Beyond All Dreams by Elizabeth Camden

"In 1897 Washington, D.C., Anna O'Brien, a librarian at the Library of Congress, assists charismatic young congressman Luke Callahan, but the more political secrets they uncover the more their growing trust is strained"--

Closer to 2.5 Stars. This was just...fine. Boring all the way through. I liked Luke's temper. 10/10 can relate. Didn't like that he felt bad about it. I agreed lol.

There was a scene where his nephew/ward burned the school books LUKE had paid for in a bonfire bc he wanted to be a painter and Luke took the nephew's painting supplies and added them all to the fire in a rage. He felt bad afterward and was “ashamed” but nothing was said about the nephew burning his literal expensive school books. I'm on angry Luke's side and didn't like that his justified anger was so discouraged

3 1/2 stars for realistic attraction between the main characters.

I loved this just as much as I thought I would! ....and maybe even more. The characters had a real depth and struggled with real problems. It takes talent to write a novel that makes politics engaging, and this one does. Anna and Luke are both having to deal with forgiveness issues and have great hurdles to overcome–Anna, getting an answer to what really happened to her father; Luke, overcoming his great temper and his pride.