Review - Red, White & Royal Blue

 A couple of weeks ago I read what has got to be my absolutely favorite book of the year so far: Red, White & Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston. 

It's the story of a fake friendship turned real romance between the First Son of the United States, Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry of Wales. 

The story was fabulous and incredibly well-written. It drew me in until I had fallen in love with both these characters the more I read. The writing portrayed a lot of very dynamic, intelligent people all navigating the world of politics and royal life while at the same time helping two young men navigate their own sexuality as they developed and deepened their friendship. 

I wrote the following review in Goodreads: 

No idea why I waited as long as I did to read this book, so please don’t ask. I fell in love with both Alex and Henry - such amazing, rich - as in a lot of depth rich, intelligent, funny, vulnerable, complex, wonderful characters.

This story was incredible. I devoured it and read it through to well past midnight so I could finish it all in one sitting. Yeah - I was tired at work on the 14th, but it was oh so worth it!

I loved this book so much that a couple days after I read it on my nook, I used an audible credit and listened to it all over again. I’m pretty sure I want to listen to it again! Ramon de Ocampo did a fantastic job portraying all the different characters. I was even more afraid of Zahra after listening to him (him = de Ocampo) tell the story.

Read this book. It’s a beautifully woven love story between two young men who, though some self-discovery and a blossoming friendship are discovering it really is ok to be true to themselves.

Pretty sure this is my absolute favorite book that I’ve read so far this year and with the pandemic, working from home, and no kids? I’ve read a lot so far. This book was magnificent!

And it's completely true. It was magnificent. I also listened to it on Audible shortly after I read the actual book! On Audible, the book was narrated by Ramon de Ocampo who did an excellent job of portraying all the various characters and languages in the book. (Book was in English with parts of the dialogue in Spanish. 

Shortly after reading this book, I found a Facebook group devoted to fans of this novel which I recommend you find. The best part is some of the fan art of Alex and Henry which is a spectacular rendition of the two men together, drawn out from various scenes throughout. 

In the Facebook group, I received a recommendation to try Boyfriend Material as well, which shows the fake boyfriend, budding romance between Luc and Oliver. I read and enjoyed that book as well.

Both books told wonderful love stories that included emotional moments combined with humor and snark at times - something to which I can definitely relate! 

Casey McQuiston - Red, White & Royal Blue (Goodreads - Barnes & Noble - Amazon)

Alexis Hall - Boyfriend Material (Goodreads - Barnes & Noble - Amazon)

Happy reading! 

 - Heather

Twitter - @GrantsCrossing

Instagram - @GrantsCrossing

Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown

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