Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston was on my TBR and loaded on my Kindle FOR YEARS. I just kept putting off reading it, finding shiny new things to try. But with the movie coming out, it crept closer to my must read pile. Then, I saw the trailer for the movie (it’s on Amazon Prime) and swooned a bit. Really, I found it to be utterly charming. I made it my mission to read the book so I could watch the movie. No cheating and watching the movie first. Not me. 

I thought it would be fun to compare the two.  

If you’ve been completely shut in a cave with no access to social media for years, you might not know the plot. For the two of you out there in this scenario, here’s a quick summary.

The president of the United States is a woman, she has two children. One is Alex, a 20-something gorgeous man who is known for being a bit of a player and partier. Smart guy, has political ambitions like his mom. The Queen of England has three grandchildren, two boys and a girl. One boy will be King the other is the Spare. The Spare is Henry. Blond, proper, also gorgeous. Alex and Henry have met repeatedly and don’t like each other. Or so they think. Hmmmm….

First off- I LOVED the book. Like stayed up to the wee hours and snuck chapters during work breaks kind of love. Enemies to Lovers. MM romance. Opposites attract. There’s a Romeo and Juliet quality- not that they’re warring families, but that they just can’t be together because it will ruin reputations and political careers. The guys have great chemistry, snarky banter and some Smexy times. 

It was fun reading and seeing Alex and Henry change, open up, become vulnerable and honest with each other. My heart ached for Henry. He was willing to accept just living half of his life to maintain the proper Royal image for his family. I could feel his pain. Of course, secrets like a gay love affair between two huge political families is a hard one to keep under wraps. It’s no surprise that eventually their relationship leaks to the press and it’s chaos. All they want is to be together and love each other. I thought their story was beautiful, funny, sweet and just magical. 

Now the movie…

I also loved it!!! Ok, so it’s not a theatrical masterpiece to be seen on the big screen. But, I did enjoy it immensely. I liked the casting, the leads most definitely have chemistry. Uma Thurman was terrific as Alex’s mom, the President. Henry had a stick up his Royal butt at the beginning. When he thawed, and his personality shined through, like Alex, I was also in love with him. I would watch it again. And again. And again. There were some plot points that differed from the book, and some scenes removed for time. The story was quick, well paced, and an entertaining adaptation. 

I highly recommend reading and watching, Red, White and Royal Blue. And, if you enjoyed this book, I also loved I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston. I remember having a big goofy smile on my face when I finished the last chapter. It was excellent!