AAR Loves… Romances Featuring Politicians
You’re probably aware that Tuesday, Nov. 3, is Election Day in the United States, whether you live in the United States or elsewhere, even if that “elsewhere” is “under a rock.” Yes, politicians (like lawyers!) have a dubious stereotype, but true public servants – people who dedicate their lives to improving the world and the situation of the people around them – make wonderful heroines and heroes. In honor of Election Day, here’s a list of some of AAR’s favorite romances starring politicians.
The Cowboy Says I Do by Dylann Crush
After Lacey Cherish’s father, the mayor of Idont, Texas, was removed from office and arrested, she ran and won. Now she’s trying to restore the family name and the city, which is saddled with major debt. Sheriff Bodie Phillips is both one of Lacey’s best and oldest friends and her bodyguard. When Lacey suggests that they turn Idont into the wedding capital of Texas, he thinks it’s all horsefeathers. The Cowboy Says I Do works for many reasons, and characterisation and romantic chemistry are just half of it. Lacey and Bodie are wonderful together, steamy but funny and awkward. The courtship is perfectly tropey – bedsharing! Feuding families! Work colleagues thrown together! Surprise/fake engagements! – but they come off as unique characters with distinct personalities. And they’re a great friends-to-lovers couple, not losing an iota of their spark along the way.
Queen Move by Kennedy Ryan
Kimba Allen met Ezra Stern when they were both infants and his white Jewish mother and black non-religious father had recently moved to Atlanta. But the Sterns moved away when the children were in middle school. Kimba grew up to become a political kingmaker and campaign manager, having recently managed the campaign for the newly elected U.S. president. Ezra became an activist educator, founder of a local private school for low-income kids. He meets Kimba again when she presents him with an award from the Allen family foundation, but it’s not easy timing: Kimba is confronting early perimenopause while Ezra struggles with a separation from his long-time girlfriend, who is also the mother of their child. The scope of this novel’s achievement is staggering. It’s diverse and political without being a polemic. The plot is perfectly paced. The supporting characters and the setting are rich and nuanced, and yet never at the cost of fully-realized protagonists and their inexorable, near-gravitational attraction to each other.
Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory
Recent LA transplant Olivia Monroe flirtatiously debates cake with an attractive man without realizing that he’s actually her senator, Max Powell. After the two reconnect at a politician function, Olivia is surprised when Max sends her a package with a sweet message, a phone number, and the cake she’d told him was her favorite. She starts falling for Max, but does she like him enough to stand beside him when their romance becomes a public spectacle? Olivia is strong, independent, and opinionated without being bitchy and touchy; a kind, reasonable person who is as quick to stand up for others as she is to defend herself. Easy-going and attentive Max knows how privileged he is and happy to be called on it. The primary political issue discussed is social justice, specifically the school to prison pipeline. The author does a great job of showing the actual work of a senator, from meetings to town halls to press events to the endless travel – and the effect that work has on a relationship.
And how about some historicals?
A Gilded Lady by Elizabeth Camden
Caroline Delacroix loves her job as secretary to irritable, demanding, and rude First Lady Ida McKinley, Glamorous socialite and heiress Caroline loves that she is using her social acumen to serve her country, but her primary reason is to earn a pardon for her twin brother, who has confessed to treason. Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Trask, meanwhile, is a reluctant transfer to the White House. He came into the Treasury department as an artist and a counterfeiting expert, not a bodyguard. When he is introduced to the presidential staff, he is immediately attracted to Caroline. While her work ethic and calm are impressive, he can’t countenance her traitor brother, and seeks to have her fired. The President and First Lady refuse, and as he gets to know Caroline, he realizes just why everyone considers her irreplaceable. Ms. Camden is an expert at weaving absolutely fascinating history into her stories, and here she invites her readers into a rarely discussed time and place. We loved the details of Mrs. McKinley’s cantankerous personality and the epilepsy from which it stems, of early and evolving Presidential security, of how the White House staff lived, and of what the campaigns were like before being revolutionized by radio and TV. A Gilded Lady is filled with mystery, romance, richly drawn characters, and fascinating American history.
