The book was short and the story was a good start but I wish there was more about the new deal and the houses and less about the sexual tension between the characters. ( )

Set in a near future America, the world is a bit different. Powerful houses run the politics, and hence, the country, from behind the scenes. Sworn fealty to a powerful house can bring the average person a decent paying job in a world where society is scrambling to hold it together. Sheila, a smart lass from Tennessee, sees through this BS and is trying to open the public’s eyes to this power shift. Meanwhile, the Lebanese congressional correspondent Jasira agrees with Sheila, off the record. Yet, despite Sheila’s unarguable attraction to Jasira, she can’t help but question Jasira’s motives.

I stepped into this book thinking it was more near future scifi + politcs than romance + erotica. However, I couldn’t help but be caught up in the story. The author does a very good job of showing us, through Sheila’s eyes, the power structure and what Sheila believes to be wrong with it. The story opens with a hosted TV show on which Sheila and Jasira are guests. Through that show, they get to interact with a few members of the show’s audience, who have questions that leave the the door open for Sheila to comment on the politics of the day.

There’s only a touch or two of what you might call futuristic tech. Honestly, telling your sound system to play a certain selection of music is possible now with a swanky system. Still, it was nice to have these small reminders that this is a near-future story and not some alternate story of what Earth and politics might be today. I personally would have preferred a little more future tech.

This is a romance erotica and that part of the book is sweet. When Jasira turned on the charm, I melted. The sex scene doesn’t happen until the end and there is a very nice build up. We get a clear picture of who each of these ladies are – and they are both smart and savvy in their own ways. Plus there are those hints of hidden secrets and things rather not said for both ladies, giving the story that overtone of possible future conflicts of interests. By the time the sex scene arrived, I was thoroughly caught up in the characters and so wanted them to be happy with each other. The descriptions of the love making were detailed but not gauche. It was a very nicely done piece of erotica thrown into a larger story of political intrigue. As a side note, I really like that we have more than 1 ethnicity represented in this story. I will definitely be looking for episode 2.

I received this book at no cost from the author in exchange for an honest review.

The Narration: This was an excellent performance all around. Sheila’s character had a light regional accent that wasn’t overdone. The voice for Jasira was perfect – by turns clever and insightful, and then sexy and tempting. The rest of the character voices were distinct and well done. The production was smooth with touches of ambient sounds that never drowned out the dialogue. ( )

This is a great book! I loved reading it and thank the author for the honor! I fell in love with the characters and the story right away in the first chapter, this is a definite must read for everyone! ( )

I am not sure what the author’s intent with this “book” or story or prequel is. I did not think it was long enough to form any kind of opinion about whether to read more or not. The story involves Sheila McKinley a college professor who has just experienced a relationship break up, who sees a pundit on TV and immediately grows to like her. Shelia’s friend invites her to dinner, and has also invited this pundit as a surprise guest. The two of them end up touring the town, as Shelia shows the pundit the sights. There was not enough of a book/story here for me to form any opinion, as I said. I felt nothing one way or the other about the main character. I might or might not read more about this character, after reading this. Frankly, I saw little use in reading this, since it did nothing. It was written well enough, but had no story or “teaser” to suck in the reader. I am not sure who, if anyone, would enjoy this or be enticed to read more of the story in subsequent works. I received this from Library Thing in return for an honest review. ( )