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+

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