Looking for something frothy and fun for Spring Break? Casey McQuiston’s debut novel Red, White and Royal Blue is the perfect light read for those of us who love celebrity gossip and US Weekly magazine.
Alex Diaz-Claremont is a college senior at Georgetown University. His best friends are his sister, June, and his ex-girlfriend, Nora. Oh, and he happens to be the son of the President of the United States, Ellen Claremont. After an embarrassing incident at the royal wedding of Prince Phillip involving Phillip’s younger brother, Prince Henry, and a $75,000 wedding cake, Alex is forced to play a game of “make nice” on an international scale.
Long-time rivals, Henry and Alex are set up on a series of photo opportunities including a trip for Henry to DC to attend Alex’s annual New Year’s Eve soiree. The party ends with a kiss…what does this mean? A series of clandestine meetings across the globe and a few “missed connections” later, the pair are an international sensation.
Any good romance novel worth its salt has to throw some obstacles in front of its lovers. In this case, those obstacles include the Queen of England and some saucy interoffice emails. Didn’t these guys learn anything from the 2016 election?
Mainstream queer books are a rarity, even today, which makes Red, White and Royal Blue really stand out from the crowd of “beach reads.” Written by a queer, non-binary author, the book feels like a real lived experience and not like a straight person’s idea of what gay romance is like. If you were glued to the royal wedding and can’t stop watching what’s happening with Kim and Kanye, this might just be the novel you’re looking for.
