From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

Red, White & Royal Blue

Casey McQuiston

Start date: September 1, 2020

Finish date: October 1, 2020

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

Why we're reading this: This will be our September 2020 read!
[close] This will be our September 2020 read!

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Book of the Month Club

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What Members Thought

Jun 10, 2019 Debra ~~ seriously slacking on her reviews ~~ rated it it was ok

Shelves: m-m, ya-or-new-adult, lgbtq, library-book, little-or-no-sex-fade-to-black

2.5 stars

Did I love it? No. Did I hate it? No, but some things didn't work. Did it live up to that crazy hype? Not for me, but it's getting representation in books out there to the mainstream and I think it will be good for those in the target older teen/20-something demographic who are ready to be introduced to reading queer romance.

Overall it's a sweet YA/NA story, with a heavy political alternate reality that throws everything and everyone at you, mostly just dropping a line or scratching the 2.5 stars

Did I love it? No. Did I hate it? No, but some things didn't work. Did it live up to that crazy hype? Not for me, but it's getting representation in books out there to the mainstream and I think it will be good for those in the target older teen/20-something demographic who are ready to be introduced to reading queer romance.

Overall it's a sweet YA/NA story, with a heavy political alternate reality that throws everything and everyone at you, mostly just dropping a line or scratching the surface of an issue, and all ends in a perfectly happy ending (view spoiler).

Had it been a bit more focused on the romance, maybe having some of Henry's POV as well, I think it would have worked better for me. It started off really slowly, reading very YA as the two who don't really know, but have poor opinions of each other, act like juveniles when they meet and are forced into a fake friendship. The romance starts up quickly and there is some stupidity, some sweetness and a lot of side story. I enjoyed their long-distance correspondence and the supportive group of friends that helped them along.

I know I'm not the target audience of the book, but it didn't really draw out the emotions I like to feel in an NA book. I also didn't quite click with the writing style, although I think I got used to it about a quarter of the way in. The scenes often cut off and quickly jumped time which occasionally had me re-reading to figure out what happened. It was also long and I found myself skimming portions. I'm not sure why this one got such a mainstream push, I could name quite a few independently published NA book that worked for me to greater effect, but again, yay for getting mainstream acclaim. I can almost see the movie deal being made now. ...more

37 likes · Like · see review

Aug 14, 2019 Astrid rated it it was amazing

Shelves: gay-romance

*sigh*
That was lovely.

5 likes · Like · see review

May 15, 2019 Didi rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-netgalley-edelweiss, romance, m-m, lqbtqia, contemporary, young-adult-new-adult, new-to-me-author, interracial-multicultural

First: look at that cute cover; isn’t it adorable!! As for the story, it’s an irresistible romcom between offspring of two powerful family that had me captivated from start to end! RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE pretty much indulged readers’ (as in ME) imagination on love story between ginger-haired English prince and an out, proud, political-aspire first son of America, by deftly taping into modern way of networking, communication, and - of course - social media. While we often read/watched stories U First: look at that cute cover; isn’t it adorable!! As for the story, it’s an irresistible romcom between offspring of two powerful family that had me captivated from start to end! RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE pretty much indulged readers’ (as in ME) imagination on love story between ginger-haired English prince and an out, proud, political-aspire first son of America, by deftly taping into modern way of networking, communication, and - of course - social media. While we often read/watched stories US president as black or woman, McQuiston upped the ante by presenting people from mixed-race as the first family. Another point on diversity without being in-your-face about it.

Revolving on the life of Alex Claremont-Diaz and Henry of Wales, RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE also chock full of lively episodes, the ups and downs made merrier by assorted supporting characters spanning from likable to dubious. As a newbie to the author’s writings and a non-regular NA reader, it was a bit of a gamble for me picking up this book but boy was it worth it!! Alex, Henry, their friends, and sisters had me on a ride I had so much fun following their escapades. The even pace, slow burn romance, and even slower secret romance between the prince and first son spanned months but flew so fast on page! I smiled, snort-laughed, sniffled, cackled, scorned, and whooped with joy along with them.

