If you haven’t met an Erica McAlister in your life, then you should consider yourself a lucky bastard. You can whistle a lovely tune, as you march down to The White House, roll around on the eagle’s wings in the Oval Office, and then high-five the Secret Service—the guys with the earpieces and dark sunglasses—before your hands are slapped in cuffs, and you spend the next several years of your life contemplating your own stupidity in a maximum security prison somewhere in the middle of Kansas. Th...

Do you ever wonder about the women involved in sex scandals? Do you want to ask them, "What the hell were you thinking?" Do you shake your head in disgust? Blame them? Salute them? Pity them?I'll admit that I was fascinated by Monica Lewinsky. I didn't find Bill Clinton to be particularly good looking, and certainly not hot, but power is the ultimate aphrodisiac (thank you, Henry Kissinger, for giving voice to that), so who knows? Perhaps if I worked with him, I would have been more open to him,...

The First Affair was a book which I wouldn’t typically pick up, but I’d read some great books by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus previously, that I decided again to venture out of my usual comfort reading zone.Despite not being a huge fan of cheating in books, I felt myself compelled into reading this story because of our MC Jamie. Her relationship (if you can really call it that) with the president kind of just happened when Jamie found herself with the president when he wasn’t in the best state...

Why oh why do I bother with any more of these authors' books?? I feel like they write a complete book and then delete every 5th paragraph. I never can quite figure out what is going on. Despite a decent premise (White House intern meets the president, starts an affair and then gets demoted/transferred to a far-away government office) and a nice follow up (the third section addresses what happens with OIG and then the press discovers the affair), the book was difficult to follow and not well exec...

One would think that to be a young intern at the White House, one would have to have strong allies, an impressive resume, intelligence, common sense, personal integrity and standards, luck, and be mature enough to conduct oneself appropriately in the scrutinizing eyes of the public, or at least not get caught. The First Affair proves that the "human" element can cancel out all the rest! In what reads like the Clinton/Lewinsky debacle, authors Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus plunge us deep into

I really wanted to like this story, I’ve read Between You and Me by the same author team, and I had high hopes for this book. But, I found several issues that disappointed me beyond the usual ‘hope’ I have for a story.Initially, this book reads far more like a ‘what if’ retelling of the Monica Lewinsky story – the setup is the same, 20 something intern in DC in a ‘relationship’ with the POTUS. But far from feeling like it could be possible and that Jaime has something to offer beyond her degree,...

I loved this novel! I know, I know, it WAS Monica Lewinsky-esque, but how could it not? A young intern, a charismatic President, a dark hallway...you get the picture. Perfect vacation read.

3.5 out of 5 stars - "Hope and After Hope."Jamie McAllister is 22 and "needing to be liked." Her family has failed her and she has been unable to find a paying job when she manages to obtain an internship at the White House and the Department of Scheduling and Advance because of the recommendation of her best friend's mom. When the staffers are furloughed during a budget impasse forced by President Rutland, Jamie has a chance encounter with him that sets her on a path to scandal and total devast...

I waffled between giving this book two or three salutes, and as I got three fourths of the way through things started to change for me. Everything became a lot clearer, and I could see what the book was really about. It wasn't just about Jamie McAlister's "affair" with President Gregory "Greg" Rutland, but rather a story about finding yourself, and figuring out where you belong in the world. Jamie had to define her own path since childhood. She looked for love and attention wherever she could ge...

I received this book through Bookbrowse First Impressions. I would like to give this book two ratings – one rating for Part 1 of the book and a different rating for the remainder. I have no idea how the two authors collaborated on writing the book (and this most likely has nothing to do with my problem) but it seemed to me as if a different writer took over midway through it. My rating for the first half would be a 1- (a one minus). I had a very hard time getting used to the combination of the w...

This is the third book written by McLaughlin and Kraus I’ve read. First was, of course, The Nanny Diaries (after I’ve seen the movie), and then recently it was The Real Real. I adored both books and knew for certain that I was going to love this one. And indeed I did.McLaughlin and Kraus are undoubtedly a superb team. The First Affair once again showcases how well these two ladies bring their characters to life and into the hearts of their readers. Jamie is a very realistic protagonist, and for

4.5If my mother hadn't read this book and given it a very positive review I never would have heard of it. If I'd realized it was written by the authors of "The Nanny Diaries", I would have NEVER picked it up.Luckily for me, she did and I didn't, so I read "The First Affair". Wow, it was really good! Jamie is totally and completely stupid, of course, but it's the kind of stupid that feels very realistic for a 21-year-old girl. Characters that at first feel like they might be caricatures turn out

Ok, I saw the reviews on this one, but decided to read it anyway, since I have enjoyed EM & NK's books in the past. The story itself is not bad and is entertaining for the most part. My problem was that I found that it was just written strangely. I don't think I am too old to "get" the speech patterns, but I found myself rereading whole paragraphs too many times. There are a couple of mentions of getting "on line" at Starbucks to order...and I kept wondering if this was a typo, but it came up tw...

This book is sort of awful and gross, but also relatable. The protagonist is crazy in love. Actually crazy. If it's happened to you, this book makes you feel like less of freak (and more of one, because the person you got addicted to and went insane for was not the President of the United States, it was just some loser douche.)

I disagree with the comments on here about her being naive and young - that is to say, I agree with them, but don't any of you remember being young and naive? She was lonely and in a new town, and was beyond flattered that the President was hitting on her. [that's not to say what she did was right, since she knew he was married, but it does give some perspective]I found this book fascinating because of the whole Lewinsky/Clinton scandal, too.Read my full review at: http://booksithinkyoushouldrea...

Finished a bad, bad book late today, while sitting in my car outside the public library (yes, it was closed as today is sunday) with a latte and a donut (don't judge me). I wanted to put it into the return bin outside the library the minute I finished. The book was 8 days late because I had very little time, and perhaps not much inclination, to get it done, and yet I wanted to finish it. Oh, the book? "First Affair," by Nicola Kraus and Emma Mclaughlin, the same duo who wrote "The Nanny Diaries....

This is just okay - better than most chick lit out there, at least. I got fed up with the distractions of the weird family dynamic and thought there could have been less of that..... Jamie herself, yeah, she's pretty dim and naive. Also - the timeline was a major problem. The main story was clearly set in the present day - cell phones, 24-hour news, Facebook, plus mentions of Mad Men and reading Gone Girl. But in the epilogue, she mentions Weiner and Spitzer and all those sex scandals that have

Two-second recap: The First Affair is an entertaining and fast read, but lacks the substance and depth required for a novel with such a subject matter.*** Full review I highly enjoyed The Nanny Diaries when it first came out, so when I heard that Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus had a new book and it had a political theme, I figured it was definitely worth checking out. Luckily for me, Atria books kindly obliged, and sent me a galley via NetGalley!*** Things that worked: * The world-building...

Slight spoilers ahead so read at your own risk.Thanks to the authors, Atria Books, and NetGalley.com for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this title.3.5 starsAgain, another compulsively readable book from Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. Even though this book made me wildly uncomfortable (I spent most of my time reading half-yelling at Jamie which was fine when I was home alone but a little odd when I was in the break room at work. Lots of weird looks my way, so thanks for that) I though...

The First Affairnofollow is the newest novel by authors Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. I’ve read much of what this pair has written so when I was given the chance to review this book through NetGalley, I jumped on that opportunity. I devoured this book. I could not put my Kindle down and stayed up late to treasure this one. (And that’s a sacrifice for me since sleep is limited lately) Just like their previous novel, Between You and Me, and their first big hit, The Nanny Diaries, I was absorbe...