seriously romantic: red, white & royal blue by casey mcquiston

as the president's only son, alex claremont-díaz is paparazzi fodder. he's young, attractive, and smart. he's got a will-they/won't-they thing going on with his best friend nora, the vice president's granddaughter and a great relationship with his older sister, june. which is a good thing, since they inhabit this politically-famous world together, one where they must balance being wild and carefree with avoiding scandal at all costs. 

and maybe if alex hadn't been forced to attend the future king of england's wedding as red, white & royal blue opens he might have avoided running into prince henry and taking out the wedding cake in a spectacular fashion. it's not every day an act of clumsiness and rivalry results in an international incident. but it has, and now he is forced to spend even more time with his possibly least favorite person on the planet. 

(my only complaint about this book is that prince henry is named henry. i would have preferred some extra distance from the current royal family. this is a book that presents an alternate reality, and i would have been more easily able to stay in it if his name had been edward or james or some other innocuous british royal family name.)

anyway, the more henry and alex spend time together, the more there is something there. between them. a spark. a connection. something. alex isn't quite sure he knows how to put it into words. and when henry takes action. well, oh my. 

i really and truly enjoyed this debut. the characters are all wonderfully drawn, and the way they work through their problems is done in a way that is sweet and lovely and so swoony. i love enemies-to-lovers stories, and this book is just my jam. if you liked carry on and the royal we you will like this book.

**red, white & royal blue will publish on may 14, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/st. martin's griffin in exchange for my honest review.