Thank you Net Galley for this ARC. This book was a romance that delved into the differences of political views and sexuality. And the acceptance of. This was my first F/F romance and I flew through it

A thoroughly enjoyable read. It's rare that a romance engages in politics, and I liked how thoughtful each opinion was. It turns out that Shelley isn't really a Republican, but it was still interesting to see the clash of values between her and Rand. The points of discussion were current and relatable to the audience. I was fond of Shelley, and her character arc was admirable. I wasn't as fond of Rand, mostly because I couldn't understand her rationalization half the time. Obviously she has had her own issues to deal with, but I couldn't shake the subconscious thought that Shelley deserves better.
Four stars.

Ms. Jensen is a new author for me. When I read the synopsis for this book, I thought it sounded really good especially since I am very interested in politics. Unfortunately, I just could not connect with the characters nor the storyline. This book started slow with a lot of information about one of the main characters and the pace for me never picked up. I decided to put the book aside for a few days and then resumed reading it.. I finished it and never felt that satisfaction one gets when a book is done.

I do want to give this author another try and hope she continues writing. I rate this book 2 out of 5 stars.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was my first time reading Jen Jensen's work and I found it to be very well planned and put together. I enjoyed the back and forth between Rand and Shelley from opposite sides of the political spectrum. The thing I liked the most is that they had actual discussions about their political differences rather than resorting to name-calling and tearing each other down. I was disappointed in Rand that she had such a hard time letting go of her Republican biases, only seeing Shelley believing everything that the party stands for. I would venture to say that most people fluctuate on certain issues and don't look to their political party for how they should believe. We have been taught by the media and the parties to hate each other rather than seeing each other's side. The Politics of Love does a really good job of showing both sides and it made me enjoy the characters all the more for it.

I loved the process that the author took Shelley through to discover who she was until she finally came out. It was on her terms, not on anyone else's, despite someone trying to force her out. I enjoyed seeing into her thought process. While never explicitly stated, Shelley has been through some sort of therapy or learned coping mechanisms for her stress. Her counting of things when in difficult situations alerts the reader of just how stressed she is. But when she doesn't count, she is more relaxed and able to accept where she is at. I thought that was a great element that continued to show up throughout the book.

it was a slow build until the end, but was well worth the journey. I would love to see a sequel to this following the 2020 elections to see where the characters are and if anything changed.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

I really enjoyed this book. It is about Rand and Shelley, who are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to religion and gay/trans rights. Shelley has parents who are Evangelical and do not know that she is gay. She campaigns for their organization despite being closeted.
It isn't until she meets Rand, a gay/trans activist, that she begins to question the organization and what damage it does to those who are out. This begins her journey to accept who she is. Rand helps her with her acceptance and a relationship between the two forms.
I would recommend this.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I really wanted to like this book. The description is really interesting and I was eager to see how the political divide in America would be explored in it. Alas, I did not but more on that later.

As a book itself it wasn't necessarily bad. I just personally really could not connect to the main characters and the secondary characters were not written well enough for the read to be able to care for them. I felt that the story was too fast-paced with little room for the characters to just /be/ without anything dramatic happening to them.

Jensen writes in the beginning that she wants to bring the two sides together, and a version of that is repeated countless times by the characters in the book. That is a thing that also prevented me from really connecting with it. She wrote about the0 political divide with the ease you may write about the difference of the East and West Coast, the US and Europe, the colours red and blue. It wasn't explored well enough and by having the resolution being both main characters basically changing their ideals isn't really the way to go about it.

I just want to end this by saying that although this book wasn't a fit for me, I've seen A LOT of great reviews here and I get where they're coming from. So as I said in the beginning, it's not necessarily a bad book and someone else might just make this their favourite read! In the end it all comes down to different people and tastes.

This is the first book I’ve read that starts in the studio’s of MSNBC. I’ve read books that have CNN as a starting place but…
Rand Thomas, or perhaps I should say Doctor Thomas, is an activist fighting for the rights of the LGBTQ community. She is dedicated and is more than willing to speak up on these issues. A few years have passed since she lost her wife to cancer and she has yet to meet anyone that made her take a second look. Imagine her surprise when she finds herself intrigued by a person like Shelley.
Shelley Whitmore has always done what her parents wanted, including working within the faith based organization led by her parents pushing the country to follow more conservative values. Like limiting the right of the trans community. The problem is that these goals are not what Shelley believes but it’s easier to just go along with their agenda. The only good thing was travelling throughout the country giving her a chance to explore the world that she herself wanted to be a part of. She has known from an early age that she wasn't what her family would want for her. She’s a very deep in the closet lesbian.
While Shelley’s character is someone that you find yourself liking despite her views or I should say her parents views on the LGBTQ’s community. She's smart and even though she has been in the spotlight for years representing her family’s concerns, you still find yourself cheering her for trying to finally live her life. On the other hand Rand is a little harder character to like. Rand has problems that she can’t seem to break free from including her late wife's parents. When she meets Shelley she is taken by Shelley’s willingness to look at the issues of LGBTQ community from a different angle.
First time I’ve read Ms Jensen’s and after this book I look forward to reading more of her works. A little choppy when it came to the dialogue but the story was worth a few minor hiccups . A very nice read.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books.

