Red, White & Royal Blue
⭐⭐⭐⭐
“On purpose. I love him on purpose.”
A little sweet, a little spicy, and full of angst, Red White and Royal Blue is the fluffy romance I didn’t know I needed. It’s a solid execution of the enemies-to-lovers trope topped off with a hidden relationship. This was my first introduction into LGBT romance, and I’ll be finding more soon. Gender is obviously still a big part of the conversation, but it was nice to read something where the gender politics within the relationship matter less. (At least compared to my introduction to the genre of Regency romances, where everything is defined by the Man/Woman binary and the roles each must play.)
The background plot is a little hard to read at times, purely because several elements are obviously a reaction to the 2016 Presidential election. (This isn’t conjecture, the author has mentioned that writing this book served as stress relief during the election season.) There are also odd throwaway lines throughout vaguely referencing the much more serious side of the presidency that don’t balance well with the fact that we’re supposed to be rooting for the current government instead of questioning their decisions.
That being said, I really enjoyed the young love and drama of the international romance. Both boys were idiots but sweet, and the supporting cast was excellent. One thing to note - this is a book about horny young men. There is a lot of spice, although McQuiston very carefully describes everything but the actual sex. I don’t know if this was her choice or the publishers, but it struck me as somewhat unusual to describe the kissing and foreplay so vividly but ‘fade out’ the scene at the last moment. It didn’t hurt my enjoyment of the book, but other reader’s preferences may vary.
For such an over the top book I found a cocktail to match, and made a layered cocktail (source below). It took me several tries, and in order to get the layers to sit properly without mixing I eventually had to add simple syrup to the vodka lemonade. It's a striking cocktail but ended up being too sweet for my preference. Maybe I should figure out how to spice it up a bit next time I make it!
Red, White, and Blue Layered Cocktail:
1 oz grenadine
3 oz lemonade
1 oz vodka
1 oz blue curacao
Steps:
Pour grenadine into the bottom of the glass
Add ice to the top. I used crushed ice partially for the aesthetic and partially to help slow the pour for the next layers and reduce mixing.
Mix lemonade and vodka, then gently pour into the glass. If this layer mixes with the grenadine, reduce the lemonade and increase the vodka to reduce the sugar content. If it mixes with the blue curacao layer, increase the lemonade or add in some simple syrup to increase the sugar content. Either way, pour slowly. Pouring over the back of a spoon or directly onto the ice can also help.
Gently add the blue curacao on the top layer. This was the hard part for me, so good luck!
https://www.creativeramblingsblog.com/red-white-blue-layered-cocktail/
