Hello there, bookworms and bibliophiles! Happy Sunday Funday! It is stifling in my neighborhood and we’re rapidly approaching some ridiculous heat wave, and since I don’t have a pool, what better to do than stay indoors, snuggled up to the AC and write up a book review for you guys?
As usual, I’m still behind on things. I’m waiting to hear back from a job I interviewed for last week, so I’ve been on edge and distracted until I hear something. Fingers crossed because I really want it. All the good vibes please!
Anyway, July marks the beginning of CampNanoWriMo and I’m going to participate because I really want to get moving on my book. I’ll still be reading and posting reviews and things, but my priority and focus for July is going to be writing. You can check out my story, Madam President, on Wattpad right from the homepage of this site! It’s a total work in progress and extremely rough around the edges, so be gentle, but enjoy!
Okay, now that I’ve blabbed and updated you a little bit, let’s get to today’s review. This was a review request sent in by the lovely Krystal Ford, and the first of her books I’ve read. She couldn’t have been nicer to correspond with and the story is just… so relevant for today.. especially in America. Let’s get to it and talk about Love, Across the Divide.
Megan Thompson has spent election season working her butt off to get her boss, Mr. White, re-elected to his Reupblican seat in Congress. During an unprecedented political year in America with Trump and Hillary clashing, Megan is aware that her party is more hated than its ever been. It’s her dream to keep a close eye on how her boss works, and let him groom her so that she can run and be elected one day.
When she makes the move from her hometown in Florida up to D.C. to begin working, she needs to find a place to live.. and fast. Getting in touch with Emily, a friend of her old roommate who lives in the area, Megan finds out that Emily’s brother, Andrew Croswell, is also in Washington to work and is in need of a roommate. Megan is a little hesitant, but decides to do what she needs to do to succeed.
It’s not until Andrew and Megan are co-habitating that they find out each others worst secret. While Megan is a Reublican, her very cute, and initially very sweet roommate, Andrew, is a Democrat.
In the time of a Trump presidency, to be on either side of the aisle means the rift between the two parties is an absolute divide, and Megan and Andrew are not immune to it. Once the realization is made known to the pair, life in their apartment practically turns into World War III. Neither one can have a rational discussion and all civility becomes almost non-existent, unless they’re in the presence of others, which is a rare occasion.
A good majority of this book (65-70% according to my Kindle) really spoke to the tension and growing divide in America. As a citizen here, it really hit home. I’m into American history and current politics so these pages hit home hard. Andrew and Megan were on completely opposite ends of the political spectrum, and actually had things in common when it came to policy, but never knew because there was a barrier up when it came to their lack of communication.
Surprisingly, their relationship came secondary to the overall climate in the book. Interactions with friends, relatives, colleagues, and others spoke to not only what what happening in their individual parties, but to how they should learn to talk to one another about their perspectives and grievances when it came to political differences.
It took some therapy and a lot of talking to get to know one another for Andrew and Megan to find common ground and get along. When they become something more, their beliefs are always there on the back burner due to their careers, and it adds to complications they have along the way.
The scariest part of reading this story was all the different relationships and dynamics reflected who suffered division for loved ones simply because of who they voted for. That is a very true thing that is happening here as we speak. Families are no longer speaking to one another the way they used to, friendships have ended, and so have relationships and marriages. Divide was a wonderful choice word for the title.
I really enjoyed this book. While I would always love more of a romance, which I wish I got more of with Megan and Andrew once they happened, the tone of the whole book was really poignant to how the majority of America feels these days. What happened in our country and continues to happen on a daily basis is really reflected in this story because we’ve never had an election like the one we had almost two years ago. The tension is real, the dislike and even blind hatred for the other side is very real, and we all hate what’s happening in Washington for doing what they’re doing to us. We are very much the divided states of america.
If you enjoy politics, some fiction, a blossoming romance, and overcoming obstacles brought on by the environment, click the link below to get your copy and start reading. Love trumps hate, and I’m so glad I had Andrew and Megan to remind me of that!
My Final Rating: four out of five stars
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