I went into this book thinking that I will enjoy the book as the entire premise intrigued me but sadly i did not enjoy the book a lot.
I couldn’t not connect with the characters which caused me to not really enjoy the book as much as I wanted to.

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I really liked the writer's first book. But this one felt like the writer wanted to use a romance story to write about politics on a personal level but couldn't really incorporate the two together.

The book started well. But while the point the writer tried to make about politics and being able to have opposing views. But on the romance and character development level, I didn't feel Rand and Shelley really connected and grew together. The ending felt rushed too. I was really left wondering if this was a relationship that could stand the test of time.

To be perfectly honest, I struggled with this one. I wanted to like it or at least enjoy the political storylines but found it hard to follow the pacing as each chapter picked up at a different place with no context.

The political sections were weak and felt like forced lectures rather than banter or quick debates.

I also had trouble with Shelley and Rands entire relationship — I just didn’t find their instant attraction credible given their backgrounds etc.

And the ending truly killed it for me — the answer to polarization is not to become an independent — especially because the Independence Party is a political organization with its own platform. Likely, the author meant that they registered as “unaffiliated” voters.

Sadly this one was a miss for me.

I was super intrigued by the premise of people who supported opposite parties (Republican and Democrat) finding a common ground in loving each other. Sharing different view yet becoming romantically involved.

And I guess it delivered what it promised, but in such a dispassionate and bland way that I struggled to push through it - keep in mind this is a super short book and it took me 5 days to finish it.

My least favourite thing is probably the structure. It doesn’t flow well and has a lot of breaks. It doesn’t help that the pacing is awfully quick and we get told what happens instead of shown.

I didn’t like the romance. And, again, it’s because of the pacing. We go from the first time they meet to a year later. That wouldn’t be a problem if we then saw their relationship building up slowly. But that’s not what happens. We are told that during that year they shared emails consistently, which is cute, but we don’t see them interact much until Shelley decides to move to Arizona, where Rand lives, to be closer to her... I also didn’t feel like they had any chemistry other than when they first met. Rand also got on my nerves when she kept leading Shelley on just to turn her down.

The only thing I enjoyed about this book was Jamie and Rachel.

I was very intrigued by this concept and when reading immediately thought to myself: "I am really curious to see how the author places a queer woman within the Republicans and how the relationship between a Republican and a Democrat might look like."

Sadly, I have to admit that while there were a lot of concepts I loved (I am always SO excited when I can add a book to my "vegan-character" shelf), this wasn't a book for me.

I thought that the main theme, the politics, where dealt with only at the beginning and the end (properly) and in the middle there was a love story that I didn't get sucked into and that was riddled with drama. Somehow, I also felt completely disconnected by the fact that the story takes place over the course of a year and there were so many time jumps where I was left wondering "but wait, what happens in the middle of this?". Hence, I ended up being not at all invested in the love story, for me personally it could've gone either way and I also wasn't able to connect with the characters.

As for the politics and religion as themes... I ended up being even more atheist and democrat with the believe that no, I don't think being friends with a republican could ever be an option for me.

All in all, I am giving this two stars. I have to admit that the most exciting thing for me about this book was Shelley's veganism.

Rand, a liberal activist, meets a famous conservative republican lawyer Shelley on a political TV show in New-York and they agree on more than they thought they ever would. I loved this book, it was a quick read that cleverly took a political spin on the enemies to lovers trope.

Unfortunately, this was not what I was looking for at the moment. The writing was great, but the story line was not what I was looking for. I may try to pick this up again in the future.

I requested this book because I was intrigued by the idea of a political romance. Politics today have become so divisive, the idea of having a staunch republican fall in love with a liberal democrat was entertaining. Unfortunately, the romance element of this didn't really work for me. I don't feel like the two main characters had real chemistry. They were clearly attracted to each other but some of that attraction seemed like "we're both lesbians, so we're automatically attracted to each other." I was kind of hoping this book would be more like Red, White, and Royal Blue: mainly a swoon-worthy romcom with a sprinkling of political discussion. These characters though, I felt like their only defining quality was there political party.

