C-
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, New Adult, Romance
Theme: Enemies to Lovers, Fake Relationship, Political
Archetype: Diverse Protagonists, Royalty
Reading Red, White & Royal Blue is an excellent reminder about why a couple’s chemistry isn’t the only thing that matters in a romance. This book has received positive buzz, and for good reason: the enemies-to-lovers romance is swoonworthy, the banter is witty and laugh-out-loud funny, and the epistolary aspect is a delightful surprise. Despite how much I enjoyed the relationship between Alex (the son of the American president) and Henry (a British prince), there was a persistent itch that I couldn’t quite scratch. My qualms can be attributed to two sources:
- Third person POV in the present tense.
Everyone has different opinions when it comes to tense, and I’ve never thought that I was a reader with tense limitations. But third person present is uncommon in romance. Every once in a while, an awkward phrasing (not inherently awkward, but awkward to me as I’m not used to it) yanked me out of the text. Every sentence was a constant reminder that I couldn’t get immersed in the book. In my favorite romances, I get so lost in the text that I forget about time and space entirely. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen here and it’s due entirely to the POV/tense choices.
- 2016 Election AU/Fantasy Politics
Whether you love this book is 100% dependent on your ability to get lost in an escapist fantasy AU and not let today’s grim political reality affect your enjoyment.
Let me explain: before I started this book, I assumed that the setting would take in some political AU like The West Wing. In other words, 2019 fictional politics with no recognizable figures and an alternate fictional political history for the past forty years (in The West Wing, for example, the last “real” president is Richard Nixon. They make up fake presidents — albeit with similarities to Nixon’s successors — to fill in the worldbuilding).
I was wrong. This is an AU of extremely recent American politics, and that hindered my enjoyment of the entire book.
CW/TW: forced outing of m/m relationship; discussion of parental death, grief, depression, drug usage, and suicide.
As I was reading, this is what I uncovered about the world-building:
- The last “real” president is Barack Obama, and his term ended in 2016. His VP was definitely Joe Biden. His successor is Alex’s mom, a fictional Texas Democrat and former Speaker of the House (was she Speaker when she ran? Unknown, but clearly Pelosi doesn’t exist and/or the Republicans didn’t have House majority during Obama’s presidency. She was the Speaker in 2014, so Democrats must have had House majority in fictional 2014).
- It is unknown if Donald Trump exists or if he was the Republican opponent in 2016. It is unknown whether Hillary Clinton ran for president. It is known that the Clintons exist (the name Clinton is mentioned exactly once when Alex thinks about how the Clintons and Kennedys “shielded the First Offspring from the press,” but Hillary is not named). Comparatively speaking, the other former presidents are mentioned more often and with insights about their political legacy. Obama, for example, is mentioned eight times and is one of Alex’s political heroes.
- There are fictional politicians, including: 1) Senator Rafael Luna (I-Colorado), 2) Senator Oscar Diaz (D-California), 3) Senator Stanley Connor (I-DE), and 4) Senator Jeffrey Richards (R-Utah), whose family has dominated Utah politics and is the president’s opponent in the 2020 election. This would imply that one of the “real” senators of those states doesn’t exist (e.g., either Orrin Hatch or Mike Lee of Utah doesn’t exist; I’m ignoring Mitt Romney as he wasn’t a senator in 2016).
- There are also “real” political and public figures, including: Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Justin Trudeau of Canada, Emmanuel Macron of France (elected after 2016), Anderson Cooper, Ronan Farrow, Roxane Gay, and more.
Everything above is fine. It makes perfect sense to keep “real” figures in a political AU to ground the reader into the worldbuilding. The problem is this: it would be a massive understatement to say that I am displeased by the current administration. And every single time the book brought up “real” figures, my mind responded with sadness and rage because it was too close to the reality I struggle with daily.
I’m simply not in the mental state where I can immerse myself in an escapist fantasy of something that is currently happening. Any attempt to ground the book in current politics just made my brain swivel to despair. It’s possible that I might have loved this book had I read it ten years from now, with 2016 being a distant memory. But right now, it’s too close to reality for me to accept it as a fantasy AU.
