I enjoyed the author’s Getting His Game Back and was excited for her sophomore novel. This can be read as a stand alone but Karin Sarda, the male MC, is the twin brother of the other male MC. And both have appearances in each others stories. Karim is wanting to start over and relocates to California taking a job as aide to a state representative. He meets Isadora Maris first on a flight and later when they meet on the job. She has been working for her state senator for years. He is a leader and she plans to run his campaign and follow him to Washington when he runs for the US Congress. Isa knows the ins and outs of state politics. Karim works for a member of the same party but one who plays games and is interested in the money and prestige more than in what he can do for his district. Their bosses are political rivals.

Cadenet took a good romance and made it better with her first book by bringing in race diversity and talking about mental health issues (for men). In this book again there is race diversity. Isa is black and Karim mixed. Karim is trying to divorce his ex wife who he hasn’t seen in two years. She suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder and would not follow a treatment plan. His description and experiences give information about the disorder and I like how he uses on coping skills learned in therapy. Isa and Karim have sizzling attraction for each other which turns into steamy times. They try to keep it away from work. Isa’s mother may also have some mental health issues.

The good things in this book are offset by the fact that I’m really tired of politics. A lot of the interactions and potential conflicts deal the with sleaziness in politics and I didn’t enjoy that part of the storyline. I also didn’t like that technically Karim is married and in my mind not free to date. He is very honest and there is enthusiastic consent but I’d rather she was the first person to date after the divorce.

I still recommend the book especially for bringing awareness to less talked about mental health issues. Also kudos for the cute cover. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. (3.5 Stars)

Not the Plan by Gia De Cadenet is an enemies-to-lovers romance, with political rivals falling for each other.

Story Recap:
Isadora Maris loves her job. As the chief of staff for a California state senator, she’s on track to finally meet her life goal and go to Washington with him after he runs for congress. Isadora has spent ten years in politics and loves the thrill of making new laws.

When Isadora meets Karim Sarda she’s instantly attracted to him. He’s handsome, smart, and sexy, but he also works for her boss’s political rival. She knows that any relationship with Karim could derail her plans. But, they keep getting thrown together, and their chemistry is off the charts.

But, will the political battles of their bosses, destroy their happiness?

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this political romance. The romance between Isadora and Karim was done well. It was an enemies to lovers and it was done well. I liked the premise of the story as political drama can easily cause personal drama between the main characters, however, it was a bit too much politics in this story for me. But, the romance and the chemistry between the two main characters made up for the politics.

I also appreciated the author highlighting the effects of verbal and emotional abuse on the main characters. I thought it was done well, highlighting the effects of abuse without being too heavy-handed about it.

Overall, I enjoyed this romance.

Recommendation:
I highly recommend Not the Plan to anyone who enjoys romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Many thanks to Ballantine & Random House books for this ARC and the opportunity to read “Not the Plan” before it’s official debut.

Star rating: 2/5

Isadora & Karim both work as staffers in the California Senate, and both come with their own traumatic past that they are working to heal from when they - literally - run into each other in the San Diego Airport and flirt their way through the flight to the state Capitol. HiJinx ensue when they meet (again) in Sacramento, where they learn they work for warring politicians.

The good: Author Gia De Cadenet set up a fun meet cute and I enjoyed the “will they or won’t they” back and forth after they’re put in predicament after predicament at work. I enjoyed the world that the author created, she did a great job framing the narrative of the political backstory (as someone whose job is very similar to Karim & Isa, it was nice to read a political story that mostly “got it right” on these details!). I enjoy reading books with diverse characters and appreciate the author’s attempt at bringing to light serious topics of emotional abuse and childhood trauma.

The parts I wish were different: I didn’t feel as invested in Karim & Isa as I wanted to - their chemistry wasn’t fully there for me. And while I feel the author did a great job in trying to create a believable political backstory, the anti-hero in this book felt like a caricature and the idea of a political sex scandal felt a bit overdone to me. It didn’t really keep my attention like I wished, I didn’t find myself eager to turn every page wondering what happened. One thing that particularly bothered me was that Karim insists on calling Isadora “beautiful” instead of her name for about 100 straight pages. The spicy scenes felt a bit long and sloppy, too, but for some folks they might hit what you’re looking for.

Overall, as someone who works in politics the story ultimately fell a bit flat, but I think if this isn’t your everyday line of work, you may be more interested than I was!

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: When veteran chief of staff Isadora Maris “meet-cutes” new colleague Karim Sarda, she is determined to keep him at arms length to focus solely on her career ambitions. Their chemistry cannot be denied and as Karim slowly begins breaking down Isaora’s emotional walls, just as their their bosses political rivalry intensifies, their chance of love is threatened.

