It's a pretty tough gig being First Daughter. The eyes of a nation are on you at all times; as plenty of other president's children have discovered, messing up carries serious consequences.
Vivian Bennett's youthful mistake cost her the man she loved and very nearly her life when she ran straight into the claws of a kidnapper. Ten years later, turning to Joe, the man who saved her back then and the only person who ever made her feel truly safe, is the most natural thing in the world for her to do.
I enjoyed the romance in this book. Vivian and Joe had a terrific chemistry and a Past to deal with; Vivian's PTSD was delicately dealt with, though Joe's mere presence curing her insomnia was something I found a little hard to swallow being an insomniac myself. A lot of people, Joe included, treat Vivian like she's helpless. The way she pushed back and insisted on making her own decisions was really inspirational.
The villain was pretty obvious; there weren't so much delicately dropped clues as honking great neon signs saying BAD GUY HERE. The plot hung together pretty well, though, and I liked the way all the threads were neatly tied off at the ending.
I was a little bit put off by literally every single character in the book being white, too. Really? In the modern USA? Joe being black or Latinx would have added another fascinating layer of discrimination he had to face... and to be honest, Vivian being described as other than a beautiful blonde might have helped me to envision her differently to another beautiful blonde thirty-something First Daughter businesswoman - who I don't like.
It's almost certainly not the author's fault because this book was probably written and picked up for publication long before the current president achieved office. I just think I'd have liked Vivian a lot better if she'd had red hair or been Latina.
I can't bring myself to give the book five stars because of the issues mentioned above, but it's certainly a solid four.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through NetGalley.