Review: The Long Game

THE LONG GAME
The Fixer #2
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Young Adult/Political Thriller
368 Pages
Bloomsbury
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Tess Kendrick, teen fixer extraordinaire, returns in a pulse-pounding thriller about a deadly conspiracy at the heart of Washington.

For Tess Kendrick, a junior at the elite Hardwicke School in Washington D.C., fixing runs in the family. But Tess has another legacy, too, one that involves power and the making of political dynasties. When Tess is asked to run a classmate's campaign for student council, she agrees. But when the candidates are children of politicians, even a high school election can involve life-shattering secrets.

Meanwhile, Tess's guardian has also taken on an impossible case, as a terrorist attack calls into doubt who can--and cannot--be trusted on Capitol Hill. Tess knows better than most that power is currency in D.C., but she's about to discover first-hand that power always comes with a price.

MY THOUGHTS
The Long Game is one of those reads that’s sheer entertainment, the political maneuvering and government conspiracies a bit over the top but in a fun, perfect-break-from-reality kind of way that has us flipping the pages as fast as possible to see which player on the board is going to make the next move.

Tess is easy-to-root for, a bit cocky at times thanks to her familial connections in the political arena, but she’s a Robin Hood whose currency just happens to be information, and it’s impossible not to smile when those who seek to exploit weakness get their just deserts. Though she has the same unfortunate habit of keeping certain secrets as her mother, on the whole she’s good about sharing information with those who are in the best position to help her, never running off to solve a problem on her own without first notifying someone of her plan. Her relationship with Ivy can be frustrating at times, their shared inability to give voice to the things that matter most a bit trying in this second installment, but the drama between them is never so extreme as to detract from our overall enjoyment.

As with the first book, there’s little to no romance in this second book, and while that might disappoint those readers like myself who live for a bit of swoon in whatever they read, Ms. Barnes ensures this story never feels as though it’s lacking. The life and death game-playing by political big wigs and terrorists alike keeps our attention throughout, and secondary characters like Asher with his absurdly endearing sense of humor plaster smiles on our faces in a number of very welcome moments of levity.

All in all, The Long Game is a strong follow-up to The Fixer, leaving us with an important revelation that has us looking forward to the next book without facing a brutal cliffhanger that tears the rug out from under us on the last page.

Rating: 4/5

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This book was sent to me by the publisher  free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.