BLOG TOUR REVIEW: Commander in Chief (White House #2)

THIS BOOK. Seriously, it was so amazing. Talk about starting off my 2017 on a high note. Check out my review, and then go check out this awesome duology from Katy Evans!

Commander in Chief (White House #2), by Katy Evans
Publish Date: January 5, 2017
Publisher: self-published
Format: ARC, provided by the author and Social Butterfly PR
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 5 STARS

(Synopsis) We fell in love during the campaign. The stakes were high.
Reputations could have been ruined.
Scandal hovered over us like a cloud.
Now the man I love is the President of the United States of America.
And its not my vote he is after.
He wants it all.
My heart. My body. My soul.
He wants me by his side.
In the White House.
Normalcy will be gone from my life, privacy forgotten.
I am only twenty three. I just wanted to play a part in history. But it seems like history wasn't done with me. The part where I lost my heart to Matthew Hamilton? It was only the beginning...

Commander in Chief picks up where Mr. President left off. It's been two months since the election and Charlotte has been in Europe this entire time with her BFF trying to find a way to get over Matt. She knows she can't be with him, but living in the same city and seeing him on the news all the time doesn't make that process easy. But, now it's inauguration day, and she wants to show him her support, no matter how difficult it is. 

He was never really mine.But I was all his. His to take. Body and soul. And I would have done anything he wanted me to.

For Matt's part, the two months apart from Charlotte were eye-opening. It should've been the most exciting time of his life, and in many ways it was, except he couldn't share that excitement with the woman he knows he loves. And Matt has decided to do something about that. He's decided that he's willing to risk it all as long as she is too - as long as they can be together in the end. 

I've stayed away and every inch of me wants to see her. I'll have the keys to the world, but turned my back on the key to the woman I love's heart. How can I be proud of that?

People, this book was Romantic with a capital 'R.' There is nothing more sexy than a man who puts his woman before everything - except for when that man is the president of the free world. THAT is the sexiest thing ever. And Matt really does put a lot on the line in order to claim her. He got elected as a "bachelor candidate," claiming he didn't need a First Lady to do his job. He's desired by millions, which increases his electability. To take himself off the market from nearly day one was a huge risk. 

But Matt wasn't the only one risking everything. Charlotte is only 23. To ease the public into the idea of he having a partner, Matt first makes Charlotte an honorary First Lady so that she has all the duties and the title in public, while in private, Matt is trying to woo Charlotte to be his First Lady in ALL things. There was a chance that the public wouldn't accept her, and Charlotte was terrified to be the one to mar his record. 

While Mr. President was very angsty and dramatic and almost heart-pounding at times (Will they get caught? Does Matt want her like she wants him? Will he win?), Commander in Chief is, by comparison, much more laid back. Truly, the questions asked in this book aren't as dangerous. There's no life-threatening situations. The focus isn't on Matt's dad's term (although the issue of his murder is brought up and answered). There's no question - EVER - as to Matt and Charlotte's devotion to each other. The real question is whether Matt and Charlotte can balance their work lives and their personal lives in order to have a happy life, especially when they have the most demanding jobs on Earth. 

I'm in over my head for this girl. Once I thought I couldn't do both, govern a broken country and have her. But I know now that I will die trying to do both. This is who I am. I'm the president and a man. She's the girl I love and the woman I want to spend my life with. 

I feel like this duology really is a perfect contrast and probably as close to reality as how I would imagine a situation like this would go. It's just not realistic for Matt to be dodging cheating scandals and assassination attempts, all while trying to thwart World War Three. That might make for an exciting read, but Commander in Chief was more of what I wanted for these two. Making adequate time for one another is a challenge in any relationship. I can't imagine what it's like when you're the POTUS. 

One other delightful change is that we get much more of Matt's POV in Commander in Chief. The chapters switch between Matt and Charlotte very regularly, whereas in Mr. President, it was only at the very end that we were able to get inside Matt's head. This was perfect, as part of the point of the book is Matt's desire to make Charlotte a permanent part of this world in which he lives, and how he plans to do it differently than other presidents before him. 

Commander in Chief was incredibly sexy. Matt's and Charlotte's chemistry and bond to one another is astronomical. It was also sweet and tender and, yes - terribly romantic. It was so much more than what I was expecting, and I loved every second of Matt's and Charlotte's story.

Katy Evans is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her debut REAL shot to the top of the bestselling lists in 2013 and since then 9 of her titles have been New York Times bestsellers. Her books have been translated into nearly a dozen languages across the world.

Connect with Katy:
Email: katyevansauthor@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorKatyEvans
Twitter @authorkatyevans