Reviews

Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

hausofben's review against another edition

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5.0

As a gay man, it dawned on me somewhere in the middle of this novel that I never got to experience any of the sappy, feel-good love stories with characters like me that heterosexual people get to experience. Most popular gay love stories are pseudo-trauma porn or some type of constant reminder of our second-class status on the social hierarchy. This novel is now one of my favorites ever because of the sole reason that it brought me pure, unbridled joy from beginning to end. It made me so emotional to experience. The dialogue is fantastic. The cultural references are spot on. The political drama is compelling. But most of all, this is a damn good love story. I cared deeply for both of them and wanted nothing more than for them to be together forever. I can’t recommend this book enough. It is a perfect escape from the craziness of the world we live in now.

listener15's review against another edition

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5.0

Stars: 5 Stars
Format: Print
Steam Level: Steamy

I picked this up because so many of my friends read it, adored it, and sung its praises. I am beyond glad they did. LOVED THIS. I rated this Steamy because it doesn’t fade to black but it also is not explicit in details. Almost like The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory where it’s not that went there but you definitely know he went down on him.

Quick Thoughts:
- Really liked the two main characters. They were both adorable, annoying at times, relatable (even with one being the a prince and the other the son of POTUS), and funny
- Side characters were AMAZING. I do love a book where I want books of the side characters
- I laughed out loud in so many spots that I ended up putting it down late at night so I wouldn’t wake my wife with my laughing
- Interesting mix of Real Life politics and made up. If it hadn’t been for my friends loving this I probably would have put it down though. What could have been if people hadn’t voted for a Russian backed hate loving racist was hard to read at times
- Cried in two spots. First was after everything went down and Alex was in England (LOVED LOVED LOVED Catherine and Bea and “Never tell me the odds.”) Second was election night. It brought back memories of sitting by myself at home because my wife was in Afghanistan two months into a continuous 8 months stint and being terrified for her, my friends, my family, and people I didn’t even know. (Oh look I was right to be scared.) This brought all of those feelings up. Thank god this was a romance and, again, friends I trusted loved this or I probably couldn’t have gotten through it
- The romance between Alex and Henry was so sweet and was a joy to watch them work it out
- A little slow in spots and I wasn’t over the moon for the last scene, but I loved the rest of the book so much I could overlook it

Overall a wonderfully delightful book that you should definitely give a try. I see why it keeps getting recommended! Pick it up!

gingermegs's review against another edition

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hopeful fast-paced

4.0

matinar's review against another edition

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4.0

I suppose I liked it more than I should have because of the place where I'm at having read this book. But the story wasn't that great, even though it was for sure entertaining and cute af

r_yeakel's review against another edition

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5.0

This book was just so fun. Nothing serious or intense, just fluffy and fun. There was a nice dash of political snark thrown in for good measure. The spicy scenes were well written without being particularly graphic. Representation on this book was awesome- female President, Latino senators, trans women, various LGBTQ identities, different kinds of families etc. Did surprisingly well dealing with themes of identity and how to embrace the future without ignoring the present for such a fluffy story. All in all a great time

mwfilion's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a joyful read. Just what I needed right now!

tea_kay's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5/5! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was my first Casey McQuiston book, and I am not disappointed. I picked this up because I was in the mood for a romance and also about to go to London for vacation, so perfect match. The humor, the politics, the romance, the banter, the spice....chef's kiss. A perfect breath of fresh air in between heavy reads. I truly don't remember a time that I laughed so much when reading.

We have Alex, the son of the POTUS, and Henry, the Prince of England. Both have been secretly admiring each other, but never knew it...or cared to admit it. In fact, they both thought they hated each other. This book is basically them meeting, falling in love, and saying f*ck you to the world. It is definitely a fluffy romance, with some drama and politics tossed in. However, I was here for it.

elenaner's review against another edition

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3.0

È stato pubblicato un libro con questa trama.
Non so questo è l'unico commento che riesco a fare

Si fa leggere come una fanfiction, nel bene e nel male

anniephobic's review against another edition

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5.0

"alex feels somewhere, under the fifty layers of booze, something crystal clear radiating off her, a shared knowledge of how rare and wonderful this version of henry is."

so i'm obsessed with alex and henry. they're perfect for each other. i love their banter and teasing more than anything else. the entire book was written so well and i adored following the storylines of each character (i'm in love with all of them). and henry's chapter??? i will be rereading it every night before bed. also the movie is amazing nick and taylor have so much chemistry and i'm not over it. like c'mon nick's nose scrunch and taylor's dimple??? i will never get over rwrb and i'm completely fine with it.

brennanaphone's review against another edition

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4.0

Honestly the most fun I've had reading a book in a while. Light, frothy, and a lot of the characters have a same-y way of talking, which is all clever banter and witty teasing. That said, the romance is spicy as hell, and it follows a somewhat unusual track for a romance, allowing the characters to get together early and then face a lot of external obstacles instead of pointless internal ones. It's also legitimately funny.

Best lines: "I'm going to do very bad things to you" and "What did you do, you horny little cretin?" (These lines are many chapters apart but not unrelated, so.)