And maybe this is the Government major in me, but I was irritated at trying to figure out what was real and what was fake. So if there’s a fictional senator in California, which of the “real” senators (Harris or Feinstein) doesn’t exist? I don’t know! Brexit is mentioned once briefly. Does that mean that it succeeded? Or did it also fail in this fantasy as Henry never talks about it? There is a brief mention of the Labour Party having enough power to do [redacted spoilery thing], so does that mean they’re in power now and Brexit never happened? I don’t know! Macron is the leader of France. His election happened post-2016, so doesn’t that mean the election rhetoric/circumstances would be vastly different if Brexit didn’t pass? I don’t know! What the hell is real or fake anymore? My brain kept on whirling, trying to pinpoint and understand every post-2016 reference that was casually referenced.
The absolute worst tug-into-reality happens toward the end of the book.
Alex and Henry get outed when someone leaks compromising photos and their romantic emails to the press. How did this leak happen? It turns out that Alex is using a private email server (his mom’s private email server in the White House), and that server gets hacked. That’s right. Fucking private email servers. Look, I’ve already lived through “But her emails!!!” once. I didn’t want to relive it again in an escapist fantasy. Adding on to the fact that I really am not a fan of the involuntary outing subplot, the emails were just an extra cherry on top of my irritation.
I overlooked a lot in an attempt to indulge the fantasy. Like how there is no such thing as a “prince of England.” Or what ridiculous caricatures the Queen and Henry’s older brother are. Or how Alex has so few agents (2?) on his security detail, and how no one else in the security team found out about the relationship. Or how three young adults have so much power and political influence on the campaign. I forgave all this because I adored the couple, but I simply could not get past the constant reminder of what really happened in 2016 and how, for me, the alternate reality did not mesh at all well with the remnants of actual reality present in the story.
The author’s note explains why she chose to write this 2016 AU.
I came up with the idea for this book on an I-10 off-ramp in early 2016, and I never imagined what it would turn out to be. I mean, at that point I couldn’t imagine what 2016 itself would turn out to be. Yikes. For months after November, I gave up on writing this book. Suddenly what was supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek parallel universe needed to be escapist, trauma-soothing, alternate-but-realistic reality. Not a perfect world—one still believably fucked up, just a little better, a little more optimistic. I wasn’t sure I was up to the task. I hoped I was. What I hoped to do, and what I hope I have done with this book by the time you’ve finished it, my dear reader, is to be a spark of joy and hope you needed.
I know many readers will love — and have loved — this book. Alas, I’m not one of them: I nitpick, not only because worldbuilding is paramount to me, but because I majored in Government (and my subfield was in American politics!).
For those who can let themselves escape and not worry too much about the details, Red, White & Royal Blue will be a balm and you’re going to adore Henry and Alex (I definitely did). Unfortunately, I couldn’t immerse myself in the political worldbuilding and it prevented me from loving the book.
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The political fantasy aspect didn’t bother me as much as the errors. The author and the American protagonist kept referring to “Wales”, as in “the prince of”, when the gentleman had 1. a living older brother and 2. a mother who preceded both of them in the succession to the throne. That’s not how it works and a little research goes a long way. Prince William is the Duke of Cambridge and his brother Harry is the Duke of Sussex and neither of them had those titles until they were adults.
Having said all that, I still gave it a good rating because I was caught up in the story. Sometimes love does conquer all, even moments in the book that yank you out of the narrative.[g]
Omg this is a great, and super helpful, review. Thank you!
I had the literal exact opposite feeling about the political AU of this world. It was exactly what I needed right now. The worldbuilding worked so well for me and the author note was spot on for me, this was escapist and trauma soothing for me. The email server part worked really well for me as well.
The part that gave me pause was the part under the spoiler tag (so I don’t want to address it directly). That was my only issue that I wish was handled differently.
What really got me was the decision to name Prince Henry’s elder siblings Philip and Beatrice! Prince Philip exists, and is 97, and if he doesn’t exist, then Philip is probably not a name that will be used by the British Royal Family. Princess Beatrice also exists.
Also Prince Harry is in fact a Henry. And the aforementioned detail that Henry should be Prince Henry of Wales (as, ahem, Harry was from 1984 to 2018)
I admit I never really got into it, because I felt like the reason they were enemies didn’t make sense: it was 90% Alex, with additional ‘causing fights at royal weddings’ to tip the scale away from liking him.
I have a catnip of Political Romances/Romances set in politics, and it needs to be more than “daughter of a senator”. So if there are any recs for ones that are well done?
I’ve read most of the rogue anthologies, Adriana Anders Loving the Secret Billionaire, Tal Bauer’s Enemies of the State Series (Banana pants!!), Chanel Cleeton’s Capitol Confessions & K A Linde’s Record Series.
Always looking for more.
I approached this book with a lot of trepidation. For one thing, I tend to avoid anything that has to do with politics (our timeline is dark enough already), especially in romance novels.
