a combination of raspberry, white chocolate, & blueberry flavors that blend together perfectly.