Smexy Books

Romance and Urban Fantasy Reviews

  • Review Request
  • Contact
    • Smexy Reviewers Profiles
    • New Reviewer Application
    • Contact
  • Advertising
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • By Genre
      • BDSM
      • Contemporary
      • Erotic
      • Fantasy
      • F/F
      • Historical Romance
      • Historical PNR
      • LGBTQ+
      • M/M Romance
      • New Adult
      • Urban Fantasy
      • Paranormal Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Romantic Suspense
      • Young Adult
    • By Letter Grade Rating
      • A Reviews
      • B Reviews
      • C Reviews
      • D Reviews
      • DNF Reviews
  • Features
    • New Releases
    • Smexy Deals!
    • Retro Review
    • Weekly Wrap-Up
    • Blog Tour
    • Scenic Sunday
    • To Be Read
    • Guest Post
    • Top Ten/Happy Friday
    • Smex Scene Sunday
  • The Psy/Changeling Channel
You are here: Home / B Review / Review: Pride and Politics by Daisy Harris

Review: Pride and Politics by Daisy Harris

October 8, 2012 by Helyce 5 Comments

Pride and Politics (Men of Holsum College #6)Pride and Politics by Daisy Harris (Men of Holsum College #6)
M/M Contemporary
Released: August 25, 2012
Siren

Reviewed by Helyce

Hunter Ford comes from a well known and privileged family with a lot of political ties. He goes through his life taking and getting whatever he wants; his cocky persona oozing entitlement. When his uncle begins his campaign for vice-president, he tasks Hunter with coming along to be the face behind his “gay-friendly” tactic. It’s about the last thing Hunter wants to do, but the pay-off of $500,000 was too good to pass on. So Hunter puts his education on hold and agrees to follow his Uncle, sitting there, looking pretty with a big smile on his face.

Steve has been hired by Hunter’s uncle, Chase Ford, to be Hunter’s “handler”. That is, it will be Steve’s sole responsibility to keep Hunter on task, dressed perfectly, and clear of any trouble that could negatively impact his campaign. Steve is excited about this job, but upon his first meeting with Hunter he’s realizes just exactly why Hunter needs a handler. The other problem-Steve didn’t count on his attraction to the beautiful, young, very troubled young man.

I really enjoyed this book. I have not read all the previous books in this series and in a way I’m glad I hadn’t. I was able to read this and see Hunter just in the now, without any preconceived thoughts or feelings towards his character. I understand him to be the guy everyone hates and while he’s brought all of it on himself in one way or another, I loved getting to know him in just this setting.

Hunter is truly a product of his upbringing. Rich and privileged, he learned early on that money buys everything his little heart desired, but it’s never enough. His outbursts and scandals were weak attempts for attention, but they never got him the right kind of attention. Still, his uncle forces his hand and gets Hunter to agree to join him on the campaign trail so he can parade his pretty gay nephew across the stage when he speaks. Hunter would rather be anywhere else. On top of it all, he has to deal with Steve, who is doing everything he can to keep Hunter in line and ruin any attempts Hunter makes at having fun.

Steve is determined in his stance of keeping Hunter on the straight and narrow for the duration of these meetings. And it’s a tough job, but Steve is up to the task. Hunter keeps him on his toes, for sure, but it isn’t long before Steve starts to notice things and realizes that there is much more to Hunter Ford than the image he puts out to the public. It’s a carefully crafted façade because deep inside Hunter is a vulnerable mess just aching for someone to see the real him. When Steve makes the connection and realizes just what Hunter has gone through for most of his adult life, he applies a different tactic and it’s beneficial to them both.

As Steve begins to peel aware the layers of Hunter’s façade, we begin to see Hunter in a different light. Yes, he can still be an ass, but old habits die hard. I loved seeing Steve come to these realizations as he began to see Hunter for himself. As he watched Hunter on stage he learned all of his tells and began to understand just how difficult it was for Hunter to do this and he also learned just exactly what Hunter would need the moment he left the stage.

When a man from Hunter’s past shows up on the campaign trail, also working for Chase Ford, Hunter just about looses it. It is at this juncture that we learn the most important thing about Hunter’s past and it sheds much light on why he chose to hide behind the façade he’s created. When people who are supposed to care about you treat you as badly as Hunter had been treated, it’s no wonder Hunter started to believe himself to be exactly what his family accused him of. At this point, Steve already has feelings for Hunter and he takes matters into his own hands-and he does so brilliantly.

