I really enjoyed this book. I loved the chemistry between Karim and Isadora. The immediate attraction, the flirting, the angst between them…. I loved it. Normally, I’m not that fond of romances that feature political storylines, but the author made this one interesting. I enjoyed the Shakespeare reference to Romeo and Juliet and the houses of Montague and Capulet. Their love was forbidden in a way, but it didn’t stop them from falling in love at the end of the day. The insecurities that each character felt were realistic to me. A man being on the receiving end of abuse is also a rare thing in literature, so I appreciated that angle. The book also references mental health, specifically Borderline Personality Disorder and its impact on the people around those with the diagnosis. Isa’s mom is a piece of work. Whew. The thing is that I know people like that, so the character was portrayed realistically to me. I understand how Isa felt about risking her career for a man, her fight to ensure that she was being taking seriously in her field, etc. Everything she went through are things many professional women, especially women of color, deal with on a regular basis in the work world. The novel is pretty solid from start to finish. I expected more from Karim’s ex-wife and from Isadora’s mother, but I understand why the author resolved those storylines the way she did. I definitely recommend this book. (Oh…and the spicy scenes are top notch.)

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I didn’t know that I had any interest in romances set in a political workplace until I watched Scandal. The best part about this book is that this story covered some important personal issues. Also, Karim is a sweetheart, and I officially added him to my book boyfriend harem.

The characters: Isadora is the youngest chief of staff at this level. She is an invaluable member of the team and works diligently at her job. She has a complex and toxic relationship with her mother that makes it difficult for her to put her trust in others. Her best friend RJ is an absolute treasure and I wish we saw more of him.

Karim is a shy sexy man who is trying to get a divorce from his wife. She was emotionally abusive and eventually abandons him for reasons unknown. Thankfully, she doesn’t show much because Karim is a real sweetheart and it would have been heartbreaking to watch him go through what he went through with her.

It was easy to connect to both characters. The pain they carried was familiar, and it was refreshing to see how they tried to consider what each had been through when it came up. Also, even though it is sad, I was glad to see a male victim of domestic violence and emotional abuse. People usually believe that men cannot be victims, but this is false.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was a fun palette cleanser for me in between the school books I’ve been reading lately. I loved the political rivalry and even if the Capulets and Montagues thing was ludicrous; it was funny to see both Karim and Isadora be annoyed by it as well. I didn’t like the ending, however. It made little sense for Julian basically to snitch on himself. I know the groundwork was laid for him to be this pompous, egotistical jerk who likely thought no one would ever betray him even though he was running around being a massive asshat to everyone but the ending felt rushed and I think it cut the legs off this story.

I don’t agree with this being an enemies-to-lovers trope because they were never enemies. At most, Isa was just annoyed with him a couple of times. I also think the forbidden love is a stretch, but it fits better than enemies-to-lovers. Given the tension between their bosses (mostly Karim’s boss because he was an absolute piece of sh*t.), it would have been difficult for them to date openly.

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

Spice: 🌶 🌶/5 (Consistent sex, but mostly vanilla.)

I’ll get this posted to the Reading Robyn blog just as soon as this school semester is over.

This started out really strong for me, but ultimately I just didn't really connect with the chemistry between the two leads; it felt a little forced/contrived.

this one was cute. It was a believable story. the timeline wasn't too rushed. I would recommend it. I also am looking forward to whatever her next book/move is

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of Not The Plan. I always love romance books with a political background. Isadora and Karim work for different candidates, but they obviously like each other. But working for bosses that have very different ideas and are working against each other could potentially ruin any chance they have to be together.

Karim is struggling with a failed marriage and Isadora loves her job and will do everything it takes to get her boss to D.C. This was a great book and I had a fun time reading it.

Not the Plan is the follow up to Gia's debut book Getting His Game Back - here the MMC is Karim, the twin brother of Khalil (the MMC in book 1). After making a cross country move post-separation, he finds himself facing off in the political arena against Isadora, the beautiful stranger who was his flight seatmate.

I love a workplace, rivals to lovers set up but the plot kind of lost me with some of the legal/politics jargon and the drama with both of their employers seemed to take center stage rather than the relationship between Karim & Isadora. I wanted to see more of the communication early on that was mentioned in the story but not shown. One thing I did enjoy just as in book 1 was Gia touching on aspects of mental health not normally seen - in this instance, borderline personality disorder (Karim's ex wife and Isadora's mother) and Karim healing from his ex-wife's abusive behavior.

Overall I enjoyed this & it was a quick read however between the two I think I prefer Getting His Game Back. I think the cover for this one is cuter though & caught my eye more!

This book was pretty fun for having such serious topics and plot points. As a former legislative staffer, I definitely enjoyed the whole scandal and political deceptions in this book.

Both main characters had their own ish to deal with and I think they were pretty mature about it all. The relationship was a bit quick in my opinion, but they were also thrown together in very intense circumstances so I guess that makes sense.

Overall 3,5 stars, rounded up

2.5 stars

Political romance isn't typically my thing. It just isn't something that I reach for regularly and this book sounded interesting because it was an enemies-to-lovers situation.

There was a lot of chemistry between the characters, but the spice just didn't have the impact that I would like it to have, I had issues with the feud between the bosses because it just kind of bored me. I did like all the representation, the PTSD from a mother hit a little close to home. It was a solid middle-of-the-road book and I want to give the author another chance .

