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onceandfuturereaders's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thom and Clay both work for the Governor of California who is getting ready to run for President. They seem to absolutely despise each other, but after the Governor makes a bad comment to the media and Thom and Clay get photographed in awkward position, they decide to fake date to help salvage the campaign. What could possibly go wrong?
Now let me start off by saying that while I enjoyed this book a lot, it is not for everyone. If you really want to like your main characters and hope they’re good people, you may be disappointed and this book is likely not for you.
I had seen that this was for fans of the West Wing (one of my favorite comfort watches) and I’m a huge fan of this trope combo (fake dating and enemies to lovers). I also live just outside DC so the politico storyline was very intriguing (and realistic) to me. That being said, Thom is quite literally the worst (okay there is one character who is worse, but that would be a spoiler). He actually had me questioning whether I think Josh Lyman, who clearly inspired his character, is a good person or am I just really attracted to Bradley Whitford? There were only maybe 3 or 4 quick moments where I genuinely liked Thom. Clay has his own personality faults, but is clearly struggling with imposter syndrome and I found him the more likeable of the two. Weirdly I did like them as a couple the more into the book I got, but I didn’t like them at all in the beginning.
All that said, the writing is really good and I found myself laughing in so many places. And honestly I’m glad that I knew going into it that the characters weren’t really likeable (see Liz’s bio which says she writes romances for terrible people) because it let me really enjoy this book a lot for what it was.
If you like The West Wing, particularly Josh Lyman, fake dating, enemies to lovers, and don’t mind terrible people as characters, this may be for you!
Always check all content warnings (I use StoryGraph), but this has homophobia, bullying, and emotional abuse (especially in the workplace).
Now let me start off by saying that while I enjoyed this book a lot, it is not for everyone. If you really want to like your main characters and hope they’re good people, you may be disappointed and this book is likely not for you.
I had seen that this was for fans of the West Wing (one of my favorite comfort watches) and I’m a huge fan of this trope combo (fake dating and enemies to lovers). I also live just outside DC so the politico storyline was very intriguing (and realistic) to me. That being said, Thom is quite literally the worst (okay there is one character who is worse, but that would be a spoiler). He actually had me questioning whether I think Josh Lyman, who clearly inspired his character, is a good person or am I just really attracted to Bradley Whitford? There were only maybe 3 or 4 quick moments where I genuinely liked Thom. Clay has his own personality faults, but is clearly struggling with imposter syndrome and I found him the more likeable of the two. Weirdly I did like them as a couple the more into the book I got, but I didn’t like them at all in the beginning.
All that said, the writing is really good and I found myself laughing in so many places. And honestly I’m glad that I knew going into it that the characters weren’t really likeable (see Liz’s bio which says she writes romances for terrible people) because it let me really enjoy this book a lot for what it was.
If you like The West Wing, particularly Josh Lyman, fake dating, enemies to lovers, and don’t mind terrible people as characters, this may be for you!
Always check all content warnings (I use StoryGraph), but this has homophobia, bullying, and emotional abuse (especially in the workplace).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, and Emotional abuse
llax11's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Bullying, and Violence
this_momma_is_booked's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book took me forever to get through considering it was a short audiobook. It's just that no one was likeable? Clay was a man-child, Thom was a dick all the time, I hated that Thom was just using Clay for sex when it was clear to EVERYONE, including himself, that Clay had feelings for him, Lennie was horrible and should not be president, and the weird sexual tension between Thom and his co-worker whose name I forgot is just never explained. Blah. SO much potential.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Bullying
annikw's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
1.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia
anil's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The vibes are like,,, kylux political campaign au with fake dating trope. It's fucking excellent.
I love that most of the people in this book are not good people, especially Thom, and the character development isn't actually trying to fix that. What it's trying to fix is... make him less empty. Which is great! It's great.
I love that most of the people in this book are not good people, especially Thom, and the character development isn't actually trying to fix that. What it's trying to fix is... make him less empty. Which is great! It's great.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia
kennyscoffee's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Super fast read that is decent. Sort of like Red, White, and Royal Blue if the writing was worse, characters were older, and the plot twist was predictable. If you are looking for it, it seems predictable in terms of the “plot twist”. Do I like the characters? Yes. Clay and Thom deserve so much better and everyone around them sucks. Be prepared to put up with that for the entire book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Drug use
doll2021's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
spookieboogie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia and Bullying
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