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: Having loved Fool Me Once, another political rom-com, I wanted to give this one a try - I mean look at its gorgeous cover. There were elements I really enjoyed about this book, including the amazing rep - reverse domestic abuse and PTSD caused by a mothers emotional abuse - by ultimately, I think this one just isn’t for me. The cutesy nicknames and the steam felt a bit forced to me. My biggest obstacle though was the subplot of the warring politician bosses that caused the story to drag quite a bit.

Read if you like:
•workplace romance
•forced proximity
•meet cutes
•steamy/Hallmark

Thank you Dell Books for my ARC and PRH Audio for my ALC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 Stars Not the Plan by Gia De Cadenet is a great star-crossed lovers tale (per the multiple references to the Montagues and Capulets) about a chief of staff and a legislative aide to state senators who are enemies. This book reminded me a lot of Jasmine Guillory’s books, especially with main characters of color, set in California, and with characters working for the local/state government. Isadora and Karim were cute and both had experienced some pretty heavy emotional trauma from loved ones. The political drama with Karim’s boss was interesting to see play out. Overall, this book was a bit predictable, but a great story that I’d recommend.

Political romances are my new favorite trope and this one was EXCELLENT! A dual POV, interracial, workplace romance between two political staffers. This was a bit of an opposites attract romance that catches both MCs unexpectedly as they find themselves falling the more they work together.

Steamy with great emotional depth! I loved how each of the MCs had their own baggage to work through - Karim is in the process of divorcing an emotionally and physically abusive ex, while Isadora has cPTSD and anxiety as a result of a lifetime of her mother's toxicity and narcissism (heavily implied her mother is bipolar or has borderline personality disorder).

Great on audio narrated by Zenzi Williams. Much thanks to NetGalley and Berkley romance for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review! Highly recommended for fans of other political romances like The last-minute first lady by Tinia Montford or The boyfriend candidate by Ashley Winstead.

** Thank you Netgalley for this arc **

This was my first time reading a book from Gia De Cadenet and it won't be the last. I thought this book was very cute which is one of my favorites when it comes to romance novels. However, I can say that in the beginning it was slow, but to me it did pick up a bit. Both the MMC & FMC were cute with each other in my opinion and I did love how they met. This was also my first time reading a romance with political setting in it, so that was interesting to me. I really did enjoy reading this book, I give this 5/5 stars and I do recommend this.

Isadora Maris is very good at her job as chief of staff. She hopes to soon be managing her boss's campaign for US representative and that it will lead to her landing her dream job of being a congressional aide in Washington DC. Her professionalism takes a hit when she meets Karim Sarda. He seems to be a great match for her and she can't understand why he's working for the California senate's worst politician. Their bosses have a bitter rivalry and Isadora can't risk being seen flirting with the enemy. Will politics ruin their shot at being with each other?
I loved both Isadora and Karim, they were great characters. They had definite chemistry and that made it a great romance. I highly recommend this book, it was great. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

DNF at 53% — I was in the middle of the first sex scene and literally could not handle the cringe writing. It was so dry and lacked any emotion. I really tried but it wasn’t for me.

this one fell flat for me - I debated between 2 and 3 stars, but settled on 3. I felt there was no chemistry between the characters and everything was cheesy and forced. I did like the mental health focus, but it was not as strong as the author's debut. There is also a lot of politics talk, but not in a controversial way.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Not the plan is a cute political rom com focusing on the life of two staffers working for rival politicians. When Isadora and Karin meet on a flight, they have no idea their bosses are rivals (though working for the same party). This book follows both as they navigate fighting for their forbidden love while learning it is okay to learn to love again. I really enjoyed this book and it was a quick read! I loved how strong of a women Isadora is and the sensitive nature of Karim was refreshing. You can’t help but root for both Isadora and Karin throughout. I will highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a political love story!

I was very intrigued by this concept. As someone who works in politics, and has done some work in CA state circles, I felt like this would be a good fit. I'm sorry to say I was wrong.

At the core, I think this book tried to do too much. I LOVED the meet-cute between Isadora and Karim. And even the early parts of the book, where they came across each other again was very enjoyable.

What I disliked, and what I thought distracted me from the core of the story was all of the madness between Karim and Isadora's bosses. While some of that would have been fine, I think the storyline went a bit too far and was just not enjoyable.

I appreciate that both Isadora and Karim brought their own baggage - with Isadora her relationship with her mother and with Karim his ex. But I felt like the discussions of these were inconsistent and because they often lacked depth,could be distracting.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publishers to read and review. All statements above are my true
opinions after fully reading this book.
I absolutely love and adore the cover for this book which is what caught my interest originally. I was really excited to read this political romance, but I felt that the romance and plot fell short. The book was very long and I felt that the story was drawn out longer than it needed to be.

