LOVE, HATE & CLICKBAIT

All's fair in love and politics when two staffers fake date in order to save their boss’s presidential prospects.

For Los Angeles–based political consultant Thom Morgan, who possesses “effortless confidence and a bottomless appetite for crushing his enemies,” nothing is more important than getting ahead. He ditched his girlfriend at her sister’s wedding for a Politico interview and gets off (literally) on orchestrating major political wins before noon. He works for ruthless California Gov. Leonora “Lennie” Westwood, and rumor has it she’s thinking of running for president. All that stands in Thom’s way of D.C. glory is Clay Parker, the campaign’s new data analyst, a Silicon Valley hopeful who was embarrassingly (and publicly) ousted from the multimillion dollar tech company he co-founded. Thom can’t stand how vulnerable Clay is; in fact, he literally throws Clay up against a wall and screams at him over a Wi-Fi mix-up. After footage leaks of Lennie murmuring something homophobic, Thom and Clay are inevitably thrust together to help salvage her diversity cred when pictures of their, er, intimate-looking office spat go viral. Perfect timing! The campaign uses the fact that the internet thinks Thom and Clay are dating as leverage, and despite their initial horror at being entangled with each other, the two soon realize they might feel something other than hatred under the surface. How are they supposed to decide when to end the charade if deep down they both wish it were real? Bowery’s debut novel offers all of the electric, budding sexual tension that comes with fake dating, but it’s hard to root for the relationship when Thom is rightfully described as a “charming sociopath.” He borders on scarily emotionless at times and repeatedly uses sex to avoid attachment in such a way that you can’t help but sympathize with Clay’s permanently dazed expression as Thom bulldozes in and out of his life.

An enemies-to-lovers debut with a love interest who lacks public approval.