ANNIE WOODS
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • News
  • Reading Tips
  • Contact

My Reading Tips

I love YA books more than any other kind of literature and want to share what I read with you, so please go ahead and check out my reading tips here and make sure to give some love to all these amazing books too!

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

9/29/2019

0 Comments

 
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is a queer, political/royal romcom masterpiece! This book has it all, a swooning gay romance, great dialogue, enemies-turning-to-lovers, old traditions that need to be challenged, wonderful siblings and sassy friends. It’s hilarious, witty, tender, thoughtful and devastatingly heartfelt. It's a story about being brave enough to admit you are worth fighting for, for wanting things, and for chasing after those things. It’s a story that deals with difficult topics in a both honest and fun way at the same time. It’s a story that gives you hope for a better world. I love it with all my heart!
Picture
Red, White & Royal Blue is a contemporary read, but it takes place in a parallel (better) world, where Trump never happened and instead the first female president was elected. Her son, Alex Claremont-Diaz, is an overachieving cocky aspiring politician in his early twenties. Since an episode in the past, Alex despises his British counterpart, Prince Henry.

“You can’t just call him my ‘archnemesis’,” Alex says [to his sister Julia]. “Archnemesis implies he’s actually a rival to me on any level and not, you know, a stuck-up product of inbreeding who probably jerks off to himself.”

So, the story starts off as a hate-to-love one, with Alex and Prince Henry having butted heads whenever they meet, until an incident at the royal wedding of Henry’s older brother lands them in the tabloids and they need to do damage control by faking a friendship. But soon they start to see each other for who they really are and the bitter rivalry evaporates into something more tender. And soon starks start to fly and after a surprise-attack kiss the First Son of the United States realizes that he’s in love with a Prince of England and that they’ve loved each other for a long time.

“True love isn’t always diplomatic.”

That’s for sure. But it’s also a fact that diplomatic Anglo-American relations have never been so much fun as in this book.

The characters are so loveable. Not just Alex and Prince Henry, but I also love Alex’s parents and his sister Julia and friend Nora (called “The White House Trio”, where ”Alex pushes them. June steadies them. Nora keeps them honest.”) and Henry’s sister Bea and the White House staff… Casey McQuiston does such an amazing job in making them feel real and making you love them. And there were so many wonderful scenes and twists and dialogues. The writing is so good and fun! Easy banter, sassy retorts, just everything you could possibly wish for.

Still, there are so many emotions in this book. So much love and vulnerability, friendship, angst, and the hardship and struggle of finding out who you are and stay true to that or remaining closeted. In fact, Alex doesn’t even realize that he is bi until he falls for Henry.

“Like, he’s pretty sure he’s straight. But he thinks about Henry, and, oh.”
“He needs a list. So: Things he knows right now.
One. He’s attracted to Henry.
Two. He wants to kiss Henry again.
Three. He has maybe wanted to kiss Henry for a while. As in, probably this whole time.”


This book is a gorgeous mix of love, hate, witty banter, strong characters, but also of ignorance and prejudices. It makes the important point that queer love is often forgotten by popular history, but Casey McQuiston reminds us about that so cleverly through Alex and Henry’s letters and gives us hope that a First Son of America and a Prince of England could make history together through their relationship. In short, the sentence printed on t-shirts after their love letters leak – “History, huh?”.(“Bet we could make some.”)

I hope we will get to see a love story like this in real life too soon, but until then go read this book and take its message to your heart!

“Take everything you want and know you deserve to have it.”

You are perfect just the way you are! You are beautiful and you are allowed to love whomever your heart desires!

Find out more about the book and the author here: ​Casey McQuiston
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Annie Woods

    Picture
    Hi! I'm Annie, a Swedish bookworm, YA addict and coffee lover, who writes romantic YA books in English. I'm the author of the Angelheart Saga series (First Came Forever and Forever Disguised).

    I love YA books and want to share what I read with you too, so check out my reading tips here!

    Below you can find the reviews per author as well.

    Categories

    All
    Abbi Glines
    Abdi Nazemian
    Adam Silvera
    Alexandra Christo
    Alwyn Hamilton
    Amy Engel
    Amy Harmon
    Amy S. Foster
    André Aciman
    Angie Thomas
    Ashley Woodfolk
    Audrey Coulthurst
    Becky Albertalli
    Casey McQuiston
    Cassandra Clare
    C.S. Pacat
    Elizabeth Corr
    E. Lockhart
    Emily M. Danforth
    Erin Watt
    Ernest Cline
    Gilly Macmillan
    Haley Rhoades
    Holly Black
    Jandy Nelson
    Jenna Evans Welch
    Jennifer Gilmore
    Jennifer Leigh
    Jennifer Niven
    Jenny Downham
    Jenny Han
    Joey Paul
    Katharine Corr
    K.M. Shea
    Laurie Frankel
    Leigh Bardugo
    Leylah Attar
    Lisa Wingate
    Mackenzi Lee
    Maggie Stiefvater
    Malin Persson Giolito
    Marie Lu
    M.C. Frank
    Meredith Russo
    Mila Gray
    Pearl Khatri
    Rachael Lippincott
    Rachel Hawkins
    Rainbow Rowell
    Rosemary Danielis
    Ruta Sepetys
    Sally Green
    Sarah J Maas
    Simone Elkeles
    Stephenie Meyers
    Tahereh Mafi
    Tomi Adeyemi
    Veronica Rossi
    Wesley Chu
    Victoria Aveyard

    Archives

    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • News
  • Reading Tips
  • Contact