Rating: 4 STARS Genre: LGBT/Contemporary/Romance Series/Standalone: Standalone How I got this book: Bought What happens when America's First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales? 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, U.S./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? Casey McQuiston's Red, White & Royal Blue proves: true love isn't always diplomatic. TW: Addiction/drug abuse (mentioned), terminal illness/cancer (mentioned), homophobia, racism
I just KNEW I was going to love this book! I've been meaning to read it for ages and finally made a start last week. The writing was really easy to get into and I love the characters. I won't lie, I wasn't a huge fan of all the politics (but I knew it was going to be a big part of the book), it's just not my thing, but it didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the story at all as the characters, character development, and the nemesis-to-lovers storyline completely won me over. Alex is an immediately lovable character. He's fun and sweet, with plenty of sass, but he's also loyal to a fault, hardworking and he loves with his entire being, which was both a joy and heartbreaking at times. Henry is fantastic. He's the perfect mixture of haughty royal with the sweetest, loving centre, and he's the perfect match for Alex's personality. Together, they bring heaps of chemistry, heated looks and enough wit to keep me chuckling from start to finish. “Um,” he says. “How do you get a turkey to gobble?” “Try gobbling,” Henry says, “and see if he gobbles back.” Alex blinks. “Are you serious?” OMG! The turkey scene was hilarious. It had me in stitches! I hadn't expected this book to make me emotional. It was funny, and there were plenty of laugh out loud moments, but I honestly never expected it would make me cry, but it did. What happens to Alex and Henry is awful and there's a particular scene with Alex and his family towards the end of the book that just broke my heart. I was sobbing at this point. "A sound escapes his throat uninvited, something that he barely even recognizes, and June has him first, then the rest of them, arms and arms and hands and hands, pulling him close..." Overall, I loved this book. It was a great introduction to Casey McQuiston's writing, which I'm looking forward to reading more of. Red, White & Royal Blue checked all the boxes for me. It kept me gripped from start to finish, gave me lovable, contrasting characters who clash until then mesh and the character development was beautifully done. “History, huh? Bet we could make some.” Rating: 4 STARS Genre: LGBT/YA/Romance Standalone/Series: Standalone How I got this book: Bought Bloomington High School Lions' star goalie, Sebastian Hughes, should be excited about his senior year: His teammates are amazing and he's got a coach who doesn't ask anyone to hide their sexuality. But when his estranged childhood best friend Emir Shah shows up to summer training camp, Sebastian realizes the team's success may end up in the hands of the one guy who hates him. Determined to reconnect with Emir for the sake of the Lions, he sets out to regain Emir's trust. But to Sebastian's surprise, sweaty days on the pitch, wandering the town's streets, and bonding on the weekends sparks more than just friendship between them. Since first hearing about this book a month or so ago, I've been desperate to read it, which is a little weird for me as I'm really not a big fan of sports, especially football (a.k.a soccer). However, I am an absolute sucker for enemies to lovers romances and since everyone was raving about it, I just had to try it myself.
It's actually a 'best friends to enemies to lovers' romance, which I really loved, I enjoyed the history between the two characters and that there was already a foundation to their relationship, even if it was via the misunderstandings that drove them apart. I really enjoyed the camaraderie between the team and absolutely adored the LGBT and cultural diversity; it was lovely to have characters of colour and various religious beliefs all co-existing in one setting. Sadly, I did struggle a little with the writing style, it felt a little clunky in places but didn't stop me from enjoying the story. Bastian has to be my favourite character. I felt so strongly for him throughout the book, his desire to please everyone whilst having no clue what he's doing with his own life is completely relatable. "He's tired of trying to be this amazing version of a guy that everyone else sees but Sebastian can't find when he stares in the mirror." I felt the author's portrayal of how overwhelming being a teen is was extremely accurate and I love the positive mental health and body positivity messages throughout. It's fantastic to read a book that specifically tells teens that it's ok to freak out and feel like you have no control, it's ok to not know what you're doing and to not be certain whether or not things will work out. I felt that this was perfectly summed up in a lovely quote from Bastian's mum: "The only thing in life you have to do is live it." Her hand covers his, squeezing. "Go to college, chase your dreams of being a pro athlete. Or take some time off, find yourself, and be an 'adult' later." I can't get enough of this. Of parents who are supportive and offer actual meaningful advice instead of just pushing their children to conform to the norm. The portrayal of the characters is done perfectly in my opinion. It's great to read a book that clearly shows that, even a group of boys, mostly the same age and with the same interest(s), are all different. No one is a black and white stereotype, everyone has different layers, everyone has various insecurities and it's great to experience this in a book, especially a YA, where I feel diversity is especially important. Running With Lions is filled with beautiful, poignant lessons, such as the coach's message to Sebastian that, "You are not defined by who you love." The romance is so sweet and that includes the supporting characters also! I love the slow-burn, the sweetness, the fumbling - all of it! Overall, this is an exceptionally sweet story of summer love, acceptance and friendship! Highly enjoyable! |
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About Kay (She/Her)
Book addict, film mad, music lover, business owner, writer and mum (not necessarily in that order), living in the UK. About Sophie (She/Her)
Sophie loves books (obviously). She has a passion for photography and spotting wildlife, and is interested in anything made with passion and creativity. THIS BLOG IS SPOILER FREE!
Rating system: 5 Stars - AMAZING!! 4.5 Stars - Almost perfect! 4 Stars - I really loved it 3.5 Stars - I liked it alot 3 Stars - I liked it (I don't typically review books that I rate below 3 stars)
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