Reviewed by Kat

TITLE: The Senator

SERIES: Power Players (Book 1)

AUTHOR: Sam E. Kraemer

PUBLISHER: Kaye Klub Publishing

LENGTH: 279 pages

RELEASE DATE: July 31, 2024

BLURB:

What happens when a sitting United States Senator gets caught with his pants down—literally? The U.S. Senator from Virginia is about to find out! Welcome to Washington, DC, where the Power Players are more intriguing than anything happening under the Capitol Dome.

A romantic getaway to an exotic island with forty-five-year-old Spencer Brady’s lover leads to being outed to the entire world. The blowback costs Spencer more than he bargained for, but the impact on his family is more agonizing than he ever imagined.

Twenty-seven-year-old Nashville Lincoln is working two jobs to survive in Washington, DC—one as a bartender for a catering company that services parties for the Washington elite. The other job involves servicing many of those same heavy hitters in a more intimate way.

In the nation’s capital, if someone isn’t scratching your back, they’re stabbing it. Can Spencer recover from a devastating professional loss? What does the future hold for his marriage, and will he ever learn the identity of the person responsible for outing him?

How does Nash Lincoln play into Spencer’s future? Is he more hinderance than help? Is Spencer’s wife, Vanessa, pushing them together? Can Nash help save The Senator?

REVIEW:

O.M.G! This one came out of nowhere is is now on my best of 2024 list! It’s so riveting and captivating that I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. What an intriguing and well written story of the back scenes of Washington DC and the secrets it possesses.

Spenser Brady is the 12 year senator from the great state of Virginia. When an unflattering photo of him in a compromising sexual encounter with a person that was most definitely not his wife (because the sexual partner in the photo was obviously male) his bid for re-election was basically over. And now his reputation was shot. He’s the epitome of a lame duck senator just finishing out the last moments of his term. But he needs to know who leaked the information that he and his current boyfriend were sneaking away for a quick holiday romp in Antigua? And how can he protect Vani, his beautiful and loving wife and their adopted son Jay from all this fallout. But,  when a leading lobbyist insists that the disgraced couple attend his birthday bash, Sean Fitzpatrick  never thought that he would need to hide the senator and his wife away for the evening to protect their fragile image. So sending one of his trusted bartenders to get couple up to a reserved room and babysit them hadn’t been in the plans. But who would have ever thought that The Senator and the bartender/escort with a major age gap would find an attraction so deep that it can’t be avoided. Especially when his wife encourages the couple!

WOW! What a ride this one was. I spent several years lobbying in DC during my career and it’s a cutthroat place. Never turn your back and definitely don’t trust anyone at face value. It’s a dog-eat-dog world with cameras everywhere and always someone wants or needs something. And they aren’t afraid to pull out all the stops to get what they desire.

Spenser learned the hard way that people aren’t always on your side or truly loyal to you as they appear. Politics are like a house of cards. One tiny move and it can all come tumbling down. And the longer your are on the hill the harder you have to work to stay relevant and an asset. But Spenser’s scruples, besides the fact that he is deeply in the closet and has a marriage of convenience for both, has garnered some enemies from the homophobic old guard.

I loved Vani and was so thankful that Spencer was always her priority and she was deeply protective of him. Her back story was so disturbing. It made you love Spencer even harder because of how he protected her and cared so much for her. He literally saved her when she was broken and needing him. And their son Jay’s story, which was a lot like Nash’s before Vanessa and Spencer adopted him, was a tough one too. Thankfully Vani made sure Jay was theirs and well cared for where Nash’s youth txwasn’t so easy.

And Nash…who wouldn’t fall for the man that stole Spence’s heart. I know he was trying to protect the man he fell hard for but all Spence wants was Nash in his life and arms forever.

I know that some may think this is a book of infidelity and a cheating spouse. But that is so far from the truth. Yes, Spenser and Vanessa loved each other deeply and would for the rest of their lives. But it was a platonic love that came when Vani needed her best friend most and he came running. They had an agreement that worked for them and, as Vani so elequently stated “What we do, or don’t do, in our bedroom is our business.” Spenser and Vani were the best of friends and both very protective of each other. But theirs was a love like brother and sister not a romantic one. And their marriage was for protection and support.

I absolutely loved this book! Author Sam E. Kraemer is a very talented and gifted author that spins a tale so complete that you wonder if it isn’t real life. Her characters are complex and you can’t help but to be drawn to them and hope for the best. This particular story had so many twists and turns to finally get to the truth. A truth I never saw coming. I was thrilled to get to hear that Ben and his hunky hubby Raleigh from the Lonely Heroes series were still doing well and Ben was still leading cutting age legislation. I can’t wait for more of this wonderful new series and hope we get to see more of Spencer and Nash in the next book “The Lobbyist”. A must-read!

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Amazon