Audiobook Review – Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, Narrated by Ramon de Ocampo (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Romance
Length: 12 hours and 15 minutes
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release Date: May 14, 2019
ASIN: B07HMB6RFD
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed Audiobook from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars
“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, US/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 and begs the question: Can love save the world after all? Where do we find the courage, and the power, to be the people we are meant to be? And how can we learn to let our true colors shine through?”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book that I borrowed from the library to review.
Audiobook Quality (4/5): I listened to this on audiobook and thought the narrator sounded a bit nasal. He did character voices well but his “narrator” voice was just a bit off and irritating to me. If I were to read this again I would read it in written format.
Story (5/5): This was a super cute and feel good read. This is mainly a sweet romance about two young men in difficult situations. One is the Prince of England and one is the son of the first female US president and, rather predictably, they fall in love. However, the wonderful families and friends they have and the heartwarming humor throughout the book more than make up for the predictability of the story. Those looking for a deep political commentary or a deeper understanding of international politics should look elsewhere. While this book does contrast and compare American and British life and also addresses GLBTQ politics; it is done through somewhat rosy glasses and with a rather lighthearted tone.
Characters (5/5): The cast of characters here is amazing. Alex and Henry are great but their families and “handlers” are really amazing as well. This book really shows how a family can pull together and support each other in times of high stress and craziness. I love how everyone supported each other rather than pulling apart in these tough situations. My only small quibble is that sometimes the characters feel a bit overly dramatic and overly characterized.
Setting (5/5): The settings were fun and obviously factor into the story. We travel a lot between the White House and Kensington Gardens. There is some commentary on the effect of the history of their homes on this younger (20 something ) generation and discussion about difficulties of long distance travel. That being said though the setting doesn’t really drive the story, this is a very character driven plot.
Writing Style (5/5): The book is well written and moved fast. The characters really come alive and are easy to engage with. I love how the family and friend relationships and interactions are done. The story itself is very predictable but I was okay with that because I just enjoyed the story dynamics so much. I think my only complaint was that there were maybe too many explicit sex scenes. While the sex scenes are well written, there were soooo many of them in the middle of the book that I felt like it was a bit disruptive to the story, but it’s a small quibble.
My Summary (5/5): Overall this is just a cute, fun, read that leaves you feeling hopeful and happy. I definitely plan on checking out more of McQuiston’s books in the future for the times when I am in the mood for a cute and heart-warming contemporary romance.