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irissometimesreads · 4 years ago

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RED WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE by Casey Mcquinston

started: january 18th

finished: february 15th (had a slump,,, yk how it goes)

word count for the review: 780

WARNINGS: Spoilers for the ending ⚠️ brief mentions of mature themes, swearing

SUMMARY: Set in a world in which a female Democrat from Texas wins the presidency in 2016, Red, White & Royal Blue chronicles the illicit romance between the president's son, Georgetown senior Alex Claremont-Diaz (Dad is a Mexican-American senator), and Prince Henry of Wales, his childhood nemesis.

REVIEW:

Okay so like most of you, I’ve found out about this book on Tik Tok (A.K.A BookTok) and I wasn’t impressed enough to actually buy it until I found out it mentions Kim Namjoon (RM) the leader of BTS, and like a true ARMY , I insisted on buying it : ) Now , I actually had very high standards for this one, given the fact it’s praised by BookTok and I was left disappointed , kind of. I give it a solid 3 out of 5. I do not regret reading it , I got a bomb ass playlist out of it, but it’s nothing special. I skipped on most of the smut scenes (so basically the whole book) because that didn’t particularly spark my interest. I’m no stranger to contemporary literature and I have to say, this is very gen Z like, speaking like a true Gen Z , it was honestly surprising to see Alex ,our main character use all lowercase letters when typing or using twitter and his type of humour be pop culture references. Personally I like to be touched by a story, you know how when something fluffy or angsty happen in a story and your stomach makes that lil feeling you crave more and more? I sincerely hope you know what i’m talking about because I want to be touched like that by a book (i know ur thoughts u pervs) and I did not feel a thing through reading this book. I’ve read better fanfiction than this. (although to be fair I read more fanfiction than books) This whole ordeal of the presidency seems unrealistic aswell but who am I to say that, I am not a professional nor an American. My favourite characters were definitely Bea and Pez. The others lacked flavour imo. Also idk what type of shit is this but nobody is that close with their sibling like June and Alex are 😭. The love story and timeline between Harry and Alex is kind of weak , for me , it happened waaaay too quickly and I did not actually feel like they’re in love (lust maybe?) i’ve never been in a relationship so my points may be weak , but if they broke up I wouldn’t be sad about it, it was just too rushed. The plot itself is weak and it’s literally PWP. The lack of diversity is also relatively bothersome, I know them being mixed and the royal family to be white is the only way they could be written as politicians but the side character could’ve been POC. At least there is LGBT rep but it’s still minimalistic. I mean comparing it to other books i’ve read , It’s on the more representative side so I’ll focus on that. The thing I loved most about this is their message chains and emails, it kept me going actually. The relationships of this literary piece’s between adults and the “kids” is relatively strange to me, i’m not close with adults, nor are my cousins or people I know who are the same age as the main characters. When it comes to relatability, I find myself relating to most of the main characters, but in different aspects. I see a little of myself in each of them and I think that’s amazing. The title and the summary sparked my interest when I actually bothered to learn about it. The humour is also my type so I’ve fairly enjoyed it. The quotes aren’t too memorable but I remember some: “stop trying to Jane Austen my life.” “listen it’s not my fault he’s a mysterious and retiring young royal and you’re the tempestuous ingenue that caught his eye, okay” “He died as he lived: avoiding plans and sucking cock” “And here I thought I was the Ferris Bueller of this relationship” “History,huh? Bet we could make some”. I especially love that last one. At the end,when the world learns about their secret romance, the feedback is so positive and I really like that, I remember being scared when will they be discovered and what will that mean for them but I’m sure our generation would react the same (at least the majority of us) if it were to happen in real life. I think I brought all my points, pros and cons, to the table? I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary literature and is a Gen Z. This is definitely not my favourite but I did enjoy it : ). That’s it! Hopefully you liked my review and feel free to state your thoughts and/or disagree , i’d love to hear your opinions.

I apologise for my English, It’s not my first langauge and although I excel at it, grammar is my weaker spot : /

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