Red White and Royal Blue, first book review of 2021

"History huh? Bet we could make some."

The story about Alex Claremont-Diaz, son to Ellen Claremont, president of the United States of America with his archenemies, Prince Henry of Wales who Alex absolutely cannot stand. After an international scandal threatens to destroy Britain and US relation, the plan for damage control is to stage a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince, only as Henry and Alex grow closer it threatens to upend his mother's reelection campaign as well as the two countries' future. Will the sacrifice be worth it?

A story about love, choices, bravery and to dare follow ones dreams. 

★★★

Okay first and foremost, this was essentially a fan fiction, and what I mean by that is that I have read a lot of fan fiction in my time, hell I wrote a dissertation about fan fiction, so I know what I am talking about after endless hours of research and referencing sources about hurt and comfort and yearning and gay love. Yep.

Okay.

I needed something light and funny and sweet and ridiculous, and after I said that my 2021 reading list is going to consist of more happier books and less tragedies, then, well I can at least start the year off on that promise and then look back on this one book when I derail off that completely. 

This book definitely has all my favourite tropes, enemies to friends to lovers, angst with feelings and impossible love. It's an addictive cocktail for sure and it's easy to read and get drawn into, witty and it made me roll my eyes so many times because of all the social media in-jokes and memes it contains. There were lots of references to my man Hamilton of course, addictive looking at Justin Trudeau speaking french, all the Star Wars talks, nerdery and name dropping of celebraties at parties. It was ridiculously millennial, I felt like it took a look at a snappy alter ego of mine that consist in a parallel universe, because this book contains all my social media lingo and jokes and it was entertaining for sure to see it reflected back in such a hilarious manner. 

Henry is also essentially me, he's apparently a pisces, hello social anxious nerd, an english lit student and in love with Star Wars, it sums me up pretty well. 

This book definitely wasn't life changing, but they don't have to be. Queer romance books that get to be ridiculously romantic and positive and happy are rare, I'm so happy we get to have something like this, it's too unusual to this day.  

I just need to mention this book has smut, like not totally explicit smut, but definitely mature smut and a lot of F bombs get dropped in this. It surprised me and I am a little shocked it was allowed to be published. 

But I must say this about it, the optimism of this, the politics and the diversity and representation of this book, written just after the 2016 election when the orange disgrace of a human being got elected to office, as a way of showing everyone different that it's okay, that the world is not perfect, but it's possible to have a world in which the first son of America can be half Mexican and bisexual, where he has a bi best friend called Nora who is whip smart but also hilarious, a staff member be a transgender woman married to a pansexual woman, where there is the first elected gay senator also of Mexican decent, where princes can be gay and families accepting of you is beautiful and amazing and never impossible, even in this world, that spoke to me for sure. 

It's totally pretentious too and sometimes a little shallow but it has some depth beneath all that, once it gets really going and I was obviously rooting for the lovers to overcome the struggles and be happy together. 

It took me three days to read it so it was consuming because it was so easy to read as well as just really funny and emotional and sweet. A good book to start the year off for sure.