Romancing the vote, page by page

 

With the midterm election coming up in only a few weeks, most of us do need a break from the major news coverage in order not to be overwhelmed by the intensity of it all.

However, you can have your cake and eat it in an electoral style with this trio of romance titles that have political love interests at the helm. Granted, there are plenty of other similarly themed romance reads out there but these are the ones I’ve fully enjoyed, regardless of politics.

Recently, I finished Incense and Sensibility which is the third book in Sonali Dev’s Jane Austen inspired series about the Raje family. Yash , the eldest son and top contender in the gubernatorial race, receives a shocking attack at a rally, which causes him to hold back from further campaigning.

In order to take control of his understandable fears, he seeks the yoga healing services of India Dashwood , who is balancing her concerns over her mother’s health and her sister China’s secret celebrity romance as well as dealing with the reappearance of Yash in her life.

India and Yash shared a brief moment of emotional intimacy many years ago, with him quickly breaking things off before they could properly begin.

 Part of that reason was the need to have a relationship of convenience with Naina, a friend who needed to pursuit her career goals without family pressure to get married. 

That arrangement worked out for both Yash and Naina while they were in separate countries but now, she wants to change the game as a fast track to her professional endgame. With Yash getting help from India and the two of them placing everyone’s needs before their own, can either of them admit the truth about their feelings without risking the election?

Dev blends the basic elements of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility within her original narrative in a seamlessly elegant way. Her characters are just as compelling and nuanced as their Regency counterparts given a modern day flair.

Also, basing a potential political candidate on Edward Ferrars is pretty great in my opinion. While he does keep a few too many secrets, Edward has the best intentions and keeps to his word by following through with whatever consequences may come. That mark of character is something we rarely see outside of fiction sadly:

In Evie Dunmore’s Bringing Down the Duke, Annabelle Archer must earn her scholarship to Oxford university by working for the local women’s suffrage society.

One of her first assignments is recruiting influential men to support The Married Women’s Property Act, which would allow wives and widows to earn their own money through home ownership.

As it happens, the first man she approaches is Sebastian, the Duke of Montgomery who has been given personal incentive by Queen Victoria herself to oppose this policy. Nonetheless, Annabelle crosses his path more than once and each encounter encourages him to respect her intelligence as he falls in love with her to boot.

While she begins to feel the same towards him, Annabelle knows that there are more than politics that would get in the way of any serious attachment between them. Is there a chance at a happy ending for them on a personal and a political front?

This novel is the first in a series (A League of Extraordinary Women) and I plan to read the others in the near future as this debut was truly a promising delight.

So nice  to have a set of  stories where independent women  are leading the way to equality in all

things including matters of the heart:

In Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory,  new resident of L.A. Olivia Monroe is pleasantly surprised to meet Max, a cute guy who appreciates a good slice of cake.

While she intends to spend her days focused on her legal career, Olivia is willing to spend the evening hours with Max, who seems familiar to her somehow.

Turns out that he’s Max Powell, a rising political star as a newly elected congressman. Although they click in more ways than one, the hazards of a romance that will eventually go public are difficult to avoid. Yet, can love save the day for them both?

Guillory’s  novels are a nice blend of sweet and savory with the meat of the story allowing for the delicious romantic elements to compliment each other on the plate of pages before you. Plus, there are wonderful moments of dessert delights described with love that are a joy to behold:

While these books are fun to talk about, I do hope that all of you reading this plan to vote. Midterm elections tend to get overlooked but the direction of the country could very well be determined by who gets to take a power seat this time around.

If you think “My vote doesn’t matter”, you are mistaken. If individual votes are so unimportant, then why are so many people trying to limit access to voting places and insisting that “fraud” is running amuck?

On top of that, the right to think, read and live freely is being challenged across our nation in rapid form and mainly against folks who aren’t given a loud enough voice in government. 

Voting is a right that many before us risked their lives and personal freedom for and we honor that struggle by taking the time to do our duty by not only our country but by society as well.

Not to mention that it would be nice to have someone in higher office who actually knew what the 19th Amendment was all about!: