I love this book! Shelly and Rand are seriously memorable characters and I was hoping for them to come together throughout the whole story. I think many people are going to assume that they would like Rand best, as she is the liberal activist, but Shelly's story is surprising and more likable. Then there is Jamie and Rachael- I hope they get their own story some day! Rand reminds me so much of Rachael Maddow and I couldn't stop imagining her as that character. The story is so engaging. You go in thinking that you will know how it's going to go but it's doesn't at all happen that way. Thats one of the things that I love about Jensen's writing is that its real, and its honest, and it doesn't follow any normal formula. Those are the stories that I like to read. I can't wait for more of Jen Jensen's work!

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read a free advance copy of this book. Unfortunately I hadn't found time during the year to read this book, and so I will be picking up a paid copy in 2021 to support the author instead as an apology.

I thought the concept of this book was great however a little too much in the politic side for me. I suppose that was the point but I wanted more of the love story instead. I did think it was more telling than showing as well which I’m not a fan of. Not a bad book, I still enjoyed it.

I received this from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the writing in this and the relationship between the main characters felt real. There was a lot of politics talk, a lot, and as someone from the UK, it all went over my head a little.

I was intrigued by this book and the concept of love between women with politics so diverse. I wondered how Ms Jensen would make me care about someone who is right wing and Republican but somehow she did! The characters are very well developed and three dimensional, and their twoing and froing is captured in such a way that you follow their frustrations and victories and want to race to the end. I was satisfied that the denouement flowed from the developing narrative and I enjoyed how both main characters grew through the story.

I will look out for this author again.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

I wanted a book about a love between politics so i requested this, I got accepted and I didn't like it, it was something I didn't get at all, and I didn't enjoyed

I loved this book.  Rand a psychotherapist and a Democrat was a lovely character who had some issues which stemmed from a previous relationship.  What a loyal woman she was.  Shelley on the other hand was a very successful attorney and a republican with very a very strong background whose parents were evangelical.  It was a lovely story and I was captivated to the end.   Brilliantly written and a memorable story.

I really liked the concept for this book. Considering how polarised US politics are at these days, it's a very believable storyline. I also really liked the characters, especially Shelley's journey from closeted-lesbian who is following in her evangelical father's footsteps. My only gripe with this story is the narrative itself. It's a little lacklustre at times, perhaps trading some swoony romantic moments for believability. A nice read if it sounds like your kind of book.

I had high high hopes for this book, but overall I wish we “saw” more of the characters vs just “telling” how the characters thought and felt. I wanted more details about Shelley’s background. What invalidating thoughts about LGBTQ people and other social issues did Shelley grow up believing and hearing? I felt like I knew very little about Rand’s upbringing and her marriage with Kim, besides the lawsuit. I enjoyed the actual book, I just wish there were less things happening in the book and more character development.

Being 100% honest, I don't entirely understand US politics other than thinking it's about presenting old rich guys. Depending on which media outlet you follow, one is good, one is bad. This is a really tough topic, particularly trying to tread a romance into it from two opposing sides.

Jensen manages to deliver an educational story, where a more balanced position of both sides of politics is offered and that love can crossover. If only it were that simple though, as both key characters have underlying issues which separate them even further.

I enjoyed the start of the book more than any other part of it. The initial connection between Rand and Shelley seems genuine and engaging, but thereafter I felt the book was trying to add too many things and in my mind, didn't quite deliver enough.

I'm giving this one 3 stars. 
I was a bit underwhelmed by the actual romance between the two main characters because I felt something was there, it just never fully developed for me to actually think they were madly in love. I liked the the opposites attract reference though, Shelley is a lawyer from an evangelical republican background and Rand is a therapist and trans right activist. The two could not be more different. Rand is open and unapologetic about who she is while Shelley is discreet and anxious. The two both have issues they're working on, their political views for sure as well as personal issues which somehow influences their decisions. I felt Shelley and Rand spent way too much time apart to really connect as a couple. A good read overall, just wished there was a little more love than actual politics.

