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!

I really enjoyed reading this book. The chemistry between Isadora and Karim was there from their initial meeting, thinking they would never cross paths again. Surprisingly, they see each other at work again, working for politicians who are rivals. So, they are very much aware they can’t start anything between each other, but the attraction remains!!
I loved watching their relationship develop. They both have toxic pasts and are working towards healing themselves. Their pasts and the toxic relationships with other people from before is what holds Isadora and Karim back from being vulnerable and open to love again. But as they grow closer together, just great seeing them open up and encourage each other that they deserve better was very heartwarming.
Isadora is such an empowering character, I loved that she was ambitious and hardworking, not letting anything get in the way of her career. She was strong and would keep persevering despite her relationship with her mother. And I loved seeing her be vulnerable with her friend, RJ, and Karim, who would help her see that she is amazing and deserves better.
Karim is such a sweetheart and deserves the world. It takes a lot to do what he did, trying to move past an abusive relationship and starting over in a completely different state. But because of his past, he doesn’t feel ready to be open to love and a relationship, in fear it will happen again. Isadora, however, proves him otherwise. Him standing up for Isadora and empowering her was also a win for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC. I really loved the book and can’t wait for more from Gia de Cadenet.

This book was fairly enjoyable. I would say that it is nothing spectacular and was pretty average for a rom-com. I did have higher expectations as the initial meet was really cool. It may not be my favorite, but it could be yours. This releases on February 7th if you are interested in reading. I always get excited about a good political drama, and this was pretty average for me. The characters are each going through issues that adds to their character development.

I liked this but not as much as I was wanting to. The meet cute really had me excited in the beginning but it did take a while for things to get going after that. Isadora & Karim had great chemistry and I enjoyed following their romance. They have been through similar situations when it comes to dealing with toxic people so I’m happy that they had each other to lean on. I really struggled with the political side of things. I didn’t fully understand some of the topics that were being discussed. That’s probably just a me thing though. I wasn’t a fan of the comments made about weight in the beginning of the book. Karim telling his brother to ease up on the food because he’s getting a little soft…that just didn’t sit well with me.

Overall, Not the Plan had its ups and downs but I’m happy I read it. I’m looking forward to what Gia de Cadenet writes next!

There were a lot of things I liked about this book. The story follows two political staffers, Isadora and Karim, who have a meet-cute in an airport, only to be separated and then later realize that they work for opposing politicians in the California legislature. They have a steamy but secret romance, while helping each other come to terms with and work through issues related to Karim's abusive ex wife and Isadora's abusive mother. Meanwhile, they uncover a nefarious plot unfolding in the legislature to influence state policy and steal a seat.

Things I liked: Black voices representation, post abusive relationship representation, Black women in powerful political roles, steamy spicy scenes!

Things I didn't like: The pet names. They call each other beautiful and gorgeous CONSTANTLY and it starts to feel really juvenile. I am also a little uncomfortable with the way borderline personality disorder was represented. I'm not super familiar with it, but the author made it seem like people with BPD are destined to be abusive and I know there is more complexity to the disorder than that.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I really loved Not the Plan but felt like the dialogue between Isadora and Karim was stilted and awkward at times, other than that I loved it