Rand, a liberal activist, meets a famous conservative republican lawyer on a political TV show in New-York. This original novel is written in the third person.
I loved many aspects of the story. First, the characters are over thirty characters yet struggling with a lot of life issues. The author also highlights the influence of family even when we are adults. Despite than I'm not homosexual, many passages in the book echoed in my own life, such as the difficulty of grief or widowhood. Moreover, whether you're sexual orientation, the struggle to find the right partner, one that you're attracted to and who is your perfect match is just the same. I also learned a lot. For instance, maybe because I live in a European capital, I thought that nowadays most homosexuals come out at the latest in their twenties.
It is a pity that the writing is strictly factual. Because of that, the insta-love felt a little weird. Whether you believe in insta-love or not, as a reader, I need to sense the protagonists' emotions. It was too descriptive, to the point that I felt so little emotions that I wondered if the book could be considered as romance.

3.75 stars. All in all, I enjoyed this book. I appreciated the political/religious thread throughout having been raised much like Shelley, though I saw the Democratic light in early adulthood. Most of the characters were enjoyable and engaging. In the beginning I was sure I was going to root for Rand and not like Shelley much, but by a third of the way in it was totally reversed. Rand felt immature and selfish. Her marital history was tragic but how she handled it felt over done and forced, like the book needed a dramatic arch so one was manufactured. Shelley's journey felt far more authentic. Rachel and Jamie were almost scene stealers in this book. I'd love a book written for them, each or together. They were great characters. I liked this author's first book Jamis Bachman, Ghost Hunter better, but this was a good read too. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The story was an okay read for me. I was overwhelmed because a lot of issues were mixed in the story. I learned a lot about political affiliations. The story was well written. It took a year of push and pull between the characters before they got together. But the romance in the story was bland for me. The story concentrated more on the differences in political views of the characters and how they navigated through them which led to a happy ending. I gave it a 3-star rating because even if I finished the story, I was expecting more from it. Also, having lesser politics would be nice too. I would have enjoyed it more if both characters did some couple stuff together, not just emails and stuff. I could see that some would enjoy this book most especially people who can both connect to Shelley and Rand’s story.

What is a more relevant modern-day interpretation of Romeo & Juliet, than a Democrat & Republican love-story?

I was pleasantly surprised by The Politics of Love. Before reading this book, I really had no inclination to read anything LGBT+ related from a Republican viewpoint. (Disclaimer: I am not American and so do not belong to either the Democrat or Republican party). I started the book ready to give up on it at any moment. But I didn't. That is indicative of how the characters and their developments are written; and the fact that there are indeed developments.

The story constantly switches perspective between Rand and Shelley which is refreshing as both are very different people and we therefore get to understand them both better. Additionally, SPOILER, the novel does end happily without being too incendiary or divisive by having both characters meet in the middle and become Independents. Although it could feel like a safe option it does make sense for who the characters turn out to be. Instead of a safe option, I would say it was the more palatable option. Additionally, Jensen shows us more than once that Shelley is not one of those Republicans, but instead was Republican because she believed in small government and individual liberty.  In Chapter 2, she even voices support for the trans community live on a talk show. (Which is a nice surprise). This makes any wary reader more willing to see where her story goes. The author gives ample time and respect to both sides. I did not like Rand so much at the beginning either, but grew to eventually like her too. As the book progresses and we see more backstory and personality, the two protagonists become less like caricatures and more like actual people. There is growth.

One of the criticisms I had was that events in the book seemed to move too fast. If the book had a few extra chapters there might be more space to breathe, more time to bond with all of the characters and to come to terms with their thoughts and actions. Another criticism is that the Acknowledgements essentially tells us before the book begins "#NotAllRepublicans", which is going to repel a lot of potential readers (as it nearly did me). I understand what the author was trying to do but this can be rather off-putting. The recent political climate is so inflammatory and while a "let's give people the benefit of the doubt" message would otherwise be noble, here, it risks alienating and upsetting many readers even before the book begins. One of the characters may be Republican, but the reader understands straightaway that she is questioning the party, her sexuality, and her entire life. The Acknowledgements section beforehand doesn't really reflect this.

Overall, I do recommend The Politics of Love. The characters are interesting, the story is relatable for many of us, and its relevance to our times makes this an engaging and thought-proving read.

I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from the publisher. This in no way effects my opinion.
I had high hopes going into this. I wanted to see two women somehow manage to find love despite having differing political views. I feel this is a real concern when finding a partner so I was curious to see how the relationship and story would develop.
Over all I was disappointed. I wanted more from the story and I felt like I was being short changed. The author spent the book telling me what was happening rather than having the reader experience the moment for themselves. For example, a photo gets leaked but we get no reaction from the character (not when she finds out or even after the fact). This is a big deal for one of the characters, I wanted to see their reaction not hear about how they felt or reacted weeks after the event occurred. I kinda felt the story moved to fast to let the characters and readers experience the events of the story. However, this may also be the fault of the writing or story structure.
The characters also fell flat in my opinion. There's very little to Rand and the story mostly centers around Shelley. We don't get any character moments with either one that engaged me as a reader to root for them. I didn't see the chemistry they supposedly had. The relationship lacked passion or um romance?
I was super intrigued by the plot but think the execution left me wanting a lot more.