Domestic Policy – J.A. Armstrong

I have been resolute in my desire to not read any pandemic related books over these last few months. I have been reading to get away from the realities of everyday life at present, so when one of the series’ I enjoy the most was added to with a book that takes place during a pandemic I was reluctant to read, however, if I could pick characters I’d want to be real and to be in my life, two of them would be Jameson Reid and Alex Toles – both of whom appear in this book, so I broke my rule and picked up the book (metaphorically of course, I downloaded it through KU) and I’m glad I did.

The pandemic is dealt with really well – it’s discussed in terms of a novel virus and is focussed on in terms of the lives of the MCs and their families and the difficult decisions it saddles the fictional president, Candace, with. It isn’t sensationalised, in fact it’s dealt with quite sensitively. I love how Armstrong writes politics and all of their intricacies and the pandemic storyline allows this to flourish.

The pacing of the book is good, and I enjoyed the focus on the relationships in the book, something I always enjoy about Armstrong’s writing in this series, even when these relationships aren’t what we thought they were.

All in all it’s a good book that carries on the series well, progresses the characters and pretty much closes the first year of the family being in the White House. I’m looking forward to the next instalment, and hoping there might be another Alex & Cassidy book in the near future too.