Sweet Disorder by Rose Lerner
The Tories of English town Lively St. Lemeston have always defeated the Whigs, but this campaign promises to be close fought. Two of the necessary votes are in the possession of widow Phoebe Sparks. In 1812, Phoebe cannot actually vote herself, but because her father was a freeman of the town, she holds his votes “in trust” to be used by her husband, should she remarry. Naturally, both sides are eager to see her wed to a man of their political persuasion in order to secure her votes. Lady Tassell, whose youngest is the Whig candidate, forces her middle son, Nicholas, to Lively St. Lemeston so that he can promote a match between Phoebe and Lady Tassell’s chosen Whig husband. When he arrives and sees Phoebe’s pretty face and voluptuous body, he realises that playing matchmaker might be a much more difficult task than he’d thought.
A Lady’s Code of Misconduct by Meredith Duran
Weak and disoriented from a head injury everyone thought would be fatal, Member of Parliament Crispin Burke is surprised to awaken to a wife he has no memory of marrying. In fact, Crispin hardly remembers any of his recent life, but the wedding one isn’t his fault: the marriage certificate is a fake. Jane Monroe had expected Crispin to die when she faked the marriage certificate, knowing as a widow she’d be free of her loathsome uncle, Crispin’s closest political ally. It turns out that Crispin wasn’t a good man in his forgotten life, and his self-serving politics were riddled with corruption and blackmail. This new, post-head-injury Crispin is a different man. When he learns that he is in fact the author of a penal bill he now finds repugnant, he turns to Jane to help him ensure that the bill does not pass. This is where Jane can shine. She grew up in a political household and she’s familiar with pending bills and the important issues of the day. Politics are so central to the lives of both characters that through their conversations and work on the penal bill, their growing mutual attraction takes on a compelling depth as their meeting of the minds leads to near-seamless teamwork. The physical and emotional sides of the romantic relationship are definitely present and well done here, but the pairing of intellects is a particularly sexy aspect.
As always, we have a tag for this! If you want more romances featuring people in politics, try our politician tag! And leave any recommendations you have for books we missed in the comments below.
Oh, and if you’re an eligible voter – go vote!!
Interested in finding more books AAR Loves..?
Check out these posts:
Yes We Can! Our Favourite Activist Heroines
Romances featuring Refugee Heroines
Romancing it Royally – Some of our favourite royal romances
AAR Loves… Historical Romances featuring scientist heroines
AAR Loves… Romances featuring music and musicians
AAR Loves… Romances featuring realistic parent/child relationships
AAR Loves… Partners to Lovers romances – Part One (Military, law enforcement etc.)
AAR Loves… Partners to Lovers romances – Part Two
Five Baseball Romances Worth Your Time
AAR Loves… Representation of Disability and Chronic Illness in Romance (Part One)
AAR Loves… Representation of Disability and Chronic Illness in Romance (Part Two)
AAR Loves… Romances featuring marriages in trouble
AAR Loves… The Best Slow Burn Romances
There are also endless Regencies where rakes who have been ignoring their seat in the House of Lords suddenly realize they should step up to the plate and serve.
Just thought of another I thought was rather cute: More Than Love Letters by Rosy Thornton. It’s an epistolary novel about an MP and one of his constituents, who writes him letters of complaint about various issues in the community. Jayne at Dear Author gave it an A- review.
Oh! I just thought of a magical realism literary novel that involved politics and romance: The Crows of Beara by Julie Christine Johnson, published by Ashland Creek Press in 2017. The plot concerns a PR woman from Seattle who has been assigned to promote a new copper mine in Ireland for job creation. She comes up against a local artist who is leading a group of environmentally concerned citizens who are trying to stop the mine from opening on the grounds it would encroach on the habitat of the endangered red-billed chough (I belief it’s pronounced “chuff”- someone correct me if I’m wrong).
It’s been a few years since I’ve read it, so I couldn’t give you spoilers even if I wanted to. The ending is a total blur to me, but I think it had an HEA. I remember enjoying the story and the prose.
Other books I liked from this indie publisher include The Dragon Keeper by Mindy Mejia, which features a prickly zookeeper heroine (not a romance, although there is some relationship drama and politics involving an endangered species- a bit on the depressing side), and the nonfiction writing craft book Writing for Animals, an anthology of essays giving pointers on writing animal characters in multiple genres effectively (I know that’s a topic that’s come up in some romances reviewed here at AAR!)
I learned about Ashland Creek Press several years ago when sniffing out writing submission opportunities. It didn’t pan out, but I have been following them ever since. All of their offerings are related to the environment, but the actual genres of their stories range from literary to mystery to small-r romance. Plus they publish books related to the craft of writing. I think a lot of the readers here might enjoy perusing their catalog.
