From the Bookshelf of forever and evermore swifties…

Red, White & Royal Blue

Casey McQuiston

Start date: December 1, 2022

Finish date: January 1, 2023

Why we're reading this: December born which we will be comparing to ours, gorgeous, illicit affairs, London boy and miss american…more
[close] December born which we will be comparing to ours, gorgeous, illicit affairs, London boy and miss americana and the heartbreak prince

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What Members Thought

Sep 23, 2021 Marti rated it it was amazing

Just so so so so so so cute!

The perfect book for a quick read. Review to come.

68 likes · Like · see review

May 10, 2022 durga ☆ rated it it was amazing

A rarity, the kind of book that induces that butterfly-roller-coaster feeling in your solar plexus, the kind that makes you all screamy and flustered when you’re in the thick of it, the kind of book you think about ALL THE TIME.

In honour of alex, here is a list of things I loved about this book - in no particular order:
1. the tension
2. their texts, the banter, the witticisms *chef’s kiss*
3. the emails (especially the one henry sent before Alex sent back his list, you know?)
4. nora, june, bea, a ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Nov 05, 2020 Charlotte Fowler rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-22, read-23, my-recommendations

THIS I loved this so much. Sometimes books are hyped for a reason, and this is a good example of that. The story was fun, cute, and SO easy to get into. It’s definitely secured a spot on my god tier romance list. If you haven’t read it yet go find a copy!

8 likes · Like · see review

Jun 14, 2021 cecilia (kaz brekker’s version) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I can’t put into words how much this book has made me feel. I loved Alex and Henry’s journey, felt with them and cried with them.
This book is one of the best I’ve ever read and a book rarely makes me feel this much happiness, hope and love at the same time.
I loved it from start to finish and can recommend it to everyone who wants to read about a wonderful love story with great characters and a perfect atmosphere.

2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 30, 2023 James Cooper rated it really liked it

If you can’t gather by the genre and cover of this book but it’s a gay romance between Alex, the First Son of the (female - something I didn’t know going into this and was happily surprised by) President of the USA, and Henry, Prince of Wales (the Queen’s grandson). Their relationship starts as rivals to friends to lovers and I won’t say anymore plot wise to avoid spoilers.

I liked it, the writing is very readable and bingeable, the plot is engrossing, and the characters are all quite developed. If you can’t gather by the genre and cover of this book but it’s a gay romance between Alex, the First Son of the (female - something I didn’t know going into this and was happily surprised by) President of the USA, and Henry, Prince of Wales (the Queen’s grandson). Their relationship starts as rivals to friends to lovers and I won’t say anymore plot wise to avoid spoilers.

I liked it, the writing is very readable and bingeable, the plot is engrossing, and the characters are all quite developed. The world McQuiaton creates is very liberal and pleasant but still retains its problems - maybe a little too unrealistic but it’s fiction so what can you say? the escapism and heartwarming elements were very enjoyable. The romance was again nice to read, my favourite parts certainly being Alex and Henry getting to know each other on a deeper level, with their email exchanges holding true depth (I kind of wished these were a bigger part). As their relationship was growing and leading to sexual exploration, I wasn’t really that interested as someone who doesn’t like smut/sex scenes but they weren’t as prominent a part as I thought at first and I definitely got more into the book as it went along. I also found the beginning to read a little like YA but with clearly adult themes so it was slightly mismatched but again as it went on it did mature. The long chapters and storyline that drags maybe a bit too long in my opinion was again something I wished was shortened, it seemed like you have to go through a lot to get to the main plot points at times.

I guess my major issue was how when ‘bad’ things happened, there wasn’t really any repercussions. Things were sewn up a little too easily to be believable and in some aspects I feel this does a disservice to queer people’s experiences in some sort of way. The MCs are clearly not like the ordinary person with their wealth, titles, power, and ultimately: privilege so it’s hard to relate to them - again I know it’s fiction and whilst I enjoyed this I would always choose a romance (or any book genre) where the MC is someone I can relate to better - so I didn’t really have much of a connection. Much of the book also rests on the idea of things coming out and the rather big (international) implications they would cause in the real world but the impact isn’t representative of this in this book. It’s also a little idealistic at times too where quite a lot of things (specially within the British Royal family) wouldn’t happen - again it’s fiction and I get the ‘alternative reality’ aspect apples to many but I dunno it’s just hard to see things like anti-colonialism being important to some members of the Royal family.

It may seem like I’ve focused on the negatives and I get that I probably have done in this review but I feel this book has gotten so much hype and praise so maybe I’m evening it out a little bit? Maybe? I dunno. But I DID LIKE IT, it’s a good book and one I would recommend but I do still have my problems - do other queer books deserve the hype more? Yes I do think so. BUT I’m still super happy a book with two queer MCs that are in the ruling organisations of two very influential countries with a whole cast of queer and diverse characters who deal with lots of issues is getting the limelight. A book like this with such great representation and visibility wasn’t the ‘it thing’ to read when I was younger and I wish it was. So yes, I’m very happy about this book’s success and do recommend giving it a read - it’s great for a lighthearted pick-me-up read that can appeal to many. Bring on One Last Stop! ...more

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Aug 08, 2022 ѕαмι ౨ৎ˚⟡ (taylor's version) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Just finished this book and i really loved how the author handles the relationship between this two, with such care and sensitivity and compassion, the bisexual awakening of a character who only comes to realise, accept and embraces his bisexuality in his twenties. Learning the facets of one's gender and sexuality is a journey with no definite beginning or end point. The myth of "coming out" too early or too late is just that: a myth. And I appreciate the author for adding their voice to the gro ...more

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