Red, White & Royal Blue
by Casey McQuiston
5 stars
Alex and Henry have a tense and antagonistic relationship. Which causes trouble because Alex is the First Son of the US and Henry is the Prince of England. When their issues come to a head at a royal wedding (including the destruction of a $17,000 wedding cake), the 2 must paste on diplomatic smiles and fake a friendship for the sake of American/British international relations. The fake friendship gradually becomes real as they open up to each other about the pressures of living in the public eye and that friendship turns into something more.
This book was originally marked as Young Adult, but it definitely falls into the Adult/New Adult categories (the characters are 20 and 22 when the book begins). This is probably my favorite book of the year (yes, I know it’s early). It had me bouncing between giggles and swoons, and sometimes both at once. It was smart, diverse, and inclusive in all the best ways. And there were multiple references to Alexander Hamilton, Harry Potter, and others!
Read-alikes
The Royal We by Heather Cox
Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal
Royals by Rachel Hawkins
