Book Title: Flirting with Scandal
Author: Chanel Cleeton
Series: Capital Confessions #1
Release Date: May 19th, 2015
Genres: Political Romance
Jackie Gardner knows all about dirty little secrets. The illegitimate daughter of one of the most influential senators in Washington, D.C., she grew up surrounded by the scandals and shadows of politics. Now that she's landed an internship with a powerful political consulting firm, she's determined to launch her career and take this city by storm.
William Andrew Clayton was born for politics. He knows the drill: work hard, play discreetly, and at all costs, avoid scandal. At twenty-six, his campaign for the Virginia State Senate is the first step to cementing his future. It's time for him to settle down, to find the perfect political spouse. He needs a Jackie Kennedy, not a Marilyn...
When Jackie meets Will in the bar of the Hay-Adams Hotel, sparks fly. But the last thing Will needs is to be caught in a compromising position, and an affair with a political candidate could cost Jackie her career. When what began as one steamy night, becomes a passion neither one of them can walk way from, they must decide if what they have is really love, or just another dirty little secret...
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"Your personal life is the campaign. When you started running for office, every single thing about you became fair game. That includes the women in your life."
I'll admit- I'm a complete sucker for political romance and when my eyes caught on this title and blurb, it was in my first instinct to give this one a shot. Being a huge fan and religiously following the TV series 'Scandal', I would say this was the exact kind of read I was looking for to tide over the months of waiting for its next season premiere!
It has everything I've come to enjoy in a read: Provocative, sexy, witty plus the perfect balance of drama & romance and topped with lovable characters in this politically-charged setting. It's no wonder I devoured this book up in one sitting!
Flirting with Scandal takes on the political race in none other than the heart of the capital, Washington D.C. Our center-stage contender is William Clayton, new and upcoming who's running for the State of Virginia. Hailing from a powerful family of politicians, he's on his way to filling in some huge shoes. He's relatively new to the game and in order to win, he needs to steer clear of any scandal that could jeopardize his campaign.
Jacqueline 'Jackie' Gardner loves the politics and is working on an internship with one of the top political consulting firms. As much as she loves the game and all its dirty little secrets, Jackie has some skeletons in her own closet; the biggest one being the illegitimate daughter of a powerful senator. Her mother is no better being known as the political mistress in D.C. This left her with the distasteful idea of being attached to any politicians and promised to steer clear of them.
When their paths crossed due to Jackie being assigned to William's election campaign, the chemistry sparks and with a love affair under wraps, how far are they wiling to go to avert the scandal?
I really loved how well the politics was mixed with the romance in this book. It wasn't too heavily laced with political jargons that could potentially zone-out the readers who may not be a fan of this sub-genre, yet the author managed to create such a politically-charged setting that had me feeling like I was a part of this capitol scene. Aside from that, there was a nice touch of the forbidden romance aspect having to keep their love affair from the public eye and every hidden moment they were together, let me tell you: it was H-O-T. Those two complemented each other perfectly and the chemistry was just sizzling at every corner.
Both MCs are incredibly appealing and may I add, mature adults. One of my favorite things of this book (aside Will being a dirty-talker) was that there was no unnecessary and unwarranted drama in this book. I know, it's a little shocking coming from a scandalous plotline but fear not, there is actual angst still. I was just biting my nails waiting for the proverbial shit to hit the fan and when it finally did, I was just impressed with how both Jackie and Will handled it. That surely scored a huge like in my books instead of watching a drawn-out drama ensued which would had me in fumes.
My only minor issue with the book was how the dual POV was written, having it switched up multiple times within one chapter. Don't get me wrong, I'm a firm believer in dual POV in my reads but having the switch done within one scene itself kinda made the read loses its momentum at times. I would have loved it much better had it been stretched out but again, I'm just a little picky.
Overall this was such a surprising gem read from an author whom I've never read before and after this one, I can clearly say this won't be my last from Chanel Cleeton. Flirting with Scandal had me from page one itself and I couldn't put it down till I was almost done. Sinfully sexy and deliciously scandalous, whether you're a fan of political romance or not, I believe all romance readers alike will highly enjoy this read.
Overall this was such a surprising gem read from an author whom I've never read before and after this one, I can clearly say this won't be my last from Chanel Cleeton. Flirting with Scandal had me from page one itself and I couldn't put it down till I was almost done. Sinfully sexy and deliciously scandalous, whether you're a fan of political romance or not, I believe all romance readers alike will highly enjoy this read.
Flirting with Scandal is the first instalment in the Capital Confessions series and can be read as a standalone.
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Originally a Florida girl, CHANEL CLEETON moved to London where she received a bachelor’s degree from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Chanel fell in love with London and planned to stay there forever, until fate intervened on a Caribbean cruise and a fighter pilot with smooth dance moves swept her off her feet. Now, a happily ever after later, Chanel is living her next adventure.
Law school made Chanel realize she’d rather spend her days writing sexy stories than in a courtroom, and she hasn’t looked back since. An avid reader and hopeless romantic, she’s happiest curled up with a book. She has a weakness for handbags, her three pups, and her husband.
Chanel writes contemporary romances. She is published by Harlequin HQN, Penguin/InterMix, and Penguin/Berkley and is the author of the International School, Capital Confessions, and Wild Aces series.
Law school made Chanel realize she’d rather spend her days writing sexy stories than in a courtroom, and she hasn’t looked back since. An avid reader and hopeless romantic, she’s happiest curled up with a book. She has a weakness for handbags, her three pups, and her husband.
Chanel writes contemporary romances. She is published by Harlequin HQN, Penguin/InterMix, and Penguin/Berkley and is the author of the International School, Capital Confessions, and Wild Aces series.
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