In "Presidential" Lola Keeley delivers a compelling political romance filled with passion and intrigue. Though at times the political backdrop may overshadow the romance, Keeley's nuanced characters and sharp dialogue make for an engaging read that offers both escapism and food for thought.

I would like to thank netgalley and Ylva Publishing for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this, especially the references to the American president film.

Heat Factor: I had really high hopes but gave up before anything happened
Character Chemistry: I’m not sure if the chemistry wasn’t great or if it was just everything wasn’t great
Plot: The president has a crush on the new head of pediatric cardiology at her son’s hospital, plus her re-election campaign is starting
Overall: I’m sorry I didn’t try harder, but I was still bored ⅓ of the way through, and I just didn’t want to continue.

I couldn’t resist another president romance, especially a sapphic president romance, but jeepers did it not work for me. I only read about the first third of the book, so here are my takeaways:
1. This is an extremely left-leaning book. If explicit real politics and a burgeoning MAGA Republican party as the political foe are not to your liking, this is not the book for you. I don’t typically go seeking overt politics in my leisure reading because *gestures at everything* but that’s not what made me want to quit reading; however, I do understand it’s not everyone’s jam.
2. There is tension in the background: Connie is looking at her re-election, dealing with the joke that is the aforementioned Republican party candidate and the press who thinks her being a single woman is a problem but also thinks it’s a problem when an openly bisexual woman is seen repeatedly with the same woman (Emily, the doctor). Clearly something bad is going to happen…I just did not care what even the slightest bit, possibly because it’s basically real life, and what’s described is pretty much every political campaign, possibly because I’ve read quite a few books where the MC’s queerness is what puts their job on the line. That said…
3. There is no actual on-page tension. Connie’s staff is like, “Mmm, maybe this is not what we want…” and there are no social or emotional repercussions. The political news engine is making noise, and it doesn’t matter at all or only matters insofar as would advance the plot, when I very much doubt presidential staffers would flame a nothingburger fire about the president appearing in a nothingburger photo with Emily. I don’t even know what Emily’s deal is; she’s the youngest department head and that’s a problem because…? Why do I care about Connie sending Emily photos from Athens landmarks? I don’t. Because there’s no reason for me to care in the text.

Long story short, I was disappointed that this book didn’t work for me because I was really looking forward to it, but I’m not going to force myself to finish a book that does absolutely nothing to hold my attention.

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

An exciting book about the president falling in love with a Doctor and the struggles they will face due to their work. I liked the two main characters and their developing relationship was fun with serious moments included regarding the President's policies and their dynamic worked well. This is an easy to read book and gives an idea of what it is like to date someone in a high profile job and all the problems that can come with it.

Oh what I would give to have a woman in the White House and in addition for her to be queer. Quite a lovely read of a President making a romance somehow miraculously work while in office. It’s sweet and cleverly written that thankfully kept politics to a minimum in favor of the romance. Don’t miss out on this beautiful romance and oh, the surprise plot twist that you’ll not see coming. Thank you to the author, BSB publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Two very strong leads with the first female president Connie and pediatric surgeon Emily. I liked the fact that they're both powerful women in their own right and that neither had dominance over the other. It was interesting to see how a very busy president and equally busy surgeon try to make it work, further complicated by strong opinions on controversial subjects. After the midway point the author lost me for a bit though, all of a sudden it went a bit too fast when it came to being in love and it started to feel a little bit rushed.
Nevertheless, a solid romance especially if you like the political angle it has.

The love story of the ultimate power couple! I binged this book in one sitting because I simply couldn't wait to see what happened next! When President Connie Calvin and Dr. Emily Lawrence cross paths it doesn't start well but what turns into a budding friendship quickly turns to romance. With each of them having demanding jobs and their relationship being in the public eye it provide quite a bit of maneuvering to find time to grow their relationship.

I'm a huge fan of political tv shows and movies and absolutely loved the nods to some of my favourite shows and movies!

A bit of angst with a lot of romance...Presidential was a fantastic read!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5165542795
Instagram Review: https://www.instagram.com/p/CnZjn1FrIjl/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

A fantastic story with beautiful journey between two outstanding women. One being the free leader of the world and the other an accomplished pediatrician.

Emily encounters the first family through an emergency appointment for Connie’s son’s delicate heart condition. Through this interaction the pair is drawn together through snafu’s and intellectual flirty confabs.

I loved the staff and found family aspect of this romance. And Keely didn’t shy away from important issues that affect our daily lives, politically and globally.

Definitely recommit this one. Thank you to Ylva Publishing and NetGalley for this digital ARC.

