The Politics of Love

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was my first time reading Jen Jensen's work and I found it to be very well planned and put together. I enjoyed the back and forth between Rand and Shelley from opposite sides of the political spectrum. The thing I liked the most is that they had actual discussions about their political differences rather than resorting to name-calling and tearing each other down. I was disappointed in Rand that she had such a hard time letting go of her Republican biases, only seeing Shelley believing everything that the party stands for. I would venture to say that most people fluctuate on certain issues and don't look to their political party for how they should believe. We have been taught by the media and the parties to hate each other rather than seeing each other's side. The Politics of Love does a really good job of showing both sides and it made me enjoy the characters all the more for it.

I loved the process that the author took Shelley through to discover who she was until she finally came out. It was on her terms, not on anyone else's, despite someone trying to force her out. I enjoyed seeing into her thought process. While never explicitly stated, Shelley has been through some sort of therapy or learned coping mechanisms for her stress. Her counting of things when in difficult situations alerts the reader of just how stressed she is. But when she doesn't count, she is more relaxed and able to accept where she is at. I thought that was a great element that continued to show up throughout the book.

it was a slow build until the end, but was well worth the journey. I would love to see a sequel to this following the 2020 elections to see where the characters are and if anything changed.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.