A review by gwenswoons
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-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

5.0

Just so beyond magnificent — one of my favorites ever ever. I avoided this for a long time because it got so much buzz and love (a toxic trait of mine, haha — I hate being told what to read/watch/do/eat), and when I finally gave in and began listening to this on audio it was that amazing, rare feeling of  sinking into a book you instantly know you will love forever. I read a lot of rom-coms, all on audio, and I love many of them; bht this is in the top top of all. The writing is just so beautiful, the character development so nuanced and tender, the love story so complex and so gorgeously scaffolded on top of a miraculous web of relationships and characters  and dynamics and plot that is just truly masterful.

It was cathartic and heartbreaking to read this in and around this awful and enraging presidential election — a liberal fantasy (à la West Wing, but for the modern age, without all the sexism and Islamophobia and other crap) — this love story about the son of the first woman president (😭), and Texas going blue, et al. It was a lot and it finally (thank god — needed it) got me sobbing instead of just dissociating and feeling numb. Partially because of the fantasy of it all and the grief my communities and I feel over the election, and partly because the storytelling and the love story here are simply so profound and so truly heart-stopping. Ramón de Ocampo’s narration was just so magnificent, too — tender and funny and full of love and beauty. I cannot wait to read more Casey McQuiston.
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