This is cheating a bit, because my political rec is a movie that probably wasn’t based on a book. But if you want some light political fluff that involves a married couple, check out Kisses for My President. It’s a black and white comedy from the 1960s starring Fred MacMurray as the nation’s first first gentleman. Since his position is unprecedented- his wife being the first female president, and all- he really doesn’t know what to do with himself, and the staff at the White House isn’t sure what to do with him either. So, he bumbles about looking for a way to be useful but ends up causing all kinds of inadvertent political problems such as accidentally punching an ambassador at a night club among other misadventures.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, and some of the attitudes and political issues might seem dated, but I remember it had an overall sweetness that made it worth watching on a rainy day.
There’s a 1994 romantic comedy called Speechless with Geena Davis and Michael Keaton that was cute (at least I remember it being cute) where they are speechwriters for opposing Senate candidates (I think). Ah the good old nineties!
Haven’t heard of that one. Thanks for the rec!
I saw it at the movies- cause I’m old, lol.
Dave with Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver!
Yes, Dave I’ve definitely seen parts of. One of these days, I’ll have to watch it all the way through.
I love Nina Bocci’s On the Corner of Love and Hate. Features a small town mayoral election so it doesn’t touch on national issues. Enemies to lovers, warm humor- it’s a lot of fun!
If you like romantic suspense, the first book in Pamela Clare’s I-team series pairs an investigative reporter with a senator. I remember that book having a lot of working mom issues.
I have been trying to remember, to no avail, the title and author of a book from maybe the 80s. Yes, they did have printing presses back then. It was funny, and I thought it might be by Gibson, but she was kind enough to write back that no, it wasn’t hers. I think the hero is a small-town mayor and he (or she–maybe a reporter?) sendd a possum as a joke gift which the hero refers to as “their baby.” The hero is kind of a good old boy, but without all the objectionable baggage that sometimes comes with that label. Ring any bells? I loved it.
I haven’t heard of that one, but you might want to ask around at SBTB (Smart Bitches, Trashy Books). They have a section entitled “Help a Bitch Out” where people can ask for titles of romance novels that they remember vaguely. They’ve solved quite a few “cases” based on summaries like the one you just provided. Good luck!
Out of the books mentioned in the original post, I’ve only read Sweet Disorder and A Lady’s Code of Misconduct both of which I enjoyed very much. Party of Two and Queen Move were already on my tbr list and I’m putting the other two there as well.
I also really liked The Easy Part series by Emma Barry. There are three loosely interconnected books in the series. Special Interests – the heroine is a lobbyist for a labour union and the hero is a staffer for the senate majority leader. Private Politics – the heroine is a socialite who is raising funds for an international women’s and girls’ literacy non-profit and the hero is a political blogger. Party Lines – the heroine is the assistant deputy campaign manager for voter outreach for the republican presidential candidate and the hero is the deputy campaign manager for the democrat presidential candidate. I think it is possible to read each as a standalone.
I remember enjoying ‘The Bellator Saga’ by Cecilia London. I bought the final part ‘Songbird” – but it was a while after the others and I haven’t got round to reading it yet.
About the only romances I can think of with politician (or politician-adjacent) characters are Ainsley Booth’s Frisky Beavers series which revolve around a Canadian Prime Minister (a Justin Trudeau-esque figure) and his staff. My favorite of the bunch is FULL MOUNTIE, where two of the PM’s security detail have a ménage (M/M/F) with the PM’s social Secretary.
I liked some politicians in US romances until about 2000.
Nothing stands out amazingly, so I remember no titles, but a few were good.
However:
The young ambitious congressman and the “dubious” woman was nearly a trope, at some moment. Usually quite old skool, she conformed so he could save America. Most of these books expected the woman to play the old fashioned political wife, and I disliked them on feminist grounds, not political ones.
Since then, a combo of factors makes it hard to have a good story at the state/national level in US – too much serious anger and disagreement all around is my reasoning why.
SEP: First Lady did not work for me, I found it totally unreal, though sweet. But I could not believe its political ending.
Historicals:
I love Gellis’s Regencies for excellent politics, Kent Heiress in particular, and a Woman’s Estate. Her medievals are nearly too politicky to be romance, though great books. More at the level of diplomats and advisors than kings and queens, which is more interesting to me.
