Red, White & Royal Blue: A Novel

when this came it was so dirty, there is like black everywhere and the tag thing cant remove, i tried everything it doesnt get cleaner nothing helps.

It’s nice, handled well

I'll admit it took me quite a wodge of this novel to get past the fanfic-cum-slash (for want of a better way of putting it) feeling of it all, but in the end author Casey McQuiston's hyper-privileged, liberal-wet-dream protagonists won me over anyway by sheer dint of their determination to fight for what is right while still justifiably apprehensive of the consequences. There's no denying the element of escapist fantasy, but to label it as nothing more than that would do the book a disservice, since ultimately it's a story that reaffirms a lot of important stuff about being true to yourself and to those you love and care about - whether that be yourself, the person you love, your family, your friends or an entire nation. It doesn't even matter that everything you expect to happen, given the nature of the novel, does so exactly when it needs to: McQuiston makes you care about the characters and their situations, however otherwise unrelatable, and develops things at such a pace that the heart swells and skips a beat with the turn of just about every page in the end.It's like the very best sort of pop music: well-written, catchy (in this case for its characters) and with just enough to say to make you remember it after the fact. It may not do a lot that's new or innovative - unless going down the royal romance path only to take a gay turn along the way is a departure - but in its democratic dream world it never allows itself to become too frivolous, realising that it still has a powerful message at its heart that very much bears repeating. It's not perfect; it stretches credulity, even within its own fantastic remit, a little too tautly at times. But it does have important things to say, and on the whole it says them well. It's also very sexy, for which it earns bonus points, and with which it sets itself apart from most YA and indeed 'adult' fiction, which is often far more reined-in in its depiction of sex scenes.Overall, a very solid four stars.

OK, so I am going to gush about this book, just a little warning in advance.I had seen good reviews and bad reviews for this online before I read it but of course, I had to pick the book up for myself and see what I felt about it anyways. If you hadn't seen my little review holder earlier then you know that I adored this book. The romance was so sweet and I loved the whole enemies to lovers ice although that did feel a little lacking at times as I need felt like there was true hatred between them however I still loved the romance between Alex and Henry so much and it was just chefs kiss throughout the entire book. The rest of the plot was well constructed and the third act crisis was really good because it handled problems in the rest of the book and did really feel like it was threatening the characters.The characters were really good and I loved how Alex and Henry opened up to each other throughout the book and they became better people through their blossoming romance. I really liked the fact that there was international stakes to their romance too and it just made me so happy that they had to sneak around as it made the relationship feel a little bit more dramatic. And of course, June and Nora were just wonderful as was Pez and I absolutely loved them so much in the group and they are all just such great friends to one another and I love that they were dubbed the super six by the end of the book. And of course we had the two handlers that were the best and I loved that they got a little romance of their own as well.The writing was a little align in places and while it did make me absolutely howl in laughter at certain points there were just certain times when it took me out a little bit. I can't exactly pin point when this happened it just did every now and then. However, I did love the writing style and like I said I thought that it was absolutely hilarious and I actually laughed out loud at quite a few points and squealed in delight at others. I loved it so much and I will definitely be rereading this some point soon!

Auch Kitschromane haben ihre Berechtigung, es muss nicht immer Tolstoi sein. Aber auch Kitschgeschichten können gut geschrieben sein mit Liebe zum Detail und zu ihren Charakteren. Das ist hier nicht der Fall.1. Das Buch ist schlecht recherchiert. Es finden sich mehrere Sachfehler, so hat England zB. keinen Premierminister, es gibt nur einen britischen Premierminister. Henry ist der zweitgeborene Sohn, trägt aber im Buch den Titel Prince of Wales, obwohl dieser nur dem Erstgeborenen und damit Thronfolger zusteht.2. Ein guter Autor charakterisiert seine Personen durch deren Handlungen, nicht dadurch, dass der Autor sie einfach platt beschreibt. Hier verwickelt sich die Autorin darüber hinaus in Widersprüche: Zum einen soll Alex ein intelligenter, gutaussehender Publikumsliebling sein, von allen geliebt und verehrt, gleichzeitig hat er aber im Grunde keine Freunde und seine Handlungen zeigen ihn als unverbesserlich selbstverliebten, egozentrischen und arroganten Menschen. Alex gibt sich als Demokrat und Held der Armen, dem das Wohl der Unterdrückten so sehr am Herzen liegt, schmeißt aber zugleich Steuergelder mit vollen Händen zum Fenster raus bsw. für Interkontinentalflüge und hat einen Hang zum Luxus.3. Die Autorin gesteht ihren Charakteren und der Geschichte kein Eigenleben zu. Alle Personen spiegeln zu 100% die Einstellungen und Stereotypen der Autorin wider. Ausnahme sind die Antagonisten, also Republikaner und die Königsfamilie. Die Republikaner lässt die Autorin gar nicht erst zu Wort kommen, die Königsfamilie darf zumindest auf den letzten Seiten endlich selbst einmal das Wort ergreifen. Aber auch hier kommen nur Plattitüden, die Autorin gesteht den Antagonisten nicht zu, dass auch deren Position legitim sein könnte und dass es unter Umständen auch andere berechtigte Perspektiven gibt als die der Hauptcharaktere. Die Charaktere bleiben wandelnde Vorurteile. So ist die Königin eine alte, ultrakonservative und unbelehrbare Herrin ohne jedes warme Gefühl für ihre Familie.4. Doch auch die Helden der Geschichte bleiben flache Stereotype. Alex bsw. ist ein wahres Wunderkind, der mit seinen 20 oder so Jahren bereits an der Wahlkampagne der US-Präsidentin mitarbeitet (ohne abgeschlossenes Studium versteht sich) und mit noch jüngeren Jahren bereits bei Ausstellungen im Smithsonian Museum mitarbeitet. Der Leser wäre nicht überrascht, hätte die Autorin uns wissen lassen, dass Alex nebenher erfolgreich an einem Heilmittel für AIDS forscht und in seiner Freizeit den Nahostkonflikt löst.5. Die Autorin schreibt über die Königsfamilie, aber warum eigentlich dieses Thema? Sie macht überaus deutlich, dass sie in der britischen Monarchie nur Imperialismus, Ausbeutung, Inzest, Rassismus und Unterdrückung sieht. Womit wir wieder bei den Vorurteilen wären.Fazit: Die Autorin hat ihre eigene sehr linke und schablonenhafte politische Weltsicht in ein Buch gegossen. Ich konnte damit gar nichts anfangen. Die Charaktere sind flach, die Handlung absolut vorhersehbar und die Entladung an böswilligen Klischees so erdrückend, dass es einfach keinen Spaß macht. Die Autorin sollte lernen, dass die Charaktere in ihren Büchern kein Ventil für ihre eigene Person und Einstellungen sind, sondern eigenständige Schöpfungen sein sollten. Die Welt ist nicht schwarz-weiß, in diesem Buch allerdings schon. Der kleine Kosmos dieses Buches ist klar in Gut und Böse eingeteilt: Ist man Demokrat, Migrant und links, dann ist man gut, alles wird einem verziehen, man ist der strahlende Sieger. Ist man allerdings Republikaner oder Adliger oder konservativ, dann steht man auf der dunklen Seite, ist abgrundtief böse und muss besiegt werden! Nein, danke. Es geht auch besser.

