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First of all, you might be wondering why I’ve decided to post about My Favourite Political Romances on the seemingly random 28 January. The reason is that here in the UK, the next General Election hasn’t been called yet but it has to be held no later than 12 months from today (28 January 2025) which means that in the next 12 months we’re guaranteed to have not only a UK General Election but also the United States Presidential Election on 5 November 2024.
Basically, it’s going to be Politics. Politics. Politics. for the next 12 months on both sides of the Atlantic. Since I can never pass up the opportunity to put together a book list for any occasion, I thought I’d get a jump start by posting about My Favourite Political Romances.
As always, if you’ve got any recommendations, you can let me know either in the comments or by e-mail at louisehallbooks@gmail.com.
P.S. If you’re looking for more Book Lists, you can find links to them all in the Archives.
Happy reading x
(1) Missing by Noelle Adams (2013)
Sex would never be enough…
Nathan Livingston has more in his life than he can handle–a high-powered job in D.C. politics, a sixteen-year-old daughter he’s raising alone, and another daughter who ran away from him, whom he hasn’t seen in two years.
He doesn’t have anything left to invest in a real relationship. A night of hot sex with Lynn every three months is as much as he’ll allow himself, and it doesn’t matter that it never feels like enough.
Lynn shouldn’t be involved with someone as high-profile as Nathan, since it could negatively affect her successful web magazine, but she just can’t resist their nights together.
Then his complicated personal life catches up to their no-strings-attached affair, and they both find out everything they’re missing.
Tags: Favourite Author
(2) Running Mate (Running Mate #1) by Katie Ashley (2017)
Barrett: The name’s Barrett Callahan. Yeah, that Barrett Callahan—the one the press dubbed “Bare” after those naked sexting pictures surfaced. At twenty-five, I was armed with an MBA from Harvard, an executive position at my father’s Fortune 500 company, a penthouse, and a different piece of delectable eye candy in my bed every weekend. I had a life most men dreamed of. But then my father decided to run for president, and my playboy lifestyle became a liability to his campaign that was built on family values. My “makeover” comes in the form of a fake fiancée who I don’t even get to choose–one who is an uptight, choirgirl acting priss but also sexy-as-hell.
Addison: My latest relationship had gone down in flames, and I was drowning in a sea of student loans when in true Godfather status, James Callahan made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. Seven figures for seven months on the campaign trail pretending to be the adoring fiancée of his son, Barrett. As soon as he won the election, our engagement would be dissolved amicably for the press, I was free to ride off into the sunset a million dollars richer, and because of the NDA, no one would be the wiser. Sure, I’d never met the guy, but I’d been a theatre nerd in high school. I could pull off any role from Lady Macbeth to Maria Von Trapp. But that was before I met my fake fiancé—the infuriating, self-absorbed, egotistical, drop-dead-sexy King of the Manwhores.
The race will be a fight to the death finish, and that’s not even the actual campaign.
Tags: Enemies-to-Lovers / Fake Dating
(3) The Next Mrs Russo by Jana Aston (2021)
I was not looking for a date. Another questionable relationship was the last thing I needed. Because trust me, they were all questionable.
But through a series of unfortunate events involving my cat and his poor decision-making skills, I agreed to a set-up.
Except… the set-up is with the governor.
I am not political girlfriend material. For one, I’m a little bit crazy. For two, I have secrets.
But I also have a big crush on the governor. One little date can’t hurt, right? Spoiler: it can.
My big crush is going to end in big trouble.
Tags: Favourite Author / Five Star Reads
(4) Too Wild to Tame (Romancing the Clarksons #2) by Tessa Bailey (2016)
By day, Aaron Clarkson suits up, shakes hands and acts the perfect gentleman. At night, behind bedroom doors, the tie comes off and the real Aaron comes out to play. But he knows that if he wants to work for the country’s most powerful senator, he’ll have to keep his eye on the prize. That’s easier said than done, though, when he meets the senator’s daughter. She’s wild, gorgeous and 100 per cent trouble.
Grace Pendleton is the black sheep of her family. Yet while Aaron’s presence reminds her of a past she’d rather forget, something in his eyes keeps drawing her in. Maybe it’s the way his voice turns her molten. Or maybe it’s because deep down inside, the ultra-smooth, polished Aaron Clarkson might be more than even Grace can handle . . .