For rulers romances, or rebel leaders, or anything like that, I prefer fantasy to historical, since mostly there were no HEAs in historicals for rulers. Only accommodation or compromise.
I loved the first few Thea Harrison because they were about politics, too, same for Nalini Singh, Gail Carriger, Justine Davis, and a host of others.
I am much more interested in politics than battles as a plot.
And I love political marriages becoming true allies and loves, because I love marriages of convenience plots.
That’s interesting! If you look through the tag, I’ve kept “politician” to mean “involved in electoral politics” which means it’s basically limited to the modern era. But “politics” can certainly be courtly intrigues etc. Paula Marshall has some Elizabethan court books which are certainly political, but I don’t think we could say the characters are “politicians.”
I love the second-language readers on AAR because you always make me see English in a new way!
Yes, interesting- I understand what you mean, now, but read it differently, without that clarification.
I guess you would not call it that, but to me managing a country, negotiating its place in the world, fixing its conflicts, is all politics, to me. So advisers in Constantinople would be politicians to me, or in SF, Asaro writes a lot of politics in that sense, too.
fun, thx!
Unfinished Business by Karyn Langhorne a book I have mentioned here before. Still the best book I’ve ever read with both a politician and an activist as the main characters. He is a disabled vet, now a senator from a southern state and leaning towards the right. She is a black woman, an activist leaning the other way. Together they are on a journey and for them it will bring an HEA but it will take understanding, trust and faith in each other’s innate wish to serve. I loved this book and have read it more than once.
I also love this book for the romance and the character plot. What I don’t like is the weird/silly suspense twist at the end, but outside of that, it’s a very good read.
I would recommend Playing With Fire by Kate Meader. It’s a sexy contemporary romance with a politician hero.
SO co-sign. (Although I am not crazy about the ending for Eli.) I do love that book, though!
Yes! While not my favorite in Hot In Chicago series, I still like Playing With Fire a lot.
Historicals have an advantage in that the political issues are safely in the past. The danger for someone writing a contemporary is that either it grapples with the issues that are currently inflaming people, risking the ire of half the readership, or it steers clear of anything other than politicians on the take or “Let’s save the local playground!”
I think Queen Move manages this pretty well.
I’ll have to try it.
I also like Molly O’Keefe’s An Indecent Proposal in which the hero is a serious politician who has to make tough choices.
I was scanning my bookshelves earlier today for romance novels with political themes, but somehow managed to miss this even though I know I have it as a paperback. But yes, I enjoyed An Indecent Proposal too.
The first book, Wild Child, in the Boys of Bishop series of which An Indecent Proposal is the fourth, also has a hero who is the mayor of a dying small town, desperately trying to convince a cookie factory to move its headquarters to his town in order to create jobs. I found it good book as well.
I liked that series a lot.
Me too.
The books in The Boys of Bishop series were actually among the first romance novels I’ve read and I think they’ll always be a bit special to me because of that. I also associate these books with being mad at myself about not having even tried to familiarize myself with the romance genre before. I kept reading all these really impressive books and felt like such a fool. So much wasted time, so many missed books. Better late than never, I guess.
SEP often has characters in her books who long to be public servants.
Gracie becomes the mayor, the First Lady becomes President, and several supporting characters are politicians. But they’re rarely political.
I loved Phil as mayor as well. Completely forgot about Welcome To Temptation as a “political” romance but in a lot of ways it is as the mayoral race is the background for a lot of the motivations and goings on.
This is beautifully written, as Queen Move itself is. Caroline, thank you for putting into words why I love the novel. :)
Thank you so much! I crib text from our reviews when I make these lists and this was my review originally. I loved the book too.
Hmmm….I can’t imagine this tag will be very popular right now as pretty much everyone I know, no matter what their political leanings are, are just so so sick of politics and campaigns at this point. I’m not sure anyone is thinking politics=sexy right now, lol.
I do have to say that I really enjoyed A Lady’s Code of Misconduct by Meredith Duran very much. It was the first book that came to mind when I saw the “politicians” tag.
Yes, it was mine, too. The Rose Lerner series is good, too – the politics in them isn’t heavy-handed.
Actually, for me right now, an ethical politician is hot!
I think it can go either way right now with people. Like some people were reading pandemic related books during the pandemic and others were saying they only wanted the complete opposite of anything “real”.
I think if it’s not related to current politics right now I’m fine. I’d definitely re-read ALCOM.