But, so many of my friends had read and loved this book that I decided to give it a try.
It’s totally an escapist fantasy from the 2016 elections and handwaves a lot of the real world politics. FWIW, I didn’t mind the fantasy aspects and, though the thing you highlighted in the spoiler section was a hard turn, I ended up loving this book.
To me, it’s super fascinating to see the reasons why this book doesn’t resonate for some. Thank you for your review.
In the end, it’s not a perfect book (I’d give it a B), but it’s deffo one of the most pleasant book surprises this year.
@Jayne: We have tags for politicians and political in our database. You might have to search through a bunch to find something you want though. If you can’t find the links, you know how to find me! I can send them to you directly.
Political romances (m/m from Dreamspinner Press):
“Diplomacy” by Zahra Owens
“The President’s Husband” by Michael Murphy
“Condor One” (same titled series) by John Simpson
“The Senator’s Secret” by K.C. Wells
“Run” by Annie Kaye
“Favorite Son” by Will Freshwater
I really enjoyed this book because I loved the political fantasy aspect. I did not notice the tense until I was almost finished with the book. I did notice things like not enough security and wrong titles for royals but it wasn’t enough to make me dislike the book, just to move it from a B+ to a B. The romance book club I attend just did this as our July book and we had literally 3 times more people than normal and everyone enjoyed it.
I’m really glad that y’all enjoyed the book even though it didn’t work for me. It’s a debut that deserves praise, and I understand why so many of you adore it. I’ll definitely check out McQuiston’s next book, even though the 3rd POV/present tense isn’t my favorite.
@Jayne:
1) The Future Chosen by Mina V. Esguerra.
I haven’t read the book, but MVE is one of my favorite authors. The author describes it as “fictional southeast Asian country + law banning political dynasties + two rising stars in politics who are in love but can’t be together.”
It is currently free on Amazon until July 21.
2) The Queen’s Game by Carla de Guzman
I reviewed the sequel Stealing Luna for SBTB, but I really enjoyed The Queen’s Game as well. It is royalty romance in a fictional SEA country near the Philippines, but politics is intertwined as the royals have political power.
3) Coffee Boy by Austin Chant
Setting is at political campaign office; workplace dynamics with intern and campaign strategist. Trans MC.
4) Emma Barry’s trilogy of political books: Special Interests, Private Politics, and Party Lines. I’ve stayed away from the last one as it’s a Republican/Democrat romance and I’m not in the mood for that, but the first two feature union organizer/political strategist and political blogger/socialite involved in non-profits.
I’m sure there are many more, but these are the ones that came first to mind.
Reading this review made me think of The Royal We which I read over my recent vacation and pulls off the politics AU in a very convincing way. There were points I would note, oh, so that’s how this royal family works but it never jarred me from the story.
I don’t think I’ll read this one, but a really great review.
Normally I don’t care if people don’t feel the way I do about a book, but this book was the mental and emotional balm I’ve needed for years and it’s extremely close to my heart. So, respectfully, I’m going to completely and utterly disagree with your review of it. This book is an A+, 5-star, desert island keeper for me; I’m actually on my second read of it since it came out, because I just can’t even with anything else. Maybe down the road it won’t age so well because it is so strongly contemporary in events and cultural references, but it is precisely what is needed at this terrible point in time.
The third person present POV definitely bugged me a lot at first (it read like a magazine, which after looking into Casey Mcquiston makes sense), but I eventually got used to it. I also had some trouble with the prince of England thing as well as calling Henry the Prince of Wales when very obviously as a second son this would not be the title. I just figured that in this AU things were a little different in English history as well as our own.
I enjoyed the idea that we did get a female president in 2016 and that the democrats defeated the fear and hatred of our current real world. It is pure escapism and I loved it. My favorite parts were definitely the emails/texts sent between Alex and Henry. You get more of their personalities in these letters than in other parts of the book, especially when it comes to Henry as the POV is all Alex. Their post scrips, where they quoted historical LGBT+ people was the perfect touch that I didn’t even know I needed.
I will admit that I was constantly anxious over their HEA because I doubted that they would get one. The way Henry feared his family’s reaction made me very tense even in the moments when I was laughing at the banter (the turkey scenes had me cackling with laughter), so I was on edge the entire time I was reading. For the first time ever I re-read a book within days of finishing it because I knew I’d be able to relax and enjoy it more on a second read through and I didn’t want to wait 6 months or longer to go back to that universe.
