rec from hillary

It's been a rough year for me, reading-wise. It's hard for anything to hold my attention long enough for me to finish. However, I flew through this book! It's so adorable. I was looking for something to read after marathoning through Schitt's Creek and loving the David/Patrick relationship. This perfectly fit the bill.

The description of this book seems simple enough: it makes one expect a lighthearted enemies to lovers story, one with a good slow burn. But the reality is that it's more than that. At it's most basic, stripped-down level, sure, it's a cheesy romance and a modern day fairy tale with two members of royalty in their own right. Beyond that, it's so much more. These are two people who expose parts of themselves to the world, the polished and clean parts, and when they cannot do that, are forced to be open with each other to protect the identities they've so carefully built. Not only that, the secondary characters are deep and worth rooting for too.

In a reality where a woman won the presidency, where things didn't get as dark as they have in the universe we live in, this story hits all the right spots and provides a sense of escape, but beyond that, it shows delightful bisexual representation, shares what a good ally looks like, and contrasts supportive families with unsupportive families, not glossing over the things that are hard and hurtful. Giving up what you love for a sense of duty, and giving up a sense of duty for love, and struggling to justify if the two are able to exist in the same place is a big part of what this story is about. And that's what makes it beyond beautiful.

Witty, fast moving conversations and the portrayal of an America that is more hopeful and open minded is the heart of this novel and made it an enjoyable read. I hope we too find that America is a place of hope and promise this November and not a country that solely functions from a place of fear and hate.

SO freaking cute is this queer romance between the son of the POTUS and the Prince of England. I know, I wish it was real too.

this should be a movie!! such a good plot, i loved it!!!!

Edmonds library display during June 2020

Fantastic book! I saw it everywhere and I'm so happy I finally got a chance to read it! I don't often give a five star rating to many books, but this one is definitely deserving! It was a great story with very compelling, fully realized characters. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

This was just way too sickeningly cute. Sometimes I wonder at my own ability to fully immerse myself in these books, because I do often think I'm somewhat dead inside, but with this one, I found myself laughing out loud at numerous points, and despite the *spoiler * happily ever after ending, *spoiler* I did really enjoy the time I spent listening to it.

Alex is the First Son of the American President. Henry is the Prince of Wales. And they hate each other. As in, sworn enemies. Except that Alex has also always been fascinated by Henry, in a way that he can't seem to shake. After a scene at the Royal Wedding, the two are forced into a farce friendship in order to satisfy their respective countries and the media. But, naturally, their friendship develops further than anyone intended, with consequences that both men will be forced to face, whether they're ready or not.

So, this is hilarious. It's genuinely funny, and heart-warming, and adorable. The writing is so spot on; the hilarity is just so natural that I couldn't help belly laughing at multiple points. Both Alex and Henry are so real-feeling that their banter and flirting and ultimate declarations of love have stuck with me long after I finished their story.

Story-wise, though, this is pretty simple. It's escapist fiction to the utmost degree. It has some scary American politics as the backdrop to Alex and Henry's story, but really, it's a book you read in order to forget about the state of the world. It's LGBTQ+ romance that reads simultaneously like a guilty pleasure but also like a story that the world needs right now when everything feels like garbage.

One last thing that I need to mention is the narrator of the audiobook. Ramón de Ocampo was the absolute perfect choice to bring these characters to life. He is so talented and made everything pop so much. He IS both Henry and Alex in my mind, and the way he chose to personify them through their accents and ways of speaking was just so on point.

Such a fun read!
I love the author's writing style and imagination. And I adore her chutzpah - the fictional prince is very very close to an actual prince - that was a bonus fun part of the book.
I'm hoping for more stories from this author soon