A scandal... at the White House... again... I'm sensing a theme to Nicolle Wallace books in this Charlotte Kramer series. This is the second book in the series and it's a lot like the first.

It continues from where the previous book ends. Charlotte is now in her second presidential term and her new VP Tara is trying to settle in, which is proving hard for the woman.

Again the book is told by three narrators. This time Mel from the first book is replaced by Tara, the new VP. Unfortunately unlike in the first book where the format worked okay, in this book each of the sections seemed much shorter and I didn't think it worked as well.

It's just a not as well written book as the first one in the series, which is something that I've rarely seen happen. Usually it's the first book that's shaky and the second one gets better.

I think that another reason that I liked this book less than Eighteen Acres was because there didn't seem to be as much politics in the political chick lit, but instead there was a whole lot more of the private lives. Well, if I wanted regular chick lit there is plenty of it without the political part of the book.

But, it was a very quick read, even if from almost the beginning I was pretty sure I knew exactly what was going to happen by the end. ( )

This follow up book, or sequel of Eighteen Acres was absolutely some of the best reading I will do this year! Imagine how happy I was after I had taken almost two years to take the first book off my shelf to read when I found out there was another. The plot was different and written so well, I only hope she has another book in her for this year! ( )

Charlotte Kramer, President of the United States, Republican, first woman to hold the office, has just won a second term. Kramer's popularity ratings at the end of her first term, which was plagued by scandals both personal and political, were weak. Her administration, however, came up with a brilliant plan to gain votes, blue as well as red: they would run a Democrat as the candidate for Vice President.

A brilliant idea but too quickly executed. Despite her ability to connect with the public, it seems the new VP, Tara Meyers has some issues. She calls in sick a lot. She's gaining weight, her face is breaking out, and sometimes she can't even get out of bed, all classic signs of depression. Seems the vetting process was superficial at best.

The administration's collective efforts, from the shadowy Chief of Staff to the Press Secretary and beyond, to keep POTUS in a state of plausible deniability only serve to allow the problem to spin utterly out of control, calling into question the validity of Meyers's performance even when she's instrumental in the apprehension of a major terrorist.

It's Classified opens with the Vice President's resignation and the grand jury investigation into the whole kerfuffle and then flashes back to tell the whole story. Nicole Wallace, a former Washington insider, loads her narrative with enough truly juicy tidbits and those-who-know type insights to make the often clunky writing worth wading through, and her depiction of an administration many of which's most key players--President, Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense--are women is fascinating. Though not one for the ages, It's Classified is a terrific quick read for the airplane or beach. ( )

While the characters were well-developed, the plot was difficult to discern and much of the side stories were left neglected. Not sure that reading the first book (Eighteen Acres) would have helped much. ( )

I LOVED this book!! The characters, the plot, the writing. It was all great! I really hope that Nicolle Wallace writes another book with these same characters because (without giving away anything) there is one shady character that I would love to see go down! I would highly recommend this book. ( )