The romance between Steve and Hunter comes fast and I was okay with it in this instance. While Steve was initially attracted to Hunter’s pretty face and young body, he quickly falls for the man inside. Hunter easily accepts Steve and begins to depend on him in such a way that surprised me at first. But we see quickly that Hunter realizes that Steve is seeing him, not the rich troubled college brat, but him.

This is a fun read as we watch Hunter truly come into his own with Steve by his side. And we are treated to a fun epilogue that cements the relationship between these two.

Rating: B+

Recent Reviews:
Joyfully Jay – 4.5/5
Tracy’s Place – 4.25/5
Goodreads

Author’s Website l Series Listing

Kindle l B&N

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • More
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Review: College Boys by Daisy Harris

College Boys by Daisy Harris (Men of Holsum College #1) M/M Contemporary Romance, Novella April 9, 2012 College student Chris moves into a single room in the dorm Cooper Hall, after his mother dies. Just tired of being around his roommates who are loud and don’t really understand what he…

May 8, 2012

In "B Review"

myfairdork

Review: My Fair Dork by Daisy Harris

My Fair Dork by Daisy Harris (Men of Holsum College #8) M/M Contemporary Romance Released: October 13, 2012 Siren Reviewed by Helyce As we return to Holsum College we meet Harold Jacobs. On the outside, I imagine Harold would be easy to overlook in passing. He’d always been shy and…

November 5, 2012

In "B Review"

smoke

Review: Nothing But Smoke by Daisy Harris

Nothing But Smoke by Daisy Harris (Fire and Rain #3) M/M Romance June 10, 2014 Samhain Reviewed by Helyce Blurb:  Sometimes good boys do bad things. Michael Larson considers himself one of the good guys. He recycles, eats mostly vegan, and volunteers. But one night, while on a jog through…

June 10, 2014

In "B Review"

Filed Under: B Review, Contemporary Romance, Daisy Harris, M/M Romance, Siren Publishing

Comments

  1. Amanda says

    October 8, 2012 at 5:38 pm

    I like the sound of this book. I didn’t realize there were that many books in that series. I have only read the first 2 but it sounds like I don’t have to catch-up in order to enjoy this one

    Loading...
    Reply
  2. Helyce says

    October 8, 2012 at 7:53 pm

    To be honest, I didn’t know there were that many either. But yes, I enjoyed this one without having read more than the first one or two. Thanks for stopping by.

    Loading...
    Reply
  3. Patricia Eimer says

    October 9, 2012 at 9:39 am

    This sounds good. I’ve never heard of this series before but I’m willing to give it a go.

    Loading...
    Reply
  4. Selena Mc says

    October 9, 2012 at 2:45 pm

    This is a new series to me. But this fantastic review makes me wanna read the rest.
    Selena Mc

    Loading...
    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome to Smexy! If you are reader feel free to use our search feature to find a specific book or browse through our features to find Smexy Deals, New Releases, and book news!

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords,  Booksamillion, and Bookshop,org.

 

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

Angela

Melanie

Jen

Kate

Iby

Kate H.

Sign Up for Daily Emails


Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Scarlett St. Clair,  Ilona Andrews, Jennifer McMahon, and more!
    Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Scarlett St. Clair, Ilona Andrews, Jennifer McMahon, and more!
  • New Releases- Week of June 30- July 4, 2025
    New Releases- Week of June 30- July 4, 2025
  • Review: Human Rites by Juno Dawson
    Review: Human Rites by Juno Dawson
  • Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
    Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
  • Review: Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon
    Review: Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon
  • Steamy Excerpt from Everything's Better With Lisa by Lucy Eden
    Steamy Excerpt from Everything's Better With Lisa by Lucy Eden
  • Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
    Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
  • Review: The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
    Review: The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
  • Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
    Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
  • Smex Scene Sunday
    Smex Scene Sunday

Disclosure

The majority of the books reviewed at this site have been provided for free by publishers, authors, or other third parties like NetGalley or Edelweiss. Acceptance of a free copy does not guarantee a review or a positive review.

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Booksamillion.

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

 

Find Our Reviewers

Angela @fv-angela.bsky.social l Goodreads

Melanie @melonreads.bsky.social l  Goodreads

Jen .@thebooknista l Goodreads

Kate  @kateminasian l Goodreads

Iby Instagram l Goodreads

Kate H. @Naranjadia l Goodreads

Copyright © 2025 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

%d