Thank you to Ballantine and Netgalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review..

this story of rival colleagues turned lovers was enjoyable from start to finish, with a few points that could have made the story a full 5 stars rather than 4.

i enjoyed a glimpse behind the scenes of politics and while it was surely dramatized at points — or perhaps under-dramatized — it never took away the fact that there are many moving parts not seen. isadora and karim are both flawed in their own ways, fighting through personal struggles that have stunted their progress and trust in others in some way. finding a way to open themselves, and their hearts, up to one another is expanded on with every development in the novel and you fall in love with each on an individual level. their chemistry is off the charts once they give into their wants and the way they support each other during rough times is amazing, especially karim's desire to lessen the weight that isa puts on herself thanks to her upbringing and isa's determination to help karim dispel the vitriol his ex caused during their abusive relationship.

where this book faltered for me was the overabundance of pet names. i know, that's just a small, personal hiccup that i could have likely breezed past and wasn't something so jarring that it led me to tossing the entire story out. my biggest, hurdle was in isa's quick judgement of karim. it's a play on the miscommunication trope that i find very hard to ignore given how far both characters had come during the entire story. these moments, that could sooner be dealt with through a heated argument or the two characters taking a moment to lay out the circumstances that brought about that moment, are all shoved aside. given their pasts, i wanted to believe that isa wouldn't be quick to believe the worst in karim and while it all builds to a happy ending, it's that ease of believing the worst that made it hard for me to give a full 5 stars.

This is my second Cadenet book; it was just as good as the first. Isadora is on the fast track to becoming a congressional aide in D.C. She will not let anything get in her way, especially not a man. But when Karim pops up in her life more than once, can she stay focused on her dreams? Especially when Karim works for her boss's biggest rival. Flirting ensues, which leads to a strong attraction on both sides. But when things get heated at work, can they make it through? Lies, deceit, deception, and blackmail are just the beginning. This was a fun ride though the office of politics with a bit of romance and a huge side of sexy. Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC. 4 stars.

This was a cute political romance however it did fall flat for me. I think my main issue with me is that I just don’t enjoy political romances. Politics are not romantic to me. I would however still recommend the book to someone who does.

As someone working in politics/government, I loved this book so much. It felt cheesy at times but sometimes who does love that? Perfect light romance.

Isadora and Karim have a meet cute on a plane ride and never expect to see each other again. Then they find themselves working for competing politicians. Isadora is a the veteran while Karim is new on the scene. It has very Romeo/Juliet vibes and they even refer to the politicians they work with as the Capulets and Montagues.

This is a steamy work place romance. It is a companion novel as Karim is the brother of a character in a previous book. I did not read the previous book and felt that this book worked as a standalone, though I have read that the first book does set the scene for Karim's divorce if you want even more back ground to this story. In this novel focusing on Karim we deal with PTSD and abusive relationships, and while normally we see the male as the abuser in this story the abuser is Karim's ex-wife. Karim and Isadora are able to bond over trauma and really help each other work through different issues they have with their similar yet different experiences.

I really wanted to like this one. Truthfully, I probably shouldn't provide a review since after several days of reading I moved it to the DNF pile. I generally fly through books and when I'm hooked I'm willing to stay up way past my bedtime to finish it! I spent about 30-45 minutes before bed each night reading a few chapters. I probably should've just stuck with it, but I wasn't invested in the story line at all. From what I read, it would be a 3 star read for me. It was fine and I wanted more than that!

Not the Plan is a very character driven story between Isadora and Karim. Isadora has goals and a detailed plan to achieve said goals and she can’t let anything or anyone get in her way even if he is easy on the eyes. Karim isn’t who Isadora expect him to be and giving into their mutual attraction and desire could end badly or lead to something real.

Karim story is heartbreaking and to see him put himself out there again and to be vulnerable took a lot of courage and having Isadora lift him up was just what he needed. Isadora never let anyone in and letting Karim in was scary but his presence was the calming comfort she needed to give them a real chance. The connection between Karim and Isadora is really strong.

Rating 3.5 stars


Thank you publishers and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was an interesting romance set in a political office between two people who have lots of baggage. A number of topics are brought up in the story from divorce, abusive relationships whether with family or significant others, mental health, coping mechanisms, extortion and blackmail. It was an interesting approach to all of these with the romance at the heart of it all. I enjoyed it.

A charming and fun read except for the politics. I’m tired of politics…
Many thanks to Random House and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Dell and author Gia De Cadenet for the advanced reading copy via NetGalley, receipt of which did not impact my review. Pub date: 2/7/23.

Isadora and Karim have a great airplane meet cute when traveling for work in the California legislature, before they learn they are now workplace rivals. These two were cute together and I really enjoyed their banter! The book does dive into some slimy political rivalry (that thankfully these two don’t really participate in willingly.) Overall, this was a fun read that fans of politics and romance will enjoy.

Isadora is the chief of staff for a powerful California state senator. Karim is the handsome new hire who works for a rival, unscrupulous senator. They work on a few things together and their chemistry is overwhelming them both. However, Karim is still traumatized by his ex wife’s emotional abuse. Izzy has decided that she’s staying away from relationships, especially with Karim because their bosses are bitter rivals. Can they resolve their issues and be together? 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed this cute romance. I also enjoyed her first book. I'll definitely be on the look out for more.