Red White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

I absolutely adore this novel! Bless Casey for managing to push me out of my reading slump back in June 2021. I was in desperate need to find a book to read after graduating from Uni, naturally being surrounded by study books and work sheets i lost motivation to read for some time. This novel brought back a smile to my face and awokened my love for reading once more. 

RWRB is a contemporary romance novel with enemies to lovers, blending in comedy and brief angsty moments, as well as spice. The book also tackles politics, but not to a suffocating amount, yet it sheds important light on the issues of descrimination, homophobia as well as showing the immense pressure public figures face under the eyes of society (especially social media), in this case we're talking about the literal president of the USA and the British royal family. 

Alex  Claremont Diaz, son of the first American female president is a very laid back and bubbly character often chasing for excitment and fun, living a more care-free life without fear of scandals. Alex is shown to be more immature and careless when it came to his own status as the son of a president, often just wanting to attend parties and stir up media.

Unlike our dear Alex, Henry who is the prince of Wales and part of the royal british family is timid and rigorious in following discipline and acomplishing his duties. He is shown to be more closed up on expressing his emotions, opinions and involvement in conflict. 

With the two being polar opposite, in Alex's mind, he sees Henry as a rival, a porcelan doll or rather the perfect human with no flaws or personality. 

Their relationship begins rocky and the banter between the two is utterly hilarious, i found myself laughing my ass off anytime they would interact.

Overtime however things shift once the two actually get to know one another more, when Alex begins to see Henry past his public presentation and instead sees the actual person within. 

I utterly adore how Casey constructed both characters, as well as their dynamic. Despite enemies to lovers being one of my favorite tropes, i admit as well that not all stories depict healthy relationships. 

To me Casey did well to balance their relationship, creating a complementary dynamic as Henry grounds Alex, while Alex encourages and pushes Henry out of his fearful shell. 

Their dialogues do at times feel a bit too cheasy, but i personally don't mind it, i found them wholesome and adorable.

I did also mention that there is spice, and with that i will say that this definitely doesn't categorize under YA despite the cutesy cover design. 

While there are at times sexual scenes they aren't explicit and more moderate instead of overwhelming, or rather consuming almost half of the book, easily skippable for those who find them uncomfortable. 

Some of the other memorable characters for me were Nora (Alex's best friend) and June (Alex's sister), as well as his father who is really sweet and supportive of his son. 

Henry's mother is also a character i have a lot of respect for and find her to be a very brave and strong as a mother, doing her best for her child. 

What did i take from this book?

To me this book speaks of the importance of love and acceptance. While many might criticize that the story seems more idealistic and unreal, i personally see it as a possibility, a view of how the world could be if there was far less discrimination and prejudice. A world where there is less corruption and our leaders were more concerned over human rights and those in need of help, instead of money and greed. 

It is truly a refreashing, optimistic book that filled my heart with warmth and hope of a better future for all. 

I will wrap this up with a fanart logo i drew myself for this lovely book. 

I truly love Alex and Henry, and especially found myself relating to Alex most as he felt like a spiritual soulmate. 

At times i crave to return to the book, wishing there was more, but i think that the story was perfectly wrapped up and the ending was satisfying (though i wouldn't complain for a wedding short drabble, just saying).  

Rating: ❤💙♥💙🌈