Book 693: The Senator’s Secret – K.C. Wells

After picking up My Fair Brady from one of the daily Kindle emails with e-books on sale and thoroughly enjoying it, I looked into my library’s Dreamspun Desires listings and they had plenty. So, you’re welcome ;-D

I picked up this, A Christmas Cabin for Two and Suddenly Yours to start. I mean I do have 200ish books on my TBR shelf so I couldn’t go too wild (to start). I let Tim pick the next book I read by title and he picked this one (mostly because of the puppies mentioned on the cover) and it just happened to be by K.C. Wells, the same author as My Fair Brady.

I really enjoyed this one because it was set in North Carolina! And not just anywhere in NC, but Raleigh (Sam is a state senator) and Asheville and one of the characters grew up near Pisgah Forest. Like no one mentions Pisgah Forest unless you’re from there or know someone from there (it’s where we spend holidays with my mom’s family).

Sam is running his reelection campaign when he hugs Gary on a whim because Gary got into a PhD program at NC State, and Sam’s opponent, a conservative religious ass-hat posts a paparazzi photo of them and saying make your own conclusions. This forces Sam out of the closet and his team comes up with a crazy story that he and Gary were secretly engaged.

Queue the same adorable things that happened in My Fair Brady from the longing glances, the getting to know each other and falling in love, and eye roll, partial swoon, omg yes, you’ve got the story. Throw in that Sam’s actually a virgin because he gave his life to politics, and you can imagine the steaminess of this novel.

“Oh, there had been guys who’d piqued his interest over the years, but Sam had steered clear, his eyes constantly on the political prize. But it did make for a lonely existence. Not to mention there was a whole lot of curiosity going on in his head. He had a feeling that if Curtis ever found out just how inexperienced Sam was, he’d march Sam to the nearest gay bar and hook hip up with the first available guy.” (6)

“Oh, come on. We both knew why I chose to study politics and international affairs, right? This was always the goal. Why the hell would I jeopardize that by dating someone who could feasibly come out of the woodwork at some point in the future and announce to the world, ‘Hey! I dated Senator Sam Dalton in college!'” (11)”

I mean that’s sad as hell, but unfortunately that was the case for many individuals for a long time. Thankfully, this book takes place in a post-SCOTUS marriage equality (and fuck you NC Amendment 1) era, so Wells definitely played that up, which was lovely.

I think this book had better minor character development than the last one I read. Part of that is the straight best friend, Curtis, but it’s also the fact that Sam interacts with a lot more people in his re-election campaign for longer than the protagonists of the other book interact with other characters.

“Curtis laughed. ‘I think you’re worrying about nothing, Sam. Circumstances pushed the two of you together, and happily for you, things are working out better than you’d ever hoped. Think about it. What’s better, to find yourself married to a guy who you don’t get along with—where there’s no chemistry, no shared interests, nothing—or to find yourself with a partner who complements you, who you clearly like, and if that little shiver was anything to go by, who does it for you in other areas too?’ He stared at Sam intently. ‘And la, la, la, I still don’t want to know.'” (194)

Wells definitely kicked up the humor in this one. At one point Sam and Gary are visiting Sam’s parents, and Sam’s mom in an over attempt at showing acceptance bought condoms and cherry flavored lube for them and put it in the bedside table of the guest room. I nearly suffocated trying not to laugh so hard because it was like 2 AM and I was finishing the book while Tim slept. Sam’s mom was golden and there were a couple of zingers I really liked from her—plus she knew it was a sham at first and called Sam out on it.

I liked this epilogue better than the one in My Fair Brady. It was enough to get me to tear up happily as Gary revealed a surprise for Sam on their wedding day. It was just the perfect way to wrap this one up, plus NC being my homeland, you know I was just that much more susceptible to happy tears.

Recommendation: Definitely another great read if you like MM romance and the traditional tension building of classic harlequin type romances. I really like that the Dreamspun Desires series seems to be more focused on the tension building and ultimate relief, rather than the building to a climax then trying to break your heart, but having the happily ever after in the end. There’s not an unexpected climax in this one and the portrayal of men not wanting to share their emotions or thoughts carries the story on it’s own.

Opening Line: “Senator Samuel Dalton shivered in the chill wind that whistled by him as he got out of his car to walk to the campaign office.”

Closing Line: “Sam opened the door, and the two of them stepped outside into the sunshine.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)