Book Review: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Genre: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance
Release Date: May 14, 2019 
Description:

"When his mother became President, Alex Claremont-Diaz was promptly cast as the American equivalent of a young royal. Handsome, charismatic, genius—his image is pure millennial-marketing gold for the White House. There's only one problem: Alex has a beef with the actual prince, Henry, across the pond. And when the tabloids get hold of a photo involving an Alex-Henry altercation, U.S./British relations take a turn for the worse.
Heads of family, state, and other handlers devise a plan for damage control: staging a truce between the two rivals. What at first begins as a fake, Instragramable friendship grows deeper, and more dangerous, than either Alex or Henry could have imagined. Soon Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret romance with a surprisingly unstuffy Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through? Casey McQuiston's Red, White & Royal Blue proves: true love isn't always diplomatic."

This was cute. I like how we got to see the development of Alex and Henry's relationship. It went from a "rivalry" to lovers, but it didn't happen instantly, which is greatly appreciated as I hate insta-love stories. Having Alex and Henry destroy the royal wedding cake that cost over 70k just seemed like a perfect way to make these two become fake friends to control the political heat that was ignited from this incident. I'm glad this fake friendship was able to develop into a genuine relationship because as the story goes on Alex begins to realize how he has no friends besides his sister and Nora. The loneliness of the two had brought them in finding comfort in each other and confiding in each other, which makes great bonding moments. 

Another thing I like about this was the diversity, not just in race, but also in sexuality. It took a while for Alex to figure out and to come to terms of his bisexuality (which many characters had an idea of except for Alex, who had remained oblivious until this moment). Although Alex had soon come to terms with his sexuality, you can tell that he struggled a bit in coming out, which was shown in how he had slowly come out to one person at a time. The fear that he and Henry faced was very well written as two prominent figures in two powerful countries created great stress on these two. As any relationship goes, there were a few bumps on the road, which I thought were resolved rather well. 

Despite all the great things that happened in the story and the great characters that it has, there were some things that I did not particularly like. I did feel that the plot was a bit slow in the middle and as someone who is not too keen on politics, I will admit, my interest kind of wavered about 3/4 of the way through the book. Thankfully, I was able to pull through. 

Overall, this was a good book for those who don't mind a bit of politics along with great LGBT representation and a diverse cast. But do keep in mind that this is a bit on the longer side, so it may not be a quick read if you're looking for that. 

Overall rating: 3.5/5