Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Politics, puppy dogs, and passion, oh my!

When his Republican opponent outs him with a photo in a Facebook post, Senator Samuel Dalton doesn’t have many options open to him. It doesn’t matter that the photo is totally innocent. He has no choice but to come clean… until his staff suggest putting a spin on it that leaves Sam reeling.

Sure, he’ll end up with a lot of sympathy, not to mention the possibility of more voters from the LGBT community, but it still seems a pretty drastic solution.

Now all they have to do is persuade Gary, the other man in the photo, to play along. It sounds so easy: convince the constituents of North Carolina that he and Sam are engaged.

No big deal, except for the fact that they’ve only just met….

Book Review

Relationships that begin due to convenience, to hide a truth, or for political advantage are not exactly rare. They appear a lot in fiction too, for the obvious reason that they are a treasure trove of possible twists and turns. ‘The Senator’s Secret’ is a modern-day version of the “politically convenient” relationship: North Carolina State Senator Sam Dalton is caught on film hugging Gary, a male aide, in the “secrecy” of his campaign headquarter’s backyard, a bigot outs him by posting the picture on FB with a few snide remarks, and Sam faces a potential political sh*tstorm weeks before hoping to be re-elected. Quite the conundrum and a PR nightmare – until his secretary and PR manager come up with a way to spin this in a positive direction, and Sam faces being engaged to a total stranger. What a setup!

Sam is one of a very rare breed – an honest politician. He cares for his constituents, focuses on fixing issues, and has no skeletons in his closet. Yes, he is gay, but only his best friend, chief of staff Curtis, knows about it. Sam doesn’t want any distractions from his political objectives, but when he is outed due to what was a congratulatory hug for Gary being accepted into vet school, keeping his personal life out of the limelight is no longer an option.
 
Gary is a great guy who is focused on his studies and keeping his head above water financially since he has no family to help pay for his degree. He helps man the phones for the senator’s campaign because he respects what the man stands for, but has never spoken to him personally until their shared cigarette break at the back of the house. He is mortified to find the picture of their innocent hug all over the Internet by the next morning, and when Sam’s chief of staff approaches him with a request to see the senator, Sam thinks he is in huge trouble. The proposal shocks him, but since he is gay, not currently in a relationship, and could do with the financial support that is part of the deal, he decides to go for it.

What follows is the hugely entertaining and very cute story of a totally unplanned and unexpected real romance between Gary and Sam. Initially they put on an act, but the more they get to know each other in all these staged PR situations, the more they like each other. Real affection soon sneaks in, and together with the sneaky sense of humor they share is a sound basis for true feelings to develop. Absolutely fantastic!

If you like a strangers-to-lovers story that moves faster than you can blink, if two men who start out pretending to be engaged only to find out they are falling in love sounds like a fun idea for a novel, and if you’re looking for a light read that is as enjoyable as it is compelling, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. It’s angst-free, funny, and very sweet.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook, print and audio
Length	Novel, 220 pages/53633 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	01-September-2016
Price	$4.99 ebook, $9.99 paperback, $9.99 bundle, $19.95 audiobook
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/the-senators-secret-by-kc-wells-7436-b