Thunderstruck

A light and easy romance that reels you in till the end.

Thunderstruck by Maria R. Riegger is about opposing candidates running for office who just happened to have had an affair years earlier.

This book was so much fun to read. It was witty, charming, believable characters, and great chemistry between the two main characters, Monica and Brian. Politics was lightly discussed throughout the book, but in a way that wouldn’t irritate the reader.

Christian, Monica’s husband was an annoying character. He came across a bit chauvinistic yet wimpy. Mike, the campaign manage for Brian was an obnoxious hot head. Both characters irritated me, which I’m sure was the author’s intention. I do wish she had given Christian a bit more of a backbone as I think that could have really made the triangle between Monica, Brian, and Christian much more interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Maria R. Riegger for the opportunity to read and review this 4 star book.

I really enjoyed Thunderstruck. Typically, I'm not one for political romances (maybe that's a thing) BUT after I read Red, White & Royal Blue I have a happy little buzz when I think about them.

Monica is a married, mother of one, libertarian and a daughter of Spanish immigrants running for the Republican congressional seat in a DC precinct election. The district is primarily blue and she realized she has a steep hill to climb but is confident in her success... until she finds out her opponent is the man she had a long-term affair with 5 years ago. It ended badly and they haven't spoken since. Brian is running for the Democratic congressional seat and has been assured that the typically blue district will be a slam dunk election.

Basically, their well-kept secret affair is outed and their respective already rocky personal relationships go up in smoke. Can they both hang onto their political nominations and duke it out at the polls? What happens when you realized that the person on the other lectern is the person you used to love talking to the most about the very same issues you are debating in front of a live audience?

I'm generally not into second-chance romances or any that involve cheating--- however, I think the author did a wonderful job managing those aspects. We weren't smashed over the head constantly with resentful ruminations, and continuous butt hurt about the same issues over and over again. The interactions felt realistic and understandable.

I really enjoyed this read and am looking forward to reading more by the author.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.*

The plot was a good one. The writing well done. Where I have an issue is that the male lead was sort of blah and cookie cutter. The female lead, Monica was portrayed far better then Brian. Otherwise an easy read. It held my attention throughout.

The story of Monica and Brian.
I am not from the US, so did not understand a lot of the politics it discussed, but enjoyed the story between the two main characters.

A short but enjoyable read.

I enjoyed the book. Monica and Brian had an affair years ago. When it was over they had not seen each other since. Now they are opponents in a political campaign for representative of the eight district of Virginia. It has been a Democrat area for many years and Monica is a Republican running against Brian the Democrat. Will the feeling they once had and is maybe still there get in the middle of the competition. The story leads us through the campaign and the feelings they are exploring. Gives you an idea of how involved a campaign can be from the start to finish.

This was a very enjoyable read and I learned a lot about political campaigns. The book propels readers forward to the last chapter.
Many thanks to BooksGoSocial and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.