Eighteen Acres: A Novel

I have to admit I almost always read the book first and the reviews after I have finished. If I had read them first I might not have read the book. Many of the reviews are negative for either their lack of detail, "fluff chic lit" or in general bad prose. I found myself shocked because I feel I read another book entirely. I happen to like Nicolle Wallace, never knew she worked for the Bush's campaign and presidency. I am generally not interested in politics. I don't think it brings out the best in people. I like her show on MSNBC, I prefer her style of communicating over the others which are often lecturing or trying to get best shot for publicity's sake . It was because of watching her, I decided to research her and discovered she had written this book. I enjoyed this book and am going to read the rest of the series. What I liked about it was that fact that it went into the relationships of the people in the White House rather than the nitty gritty details of the under belly in politics. I thought the writing sounded just liked Nicolle's speaking pattern, and could easily envision her as Melanie in the book.Eighteen Acres is the premise of the book; the land on which the White House stands. It has three women; the first woman President of the US, Charlotte Kramer, her Chief of Staff, Melanie Kingston and a reporter who is having an affair with Charlotte's husband, Dale Smith, which are the primary focus of the book.The book starts at the end of the first term of President Kramer as she is gearing up for the last few months before the re-election. There are several subtle twists and turns that not easily discernable since we do not have the knowledge of the inner workings of the White House. It is a wonderfully written story about these strong women and and what they are willing to give up in their personal lives for duty and service.

I read this on a lark. Nicolle Wallace does an excellent job as an anchor on MSNBC’s Deadline: White House. She clearly has an in-depth understanding of the inner workings of the WH and news organizations as well as a knack for story telling.

Nicole Wallace's new novel, EIGHTEEN ACRES, is going to drive people like Rush Limbaugh right up a wall.With good reason: Wallace has dreamed up a fictionalized world where women hold most of the most powerful positions in Washington; men are reduced to servicers of their women, providing support, succor and sex.This book could only be written by Washington insider. The title refers to the size of the grounds at the White House where President Margaret Kramer is in charge, ably assisted by her chief of staff, Melanie Kingston. President Kramer inherited two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and after four years in office she is up for reelection. Alas, in the middle of all this stress, a glamorous TV reporter/anchor captures the heart of Mr. Kramer. We won't get into details, because the reader should discover all this on his or her own. But the plot, once underway, is riveting.This is a charming novel. It's not perfect (it gets off to a slow start), but for a first novel, Ms. Wallace has developed a fascinating plot that will make this book a very short read for most fiction lovers and political groupies. Plus, of course, it depicts a world where women are in control. Sure there are missteps, but by and large the women in EIGHTEEN ACRES do a pretty good job at running this country (compared to, say, John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush).Which brings us back to Mr. Limbaugh. If he were to read this book, there is no doubt in this reviewer's mind that our charming (if gassy) conservative talk show host would fashion a new tagline for the women in Ms. Wallace's book: Female Chauvinist Sows. If he were to do that, of course, he does so at his own peril because sooner or later we are going to have a woman president in Washington, and after reading Ms. Wallace's book, it sounds like a good idea.

I love Nicole Wallace on tv, so I was curious. At first it felt very girly with the obsession over her pocketbook, but I fell in love with the characters and the smart political plot. Truth be told, I love my pocketbooks, too, but I’m a bit snobby about the books I read. I read this one non-stop and then the next one, It’s Cassified, and now I’m in themiddle of the third in the trilogy, Madam President. All three are quite prescient, being they were all published before TRUMP became President. Worth a read, all three!I noticed after the end of Eighteen Acres, there were bookclub questions and an interview of Nicole Wallace. Among other things, she talked about books that influenced her. She mentioned that she wanted to read the Steig Larsson trilogy - my all time favorite books - ever! So I hope she has read them by now. (Alert! Plot spoiler - don’t look at the questions nor the interview until after you’ve read the book.)

feisty female republicans striving to reconcile political, professional and love lives - unfortunately saddled with the one dimensional charcaters one expects of the romantic genre. I award the third star for the basically sound plot. nice read for a vacation on the beach...

Okay

Excellent Read - Recommend to any one interested in politics.