June 10th - Chapters 6 - 10

[Garan]

Y'all know what to do!!

LET'S TALK ABOUT ROMANCE

[Brenna]

I swear, SO MUCH happens in these few chapters! We get ghosted for a whole month after the kiss of a lifetime, and then things escalate from there into some S T E A M Y places. I don't think I'll ever be over the thin line our boys walk between attraction and wanting to murder each other. It's incredibly endearing and unbelievably hot.

I also am a huge fan of mixed media in books, whether that be text messages or email or radio shows sprinkled in with the narrative, and so with these emails between Henry and Alex, I'm in hog heaven. My favorite random scenes here would probably be the karaoke night and the lake house because they're some of the only chances we get to see them be just normal twenty-somethings, away from the public eye. They can just enjoy each other; and that's not just Alex and Henry, either. The energy of the whole crew is mesmerizing. I should note that Don't Stop Me Now is SO. CRINGY. on audiobook, and if you're reading the novel instead you should consider the audio just for that!

I love the support that we see in these chapters too from various people in Alex's life. Not just his mom and dad (which are some GOOD, emotional scenes) but also the Secret Service Agents like Amy who protect him at every turn. I rather enjoyed Alex's dirty mind as he let himself be more and more open with Henry, namely when they were at Wimbledon and he said 'But I've already been in the Royal Box.' I choked. Anyway, all that randomness to say we got to see so much of how their relationship developed over months, got through a mini break-up, and are back stronger than ever. The stakes are much higher now that love is in the equation, and you can feel the tension rising from the pages.

[Kate]

I missed the first check in because I am: garbage, BUT I’m finishing through chapter 10 on my flight tonight! I’ll report back later on in the day. Happy reading y’all!

[Brooklyn]

These five chapters have got to be my favorite throughout the entire book. All of the different scenes were amazing. My favorites were:
Alex coming out to his mom
Zhara catching Alex and Henry in the hotel
Alex and Henry at the lake house (which also broke my heart when Henry deflects their 'moment' and dips out the next day!!!)
And, when Henry takes Alex to the museum and opens up about his childhood.

And, to agree with Brenna, I too LOVE mixed media in books, so the emails and texts were really fun for me to read.

[Garan]

Alright, y'all!

I love these chapters so much.

The karaoke scene is EVERYTHING. I love that we got to really see how everyone interacted together. I love Nora and June's lil conversation about how hot they think Pez is. Henry singing Don't Stop Me Now and Alex falling even more madly in love with him during it.

Alex coming out to Ellen is another scene that is a highlight during these five chapters. I was so nervous for him but her reaction was splendid and I love that, true to her character, she immediately made a fucking powerpoint presentation about it lmaoooo.

The lake house chapter is amazing and makes me wish so hard for a vacation. It makes me so happy that Alex got to show Henry a piece of him that is so important. I think Henry's reaction to the gravity of it all was so well done even if it was incredibly painful for the characters and us as the readers. The Royal Family ain't no joke so I love that this is becoming the central conflict of the story.

The end of this section's reading makes me so incredibly happy. Both of the boys are so hopeful even if they are terrified. Both of them realizing that the love they share is real and worth it made my heart swell and I'm very excited for the rest of you to finish up the book in the coming days.

[Kate]

These chapters. were so...so...so good.

I would put my entire life on the line for Alex and Henry, y'all. And June. And Nora. I love them all so much.

I really love Casey's writing style - it's fast paced without leaving you feeling lost or like you're missing big chunks of time/events. I think that authors often have trouble getting readers from one big event/plot point to the next, without it feeling like filler and rambles. Every scene feels deliberate, and I love reading these characters doing anything. Alex and Henry's personalities feel so well developed, to the point that I already feel like I know how the other is feeling before they talk about it, and I feel what they're feeling. That's how I want to feel about characters!!

Also, another writing plus: one of my gripes in romance books especially can be that everything just happens too fast. Yes, okay, for romantic purposes, whirlwind romance blah blah I get it. But I'm too realistic for that shit - if y'all are saying I love you and risking your careers and changing your entire life around for each other after like TWO WEEKS? It turns me off. So to see Henry and Alex naturally fall in love, over nearly 8 months of time, and get to watch that love develop in a healthy way before they even get to the point where they say "hey, yeah we're doing this", is really refreshing and realistic to me. It makes their love feel real, and makes me root for them even harder.

Speaking of realistic, I really like Henry's reaction to everything. I mean, yeah, it absolutely fucking stressed me out, but I think it would have been too cut and dry to have them just be happy and never really come to terms with the very real consequences their relationship is facing. This isn't just high school politics, or running in different circles - being an heir isn't something that can just be brushed off because you fell in love. I totally get why Henry was freaking out. Alex is chaotic and loves hard, and I love that he thinks it will be okay for them as long as they do it together, because he doesn't (and can't) fully understand Henry's responsibility. I also love that Henry knows it will be really hard, is scared of it, but knows that it's worth it because what they have is real. WE LOVE WELL DEVELOPED CHARACTERS. I'm just really excited to see what happens for these two.

Also, agree with the above that I love the texts and emails! Makes the characters feel even more real to me, and they're just so funny.

Sorry, I missed out on the first check in, so I had a lot of pent up feelings :-)

Okay but this line at the end of chapter 10:

"...He takes the chain off his neck and slides the ring on next to the old house key. They clink together gently as he tucks them both under his shirt, two homes side by side."

[inhales] AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

Extra things I loved this section:
1) Madame President's reaction to Alex coming out and the POWERPOINT lmaoooo
2) the lake house scenes. swoon.
3) Cash's "So this is the gang now, huh?"
4) their FUCKING EMAILS BACK AND FORTH
5) that damn karaoke scene
6) this line: "He wants to match the new freckles across Henry's nose to the stars above them and make him name the constellations" I mean what the fuck Alex is so in love