David Windsor, the 2012 Democratic Presidential Candidate, refuses to lie when he’s outed by his opponent during a live television debate.  Although most people don’t believe it’s possible for an openly gay man to win the election, Windsor narrowly wins.  When one of the Secret Service agents assigned to protect him, Shane Thompson, saves him from an assassination attempt on the day of his inauguration, David decides he wants Shane in the White House with him.  There’s a strong attraction between them, but David’s determined not to pressure Shane into anything.  With several groups out to get David, and other problems on the horizon, will David and Shane ever have a chance at a relationship?

Reading Condor One made me feel like I had the inside scoop on the process of campaigning and transitioning between presidents.  John Simpson must have done a lot of research, because the details seemed very realistic to me.  I’m very interested in politics, so getting a window into all the little things that have to happen when a President is leaving or entering office was really cool.  I also thought the idea of an openly gay President was cool.  All the characters were larger-than-life types, but not in a bad way.  David Windsor is a tough politician and a relative of England’s royal family.  Shane Thompson is a skilled agent who’s willing to do whatever he has to in order to protect his President.  There’s a lot of action in Condor One, ranging from assassination attempts and exciting escapes to international intrigue.  Unfortunately, there were several things that kept me from truly immersing myself in the story.  Condor One is told via first-person narration from David’s point of view, and there were several instances in which he relates incidents and conversations he couldn’t possibly have known about.  Also, there were times when I felt as if I was being beaten over the head by a political agenda.  Yeah, this is a book about politics, but it’s also fiction, and a romance, a fact that seemed to be secondary at times.  Lastly, there was so much going on that David and Shane didn’t really get much time alone together.  They had sex several times, but I wanted more conversation and emotional connection to help me believe in their love.  In the end, Condor One was an interesting read that worked very well as a political commentary and action story, but not quite as well as a romance.