Dissident (Bellator Saga, #1)
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3.8 • 39 Ratings
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Publisher Description
“I will always be with you…”
Rising Democratic star Caroline Gerard hasn’t had an easy year. After losing her husband, she is raising two small children alone while trying to navigate the tricky and sometimes shallow halls on Capitol Hill. A string of nasty speeches has her scrambling to apologize to any number of candidates, including newly elected Republican Jack McIntyre. Falling in love again is the last thing on her mind.
Jack McIntyre might have a reputation as a playboy, but he has his sights set solely on his new colleague. Can he break through Caroline’s grief and capture her heart?
Told mostly in flashback and set against a chilling fascist backdrop, Dissident is a rollercoaster ride of political intrigue, passionate contemporary romance, and undying love.
For readers 18+. Ends in a cliffhanger.
"I highly recommend Dissident to any reader that loves a fast-paced, intriguing work of fiction with a hefty dose of sexiness and steam, a reader who enjoys thrills and political intrigue, or anyone just looking for a highly engaging and fun read." - Readers' Favorite (2015 Silver Medal Winner for Fiction-Dystopia)
"London breaks new ground in Dissident, deftly intertwining the over-the-top, naughty sensuality of the best contemporary romance novels with the nail-biting excitement of more traditional political thrillers. Loved it!" - Author Lila Monroe
"With equal parts political thriller and captivating romance, Cecilia London has crafted a novel that's hard to put down and kept me wanting more! I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!" - Author Melissa Brown
"Every character, every exchange, the way the story is written...I loved it all! Smart, suspenseful, sexy, and exquisitely written, I dare you not to fall in love with Dissident!" - Irene, The Literary Gossip
"London has one powerful and chaotic series breaking out of the gates at full speed! At no point could I see where this would end up and I must say, the ride to the finish and balancing on the edge of this cliff hanger is well worth the ticket to ride!" - TomeTender
"I highly recommend this series. It's so well written with witty, sexy and smart characters and dialogue, and a plot that will leave you guessing and wanting more." - Suzanne, Tied Up In Romance
"Cecilia London blew me away...If you like serials with a different flare to them - some thriller, some politics, a lot of romance - Dissident is definitely the book to get you hooked on a new series!" - TeriLyn Reviews
Customer Reviews
Dystopian Political Thriller with splash of romance
This is a six book series. The review is based on book one only. Why do I need to state this? If you follow my reviews, you'll note that I normal write as I complete the series. Book 2 is available and book 3 is to be released Dec 7th. So, for this series, I've elected to review as I read. As you know, 3 stars aren't bad for me - "I liked it/will probably finish the series". Re-read it? Not sure. I'll have a final decision at the end.
Yes, I liked it. I didn't really like nor did I love it. However, the storyline and characters have some potential, so I will stick with it. The book did take me longer to read than normal. At 43% I did read some reviews as I had a complete misconception about the book as who had recommended it to me. Granted, she didn't describe the novel to me, yet it wasn't what I expect. It was a bit -schizophrenic. Thus the multiple shelves I review it by.
Political fiction - You really need to love politics to enjoy this part of the story. It plays a major part as book 1 is clearly set up to what will be happening and why. As other reviewers have commented, the prologue gives away direction. Also the book is written in memory/flashback to set up for present day. There are fewer chapters in present day but not the focus of the storyline thus far. Ms. London is setting the reader up to understand the politics of the time and characters of what happened in the past to get to the present. At times this does drag down the pace of the story, but I suspect it's necessary for later books.
Contemporary Romance - Here is where I was thrown. I read ALOT of sexy romance. Many of it highly erotic to same sex. So when I read reviews like "Hot" "Sexy" - at 70% of the way in I wasn't seeing it. Maybe there are a few choice words that Nora Roberts would never use, but yep, it was very 'light' sex for me. It was hard for me to pick this shelf as sex scenes limited to short paragraphs to put with my other contemporary romance. Now, the building relationship - i.e. - the romance. This is definitely Caroline and Jack's love story at the second half.
Adult Dystopian - This is where the book really fits. I know I'm repeating but I think it's important, book 1 is the set up of the series. Now this is also where I didn't really like or love the story. Like some other dystopian I've read, I have not connected with the characters. There is nothing that makes me want to have the main characters come out on top. I don't feel like I know the Hero, Jack, that well. He's handsome, sexy, former player, first time in love, but that's it. The character keeps telling me he feels bad about how he behaved in the past, but has nothing to endear him to me. The heroine, she's tough. Literally. Sometimes I like her. Sometimes her behavior irritates me as being a bit overreactive. But, I've got to give this series the credit. The storyline does have me intrigued and maybe this items that I am not enjoying will make sense.
So do I recommend it to you? Not sure. What I do recommend is that you read reviews 5 star, 4 star and less than 3 to see how it weighs on your TBR. I may get more enthusiastic reviews as I progress with the series. Like I've tried to convey, the storyline has potential and why I'm sticking with it.
Interesting
First time reading this author and was intrigued with the author’s story.
Dissident
No plot