I really keep going back and forth between a 3 & 4 star review (Goodreads, can you just not hear the people banging down your door begging you for half-stars? Why are you so willing to die on this hill?) but just for the sheer enjoyment of my reading experience I bumped it to 4. I read this as an essential part of my own personal Big Gay Reading Month™ during which I'm literally straddling the reading rainbow for the entirety of Pride month, because as anyone who pays attention to books knows, this has completely swept the world over in the two years since its release, and I loved every second of it. I love the characters—not just Alex and Henry but the general cast of characters—and I believed in their relationships, all of them. Where I was unable to suspend my disbelief was... basically, everywhere else. I don't think this is a flaw of the book. Casey McQuiston has said over and over that this became more than just an idea, it became an escape from the wretched political landscape both Americans and Brits were living through from 2016-2020 (and beyond that?) and for that I am grateful. Of course she, like the rest of us, couldn't have foreseen the pandemic, but I know this book did NUMBERS throughout, and I don't blame everyone for running to pick this up curbside at the library or B&N during that time. It truly is an escape. For me, though, it was too difficult to slip into this alternate universe and deny the actual realities of the world. That doesn't mean that function of the book didn't greatly benefit so many other people.

My other complaint about this book is how tidily everything wraps up. I've heard some people say it is too long, and I do agree that some parts could have been shaved down—maybe not to save it from its length because the book is so very unputdownable, but instead to make room for more tension and slightly higher stakes. YES, the stakes ARE very high throughout the novel, but everything is so easily resolved EVERY time. I have to say the most egregious example of this is Princess Catherine's very sudden change in demeanor. She was a character in the shadows for the majority of this book and it made no sense for one or two conversations with her children at a time where the royal family was under extreme duress to completely change that. It honestly makes no sense that the death of her husband would have caused her to shut down so entirely in the first place. I'm not saying people don't resort to extreme (or extreme lack of) behaviors in grief, but a prominent member of the royal family wouldn't. They wouldn't have the time or the space to do that in the first place. Instead of having so many messy moments cleaned up, repaired, and then wrapped with a bow on top, maybe just one or two more serious and complex issues would have done.

That being said I did love this book, but I maybe discovered that political stories, especially in alternate and overly idealistic timelines, might not be the exact cup of tea I ordered. However, I am BEYOND excited to read One Last Stop later this month. Casey McQuiston truly has a gift for storytelling and I am ON THE TRAIN PEOPLE!