Bookish Mumma

Well, I may or may not have cried. Red, White & Royal Blue is a fantastic book. I will absolutely recommend this to anyone who loves fiction, romance and politics. The way it is written just makes me want to sink into more pages and see how it ends. Makes me want a second book!

If you’d like to cry with me, you can get the book here.

If you would like to read previous posts or the reviews on other books, you can find them here.

Suddenly, her phone is in her hand, and she’s standing, kicking her chair under the table. “Okay, I’m clearing my schedule for the afternoon,” she says. “I need, uh, time to prepare some materials. Are you free in an hour? We can reconvene here. I’ll order food. Bring, uh, your passport and any receipts and relevant documents you have, sugar.”

Ellen feels like a caricature of a human. Alex has just come out to her and her first instinct is to be a president and not a mother and that rubs me the wrong way. I don’t find her to be likable at all.

“Also,” she says. “I am so sorry to do this, sugar. But you’re off the campaign.”
Alex snaps back into razor sharp reality, stomach plummeting.
“Wait, no-“
“This is not up for debate, Alex,” she tells him, and she does look sorry, but he knows the set of her jaw too well. “I can’t risk this. You’re way too close to the sun. We’re telling the press that you’re focussing on other career options. I’ll have your desk cleaned out for you over the weekend.”

Alex being in a loving relationship with another man is too close to the sun? Seriously? Rank irregardless, this was unnecessary. She knew how much Alex loved being on the campaign trail and how good he actually was at it. Then at the first sign of him being more than one minority, she pulls him back? I understand that politics is rough and that that could legitimately be the end of her presidential term, BUT as a mother, your kids come before your job. I hated this interaction.

His dad laughs ruefully. “You know, in a lot of ways, your mom and me were a stupid idea. I think we both knew it wouldn’t be forever. We’re both too fucking proud. But God, that woman. Your mother is, without question, the love of my life. I’ll never love anyone else like that. It was wildfire. And I got you and June out of it, best things that ever happened to an old asshole like me. That kind of love is rare, even if it was a complete disaster.” He sucks his teeth, considering. “Sometimes you just jump and hope it’s not a cliff.”

It’s strange to know when you have met the love of your life. You know you’ve met them and that no one will ever feel the same or more, but for some people, you just have to move on and try to find something as close as you can get. I am not one of those people. I met mine and that’s where I’ll stay. Agreeing on this point though, it is rare, but goddamn is it an amazing feeling to love someone that much. I don’t regret a second.

He smiles as he reaches for a frying pan, because he know it’s exactly the kind of insane risk he can’t resist.

Tangled awakened many things in many people. The temptation of a frying pan. To the skull. God I need a good nap.

The sheets smell like Henry. He knows:
One. Henry isn’t here.
Two. Henry never said yes to any kind of future last night.
Three. This could very well be the last time he gets to inhale Henry’s scent on anything.

The fear of something being so dear being the last time is an excruciating feeling. I guess all you can do is live in the moment, hope that it’s not the last and try to figure out what to do next.

“I’m saying,” Henry begins, and the knit of his brow is nervous but his mouth keeps speaking. “I’m terrified, and my whole life is completely mad, but trying to give you up this week nearly killed me. And when I woke up this morning and looked at you… there’s no trying to get by for me anymore. I don’t know if I’ll ever be allowed to tell the world, but I… I want to. One day. If there’s any legacy for me on this bloody earth, I want it to be true. So I can offer you all of me, in whatever way you’ll have me, and I can offer you a chance of a life. If you can wait, I want you to help me try.”

This is the part that made me cry. The loss, the acknowledgement of how he feels and then deciding to fight for Alex despite his life being stacked up against him.

“Diaz, you insane, hopeless romantic little shit,” says the voice of the President of the United States, muffled in the bed. “It had better be forever. Be safe.”

Even if it’s just a voicemail, this is the most motherly I have seen Ellen be toward her children thus far and I hope we get to see more of it because Alex and Henry deserve her support.

At cruising altitude, he takes the chain off his neck and slides the ring on next to the old house key. They clink together gently as he tucks them both under his shirt, two homes side by side.

Well this was adorable and also made me cry. Dammit, Casey, why are you turning me into a blubbering mess?!

conclusion

These two chapters were less about politics and more about the turmoil that Alex and Henry have to face and will continue to have to face. I absolutely loved seeing Henry decide to fight for Alex, knowing full well that it would be a long and difficult battle. Red, White & Royal Blue does a wonderful job of balancing the realities of politics and romance, but I would love to see more of Ellen choosing to be a mother over choosing to be the President even while in private and towards her children. I can absolutely see what June meant when she told Alex that Ellen was a good mother to him and alluded to her not being a good mother to her. I want to see more interactions between both women too.

If you’d like to fill in the gaps and cry too, you can get the book here.