Red, White & Royal Blue: Collector's Edition: A Novel

I'll admit it took me quite a wodge of this novel to get past the fanfic-cum-slash (for want of a better way of putting it) feeling of it all, but in the end author Casey McQuiston's hyper-privileged, liberal-wet-dream protagonists won me over anyway by sheer dint of their determination to fight for what is right while still justifiably apprehensive of the consequences. There's no denying the element of escapist fantasy, but to label it as nothing more than that would do the book a disservice, since ultimately it's a story that reaffirms a lot of important stuff about being true to yourself and to those you love and care about - whether that be yourself, the person you love, your family, your friends or an entire nation. It doesn't even matter that everything you expect to happen, given the nature of the novel, does so exactly when it needs to: McQuiston makes you care about the characters and their situations, however otherwise unrelatable, and develops things at such a pace that the heart swells and skips a beat with the turn of just about every page in the end. It's like the very best sort of pop music: well-written, catchy (in this case for its characters) and with just enough to say to make you remember it after the fact. It may not do a lot that's new or innovative - unless going down the royal romance path only to take a gay turn along the way is a departure - but in its democratic dream world it never allows itself to become too frivolous, realising that it still has a powerful message at its heart that very much bears repeating. It's not perfect; it stretches credulity, even within its own fantastic remit, a little too tautly at times. But it does have important things to say, and on the whole it says them well. It's also very sexy, for which it earns bonus points, and with which it sets itself apart from most YA and indeed 'adult' fiction, which is often far more reined-in in its depiction of sex scenes. Overall, a very solid four stars.

First of all, loved the book. It’s probably overpriced for a kindle edition. I fell in love with the characters but as a British reader I couldn’t help but cringe at the blatant laziness of the research. Henry is described as being the third child of princess Catherine, first in line to her mother, Queen Mary’s throne. Therefore, her official title would be Princess of Wales. And once she is queen her ELDEST son, Philip, will adopt the title prince of Wales. However, the author seems to think Henry is the prince of Wales. And also, being the second son and third child to the first in line to the throne actually would realistically mean that the royal family wouldn’t care that he was gay, cause in the past few years they’ve updated it so that Bea actually would come before Henry in lines of succession, therefore Philip doesn’t even need to have kids. I understand that the author is trying to achieve an escapist optimistic parallel to the real events of us politics. But to actually make our royal family look worse than they are is unfair. If you want realism and optimism don’t pain other countries in parallel and more negative way. I also know is fictive. And not supposed to be representing the real royal family but if you’re going to claim it as a more optimistic and positive parallel universe for all those lost in a trump ruined country then please at least except hate REAL positivity taken from fact. It would just be a nicer read for British audiences.