I was intrigued by the idea of "love across the political divide", and it's a topic in a lot of books that are getting published these days, for obvious reasons. But in this one, the character representing the 'wrong' side of the political divide instantly changes her entire set of beliefs upon meeting her love interest right before they have a debate on live TV.

I'm sorry, this was just too unbelievable. Maybe if it had taken longer than 3 pages for the 'wrong' character to start changing her life-long beliefs, the story might have worked.

I could not finish this book. I felt as though the "disclaimer" at the beginning may have made everything worse in terms of the characters' relationship. The pacing felt very off, and at the beginning of several chapters I thought that I had missed something in between. The style overall was very confusing. Even besides that, I really did not enjoy the ending. I don't feel as though becoming an Independent is a solution to this issue and it felt overall pretty contrived.

I’m gonna try to be as honest as possible. I thought that I was going to love this book, I thought that was going to be similar to Red, white, and royal blue de McQuiston. I’m gonna divide my opinion in the love part and the politics part. As a non-USA reader, I have to say that the political part was complex and confusing because I don’t know enough to keep up with it. But I admit that some ideas were well address and were very interesting. The love part and construction of sexual identity were a little disappointing. Shelly, who’s trying to discover and accept her sexuality, falls in love with  …. in the first pages. And she knows it! 

I think that the problem with this novel is that the author tried to address too many subjects and, of course, it’s impossible to accomplish in such a small novel. All the lines of this novel are interesting but I think that it should be longer so all the subjects can be well developed.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC.  This book was a romance that delved into the differences of political views and sexuality.  And the acceptance of.  This was my first F/F romance and I flew through it

A thoroughly enjoyable read. It's rare that a romance engages in politics, and I liked how thoughtful each opinion was. It turns out that Shelley isn't really a Republican, but it was still interesting to see the clash of values between her and Rand. The points of discussion were current and relatable to the audience. I was fond of Shelley, and her character arc was admirable. I wasn't as fond of Rand, mostly because I couldn't understand her rationalization half the time. Obviously she has had her own issues to deal with, but I couldn't shake the subconscious thought that Shelley deserves better. 
Four stars.

Ms. Jensen is a new author for me.   When I read the synopsis for this book, I thought it sounded really good especially since I am very interested in politics.   Unfortunately, I just could not connect with the characters nor the storyline.   This book started slow with a lot of information about one of the main characters and the pace for me never picked up.   I decided to put the book aside for a few days and then resumed reading it..   I finished it and never felt that satisfaction one gets when a book is done. 

I do want to give this author another try and hope she continues writing.   I rate this book 2 out of 5 stars. 

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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.

I really enjoyed this book.  It is about Rand and Shelley, who are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to religion and gay/trans rights.  Shelley has parents who are Evangelical and do not know that she is gay.  She campaigns for their organization despite being closeted.  
It isn't until she meets Rand, a gay/trans activist, that she begins to question the organization and what damage it does to those who are out.  This begins her journey to accept who she is.  Rand helps her with her acceptance and a relationship between the two forms.
I would recommend this.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review! 

I really wanted to like this book. The description is really interesting and I was eager to see how the political divide in America would be explored in it. Alas, I did not but more on that later. 

As a book itself it wasn't necessarily bad. I just personally really could not connect to the main characters and the secondary characters were not written well enough for the read to be able to care for them. I felt that the story was too fast-paced with little room for the characters to just /be/ without anything dramatic happening to them.

Jensen writes in the beginning that she wants to bring the two sides together, and a version of that is repeated countless times by the characters in the book. That is a thing that also prevented me from really connecting with it. She wrote about the0 political divide with the ease you may write about the difference of the East and West Coast, the US and Europe, the colours red and blue. It wasn't explored well enough and by having the resolution being both main characters basically changing their ideals isn't really the way to go about it.

I just want to end this by saying that although this book wasn't a fit for me, I've seen A LOT of great reviews here and I get where they're coming from. So as I said in the beginning, it's not necessarily a bad book and someone else might just make this their favourite read! In the end it all comes down to different people and tastes.