Tags: Favourite Author / Favourite Series / Five Star Reads / Opposites Attract
(5) Prime Minister (Frisky Beavers #1) by Ainsley Booth & Sadie Haller (2016)
Gavin: Ellie Montague is smart, sensitive, and so gorgeous it hurts to look at her. She’s also an intern in my office. The office of the Prime Minister of Canada. That’s me. The PM. She calls me that because when she calls me Sir, I get hard and she gets flustered, and as long as she’s my intern, I can’t twist my hands in her strawberry-blonde hair and show her what else I’d like her to do with that pretty pink mouth.
Ellie: How much I like the PM varies on a daily basis. He’s intense, controlling, and a perfectionist in every way — and he demands the same of his staff. How much I want him never wavers. There’s something about him that tugs at me deep inside, and makes me wish that just once he’d cross the line in a late night work session. I’d take that secret to the grave if it meant I got a taste of the barely restrained beast inside him.
(6) Mr President (White House #1) by Katy Evans (2016)
He’s won the hearts of millions. But is he willing to lose his?
I met the president’s son when we were both young. Matthew Hamilton was handsome, polished, and intelligent. I’d never met a guy like him.
He promised me that he’d never run for president. I promised that if he did, I’d be by his side.
Three terms later, an invitation to join Matthew Hamilton’s campaign is the most exhilarating opportunity I’ve ever experienced. I’m determined to make a difference; he is determined to win.
Focused on his goal, Matt is steadfast, ruthless, and disarming. All eyes are on him and his popularity is surging. But soon, the next possible president of the United States is possessing me in more ways than one—and despite the risks, I’m helpless to resist.
We’re stealing touches, stealing moments, and stealing away at night. But our chemical connection is quickly becoming dangerously combustive, putting not only my heart, but Matt’s chance at the presidency on the line.
Winning will take everything. Walking away will be the hardest thing of all.
Tags: Favourite Author / Favourite Book by This Author / Five Star Reads (Pre-Blog)
(7) Commander in Chief (White House #2) by Katy Evans (2017)
We fell in love during the campaign. The stakes were high. Reputations could have been ruined. Scandal hovered over us like a cloud.
Now the man I love is the President of the United States of America. And it’s not my vote he is after. He wants it all. My heart. My body. My soul. He wants me by his side. In the White House. Normalcy will be gone from my life, privacy forgotten.
I am only twenty three. I just wanted to play a part in history. But it seems like history wasn’t done with me. The part where I lost my heart to Matthew Hamilton? It was only the beginning…
Tags: Five Star Reads (Pre-Blog)
(8) Perky (Do-Over #2) by Julia Kent (2019)
One hundred years ago when I was young and impulsive (okay, it was five, alright? Five years ago…) I let my boyfriend take, let’s just say… compromising pictures of me. (Shut up. It made sense at the time.)
Surprise! The sleazy back-stabbing jerk posted them on a website and, well, you can guess what happened. That’s right. I’m a meme. A really gross one. You’ve seen the pictures. And if you haven’t – don’t ask. And don’t look! As face recognition software online improves, I get tagged on social media whenever anyone shares my pictures. You try getting a thousand notifications a day, all of them pictures of your tatas. So. I’m done.
It’s time for revenge. Let him see how it feels! But how do you get embarrassingly intimate pictures of your jerkface ex who double-crossed you five years ago? Especially when he’s a member of the U.S. House of Representatives now?
Getting sweet between the sheets with a congressman is pretty much every political roadie’s dream, right? I’m one in a crowd. Except to this day, he swears he didn’t do it. Pursued me for months after I dumped him five years ago. Begged me to take him back. And I almost did it. Almost. I was weak and stupid and in love a hundred years ago. Okay. Fine. Five.
But I still have the upper hand. Second chance romance has all the emotional feels, doesn’t it? I can’t wait to punch him in the feels. All I need to do is sleep with him once, take some hot-and-sweaty pics of him in… delicate positions, and bring him down. That’s it. Nothing more.
Pictures first. Revenge after. And then I win.
