The film adaptation of the much-loved and viral rom com novel by Casey McQuiston – Red, White and Royal Blue – has wrapped production. The movie will come to Prime Studios, although no release date has yet been announced.

The novel centres around the star-crossed, secret romance between the son of the President of the United States and the Prince of England, the two have been sworn enemies since they were children but, after an international scandal, are forced to work together to execute damage control. The friendship quickly turns to a love story.

The cast was announced on variety – with actors Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine cast as the leading men in the Amazon Studios film adaptation. Taylor will play Alex Claremont-Diaz, the son of the President of the United States while Nicholas will play the role of Prince Henry of England. Meanwhile, Uma Thurman has been cast as Alex’s mother, newly elected United States President Ellen Claremont.

The movie will be directed by Matthew López.

While there has been no confirmed release date for the movie, both Taylor and Nicholas have shared a multitude of photos from set. This is bound to be a joyful watch!

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[tps_title] 10. In a New York Minute, Kate Spencer [/tps_title]

Starting off our most anticipated romance books of 2022… Franny Doyle is having the worst day. She’s been laid off from her (admittedly mediocre) job, the subway doors ripped her favorite silk dress to ruins, and now she’s flashed her unmentionables to half of lower Manhattan. On the plus side, a dashing stranger came to her rescue with his (Gucci!) suit jacket. On the not-so-plus side, he can’t get away from her fast enough.

Worse yet? Someone posted their (entirely not) meet-cute online. Suddenly Franny and her knight-in-couture, Hayes Montgomery III, are the newest social media sensation, and all of New York is shipping #SubwayQTs.

Pre-order a copy here.

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[tps_title] 1. You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry [/tps_title]

I doubt Emily Henry will ever write a novel that we aren’t firmly addicted to – her sophomore novel You and Me on Vacation – was a delectable novel about two friends, Alex and Poppy and their delightful friends to lovers’ romance. It’s one of the most propulsive and charming romance novels of the year.

Read our full review here.

Pick up a copy here.

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[tps_title]Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles [/tps_title]

The Song of Achilles is Madeline Miller’s 2012 retelling of the Iliad and the story of Achilles and Patroclus. Patroclus is an awkward young prince who has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia. Here he meets Achilles and their tentative connection gives way to a steadfast friendship. As they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into love, despite Achilles’ mother, the goddess Thetis’s displeasure. Achilles joins the cause of the men laying siege to Troy. It’s a profoundly moving and original retelling of the epic Trojan war and is dizzying in its narrative and love story.

Pick up a copy of the novel here.

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Girl A, Abigail Dean (Harper Collins, 2021), A

Girl A is the daring thriller by Abigail Dean that tells the story of a girl who runs away from an abusive home – The House of Horrors – and the story that unfolds 15 years later as she revisits the path that led to the worst of her abuse.

Read our full review here.

Pick up a copy of the novel here.

Memorial, Bryan Washington (Riverhead, 2020), B

A painfully intimate examination of the crumbling foundations of a relationship.

Read our full review here.

Pick up a copy of the novel here.

One Last Stop, Casey McQuiston (Griffin, 2021), B+

The hotly-anticipated follow up to McQuiston’s cult favourite debut Red, White and Royal Blue, One Last Stop is an immensely heart-warming and charming love story between August and Jane with a  supernatural twist.

Pick up a copy of the novel here.

Accidentally Engaged, Farah Herron (Piatkus, 2021), A-

Another delightful romantic comedy novel about a woman who fakes an engagement to her neighbour in order to enter a cooking contest. It’s a charming and whimsical read perfect for a summer beach read.

Pick up a copy of the novel here.

Our Women on the Ground, Edited by Zahra Hankir (Penguin, 2019)

A devastatingly honest collection of essays from various Arab female journalists examining their experience reporting on the Arab world – it’s a necessary and important read that shines the spotlight on a relatively unexamined area of prejudice and hardship.

Pick up a copy of the novel here.

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[tps_title] 1. The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris [/tps_title]

Twenty-six-year-old editorial assistant Nella Rogers is tired of being the only Black employee at Wagner Books. Fed up with the isolation and the micro-aggressions, she’s thrilled when Hazel starts working in the cubicle beside hers. They’ve only just started comparing natural hair care regimens, though, when a string of uncomfortable events cause Nella to become Public Enemy Number One and Hazel, the Office Darling.

Then the notes begin to appear on Nella’s desk: LEAVE WAGNER. NOW.

It’s hard to believe Hazel is behind these hostile messages. But as Nella starts to spiral and obsess over the sinister forces at play, she soon realises that there is a lot more at stake than her career.

A whip-smart and dynamic thriller and sly social commentary, The Other Black Girl will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last twist.

Pick up a copy here.

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Often when a book has as much hype around it as Casey McQuiston’s debut novel Red, White and Royal Blue, it is hard to live up to the hype around it. This may be one of the rare exceptions to the rule. Red, White and Royal Blue is a delicious romance, filled with everything you’d want from this kind of a novel and more. The book tells the story of the sworn enemy to unlikely romantic relationship between the Prince Henry of England and Alex Claremont-Diaz, the First Son of the United States, while his mother (the first female president) is gunning for her second-term in office. 

At times, the novel falls into cliche – the sworn enemy nature of their relationship evaporates unnaturally quickly – but this does not make it any less propulsive or engaging. McQuiston artfully threads the romance through broader issues of attitudes to sexuality in the long-entrenched ‘traditional’ narrative of the royal family and in the threat that coming out may pose to Alex’s mother’s second term and his own political chances. Indeed, one of the most tear-jerking moments is seen in the public reaction to the romance, when the couple are outed through illicit means. The novel though should not be taken for a major political manifesto – it’s a compulsive and frivolous romance  that is simply put, the ideal lockdown read, it’s an escapist and delicious work of fiction and you will love being a part of this world, even for a little while. Now, we remain excited for McQuiston’s second novel – One Last Stop – that will be released later this year. 

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