Elated to secure her first paid political staff position, Bijal Rao is eager to focus her efforts on the election of her candidate to U.S. Congress. However, Bijal’s first unforeseen obstacle is her profound and unexpected attraction to their opponent—incumbent Congresswoman Colleen O’Bannon— who is outspoken, charismatic, and openly lesbian.
An even greater hurdle is the subterfuge and pretense that pervades the climate in Washington, D.C., where small missteps are readily painted as major gaffes, and lies are explained away as “in the public’s best interest.” During the heated campaign, both Bijal and Colleen struggle not to cross the lines of propriety—and perhaps more importantly, their party lines.
It’s rare a book makes me laugh out loud, rarer still when that book is a lesbian romance novel. This one had me choking on coffee and laughing out loud. I will admit to being a little taken aback by the crassness of some of the humor at first, but I got over it fast. The dialog is great, although the voices of the characters blur a bit, the story is an interesting study in the daily grind of running a political campaign. The author did a good job of laying out why the main character, Bijal was a Republican, and also her struggle both personally and professionally with some of the more divisive issues.
I found the developing attraction between Bijal and Colleen O’Bannon to be believable, sexy and really really funny. Colleen O’Bannon gets my vote, and more than a little fictional character crush. She’s nearly perfect, smart, sexy, articulate AND has a dog… My only complaint about the sex was there wasn’t enough, but along those lines it is a very rare story that can keep me interested in the sexual tension without giving me any sex until the near end of the book.
A great comedy/romance about a political campaign, go get the book. I’d love to see a sequel!