I enjoyed the characters of Emily and Connie as they traverse the struggles of a sitting President having a relationship while serving as president. Both Emily and Connie are accomplished and talented women at the top of their games and both are appealing characters. Their romance faces struggles and I found myself returning happily to the novel to experience their journey. It's not a heavy read and it's a bit idealistic about where the political realities are in the US and at the same time it's fun to see an aspirational view of the country where the majority of people would just accept that Love is Love.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book that is on sale now.

This Gets My Vote
Emily is a top heart surgeon. In her first week at a prestigious new job, she finds herself caring for the First Son. She is outspoken and called out his mom on her lack of progress on healthcare reform. Connie is a mom and a widow, an out bisexual woman oh yeah, she is also the President of the United States! She has pressure from all directions but for some reason, the charming Emily seems to relax her. The attraction is mutual but how does the President of the US even start a relationship in the very public eye. There are so many things that stand in the way and so many decisions to make… Will it be worth the risk? Read this and find out, trust me, its worth the read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story!! It was well written, fun and flirty, sweet and romantic as well as full of lovely drama. I adored watching these two strong and powerful women try to work out things everyone else takes for granted, like going on a date without gun toting security and the ever present press trying to get the latest scoop or getting called to the Sit room because of terrorist attacks... When you throw in a homophobic bigot a$$ (think trump) for an opponent, things can be kinda crazy. Luckily they are up for the challenge. This couple filled me with warm fuzzies and big smiles and even though there were some tense moments, I wholly believed in the story. It was so, so, so good!!!!

Lola Keeley reflects the real world in the United States back at us in Presidential. The storyline kind of reminded me of American President (Dir. R. Reiner, 1995). I liked the romance. I loved the relationship between Connie and her son. I do wish there had been a little bit more heat as what was written was detailed, but too short for me (chuckle).

Keeley has a diverse cast of characters which I love. The age-gap is almost non-existent because of Emily’s career and experience. I like the even power match-up. They take turns romancing each other which I thoroughly enjoyed. I like partners who are equally involved. Jill, a secret service agent, tells Connie at one point that if Emily did for her in setting up just one date then she wouldn’t be single anymore. (sigh). I want Jill’s story. It can’t be easy being a secret service agent or dating one.

Presidential kept me interested. I like Connie and Emily and even when the hurdles came they rode through them together. I actually preferred this over the usual “break-up then get back together” ending. This story is an election keeper.

Now this - THIS is a lesbian romance novel! I've begun to get discouraged by all of the books I've been reading lately that just don't speak to me or hold my interest. I thought it was me until I picked up this book. From the first page, I was hopeful, and by the second chapter, I was hooked. This is the kind of book that will make you want to skip work, school, extracurricular activities, etc. so you can stay home and read.

The characters were highly likable, strong, intelligent, and sexy. I felt like I was reading about real people. The romance wasn't shoved down my throat at the very beginning, and the believability of these two women becoming friends before dating was refreshing. There was enough drama as well as romance, which made this a well-rounded story. I didn't realize until. finishing that I'd already read another one of this author's books, and I enjoyed that one as well, so I'm off to hunt for some others to read.

My only criticism (and I'll be the first to admit I'm being nit-picky) is that considering this is a story about a US President, more care should have been made to make it sound like an American book with more local language. Americans don't use "physio" and instead say physical therapy. As someone who lives in the DC Metro Area, it was easy to spot that the author probably doesn't know the area well, as it was often called Washington (locals call it DC or the DMV). Like I said, nitpicking. It certainly didn't take away from this wonderful story. #WishingForASequel

DNF at 67%.

Unfortunately this wasn't for me. I did like The Music and The Mirror, so I was excited about this one. One of my favorite sapphic romances ever, Those Who Wait, has a politician as MC as well, which is why I wanted to give this one a read.

I think the way Connie's job was portraited was pretty faithful to what I imagined, but that was pretty much what I was interested in.

Emily and Connie falling for each other was way too quick but I also felt like it took them way too long to kiss? I don't know how to explain

I was also looking for a sweet romance and this deals heavily with grief and such, something I was not in the mood for - not that it's bad per se.

Still, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

Thanks Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was Grey's Anatomy meets The American President as an f/f romance. It was not bad.

I liked that the President was a mature lady and the other romantic lead was a senior heart surgeon. I liked that they were both powerful professional successful career women. The connection and attraction were believable.

