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The One You Want
Union organizer Millie Frank doesn’t like the spotlight. But when an oh-so-traumatizing hostage situation makes her front-page news, she’s forced to take the lead on an important negotiation…putting her directly in the path of Capitol Hill’s most arrogant playboy.
Parker Beckett will do whatever it takes to close a deal for his senator boss. He’s a pragmatist down to his bones, and he doesn’t have time for naive do-gooders, even if he can’t get Millie’s wounded eyes out of his head.
Parker can’t understand how Millie has kept her idealism in this town. Millie can’t believe what Parker’s willing to sacrifice to pass a budget. As they navigate their political differences, what grows between them looks a lot like a relationship…and maybe even a little like love.
Previously released as Special Interests
Parker Beckett will do whatever it takes to close a deal for his senator boss. He’s a pragmatist down to his bones, and he doesn’t have time for naive do-gooders, even if he can’t get Millie’s wounded eyes out of his head.
Parker can’t understand how Millie has kept her idealism in this town. Millie can’t believe what Parker’s willing to sacrifice to pass a budget. As they navigate their political differences, what grows between them looks a lot like a relationship…and maybe even a little like love.
Previously released as Special Interests
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
60 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Emma Barry
29 books222 followersEmma Barry is a teacher, novelist, recovering academic, and former political staffer. She lives with her high school sweetheart and a menagerie of pets and children in Virginia, and she occasionally finds time to read and write.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 28, 2023
Absolutely loved this, but part of that is because Emma Barry got Washington DC and politics-adjacent work perfectly spot on. I identified with Millie’s character journey a lot, moving from a young idealistic lobbyist to someone more grounded in reality - but still dedicated to doing good work. Parker’s arc was a little less believable but still fun to read, and very timely given the government shutdown news.
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April 5, 2022🎁 FREE on Amazon today (4/5/2022)! 🎁
March 28, 2024
Romance and Politics in Washington DC
Written in 2014, The One You Want still feels very contemporary. The book's characters are involved in budget negotiations designed to prevent a government shutdown. (The heroine is a liberal Democrat and the hero is a moderate Democrat.) Millie and Parker bump into each other in a bar and have immediate chemistry. He's a Senate staffer and a master of political gamesmanship. She works as a labor organizer and is still idealistic about making the world a better and fairer place.
As Parker and Millie each try to influence the budget priorities, there are references to a divided House majority, political risks of bipartisanship, and policy specifics. There is no big Mr. Smith Goes To Washington moment with a surprising victory for the underdog. (If you're tired of the news, this may not be the book for you. )
Ultimately, I give this 3.5 stars. There is a contrived 3rd act break-up that seemed like it was added to create some drama.
If you're new to Emma Barry, I suggest trying Funny Guy, a newer and better book.
Written in 2014, The One You Want still feels very contemporary. The book's characters are involved in budget negotiations designed to prevent a government shutdown. (The heroine is a liberal Democrat and the hero is a moderate Democrat.) Millie and Parker bump into each other in a bar and have immediate chemistry. He's a Senate staffer and a master of political gamesmanship. She works as a labor organizer and is still idealistic about making the world a better and fairer place.
As Parker and Millie each try to influence the budget priorities, there are references to a divided House majority, political risks of bipartisanship, and policy specifics. There is no big Mr. Smith Goes To Washington moment with a surprising victory for the underdog. (If you're tired of the news, this may not be the book for you. )
Ultimately, I give this 3.5 stars. There is a contrived 3rd act break-up that seemed like it was added to create some drama.
If you're new to Emma Barry, I suggest trying Funny Guy, a newer and better book.
April 25, 2023
I love a DC setting and a political romance that has people fighting for the same causes!! Millie and Parker are on page a lot together which is always great.
Millie is experiencing her 15 minutes of fame due to a hostage situation she had the misfortune of being a part of and I loved the small ways the media played into their story. I also appreciated that the situation took place off page prior to the story bc I also didn't need to go through that trauma.
Even though the third act break up was kind of dumb (the convo that breaks them up, not the emotions/reason) it didn't bother me too much because the characters had to reflect and figure themselves out a bit before deciding if they wanted to be together.
TW: grandparent with memory loss, hostage situation (prior to book; discussed in depth), PTSD from hostage situation,
CW: nursing home, nightmares
Millie is experiencing her 15 minutes of fame due to a hostage situation she had the misfortune of being a part of and I loved the small ways the media played into their story. I also appreciated that the situation took place off page prior to the story bc I also didn't need to go through that trauma.
Even though the third act break up was kind of dumb (the convo that breaks them up, not the emotions/reason) it didn't bother me too much because the characters had to reflect and figure themselves out a bit before deciding if they wanted to be together.
