The newest political romance novel to hit the shelves is written by none other than Fox News host and No. 1 New York Times bestselling author Dana Perino.
“Purple State,” released this week by HarperCollins, follows three young single Democratic women in their 20s living in New York City.
Dot, the politically charged member of the friend group, is on her way to being a successful agent at her PR firm. Mary is on track to make junior partner at a big law firm. Harper is an aspiring author.
The trio face the dreaded questions every young woman finds herself asking: Who am I? Who do I want to be? What do I want to do?
When the opportunity presents itself to move to a small Midwest town to work for a Democrat-aligned political action committee, the three characters move from the Big Apple to Cedar Falls, Wisconsin, where a surprising love story unfolds.
Perino has said she took inspiration for the book from women she knows, as well as from her own real-life love story with her husband, Peter McMahon.
From the front cover to the back-cover book description, you would think “Purple State” is written for young women who could personally relate to Dot, Mary, and Harper. But I found a different message: Do single women have to move to a farm town in the middle of nowhere just to find a “real man”?
The Love Story
Most politically minded people — or even just those who have strong values and political beliefs — could never imagine dating someone on the other side of the aisle. I know I sure can’t. Yet Dot, who broke things off with her boyfriend in New York because he voted Republican, forgets all about red-versus-blue upon meeting an unwavering Republican farm boy from Wisconsin — Danny Dawson.
Before Perino introduces Danny, Dot thinks she might be interested in the Democrat guy working the campaign with her — the perfect liberal love story. But when she sees him scream “like a girl” as he runs away from a bee, she immediately gets “the ick.”
Danny, who drives a pickup truck and is brave enough to run head-on into a crime scene for her safety, sweeps her off her feet. She quickly becomes blind to the way he votes.
With a surprise ending that might make you shed a tear, all three Democrat girls end up falling in love with Republican farm boys while on their campaign stint in Wisconsin. It’s a truth you hear a lot on social media: Women, no matter their political beliefs, want to be with “real men.” And those men usually end up being Republican.
Her Easter Eggs
Perino did sprinkle Easter eggs from her own life throughout the book. If you have read any of her three memoirs, you can pick up on those.
For example, when the girls board the plane heading off on their big adventure, they talk about the possibility of meeting the love of their life. In real life, Perino met McMahon while seated next to him on a flight.
Another nod to her relationship with her husband was the girls’ decision to move to a new place for love, possibly giving up a career. Early in her own relationship, Perino moved to Europe to be with McMahon, putting love before her career.
While “Purple State” is Perino’s debut in fiction, the author provides an entertaining, light romance novel that posits a deep thought for a politically divided America: True love, perhaps, is something that crosses party lines.
