A review by a_novel_ty
Dirty Work by Brenda Rothert, Chelle Bliss
3.0
Rating: 2.75
No bueno to dirty work. No bueno at all. I read the synopsis of this book and thought, “Oh! That's different and should be fun to read. Two smart, passionate young people, both running for a Senate on opposing sides and falling for one another in the process. Should be filled with some intense debates, grimy politics, quick wit and everything else that comes along with the craziness that is a political campaign....” Instead I got the same old failed attempt at a hate at first sight romance thinly veiled as a political romance.
I hate to be cruel but the premise of this book was pretty damn interesting and had the potential to be really good but was instead wasted on a plot that was actually about unwarranted feelings, foreplay and basically written romance. You can't actually call this a political romance because there was barely any politics. When the two main characters, Reagan and Jude weren’t swooning over one another every chance they got, they were either participating in debates or fulfilling campaign duties. But rather than actually focusing on the campaign and things they wanted to change or affect in the government, they were too busy thinking up ways to sneak and see one another or trying to avoid being obvious about their feelings for one another. I found it quite annoying.
What I found most disappointing though, was Reagan and the way she carried her self and acted throughout the book. I was hoping she would be this strong, stubborn, slick tongued, political power house. Instead as soon as she laid on Jude, she turned into a little 12 year old girl swooning for the new kid on the block. Granted, Jude was just as gone for her as she was for him. The main difference was, he was able to keep their personal and professional loves separate. He didn't let his feelings for her affect the way he went for her during a debate. He didn't temper his responses to questions regarding her during Q&A's for fear of hurting her feelings. He was professional and kept his eye on the prize, which was winning the election. To me, it seemed that after just one look at Jude, Reagan's priority immediately switched. Utterly disappointing.
It wasn't all bad however. My issues with this book really falls on the fact that it had such great potential to be a great story with substance as well as a good romance novel and it only shook out to be barely just the one of those things. There were cute moments. When Jude and Reagan weren't being completely insufferable with their whirlwind secret romance, there were moments that I found entertaining and fun. But you can get entertaining and fun from any number of books and you can find ones that are written in a more believable and less insta-lovey way...
Overall, I could've done without reading this book. On the bright side, it was short, so I didn't waste too much of my time.
No bueno to dirty work. No bueno at all. I read the synopsis of this book and thought, “Oh! That's different and should be fun to read. Two smart, passionate young people, both running for a Senate on opposing sides and falling for one another in the process. Should be filled with some intense debates, grimy politics, quick wit and everything else that comes along with the craziness that is a political campaign....” Instead I got the same old failed attempt at a hate at first sight romance thinly veiled as a political romance.
I hate to be cruel but the premise of this book was pretty damn interesting and had the potential to be really good but was instead wasted on a plot that was actually about unwarranted feelings, foreplay and basically written romance. You can't actually call this a political romance because there was barely any politics. When the two main characters, Reagan and Jude weren’t swooning over one another every chance they got, they were either participating in debates or fulfilling campaign duties. But rather than actually focusing on the campaign and things they wanted to change or affect in the government, they were too busy thinking up ways to sneak and see one another or trying to avoid being obvious about their feelings for one another. I found it quite annoying.
What I found most disappointing though, was Reagan and the way she carried her self and acted throughout the book. I was hoping she would be this strong, stubborn, slick tongued, political power house. Instead as soon as she laid on Jude, she turned into a little 12 year old girl swooning for the new kid on the block. Granted, Jude was just as gone for her as she was for him. The main difference was, he was able to keep their personal and professional loves separate. He didn't let his feelings for her affect the way he went for her during a debate. He didn't temper his responses to questions regarding her during Q&A's for fear of hurting her feelings. He was professional and kept his eye on the prize, which was winning the election. To me, it seemed that after just one look at Jude, Reagan's priority immediately switched. Utterly disappointing.
It wasn't all bad however. My issues with this book really falls on the fact that it had such great potential to be a great story with substance as well as a good romance novel and it only shook out to be barely just the one of those things. There were cute moments. When Jude and Reagan weren't being completely insufferable with their whirlwind secret romance, there were moments that I found entertaining and fun. But you can get entertaining and fun from any number of books and you can find ones that are written in a more believable and less insta-lovey way...
Overall, I could've done without reading this book. On the bright side, it was short, so I didn't waste too much of my time.