Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

 

"He's always wanted to be a person with a legacy in this world. Henry is undoutedly, determinedly that. It's a little intoxicating."

Alex Claremont-Diaz, First Son of the United States, hates Prince Henry. Henry is a cold, stuck up robot according to Alex who is passionate, flirtatious, and ambitious. After Alex and Henry get in a shoving match at Prince Philip's Royal Wedding, they are forced by their families to spend time together, to convince the paparazzi that they are actually best friends. It's a story of love at first fight.

This is a first for me... I've read romantasy because I like fantasy, but I've never read a novel that was intended to be romance and romance only. I picked this book up from the library after seeing the trailer for the movie. I figured if it was a movie it had to be good, right?

I was surprised to find I wasn't disappointed.

This book was cute. 

Told from Alex's point of view it opens with a fair amount of animus and witty repertoire between the two men. As Alex discovers more about Henry, he begins to question his own sexuality. Henry, who knows he's gay, is trapped in the closet by his obligations as a member of the Royal Family. As a straight person, I can't actually imagine what it's like to have to feel like you need to hide who you are, as my rights will never be in question, so I can't really testify to the characters relatability; I'll leave that task to someone else. I will say I was left feeling sorry for Henry and his struggle to be who he is when his family is so disapproving...They should be the ones supporting Henry the most. And Alex's dilemma is somewhat amusing from an outward perspective, but I doubt that's true for someone actually going through the same issue.

Alex isn't ashamed of how he feels for Henry, but his mother is running to be re-elected President of the United States and realizes his feelings may jeopardize her campaign. Between that and Henry's familial problems, they're both caught between a rock and a hard place. Thus begins their secret romance. I liked the enemies to lovers dynamic; while as previously stated I'm not a long-term romance reader, I feel like it added an edge to the romance, passion ruling the story instead of a sickly sweet love story.

But if you are in the mood for nice, clean romance, this is not the book for you. While it's not super smutty, there is indeed smut and some coarse language. But if cute is what you're after, Alex and Henry's story, might be exactly what you want.