State politics and romance! Well, more than that. Isadora and Karim work for rivals but they can't deny their attraction to one another. They both, however, have backstories and troubled pasts that elevate this occasionally steamy romcom. Isa's struggles with her mother and Karim's with his ex made both of them shy off relationships until now- and you'll find yourself rooting for them. DeCadenet has a light and sensitive touch with mental health issues, making them part of the story in a seamless way. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

10/10, I loved her last book and this was just as good. Consider me a fan and I will read anything she writes! Karim & Isadora are in my heart!

This book was *heart-eyes* emojis through and through. This meet-cute was literally the cutest thing ever. Karim and Isadora meet on the plane, they don’t know anything about each other, but they are hella attracted to each other, they both go their separate ways never to see each other again, or so they thought. Little do they know they meet again they are on opposing political teams, and I wont lie to you, I didn’t care not one bit, because the connection these two had and the time they spent together was enough to send me over the moon, I was swooning left and right when it came to Karim. There is the representation of Mental health which was laid out amazingly in this book, and I loved the support system that Karim brings into Isadora’s life and how she receives it. It was a great read, Isadora is so driven and I love reading a strong character and also seeing the vulnerable side as well. It was a quick read and everything flowed so smoothly. Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I really liked this book and the mental health representation in it. I find that not a lot of books talk about men's mental health and I appreciate that Gia de Cadenet does that in her books. I also loved how Karim and Isadora genuinely made each other better people.

I received an arc thorough netgalley.

📚: Not The Plan by Gia de Cadenet
⭐️: 2/5

Meet Isadora: ambitious, driven, with her eyes set on her career taking the next step to a Washington DC office. Running into (literally) a guy that she can’t stop thinking about isn’t in the plan, it’s a distraction. And that guy ending up working for her boss’s biggest frenenemy? Definitely not the plan.

Writing this review pains me because I so wanted to like this book, but ultimately it just fell flat for me. I wanted to feel genuine sparks between Isadora and Karim, but didn’t. I wanted to get really into the political subplot and couldn’t. There’s a lot of potential here, but ultimately landed to surface level.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine via @netgalley for the digital ARC in return for a honest review. Not The Plan is out on February 7th. #gifted

Not the Plan is a political romance, with its protagonists falling for one another despite working for rival state senators. In addition to the need for secrecy this brings, both are dealing with abusive, toxic people in their lives (for him it's an ex-wife, for her it's her mother), working through their own trauma to figure out how to be someone who can thrive in a loving, healthy relationship.

All of which sounds great on paper, but alas... Not the Plan didn't work for me at all. I found the writing insipid and flat, the plot an ill-constructed mess, and the characters dull at best and two-dimensional (the bad guy is such a cartoon villain, I'm pretty sure he actually twirled his mustache at one point). Worst of all, considering this is a romance novel, the protagonists are just so unappealing. Mostly the male MC, Karim, who, for someone who's still psychologically recovering from an abusive, controlling ex, sure does an awful lot of controlling of the female MC, Isadora. (Karim says his ex used to tell him what he liked to eat...while basically telling Isadora to like a particular wine when she's already said she doesn't care for white wines. Things like that. They aren't romantic, they're manipulative and off-putting, and oddly hypocritical in this story.) Plus I'm not sure he knows Isadora's name, since he calls her "beautiful" or other obnoxious nicknames about ten times per page. On the other hand, when would he have gotten to know her tastes and preferences, or how she feels about cutesy nicknames, considering they barely ever talk about anything? I guess I have a different definition of "getting to know" someone than they do, because every time they mention it, it seems to be code for making out. We don't see this couple getting closer, finding out who the other is, falling in love - we see them being physically attracted to one another (and making Big Romantic Gestures that make me full-body cringe, honestly).

So... a flop on several levels. I wanted The West Wing + romance, but all I got was frustration.

Thanks to Dell for the advance review copy.

Not the Plan is about two political rivals who meet on an airplane before even knowing they are working against each other. Isadora and Karin have instant chemistry and from the very first moment they meet and they can’t ignore it when they find out that they work for political rivals.

Let me start by saying that I am not interested in politics is any way and maybe that should have been a red flag for me from the beginning, but the description had me so intrigued that I gave this a shot. There were parts of this book that I liked, especially the way the book started with the meet cute, but there were even more things that I didn’t like, and not just the political aspects. The relationships the main characters had with some of the other characters didn’t sit well with me, especially Isadora and her mom. This book just wasn’t for me and maybe I should have known that before I even started, but it sounded interesting to me. Anyway, just because this book wasn’t for me, that doesn’t mean you may not like it. If you like politics and are okay with the complex relationships theses characters have with others in their lives, I’d say give this a chance.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!