I THOUGHT there were some innacuracies about the Royals but I just dismissed them because I know absolutely nothing about the royal family and I assumed that a person who bothered to write a whole book about them would know–more than that?
Personally I was frustrated by the last third of the book in which it transforms from a romantic comedy to an endless escapist fantasy (that clearly worked for some people!). All of the bad guys were SO BAD, and all of the good guys were SO GOOD. It was really dull for me.
A correction to my earlier comment on names and titles: Both the current princes in our world used “Wales” as a surname while they were in school and military. One could say that technically it’s not their surname, but it wasn’t incorrect for Alex to call Henry “Wales” in their correspondence if that was what Henry used. However, it still stands that Henry would not be the Prince _of_ Wales as the back cover copy claimed.
I still thought it was a good read.[g]
Part of me is just really tickled this book got published. It’s so clearly Prince Harry RPS that managed to get picked up.
Great review, Aarya! I really wanted to love this one and while I did love a lot about it, the spoiler plot choice toward the end really wrecked my enjoyment. (This really needs to stop being a thing in queer lit.) I had been able to overlook a lot of the political inaccuracies up to that point but then they became glaring.
I’m am somewhat relieved that I am not the only one irritated by the mistakes about British politics. Overall I was able to just decide fictional US and fictional “England” and I liked it enough for what it did do well, but it is definitely a scenario where I imagine its more enjoyable if you aren’t there because international politics is your jam.
I felt pretty much the opposite way about the political content. I only started reading romance a couple of years ago, and it was directly because I wanted some escapism from our current awful political climate. It helps my anxiety to have happy ending books to retreat to when the news gets to be too much. So for me, the “imagine if it was now, but good” fully worked. I cried buckets for the last few scenes of the book especially. So it depends on the reader! (Also, the romance is the SWOONIEST.)
THANK YOU for this review. I’m so traumatized by current politics I know I won’t be able to lose myself in this book. I too wish there were NO references to recent real-world anything or anyone, because any time I hear “Barack Obama” I get hit with a wave of PTSD about the political universe we were plunged into after he left office. (I can do magical handwaving in paranormal and urban fantasy books; I have a harder time in contemporary ones, and factual errors do make me cranky.)
I’m taking my library hold off this book; God willing I’ll be able to read and enjoy it in January, 2021!
After reading a lot of positive stuff about this book I read it last week and I had the exact same thoughts!!
I ended up skimming the second half. Would have loved it if it was just the romance in a more-different political setting.
Gret review, Aarya! I think the reasons you didn’t like it are the opposite of mine—I didn’t mind the escapist fantasy so much as I found the world building lazy. The British side especially felt lazy to me, like the author just had her assumptions and ran with it.
Every person in the book outside Alex and Henry (I love Henry and I think he deserves better than Alex gasp) feels flat and dull and exists soley for Alex’s purposes. The amount of the kids’ political power was weird, and I couldn’t get into Alex’s I Am A Good Politician Mask when he acts like a spoiled arse most of the time.
I guess I was just disappointed in this book, overall.
I totally agree about the 3rd person! It drove me nuts the whole way through and for me that made the writing of the whole book feel clunky, so I never got fully sucked in the way I wanted to. I also felt like there were too many side characters that didn’t get fleshed out. I would have liked to see the author spend more time really developing the main characters, rather than having a bunch of side characters that show up for a scene or two and disappear. I only gave it 2 stars, but since it’s a debut I’m hoping the next book she writes will be better in terms of writing.
I just read Hope Never Dies, a mystery novel where Biden and Obama solve a murder after they’re retired, or whatever you want to call no longer being president and vice president. In many ways I really enjoyed it, but in the end, I wish the author had used fictional characters. It felt like an invasion of privacy and kind of a cheap marketing trick.
This book made my gut wrench in all the ways you so aptly described in your review. Even still, I was able to mostly set aside that heartache and enjoy the hilarious prose and the crackling romance between the two leads… that is, until about 75% of the way through the book, at which point something happens that made me sick to my stomach in a whole new way.
I won’t spoil the specifics for those planning to read it, but suffice to say, it’s a plot trope that’s still unfortunately common in queer romances. And who knows, maybe it didn’t even bother most readers, which is okay! But it bothered me so much that it changed my whole relationship to the book, to the point that I want to warn people about it, especially other queer readers, before they get invested in the story.
All that said, I really did enjoy most of it, and there were parts and passages that just made my jaw drop for how well they were written. Especially the letters. Wow, those were just AMAZING. But still.
