Very stressed about the ending but really loved the romance and laughs.

Going in, I knew to expect the enemies-to-lovers romance between these two famous political figures. What I wasn’t expecting was that the setting of the romance would be election season as the president, Alex’s mother, runs for re-election against a politician with very, very shady strategies and history. And that this election takes place in 2020.

While the election is a big part of the story and very relevant to several of the characters, it isn’t the main focus. Instead we’ve got the very charming and smug son of the US President and an aloof-seeming prince who are constantly at odds with each other. After a very messy mishap at a royal wedding, the two are forced to pretend to be friends to avoid any international public relations issues but unintentionally begin to grow close. Aww! And you wish it could stop there but they’re in for so much more trouble as they navigate this new relationship!

I’ve seen the author repeatedly state that this is not Young Adult because some readers mislabel it this way. It is an Adult book (New Adult if you want to get specific) as the main characters here are in their 20s. This romance is quite steamy and rather graphic so if you prefer cutesy romances that avoids that detail, this isn’t the one for you.

My absolute favourite part of this whole book is the dialogue! These characters are all so funny! I started to take photos of the lines I enjoyed but it’s like they’re constantly trying to one-up each other with their one liners so it was too much to document. I love quick humour like this and it was a lot of fun to get to know these characters through their sometimes gentle and always loving ribbing of each other (especially the White House Trio, friend goals for sure).

I also think it was really smart to keep this to one perspective. We’ve clearly got our two main characters, Alex and Henry, but everything is presented from Alex’s perspective. I think allowing for Alex to learn more about Henry at the same time as the reader creates a much more natural flow than if we had been granted access to all of Henry’s thoughts from the start.

The one thing that really held me back nearer the end was what the main conflict turned out to be. It is a romance novel so you know you’re going to get conflicts and you know you’re going to get your HEA (Happily Ever After). But I was really disappointed with what the huge conflict turned out to be because I’d been hoping when I started the book that that wouldn’t be what it hinged on.

I know this is frustratingly vague but it does take place over halfway into the book and I don’t want to spoil anything. I still really liked the book but the conflict and what it meant for the MCs, and the additional stress from the election campaigning, made me very uncomfortable, like tightness in my chest, clenching my fists anxious. Even thinking about it now is stressing me out.

I just need a sequel to this one where everything is happy and calm so I can get those stressful moments out of my mind.