Alex Claremont-Diaz, as his name suggests, is part of a mixed family— oh and that family lives in the White House. His mom, Ellen Claremont, is the first female president of the United States and his father, Oscar Diaz, is a senator. The couple split about a decade ago and Alex, in his final year of college at Georgetown, still lives at “home” in the Residence with his mom, stepfather, and older sister June who he knows is sticking around for Alex’s sake. The siblings plus Nora, the granddaughter of the Vice President, make a trio often hounded by the press which speculates that Alex and Nora are dating on and off. They’re just about a year away from the general election where President Claremont is seeking a second term and they’re all on high alert making efforts to ensure that they win. Alex throws that plan off track when he is caught “brawling” (really just falling) with a prince at the Royal Wedding, and thus demolishing a £75k cake.

Henry, the aforementioned prince covered in cake, is, much to Alex’s disgust, very much Prince Charming. Well, he’s the Prince of Wales and the youngest of three siblings, the grandchildren in line to inherit the throne from his gran, Queen Mary. He lives an ostentatious if rather sheltered life, though he has managed to become much hated by America’s First Son after their meeting at the 2016 Olympics leaves much to be desired and Alex spends years thinking of Henry as an awful prick. So, when his mother’s chief of staff insists on a gambit to distract the press from the cake fiasco and focus instead on a burgeoning friendship between them, Alex gets on a plane to put on a smile for the cameras. They’re so convincing that they might even be tricking themselves into thinking that they’re actually friends. Alex calls Henry for the first time when his life is “threatened” by a turkey named Cornbread, and the rest is history, huh?

All the stars, all my love, all my laughter & tears— this a freaking glorious book. Waiting for stories like this one is why I read so much, because these don’t come around often. At 418 pages I can safely say this is the thickest book I’ve ever (as an adult) devoured in just a weekend. I became invested in the banter between the two young men and I stayed for the incredible hope that is imbued in the last third of the book. My heart cracked open and I read the final couple of chapters through tears, not of sadness, but tears full of dreams.