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Red, White & Royal Blue

Casey McQuiston

Start date: July 1, 2019

Finish date: June 29, 2019

Discussion: Summer Reading

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Showing 2 of 11 topics — 32 comments total

Summer Reading

Hell and Gone Discussion Thread!
By Markie · 6 posts · 10 views

last updated Jul 31, 2019 02:47AM

Red, White, Royal Blue Discussion Thread!
By Markie · 4 posts · 23 views

last updated Jul 30, 2019 10:20PM

What Members Thought

May 15, 2019 Tan✨ rated it really liked it

This goes straight to my favourites shelf. I cried with frustration at all the unfairness and had tingles because of all the damn SWEETNESS

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Jul 23, 2023 MJLovestoRead rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2023-books, best-of-2023

Red, White & Royal Blue is one of those books I put off because of all the hype surrounding it. Not that it was negative but I'm always a bit skeptical when it comes to books that everyone and their mother is reading. And now that I have finally taken the plunge due to the movie of the same name coming out in a few weeks, I am here to say: believe the hype!! This book is wonderful from beginning to end and I fell hard for not only Alex and Henry but every other character Casey McQuiston has crea Red, White & Royal Blue is one of those books I put off because of all the hype surrounding it. Not that it was negative but I'm always a bit skeptical when it comes to books that everyone and their mother is reading. And now that I have finally taken the plunge due to the movie of the same name coming out in a few weeks, I am here to say: believe the hype!! This book is wonderful from beginning to end and I fell hard for not only Alex and Henry but every other character Casey McQuiston has created.

Sure, this is the story of how the son of the current POTUS falls hard for a Prince of England and their crazy journey to happiness. But I also found myself head over heels for each of the supporting members of both the White House and Windsor Castle and the way they guide and support our couple no matter the consequences. And those consequences are crucial with the POTUS up for reelection and the Royal Family never happy with any diversion to their status quo. However, the love that is there for the taking whenever wild child Alex may commit a blunder or when Henry is outed as being beyond enamored by Alex, never failed to give me huge doses of the warm and fuzzies. With all that Alex and Henry go through to simply love one another, it was beautiful to see that others could tell this was the real deal and would do anything to make sure they were both protected at all costs.

But yeah, it's the unexpected love affair between Alex and Henry that drives this book. Their start as supposed enemies and how that turned into being each other's everything. All the texts that served as the outlet for their true feelings. Displays of pure affection for the other through secret trysts and forbidden encounters. The slow build-up to Alex and Henry being the loves of each other's lives was beyond sigh-worthy and I didn't want their romance to ever end.

I did love that McQuiston added the right amount of angst wrt political ramifications from Alex's side, in particular, as there is more than meets the eye wrt to his mother's reelection. Nora and June as part of the tightly-knit WH Trio with Alex really come through when needed adding even more richness to an already outstanding story. It was very interesting to see a bit of the inside of what transpires in the world of the President of the United States, getting a true birds-eye view of their lives and battles to stay in power.

Every emotion possible was felt as I devoured each and every page of this well-written book. It's witty, adorable, passionate and loving. I am only sorry I took this long to read it and honestly couldn't recommend it more if I tried. It is so much more than I always thought and is definitely worthy of a re-read, which I don't say all that often.

When looking for a truly delightful storyline, look no further than Red, White & Royal Blue. It is fabulous and I happily give it a huge 5++ stars! ...more

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Jul 03, 2019 Rachel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: queer

I LOVED this book. It made me giddy, I laughed, I cried (so so much crying at times), and I can't stop grinning as I write this. It was a JOY to read. ...more

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Feb 02, 2020 Jadine rated it liked it · review of another edition

I had a very hard time with this book! The story was very very good. My problem was with the point of view of the story. It was third person(?) but we only stayed with one character. I was constantly confused who was being talked about, partly because the two main characters were male so "he" was used a lot and I wasn't always sure who "he" was. I did a lot of rereading sections. Luckily the story of these two characters was very good, or else I'm not sure I would have even given this book 3 sta ...more

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Jul 17, 2019 Rachael rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, loved-it, funny, contemp, audiobooks, slow-burn, new-adult, lgbtqia, steamy, diverse

I cannot say how much I loved this book. I listened to the audiobook which was excellent. First son Alex Claremont-Diaz has hated HRH Prince Henry since they met years ago and was rudely brushed off. Alex goes too far in their rivalry at a royal wedding and there is an international scandal forcing the two of them to pretend to be best buddies for the press. This arraignment is the beginning of a deep relationship between the two guys both in front of and behind the scenes. I love the supporting ...more

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