I'm not usually a fan of romances, especially generic contemporary romances. My typical go-to genres are sci-fi and fantasy. But Red, White & Royal Blue took me by surprise.

A coming-of-age story written with an adult reader backdrop, this book felt like something new. It felt written for me and the other queer people like me who feel like wrestling with their identity partially hinges on how other people see them.

Additionally: CLAREMONT FOR PRESIDENT!! The last quarter of the book, I was on the edge of my seat, completely invested in the election and the drama surrounding it.

I found myself cheering at 4 in the morning when I finished and there was to be a second term for President Claremont.

I'll say what I usually do - was this the best book I've ever read? No, but it didn't have to be.

That all being said, I do have some things I didn't like, starting with the politics. I found the British-American relations to be a bit dry, and it felt under-researched for 90% of the book. I get that the relationship between Alex and Henry had to have some tension to it beyond just the standard homophobia prevalent in our society, but I didn't find that part of the story to be intriguing, just sort of annoying.

I also am not the biggest fan of McQuiston's writing. This isn't a "I think Casey McQuiston is a bad writer," but rather a "I'm not the biggest fan of their writing." I truly do think that this writing is the perfect style for some people, but like I had mentioned earlier, I tend to gravitate more to sci-fi and fantasy, and I think the writing styles play a large part in that. Contemporary romances just aren't my cup of tea, but this book serves its purpose as a light, fluffy read that I will probably come back to when I need the warm and fuzzies surrounding a relationship I can get behind.

All in all, this was a good book. Will I reread it? Probably sometime down the line. Do I recommend it? Yeah! I think most people will probably find themselves invested, but I don't think it's for everyone. There were times I wanted to put it down, but I'm glad I pushed through and made it to the end, and I think most other readers would probably agree.

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