Date read: 19th September 2021
My rating: 4*Genre I reckon: Very Sweet MM Romance
Buy link: Amazon
Let me start by emitting a squee! I am in my forties, and cannot remember the last time I clutched a book to my bosom in sheer girlish glee. This book is THAT romantic!
I wanted to hate it. For a start, I'm British and partially being about a fake version of our monarchy - well, that never goes well. And trust me, although the royals are fictitious, the titles are real but misused. And royalty do have a surname - it is not Wales! And there's several inaccuracies along the same lines.
BUT I was able to see past this - it is FICTION!
And Red, White & Royal Blue has been massively hyped - I generally avoid overly talked about books as it's nigh impossible to live up to such heady praise.
I was able to look past the very weird 3rd person present tense. Present perfect tense is often used, which is jarring. And even present perfect continuous - very rare! But the book is long, so I got used to it.
What we DO get with this is a very sweet forbidden romance.
~ The 2nd in line to the British throne (Prince Henry) is carrying emotional baggage. And obviously the very stuffy Crown denies his right to be openly gay.
~ The first son of the US (Alex) - well, he doesn't even know his own sexuality. And with his mum running for re-election, the timing of self-discovery is bad.
There is so much angst, it feels like the boys are more like teenagers. But they're in their 20s.
Will he? Will he?
What we are treated to, is the sparring and banter as the frenemies are forced together.
And then we get the very risky, stolen moments between them.
I loved the sexy build-up. When we finally get to foreplay, the action builds....but there's no crescendo. The physical act fades to black and sleep. Don't go shy on me in the moment!!
The most wonderful part of this book, for me, is the email communication - they pour their hearts out and quote famous historical love letters. The pair show their true selves, and it's precious.
The 'getting to know you' is delicious.
The secret touches are tantalising.
The clandestine sexual encounters; electric.
The 'trying to understand' is captivating.
The need to know how it'll play out is addictive.
Yeah, this is a proper page-turner despite it's foibles. And adorable love story which hooks you in.
I didn't want to love it, but I did!
Always in love and light,
TL
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