Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Red, White & Royal Blue

I don't normally read romance novels but the last book I read was really long and a bit of a bummer so I needed something of a palette cleanser, if you will. I saw the trailer for the Amazon Prime adaptation of this and thought I'd give it a go.

First off, here are the aspects of this book I really enjoyed: Mainly, it was easy. This book isn't some world-view-shattering triste on geopolitics or queer representation or anything like that. It's a star-crossed starry-eyed bubblegum romance about two people that fall in love and struggle to be together due to their circumstances in life. That's what it is on the surface, and that's what it remains throughout the entire book. The characters are funny, endearing, and well written if a bit unrealistic, encroaching on parodies of personalities. The leads, Alex and Henry, have a relationship that grows and develops organically. The book is written from mostly Alex's POV, and watching him come to terms with himself, his feelings, and his identity seemed really well done for me personally (please note: I do not identify as lgbtqia+ so I have no idea if this part of the book was realistic or not). Lastly, the book does get pretty spicy at parts, and I thought the spicy parts were tastefully done without coming across as too voyeuristic.

The aspects of the book I didn't much care for: the ending dragged, and I mean, like, seriously dragged on. No spoilers, but there is a bit of a reckoning in the book, as you can probably expect, and the amount of faff in this book to wrap everything up just keeps going and going and going. The story reached, what I thought was a natural conclusion, and to my surprise there were 3 more chapters and 100+ pages left! This made me realize the pacing of the entire book is a little wonky. Alex and Henry are pretty much thrust together by the end of the first chapter, their relationship has a bit of a slow burn before becoming exponentially involved with each other, then there's the conclusion of their story which carries on at a snail's pace. It's a bit weird, but maybe that's par for the course for romances, I'm not really sure. Overall though, not a huge criticism and it didn't really detract from my enjoyment.

In the end this book is pretty much exactly what it's advertised to be. It can get pretty cheesy, on the nose, and even a little... cringe?? at parts, but overall it's a good story. Frustrated wish fulfillment with the US's (maybe the world's) current political climate wrapped up in a pretty safe, feel-good love story.

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beccabookworm's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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jadawhooreads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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yorgosson's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I found this such an easy and fun book to read, I kept being surprised by how immersed I was and how much time had passed. I can only recommend from my heart to read this book instead of/ before watching the film.
Everyone is pretty in this, which might be my only criticism of this book. It is hopelessly optimistic, but I find I do not care. Do not read this for realism, read this for hope.
Anyways.
History, huh?

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