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A review by orcamagicka
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
UPDATED REVIEW 2023: 3.75 stars
This time I listened to the audiobook, my preferred format, and had a more enjoyable experience. The narrator did a very good job.
It’s still hard for me to rate this because there’s the romance aspect alongside the politics. The audiobook I listened to is based on the original edition, which has since been edited and revised by the author to take out some of the more problematic content, especially the comments about Israel and Netanyahu. I’m very glad the author made those changes and is listening to their audience, and is also supportive of Palestinian liberation.
The romance was enjoyable, not my absolute favorite ship, but still cute. I also liked Alex a lot more this read and surprisingly related to him a lot. Henry as always is a sweetie. <3
Considering the reasoning and time period this was written, which was at the end of the Obama era of optimism and the beginning of the Trump administration, a lot of the way politics is represented makes sense. If this book were written now during the Biden administration I believe the writing would have had a very different tone and different handling of politics. Especially with the current waves of transphobic legislation, literary censorship, threats to reproductive healthcare, education censorship, and the US funded genocide of Palestinians, all occurring under a liberal Democrat administration. Even with the revisions to the new editions of RWRB, the story is very much a product of its time and the level of optimism and wishful thinking doesn’t hold up in my opinion. In the end, we cannot depend on elected officials to help us regardless of their platform. We only have fellow members of our community and ourselves that we can depend on.
Old Review from 2020: 2.75 stars
Oh lord I’m going to be crucified...
I don’t this this is a bad book, but I was greatly disappointed in many aspects. For one this book marketed itself as enemies to lovers yet the main characters kiss nearly 80 pages in to this 400+ page book, so tad disappointed but I don’t fully blame the story. Just wished it could have evolved slower with less out-of-the-blue vague sex scenes. I feel the book was way too long for a plot like this. There were many parts in the middle that began to sag and it could have easily been cut down to improve the pacing.
Obviously this is a romance novel, but since it centered around politics I have to criticize it for the way it handles that topic. The book was written after the 2016 election (god help us all) so I can understand why the story felt like a very optimistic and unrealistic look at American politics since it was a coping mechanism for the author. However the story feels very “white liberal” and there were many moments in the book where I felt frustrated or unsympathetic for the characters (except Henry, LOVED him). I absolutely did NOT like the president/Alex’s mother despite the fact she’s supposed to be likable. She’s the pinnacle of the “girl boss” trope. A female “feminist” character that aims for power at the cost of other people. The story also tries to take a very black and white approach to the climate between Democrats vs Republicans (with Democrats = good and Republicans = bad), when historically speaking BOTH parties have their fair share in blood and inflicting or flat out ignoring the suffering of BIPOC, queers, and disabled people. Needless to say it was hard to focus on the romance with how uncomfortable I felt at certain times.
A lot of the side characters also felt a bit flat and could have been developed more. At many times I had a hard time remembering which characters were which.
I did appreciate the British slander though! That shit was hilarious (no offense to any Brits reading this). I have a huge feeling that the way British politics/monarchy were portrayed was probably also very inaccurate but can’t say for sure. The final scene in the book was the saving grace for my review because I will admit it did make me tear up a bit. Not my favorite queer story but I can understand why some people like it.
This time I listened to the audiobook, my preferred format, and had a more enjoyable experience. The narrator did a very good job.
It’s still hard for me to rate this because there’s the romance aspect alongside the politics. The audiobook I listened to is based on the original edition, which has since been edited and revised by the author to take out some of the more problematic content, especially the comments about Israel and Netanyahu. I’m very glad the author made those changes and is listening to their audience, and is also supportive of Palestinian liberation.
The romance was enjoyable, not my absolute favorite ship, but still cute. I also liked Alex a lot more this read and surprisingly related to him a lot. Henry as always is a sweetie. <3
Considering the reasoning and time period this was written, which was at the end of the Obama era of optimism and the beginning of the Trump administration, a lot of the way politics is represented makes sense. If this book were written now during the Biden administration I believe the writing would have had a very different tone and different handling of politics. Especially with the current waves of transphobic legislation, literary censorship, threats to reproductive healthcare, education censorship, and the US funded genocide of Palestinians, all occurring under a liberal Democrat administration. Even with the revisions to the new editions of RWRB, the story is very much a product of its time and the level of optimism and wishful thinking doesn’t hold up in my opinion. In the end, we cannot depend on elected officials to help us regardless of their platform. We only have fellow members of our community and ourselves that we can depend on.
Old Review from 2020: 2.75 stars
Oh lord I’m going to be crucified...
I don’t this this is a bad book, but I was greatly disappointed in many aspects. For one this book marketed itself as enemies to lovers yet the main characters kiss nearly 80 pages in to this 400+ page book, so tad disappointed but I don’t fully blame the story. Just wished it could have evolved slower with less out-of-the-blue vague sex scenes. I feel the book was way too long for a plot like this. There were many parts in the middle that began to sag and it could have easily been cut down to improve the pacing.
Obviously this is a romance novel, but since it centered around politics I have to criticize it for the way it handles that topic. The book was written after the 2016 election (god help us all) so I can understand why the story felt like a very optimistic and unrealistic look at American politics since it was a coping mechanism for the author. However the story feels very “white liberal” and there were many moments in the book where I felt frustrated or unsympathetic for the characters (except Henry, LOVED him). I absolutely did NOT like the president/Alex’s mother despite the fact she’s supposed to be likable. She’s the pinnacle of the “girl boss” trope. A female “feminist” character that aims for power at the cost of other people. The story also tries to take a very black and white approach to the climate between Democrats vs Republicans (with Democrats = good and Republicans = bad), when historically speaking BOTH parties have their fair share in blood and inflicting or flat out ignoring the suffering of BIPOC, queers, and disabled people. Needless to say it was hard to focus on the romance with how uncomfortable I felt at certain times.
A lot of the side characters also felt a bit flat and could have been developed more. At many times I had a hard time remembering which characters were which.
I did appreciate the British slander though! That shit was hilarious (no offense to any Brits reading this). I have a huge feeling that the way British politics/monarchy were portrayed was probably also very inaccurate but can’t say for sure. The final scene in the book was the saving grace for my review because I will admit it did make me tear up a bit. Not my favorite queer story but I can understand why some people like it.