Reading this close to my own country’s general election served as eye-opener. I commend the author to employ as much as reality into the story while infusing hope and best-possible outcome to come to play. The conclusion might not be something of a surprise (although still a relief for this reader). But I was thrilled with how the author go about it. For sure after (reading) this book, I’m going to check out McQuiston’s backlist titles and [fingers crossed] relive the joy I found reading the banter, camaraderie and pleasure in RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE.

Copy of this book is given by the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 01, 2022 Stephen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, gay-seminal-works, z-read-in-2022, 9-audiobooks-com, z-read-in-2023, 9-hoopla-audio-read

With the release and the popular feedback about the movie version, I decided to re-listen to this one again. What follows below the line of stars is my first read-through.

The movie is better in some spots and worse in others. The sub-plot about a US Senator who had been mentored by Alex's dad seems to have been dropped in the film while a different sub-plot about a Politico reporter had been added.

We also get the king/queen swap which is interesting on two levels. It's possibly in recognition o With the release and the popular feedback about the movie version, I decided to re-listen to this one again. What follows below the line of stars is my first read-through.

The movie is better in some spots and worse in others. The sub-plot about a US Senator who had been mentored by Alex's dad seems to have been dropped in the film while a different sub-plot about a Politico reporter had been added.

We also get the king/queen swap which is interesting on two levels. It's possibly in recognition of King Charles taking over for QEII but it might have been fun to have Stephen Fry appear as the Queen as in the original novel. Fry has appeared in drag before. (I recall an episode of Jeeves and Wooster on British TV) It might have made an interesting point about the UKs fondness for televising men in dresses for "humour's sake."

On screen Alex is beautiful, but his height made changing all the book's short jokes necessary. The whole Paris trip wasn't really explained in the film but that wasn't a big "reach".

Overall they did a nice job in condensing what was a 12-hour audiobook into a 2-hour movie.

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Having read The Student Prince by FayJay, this isn't the first time I've read about a gay prince of the realm but this story is far far different.

First off, it's primarily centered on First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz and is much more concerned with politics and the outward trappings of the boys' positions than the Student Prince was... Plus no dragons.

Given that, this is a great rollicking romance between two royals (of a sort) and we get to see some character development amongst most of the main peripheral characters.

Listening to this as an audio book makes it even better. It's easy to get past the bits that might otherwise drag just a bit, but it isn't so complex as to require repeated rewinding & re-listening.

There are some bedroom scenes in this tale but nothing so lurid that it required my lowering the volume to save the sensibilities of my straight room-mate.

While I borrowed this one from HOOPLA, I enjoyed it enough to know that I'll definitely be listening to this one again at some time ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 20, 2019 Wendy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A much needed escape

This book just makes me happy. It made me feel hopeful. In the midst of the political mess we find ourselves in today, it’s a wonderful thing to read the opposite of a dystopian novel. A novel where good and right prevails and the trumpian Richards is defeated soundly, despite everything.

I loved Alex and Henry’s relationship so much. I loved the relationship with their siblings (okay, not Philip, but maybe he’ll come around eventually). The close-knit staff were so great. A ...more

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Jun 20, 2019 Minh rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, lgbtq

So, so, so ridiculously impossible but such a fun book to read.

Alex Claremont-Diaz is the FSOTUS (First Son of the United States), he's the golden child of the administration supporting his single mother in her presidency and he has a serious issue with his arch-nemesis Prince Henry of Wales - which ends up culminating in the pair of them destroying a £75,000 wedding cake at a royal wedding.

In order to make amends the pair are forced to pretend to a long standing friendship which becomes a dis ...more

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Jul 09, 2019 JPerceval rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary-romance, lgbtq-romance

A completely delightful frenemies-to-lovers story, set against a political backdrop that provides excellent escapism from the real political climate. I adored Alex and Henry and their smoking hot yet erudite and poignant romance.

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