As an Australian the US political stuff (apart from wishing this universe exists) didn’t bother me at all because obviously I have no flipping clue who the senators from California are supposed to be etc. But that’s fine i’m Sure Americans can’t name the member for bennelong
I was more bugged about the British royal family world building as a someone massively into British history.
So overall the romance won out for me and I read this in an afternoon
However I do agree the final part was the weakest as we ended up veering into twirly mustachioed tie the damsel to the railway tracks villain territory and it felt out of place with the rest of the book!
Thanks for the recs everyone! Some of them look perfect for my particular niche interests.
@Amanda I’ve finally figured out how to use the Tags/Theme thinger and have the link saved 😀 I’ll holler if I need more :D!
Oh, for those looking for more political romance, the brand-new Jasmine Guillory features a political aide in it.
@JayneChanger
An older book that I really enjoyed was Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s First Lady which came out in 2000. I don’t know how well it’s stood the test of time, but you’d definitely have to treat it as AU if you read it now. Still it’s one of my favorites by SEP.
Molly O’Keefe’s My Wicked Prince might also tickle your fancy. It’s focused on a tiny imaginary European kingdom, but the issues are very contemporary.
@Shem – It’s not just that I can’t name the member for bennelong, it’s that I’m 65% certain “member for bennelong” is a sexual euphemism. #uglyAmerican #everythingsoundssexierinAustralian
I had heard good buzz about this book, but no one mentioned there would be so much current US politics. Deal breaker for me. I need escapism.
A good AU British royal family is in Rachel Hawkins ROYALS (reissued as PRINCE CHARMING). She is a history nerd and hilarious human. Podcast interview with her https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast/338-were-all-unlikeable-heroines-now-an-interview-with-rachel-hawkins/
Third person present tense nearly did me in. I was hyper aware of it the whole book. I kept thinking there must have been some error in formatting the book. Not a fan!
That said – I really liked the story. I’m new to m/m and emails between them were my favorite part. I’m not a political junkie so those details didn’t bother me much. The essence of the story was lovely, inclusive and fun.
Most of these are on the old side, but I enjoyed all of these books which either had a lead character who was an elected official or was set in politics in some way.
Five O’Clock Shadow by Genie Davis
Sweet Hush by Deborah Smith
Playing with Fire by Kate Meader
More Than Love Letters by Rosy Thornton
Sweet Rewards by Melinda McRae (probably out of print)
Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie
Night Swimming by Laura Moore
@Sandlynn Perfect Recs. super interested in the UK Set one (As that’s where I’m from originally).
I’ve read the Kate Meader one and Yeeeeeeeeeesssssssss I want all the grumpy sexy Mayors!!
@PamG Love it. I’ve read books 4,5,6 of that Series so it’ll be fun to revisit Wynette!
I know I’m late to the comments, but I think this would also be a C- or a D for me. The lazy world building around the royals was one reason as was the spoiler, but the technology aspect (trying not to be a spoiler) didn’t seem realistic at all (like they wouldn’t be savvy enough to realize the tech weaknesses in their positions? I don’t buy it.) Lastly the extreme bias was hard to swallow. I am NOT a fan of the current administration, but all Republicans are evil and Democrats are the only good guys was shallow (and again, lazy). To me it felt like slightly lazy 2016 Prince Harry fan fiction. Wanted to love it but really really didn’t.
Maaaaaybeeeee, in 25 years a new generation, who only know Trump happened and not so much the details, this will be retro cool to a new generation of readers who wont struggle with that aspect?
I don’t mind alternate history fiction. I did mind Alex. He seemed awfully immature and un-self-aware for someone of his age and background. I just couldn’t care about him.
I’ve just read this. Late, but chiming in to agree with HeatherS. I wasn’t bothered by the US politics issues as not American. The inaccuracies about the British royal family were slightly weird (especially the names thing mentioned by Irene Headley) but I could put them aside. The tense thing usually annoys me a lot but I think the book was in so many ways utterly silly and joyous that somehow the tense worked. Really lovely book. Particulrly liked the President’s powerpoints – yes, completely unbelievable.
I wish I had read this review before I bought the book! I’m two pages in and the 3rd person present is driving me nuts. I came here to read a review, hoping that maybe the tense changes at some point but I guess not. I will try a little longer, but why make this weird choice? Haven’t we established that past tense is the best for story telling? I can handle first person present, but this just makes me want to edit it because it feels like someone somehow messed up their verbs.
Still in search of the right book for this stressful week!