AFFAIRS OF STATE – Jennifer Lewis
Daughters of Power: The Capital , Book 6
Harlequin Desire #2234
ISBN: 978-0-373-73247-0
June 2013
Series Romance

Washington, DC and London, England – Present Day

Event planner Ariella Winthrop had spent her life in relative obscurity until the scandalous discovery that she is the newly elected president's secret daughter. Now Ariella prefers to avoid the press while she deals with getting to meet and know her father, so when she meets Prince Simon Worth, the last thing she wants to do is get involved with him. But Simon is charming, and Ariella can't resist him—or his kisses. Is she playing with fire (and her heart) by getting involved with a man who is in line for a throne and forever being in the public eye?

Simon is immediately smitten with Ariella, and thinks she's beautiful and would be perfect as his bride, even if his family disagrees. Ariella is nearly royalty herself as the daughter of the president, yet the scandal continues to rock the world as she hasn't yet met her father or located her mother. When her event planning business takes her to England, Simon introduces her to his family, who immediately make it clear that getting involved with Ariella is not acceptable. This doesn't deter Simon, because nothing will keep him from Ariella.

Meanwhile, Ariella finally locates and meets her mother. Has she found the family she thought she'd lost when her adoptive parents died years ago? Can she convince Simon that their affair has to end because she is tired of being in the public eye? Will meeting her father for the first time be a wonderful experience or awkward? Ariella has a lot on her plate, and readers will feel for her in AFFAIRS OF STATE. While one could read AFFAIRS OF STATE as a standalone, I highly recommend readers pick up and read the previous five books in the Daughters of Power: The Capital series as it all comes together in this final tale.

The past few months, readers have been entertained with the secret baby scandal in the Daughters of Power: The Capital series, and it comes to a close with AFFAIRS OF STATE, about the woman in the middle of the scandal, Ariella. Her friends have rallied around her, yet the elusiveness of never having met her parents has her on edge. Simon is a distraction—both good and bad—and one that could evolve into another scandal as he proves impossible to resist. Their attraction for each other is instant and his kisses leave her wanting more, but they manage to avoid taking the next step in their relationship until it becomes the right time. What will happen after she leaves England for home? Can Simon convince his family that Ariella is the right woman for him? Can she ever get her life back in order?

Ariella needs closure—or at least a connection—with her birth parents as the past few months have been difficult with the press hounding her. Finally, she meets her parents, as do readers, and wonder how the president and his high school sweetheart will react to meeting for the first time after all these years. And when it happens, could readers be in for a bit of a surprise in AFFAIRS OF STATE? Will the love bug strike twice in this intriguing tale?

A royal scandal wasn't what Ariella was looking for in AFFAIRS OF STATE, but readers will enjoy this entertaining tale from start to finish.

Patti Fischer