Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Summary: What happens when America’s First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales? 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. True love isn’t always diplomatic.

It’s rare that I bother to review adult fiction books, but this one was so delightful that I had to! Everything about this book just sucked me in and kept me reading late into the night, rooting for Alex and Henry and their unlikely romance. I loved those two adorably geeky cinnamon rolls (I mean, come on, they write each other emails quoting great love letters by historical figures!). I loved all of the secondary characters, especially June and Nora, and the way all the messy, intertwined relationships fueled the plot. And, let’s be real, the alternate reality aspect wherein the appearance of unethical behavior in the White House might actually make a candidate lose votes was refreshing. I read this book while on vacation, in great gulps, and it was everything my exhausted, embittered soul needed. It’s more than a compelling story; this book, right now, is downright therapeutic.

RED, WHITE, AND ROYAL BLUE is out now.

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