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In October, I found myself motivated to read and so I was able to finish off not one but two novels! The first was Jojo Moyes’ The Last Letter from Your Lover which I already wrote a review about. That book was a bit heavy on the heart to read considering it was a historical drama but definitely a good one! My second book for October was a good balance to that: Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory.

The Plot

Dating is the last thing on Olivia Monroe’s mind when she moves to LA to start her own law firm. But when she meets a gorgeous man at a hotel bar and they spend the entire night flirting, she discovers too late that he is none other than hotshot junior senator Max Powell.

Olivia has zero interest in dating a politician, but when a cake arrives at her office with the cutest message, she can’t resist – it is chocolate cake, after all.

Olivia is surprised to find that Max is sweet, funny and noble – not just some privileged white politician she assumed him to be. Because of Max’s high-profile job, they start seeing each other secretly, which leads to clandestine dates and silly disguises. But when they finally go public, the intense media scrutiny means people are now digging up her rocky past and criticizing her job, even her suitability as a trophy girlfriend. Olivia knows what she has with Max is something special, but is it strong enough to survive the heat of the spotlight?

My Review

Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory is my first novel from this author. I got interested to read it when my friend, Nicole, told me she wanted to read it too. She showed me a copy of the book cover and I thought it looks like the book covers of one of my favorite authors, Sophie Kinsella. I found out this is part of a series beginning from The Wedding Date. However, you won’t need to read the other books before it to make sense of the story.

If you’re looking for a book that’ll give you butterflies in your stomach, this is NOT it. It’s not a cutesy romance kind of book as I initially thought it was judging from the cover. There were real issues tackled here that were nicely weaved in to the story. Sexism. Juvenile systemic racism.

As for Max, I like that as a senator, he was using his position to affect change, good change in the society. He listened and learned from the experts. Also, he was passionate about his job. Certainly made me wish he was a real person you know? We could use more of people like that! Out to really serve the people.

The main characters were more level headed in their approach to the relationship and they certainly had a more realistic problem they had to deal with – talks about anxiety, compromise, communication, careers etc. Understandably so because they were already in their late 30’s. But Max is pretty adorable as a hero though.

One thing I would say about this novel – it’s got a lot of food scenes specially desserts! The characters are always either talking about food or eating! Olivia, the heroine of the story, certainly loves to eat!

Anyway, I thought it was an overall nice story. I certainly liked it enough to give her other books a try. I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads.

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Photo credit: GoodReads