RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE by CASEY McQUISTON

‘But the truth is, also, simply this: love is indomitable.’

OMG! We cannot wipe the grin off our faces! This book was exactly what we needed! A delightfully adorable, heartfelt, and uplifting enemies to lovers’ story that made us swoon like crazy. Our hearts are bursting with love for Alex and Henry’s beautiful, funny and meaningful romance that was tinged with moments of pure and deep emotion. So much so, we regularly found ourselves reduced to tears. Wow! The little touches to this story…..sincere, captivating and truly wonderful.

‘But he thinks about Henry, and, oh. He thinks about Henry, and something twists in his chest, like a stretch he’s been avoiding for too long.‘

If you’ve wanted to sample an MM book but have been a bit hesitant, this would be the perfect place to start. Seriously, your heart will thank you because Red, White, & Royal Blue relies heavily on character development, feelings, and sweetness, with the sex being present, but fade to black. And please…someone  TURN THIS BOOK INTO A MOVIE!

‘I’ll be damned, but I miss you. x’

Red, White & Royal Blue is set against the backdrop of the US political arena, and the upcoming election in 2020 when the race is on to get the first female president of the United States re-elected. That’s right, re-elected, Ellen Claremont won the 2016 election (oh if only!) and is out to win the good fight to once again run the country.

Alex Claremont Diaz is her 21-year-old son from her former husband, and a man destined to follow in his mothers’ footsteps. A rising political star, politics is in his blood. He’s got the intelligence, the personality, the good looks and an equally good heart needed to really make a difference.

Alex makes up part of the White House trio, with his sister June, and their best friend Nora and what wonderful banter and loyalty there is between these three. They’re a fun-loving trio not averse to getting up to antics and causing a bit of mayhem much to the white house staffs chagrin.

‘Alex pushes them. June steadies them. Nora keeps them honest.’

Alex has one arch nemesis. The very handsome Prince of Wales. He grates on Alex’s every nerve until one day, when forced to make nice with Henry for a PR exercise, he begins to see Henry in a new light, which has him questioning his feelings for the affable Henry, and not just his feelings, but his sexuality. Can he really be attracted to the man he loved to hate? But there are more concerns than Alex’s feelings, anything scandalous could bring his mothers chances of re-election crashing down.

‘I’m the son of the first female president. And I’m not white like she is, can’t even pass for it. People will always come down harder on me.’

Red, White & Royal Blue is a coming of age, self-discovery story with a lot of relevance to the world today, yet it’s not heavy in its content, in fact, it’s the sort of story you seek in order to forget and escape. Delivered in a light-hearted manner, yet never trivialising the enormity of Alex’s and Henry’s feelings and decisions.

“You are,” he says, “the absolute worst idea I’ve ever had.” Henry’s mouth spreads into a slow smile, and Alex kisses it.

This is the Royal fairy-tale we’ve always dreamed of! The two heartthrobs from two countries, who make us believe anything is possible and who turned our cynical hearts into hopeful ones.

Told in a mesmerising expressive prose, we lived every moment of this story. From the stirring feelings between the sensitive charismatic Prince and the rebel FSOTUS with the movie star, good looks to the utter despair experienced when judgment is passed. The nail-biting finale of the political arena had us glued to our Kindles. Each and every character stole our hearts with their own unique personalities; charming and relatable, every one of them crucial to the story.

‘I thought, if someone like that ever loved me, it would set me on fire. ‘

Tears flowed, hearts swooned and giggles erupted in this romantic comedy that’s relevant, thought-provoking that defies belief it is a debut novel! We’re excited to see where Casey McQuiston goes from here because if this is her first offering, the brilliance of this story can only mean fantastic things for readers in the future.

We always purchase every book we review and immediately pre-ordered this book the moment we finished. Whilst it may be in the more expensive category than some, believe us, it’s worth every penny! You can’t put a dollar value on the happiness residing in our hearts.  A good book is like a therapy. So don’t think, just 1click now for what we know will be one of our top reads for 2019!

“Take anything you want and know you deserve to have it.”

Releasing 14th May and soon to be a movie!