When I saw "Red, White, and Royal Blue" available for request from NetGalley, I was intrigued but it wasn't until I saw the book pop up on several 'Must Read for the Summer' lists that I knew I had to get my hands on it. From the publisher's summary alone I knew it was going to be one of the most talked about books of the year.
"What happens when America's First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales?"
Um, sign me the EFF UP! Does that not sound like the most intriguing book of all time? Because I think it does and I read it in one sitting. Well, I read it in two sittings but I started it on Mother's Day, read a few chapters and then finished more than 90% of the book the next day. Once I started reading this and became invested in the characters, I could not stop.
The book is pure fiction -- the Royal Family in the book is not anything like the Royal Family we currently know and love. The First Family is nothing like any other First Family we've had -- it doesn't even seem loosely based on anyone in history, it is pure fiction and I love it that way. It was as if I were living in another dimension. However, there were one or two mentions of Obama as the current President, Ellen Claremont (yes, the first female president) won the 2016 election, and now the book takes place during the 2020 election.
The novel is told in the First Son's POV, Alex Claremont Diaz... the first Mexican-American First Son. His parents are divorced and he lives in the White House with his mother and sister, June... as well as the Vice President's granddaughter, Nora. They're referred to as the White House Trio and honestly, I wish I was their friend because they seem like they have a lot of fun.
We're introduced to Alex as a carefree, playboy who has his sights set on becoming a politician, helping his mother win the 2020 election and working on her campaign. The one character trait that we see immediately is that Alex has a true hatred for the Prince of England, Henry. He despises him with every fiber of his being and that is where the story begins.
While we know that the two are going to fall in love before the story starts, it's very interesting to see how it takes place. The hatred is so strong from Alex's POV that you can borderline feel the sexual tension through the pages. The way that the relationship comes together is very innocent -- after a bit of an international disaster, Alex and Henry are forced to showoff their friendship instead of the bitterness that the public saw -- the friendship eventually blossoms into something more, much to the surprise of Alex.
The story rolls on and there is a lot of secrecy as well as familial issues that come along with the relationship. While I can't speak to the LGBT issues that the book touches on, I do think it did a good job at rounding out the story and not making it a true fairytale.
As I mentioned before, I read this book in less than 24 hours. I could not put it down because I simply needed to know how everything was going to play out. I wanted to see how Alex and Henry's relationship was going to develop and play out... and what would happen when/if the world found out about it.
It was a beautiful love story and touched really nicely on politics without getting too indepth or too political; I loved the marriage of American and English customs/protocol. It was just an incredibly endearing book that I think everyone would really enjoy. It's a modern love story, one that seems outlandish but at the same time, could actually happen. It was just so good.
Do you think you're going to read "Red, White, and Royal Blue"?
xoxo
B
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