T/W: grief, loss, addiction, some mentions of past sexual abuse, racism, homophobia, public outing- Potentially there is more but these are the ones I picked out, please always look at reviews for any triggers!Just from the end of chapter one, I knew this was going to be a five star read for me. The humour in this book is outstanding, and really makes moments that could be considered "cheesy", not cheesy. So, a lot of negative reviews I saw were about the "jabs" made towards Brits. Mate, I'm a Brit and I was cackling throughout, it ain't that deep, calm down. Also Alex and Henry are literal goals in this book how can you hate them? The politics in this story admittedly go over my head at times, but that's due to me not being knowledgeable in that area, but reading a second time definitely helped get my head around them. But they are a much needed element to this story and it really added a sense of reality into it.Honestly, if the book plot and romance wasn't the first thing obvious about this book, I would be screaming "MAKE THEM GAY YOU COWARDS" by the end of chapter 2. I thoroughly enjoyed Henry and Alex's conversations, they are just simply cute and hilarious because the banter throughout this book is on point and top notch! The author has totally encapsulated the way young people talk to one another. The messy bisexual and chaotic gay vibe of this book had me living.Page 111. The entire quite on that page about sexuality, and how it's so confusing when your younger, because you just feel that the way your feeling is normal, is hella on point! I really resonated to it so much and I loved reading how I too felt, in a book. I love how accepting parts of this book is, it makes you feel so happy at times about the acceptance, the love and progression towards equality, and for me it was a nice reality to escape into.Literal thought throughout this book was "Holy Smutoly", make more New Adult books please! Yo, these gay monarch references have me living! I learnt a lot after reading this book about James the first (or thirst appropriately) and George Villiers.Being outed before you are ready is the most shattering thing to happen. It knocks the wind from under your feet and shatters the very love and confidence you had managed to scrape together for yourself, during the realization of your sexuality and/or gender identity. Figuring out who you are is one the hardest things you'll ever do, telling people is the second. If you don't have that environment and love and support either, it's truly soul crushing. I liked how this book focuses on many parental figures idea of acceptance is to ignore it's existence or deny all plausibility of the confession.Overall, I loved this book, I felt represented in this book and you should read this book! 5 stars!

**TW**This book deals with topics such as family issues, society's "perfect" image and a slight hint towards r*peSo... I finally finished this book! It was worth the hype it got but I still feel it was a little dull in places. And I know a lot of you are probably yelling at me for saying that but I'm just being honest.We follow Alex, First Son of the US and Henry, Prince of England on their complicated relationship. I did find them to be such a cute couple and loved the portrayal of today's society incorporated into this story. Being scared to officially "come out" can be quite daunting as someone in a small town, never mind as someone who is very well known. Casey McQuiston certainly allowed readers to feel for the characters on quite a personal scale and I do appreciate that.Also that scene with Alex's mom and the PowerPoint...I admit I laughed. (Can you blame me though?)The story in itself was a lot more steamy than I had anticipated. Everyone I'd seen that spoke of this book claimed it to be a light-hearted read and never mentioned any steam, so I wasn't prepared going in. But Alex and Henry's smart comments to each other made up for it all.What made this story fall flat was mostly towards the end where things just felt rushed and as though the author was in a hurry to finish the story.Besides this though...I loved it! Alex and Henry are going to be forever in my heart. (I mean if you don't love them...who ARE you!?) There were so many scenes where I either wanted to slap them or hug them😂But mostly, I had a huge smile on my face reading this book, there was no wiping this gal's smile away.