5 queer books to read after watching RWRB

Red, White, & Royal Blue (RWRB) is the latest queer book to be turned into a movie. It hits Amazon Prime on Friday, Aug 11, 2023, and based on the reception of the book and how many have been sold, it’s sure to be a hit.

But what do you do after you watch the movie? You can read the book if you haven’t already (highly recommend!), but are there any other queer books available that are like RWRB? Of course there are! Let’s take a look at five queer books that are similar to RWRB.

Five queer books similar to Red, White, & Royal Blue

1. Boyfriend Material

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall has many of the same elements as RWRB. It’s a queer love story between two men, features a famous character who is surrounded by the limelight, and it’s very -much an opposites-attract romance.

The story follows Luc O’Donnell, who is the son of a famous rockstar. Luc would rather not be famous, but his dad, who is in and out of rehab, makes that impossible. And when a compromising photo comes out, Luc has to clean up his image, and what better way to do that than by dating a boring barrister who is a vegetarian? Luc and Oliver may have nothing in common, but they are going to fall in love!

2. The Charm Offensive

There may be no royalty involved in The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun, but don’t let this stop you from reading this book. It’s not only a romance; it also covers mental illness extremely well.

The story follows Dev Deshpande, who works on a Bachelor-like show, and Charlie Winshaw, a tech genius who is the newest bachelor, but also happens to not believe in love. Charlie is on the show to rejuvenate his image. Unfortunately (or fortunately), Charlie and Dev have more of a spark than Charlie has with any of the contestants.

3. Her Royal Happiness

Her Royal Happiness by Lola Keeley follows Princess Alice, who is the first member to come out in the British royal family. And while the tabloids can’t get enough of her, they go wild when she has an encounter with a very opinionated single mother named Sara.

Sara tells Alice exactly what she thinks about the monarchy, which makes it a bit awkward when Alice has to ask Sara to diagnose her young nephew’s learning difficulties. Yikes! But the more they talk, the more they realize how much of a spark they have. They begin to fake date, but as is bound to happen, the fake dating soon leads to real feelings.

4. Playing the Palace

Playing the Palace by Paul Rudnick tells the story of Carter Ogden who just got his heart broken when his ex cheated on him. He’s no longer interested in love, but the universe has other plans in mind. When he meets (and does a lot more with) the Crown Prince of England, he expects it’s a one-time thing. But is it? Of course not! Sparks fly and continue to spark from both sides of the Atlantic.

Unfortunately, they can’t exactly keep their relationship a secret and the pressure from the press and the royal family puts a huge strain on their relationship. Will love be enough?

5. Her Royal Highness

Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins is a young adult novel, unlike the others on this list. The story follows Millie Quint, who is heartbroken when her sort of girlfriend ends up kissing someone else. Trying to get away from it all, she applies to boarding school in Scotland.

She gets in, but what she doesn’t expect is for her roommate Flora to be the Princess of Scotland! At first, the two girls are at each other’s throats, but as they spend more time together, they soon find themselves falling for each other.