A weakness was that an issue between the two was a disagreement about certain political priorities. The problem was that the author was pretty clueless. Hence I am pretty sure that many American readers would find themselves ejected from the story. (my reaction was "you're really not from the US, are you?" as I was reading).

DNF
I really really wanted to like this book. It was just too slow paced and I finally abandoned it at around 50%. I don’t mind a slow build but this was just not holding my interest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ylva publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I had high expectations for this book and am happy to report that it did not disappoint. I was a little hesitant to read a political romance but I am so glad I picked this book up. Although Presidential was a little more plot heavy than I usually prefer, the plot was interesting enough that I didn’t mind. I appreciated the stakes surrounding Connie and Emily’s relationship and felt that it really served the fast paced nature of the book. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and would highly recommend.

Presidential by Lola Keeley was a decent sapphic adult romance. I really enjoyed the high-stakes nature of their relationship and how there wasn't a whole lot of subterfuge which always goes poorly in other books. The usage of politics as the plot device for both individual and romantic growth was great. I enjoyed how the difference in opinions played a role in their relationship, which I felt like was very realistic. I wish the ending was a little more drawn out, I feel like the interpersonal conflict wasn't really resolved, just the larger conflict. Emily's seems to have a very strong moral objection to actions that she then takes at the end of the book, which I wish she wouldn't have done. I typically don't like age-gap relationships, but this one embraced it, and I didn't feel wrong or a power-imbalance, though there could've easily been one.

Overall, this was a decent easy sapphic adult read that was a little more plot-heavy than a traditional romance book that I enjoyed with loveable characters and an interesting plot.

This was an engaging, well written book with two strong and well developed characters. I liked that Emily had a career herself and how naturally the chemistry between her and Connie built. The inside look at the difficult decisions that are required when you’re president was interesting. The only slight drawback for me was Emily constantly lobbying Connie about the health care bill which made me a little uncomfortable at times as it felt inappropriate given their personal relationship. Overall though it was a very good book.

This would be a first time read for me with this author so I was looking forward to something new from my reading list. I so enjoyed this story, you have a love story for sure but also the author did not skimp on the surrounding story and challenges of a President and a Doctors life. You don't see many stories with female Presidents (I have only read a handful) but Ms. Keeley gives this storyline a lot of depth and character to really imagine the ups and downs of not only a female president but also one with a child and growing feelings for another women.

The MCs were well rounded, well like and the story kept me engaged with them throughout. The sub characters gave us great interaction so the reader had more than just the MCs dialog with each other-which I am a sucker for lots and lots of dialog in a story.

All in all I was so glad to have picked up this book and I will be looking for future offerings from this author.

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, but would have written the same opinion if I had come across this author on my own.

This story has a bit of a history, and I find it’s changes interesting. It was originally written as a Supercat fanfic a few years back, paying homage to the movie The American President. Keeley made it no secret that she absolutely loves the movie, noting before her 2020 original version’s release that it was like a love letter to Aaron Sorkin. The book garnered some concerns over similarities to the 1995 screenplay, and Ylva decided at that time it was best to pull the 2020 version. Keeley fans were disappointed but understood Ylva’s desire to steer clear of any potential legal action. They shrugged, thought that was that and patiently awaited her next release.

However, that wasn’t that. Keeley was determined to tell this story. She reworked the narrative to Ylva’s satisfaction and the result is something any fan of queer romance would gobble up, especially those that love political drama. I am happy she stuck with this story and brought it to print. The end result is a glamorous, political romance very much worth reading.

Keeley is a seasoned writer and knows how to construct an engrossing tale. She’s known for her captivating characters, and she does a nice job with the characterization of these powerful and magnetic women. Connie and Emily are compelling characters. They’re strong, passionate and enterprising women. Readers can not help but be drawn to their spirited energy. Their story arc is equally as engaging. Readers are intrigued by their romance; it’s dramatically drawn out on the page and hard to resist. Presidential is as entertaining as it is thought provoking, dipping its feet into relevant issues that need more positive action. To say it’s content is timely would be an understatement.

Final thoughts…

The narrative of this romance completely pulled me into its pages; I absolutely enjoyed my time with Connie and Emily. The behind the scenes look at a president’s life is fascinating; anyone that loves politics will most likely be enthralled. My only caution would be that readers should prepare for a bit of a fast-tracked love affair. However, I suppose nothing on the president’s agenda moves slowly, so why should their love life be any different? Aside from that, rest assured that Presidential is a fast-paced, exciting romance well worth the read.

Strengths…

Fantastic story world
Intriguing storyline
Dynamic and engaging characters
Relevant and timely subject matter
Fast-paced and highly entertaining