When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

What cute, cute, cute, coming-of-age story. 

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Zelda is our protagonist. She is driven, outspoken, kind and so, so smart. She lives with her older brother, Gert, who struggles financially, and as we will see, goes to extravagant lengths to keep them afloat. She likes rules, rules keep things neat, organized and running smoothly. She has a healthy fixation on Old Norse culture and lore. So much so, that Gert surprises her with a Viking Impersonator for her birthday. There is one more thing that sets her apart from everyone else. She was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. An irreversible brain condition caused by exposure to alcohol while in the womb.

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She has a specific routine each week, and when it suddenly gets interrupted by a visit to a run down house of sketchy strangers, things start to spiral pretty quickly. 

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The story about sibling love, forgiveness, patience and persistence will make you laugh, mostly, but also, worry. You will get angry and your eyes will get a bit misty. The characters are likable, funny and real... The good characters, at least. The antagonists, not so much, obviously. 

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I do wish that there was more research done on the Norse culture for the writing of this novel. Some "facts" were filled with common misconceptions and a dash of stereotyping. The plot was cute enough for me to spare the nitty-gritty details, though 🙂. 

Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Such a cute romance for the lgbtq+ community. It was very enjoyable, quirky, funny and sensual. I loved Alex and Henry's banter and relationship. There is a lot of likable characters which makes for a fun party! Modern communication references, film and tv references, dogs, the whole lot!

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Alex is the son of current, democratic, female President of the United States. Who is running for reelection soon, so it is, of course, imperative for everything to go according to plan and down to the exact letter, including NDAs on EVERY move him and the first family makes. 

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Henry is a British Prince heir. Closeted by the conservative standards of the British royal community. 

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Alex and the first family travel to the UK for a royal wedding. He meets Henry by accidently pushing him into the wedding cake. Which attracts media attention instantly, going off the rails about an international crisis in the making. The two families decide to eradicate the unfortunate incident, is to force them to spend a lot of time together, mend fences, become best friends. They have much trouble at first, insult after insult. But the more time they spend together the more the insults start to become playful teasing. 

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At a fancy-shmancy party, they walk off together and Henry plants a kiss on Alex. Alex struggles with his sexuality for a hot minute, then realizes events in his past leads him to accept he has been Bi-sexual all along. 

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And as the typical Rom-Com goes: they delve into this secret love affair. Things go... Left and Right... Heh. Get it? Nevermind. Twist and turns abound and they have to see if they can overcome the stigma and intolerance of same-sex relationships in a very public, influential and political enviroment. Will they get their happily, ever after? 

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I loved it. The only reason I gave this a 4/5 is because of the typical layout of predictible events in most Rom-Coms. But it was still very enjoyable.