This review can also be found here: https://bookstacked.com/reviews/book-reviews/review-red-white-royal-blue-casey-mcquiston/

The story is captivating. Casey McQuiston gives us a world where the USA didn’t slip into a regressive government, instead being lead by a fierce female president with an ambitious son and a firecracker family. It’s also an accepting world full of LGBTQ+ representation that goes beyond the relationship developing between Alex and Henry. Red White & Royal Blue offers a wide variety of sexualities that are seamlessly integrated into the story, while Alex’s own journey was heartwarming, hilarious and relatable.

McQuiston also takes time to remind us of historical figures that deviated from heterosexual standards through quotes in the emails between Henry and Alex, which I found was a lovely addition to the book as a whole.

This historical aspect is reflected upon by Alex, who wants to make his mark. At first this comes through as political ambition — he’s hardworking, incredibly dedicated, and arrogant. I didn’t initially like that about him, but the more I got to know him the more his character grew on me. Henry, on the other hand, captured my attention the first time he was introduced. In many ways he’s the opposite of Alex, but as they both grow together his character really comes out of his shell. However, it was Alex’s character development that was my favourite. Without spoiling too much, it was brave, cathartic and allowed him to break away and discover his own person.

The book wouldn’t be complete without the secondary characters. Nora, June and Pez are the kind of friends that make up a dream squad, whereas the more grown up characters provide structure and balance all while being incredibly entertaining to read through.

Red White & Royal Blue is very well written and easy to read. At first I was wary of how the events would unfold because I am not a massive fan of insta-love, but I found the plot to happen far more organically than I had anticipated. The glimpses into the past enrich the story and complete the characters while the incorporation of different types of media change the pace every now and then. In regards to the texts, the extra mile of effort that went into giving each character their own texting style was just the cherry on top.

Red White & Royal Blue truly had it all. It made me laugh, it made me giddy, it even made me tear up and I couldn’t put it down for the life of me. I would recommend it wholeheartedly to any readers who are the tiniest bit interested in what it’s about. Whether it’s the romance genre, or the LGBTQ+ aspect, this book does it very well