At least, that’s how it was supposed to happen. But then I did something worse than sexting. I fell in love with him. Again.
(9) Yours in Scandal (Man of the Year #1) by Lauren Layne (2020)
If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, you’ll know that it’s virtually impossible for me to put together a book list without including at least 1 x book by Lauren Layne.
Fresh off being named Citizen magazine’s Man of the Year, New York City’s youngest mayor, Robert Davenport, decides it’s time to strategize. Next move: a bid for the governor’s seat. In his way: an incumbent with a flawless reputation. He also has an Achilles’ heel: an estranged wild-child daughter with a past so scandalous it could be Robert’s ticket to victory. And a charm so irresistible it could be Robert’s downfall.
Rebellion is a thing of the past for Adeline Blake. As New York’s premier event planner, she’s all about reform and respectability. Then she’s approached by Robert to organize the party of the season. Curious, considering he’s her father’s most formidable opponent. And alarming, too. Because Addie can’t help but fall for the righteously popular candidate with the movie-star smile.
Now it’s Robert’s choice. Does he pursue a future that holds his legacy? Or the woman who holds his heart?
Tags: Favourite Author
(10) Something Just Like This (Stay #3.5) by Jennifer Probst (2019)
Jonathan Lake is the beloved NYC mayor who’s making a run for Governor. His widowed status and close relationship with his daughter casts him as the darling of the press, and the candidate to beat, but behind the flash of the cameras, things are spinning out of control. It all has to do with his strait laced, ruthlessly organized assistant. Her skills and reserved demeanour are perfect to run his campaign, but her brilliant brain has become a temptation he’s been fighting for too long. Can he convince her to take a chance on a long-term campaign for love or will his efforts end up in scandal?
Alyssa Block has admired the NYC mayor for a long time, but her secret crush is kept ruthlessly buried under a mountain of work. Besides, she’s not his type, and office scandal is not in her job position. But when they retreat to an upstate horse farm for a secluded weekend, the spark between them catches flame, and Jonathan sets those stinging blue-eyes on winning her. Can she convince him to focus on the upcoming election, or will she succumb to the sweet promise of a different future?
Tags: Favourite Author / Favourite Series
(11) Fool Me Once by Ashley Winstead (2022)
Lee Stone is a twenty-first-century woman: she kicks butt at her job as a communications director at a women-run electric car company (that’s better than Tesla, thank you) and after work she is “Stoner,” drinking guys under the table and never letting any of them get too comfortable in her bed…
That’s because Lee’s learned one big lesson: never trust love. After four major heartbreaks set her straight, from her father cheating on her mom all the way to Ben Laderman in grad school—who wasn’t actually cheating, but she could have sworn he was, so she reciprocated in kind.
Then Ben shows up five years later, working as a policy expert for the most liberal governor in Texas history, just as Lee is trying to get a clean energy bill rolling. Things get complicated—and competitive as Lee and Ben are forced to work together. Tension builds just as old sparks reignite, fanning the flames for a romantic dustup the size of Texas.
Tags: Favourite Author / Second Chance
(12) The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead (2023)
As a shy school librarian, Alexis Stone is comfortable keeping out of the spotlight. But when she’s dumped for being too meek-in bed!-she decides she needs to change. And what better way to kick-start her new more adventurous life than with her first one-night stand?
Enter Logan, the gorgeous, foul-mouthed stranger she meets at a hotel bar. Audacious and filterless, Logan is Alexis’s opposite-and boy, do opposites attract! Just as she’s about to fulfil her hook-up wish, the hotel catches fire in a freak lightning storm. In their rush to escape, Logan is discovered carrying her into the street, where people are waiting with cameras. Cameras Logan promptly-and shockingly-flees.
Alexis is bewildered until suddenly pictures of her and Logan escaping the fire are all over the internet. Turns out Logan is none other than Logan Arthur, the hotshot candidate challenging the Texas governor’s seat. The salacious scandal is poised to sink his career-and jeopardize Alexis’s job-until a solution is he and Alexis could pretend to be in a relationship until election day…in two months. What could possibly go wrong?
Tags: Fake Dating / Favourite Author / Favourite Book by This Author / Five Star Reads
Louise Hall 
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