Red, White and Blue

[Holly]

A sequel to America the Beautiful. Emily Benton has been elected President of the United States and has asked Kate Rosen, her best friend and campaign manager, to be her Chief of Staff.
After Emily's election victory, Kate realizes that she doesn't know her best friend as well as she thought. She tries to overlook small betrayals and Emily's ever increasing ability to blur the lines of honesty in her effort to achieve ultimate political power.

Kate begins to realize that maintaining her Christian values as a politician may be impossible. In addition, she struggles with her growing attraction to Emily's ex-husband. When Kate discovers a scandal that could destroy Emily's presidency, she is also faced with the reality that her best friend would willingly sacrifice her to retain the position of President of the United States.

I have to say that I enjoyed this book much more than the first one. I still don't like Emily, and her true colors really come out in this story. But, Kate really grew on me and I cared about her dilemmas. I appreciated the "insiders view" of the White House: it was believable, even though this is a work of fiction. The book brings home the idea that to be an honest Christian as well as a politician is difficult for many and impossible for some.

Compelling and interesting at the same time. The ending is a bit abrupt, but I think mostly appropriate for the story. I'd love to see another book explore the repercussions of Kate's decisions.