TW: grandparent with memory loss, hostage situation (prior to book; discussed in depth), PTSD from hostage situation,
CW: nursing home, nightmares
February 10, 2022
I received an ARC from the author and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
The One You Want is a repackaging/reprint of an older book by Emma Barry called Special Interests, and while I do own the original version, I never got around to reading it. While she states it’s “lightly edited,” the overall tone is still consistent with the environment of Obama-era politics. That does make it an odd read now, with how much has shifted within the last few years, but I appreciate Barry’s own admission that she also views our current political climate with more cynicism today and this is more of a fictional ode to her own time working as a political staffer.
And I did enjoy the political bits, and I think they’re the parts that shine the most through the book. Barry was conscious that readers likely would not have the inner knowledge she had, and she managed to make the stuff about what goes into the passage of a bill interesting.
The characters, while somewhat uneven for me, were also pretty good. I adore Parker’s relationship with his grandfather, who is dealing with Alzheimer’s and is at the stage where he doesn’t recognize him. Their interactions were the most emotionally engaging of the book. And I appreciated the way Millie worked through trauma following an incident at the start of the book, especially given the public nature of her career.
But the romance left me wanting a lot more. The two of them being somewhat at odds over the passage of the bill was intriguing, and I appreciated this way of showing subtle political differences that ultimately lead to them compromising in a much more effective way than more recent attempts at navigating political romance. But the way angst and questions of commitment were thrown in turned me off, as it just made me not really care if these two got together or not.
I do enjoy this book for what it is, and am excited to get to the rest of the series, which I also have ARCs for, in hopes one of those will work better for me as a romance. While politics has always been a contentious topic in romance, I do hope anyone who didn’t give this book a chance before will try it now, especially if the romantic elements sound appealing to you.
The One You Want is a repackaging/reprint of an older book by Emma Barry called Special Interests, and while I do own the original version, I never got around to reading it. While she states it’s “lightly edited,” the overall tone is still consistent with the environment of Obama-era politics. That does make it an odd read now, with how much has shifted within the last few years, but I appreciate Barry’s own admission that she also views our current political climate with more cynicism today and this is more of a fictional ode to her own time working as a political staffer.
And I did enjoy the political bits, and I think they’re the parts that shine the most through the book. Barry was conscious that readers likely would not have the inner knowledge she had, and she managed to make the stuff about what goes into the passage of a bill interesting.
The characters, while somewhat uneven for me, were also pretty good. I adore Parker’s relationship with his grandfather, who is dealing with Alzheimer’s and is at the stage where he doesn’t recognize him. Their interactions were the most emotionally engaging of the book. And I appreciated the way Millie worked through trauma following an incident at the start of the book, especially given the public nature of her career.
But the romance left me wanting a lot more. The two of them being somewhat at odds over the passage of the bill was intriguing, and I appreciated this way of showing subtle political differences that ultimately lead to them compromising in a much more effective way than more recent attempts at navigating political romance. But the way angst and questions of commitment were thrown in turned me off, as it just made me not really care if these two got together or not.
I do enjoy this book for what it is, and am excited to get to the rest of the series, which I also have ARCs for, in hopes one of those will work better for me as a romance. While politics has always been a contentious topic in romance, I do hope anyone who didn’t give this book a chance before will try it now, especially if the romantic elements sound appealing to you.
February 19, 2023
Awk Poor Little Starvers And Slavers Up Hill.
Awk Poor Little White Cis Het Boy Learnt That He Is What He Does, Because Middle Class Might Starve Like The Rest Too.
"I hope she's worth it."
That is such a toxic mindset for him NOT to correct at the end.
But it doesn't matter, he could have planted a seed in Jim's brain and said "Jim, I did this for me, not her because idolising someone is toxic for them" but alas I assume being a MacGuffin is the point.
A union organiser against a shut down.
Is she against strikes too?
She can sleep with someone working with people who kill most Americans.
Most Americans die by Heart Disease.
Anything that puts undue pressure on your heart is a direct cause of that.
But don't do a shut down, the upper class might end up losing something.
The poor already have nothing.
But the "do-gooder" need to feel needed.
Not one mention of A Universal Basic Income, or Universal Needs being met, Shelter, Healtcare, Food, Autonomy.
Every single one of these is a need to prevent Heart Disease.
They just want you to take personal responsibility for systemic abuses. So they focus on why you are "putting too much sugar in your body" when no, "you are putting too little limiters in your body you are causing constant sugar CRASHES because it burns through it".
But the culture of self denial means charity is important.
When your societal change is for personal reasons, its no more Narcissistic than the Republicans.
She has diagnosed herself with depression in such a short term too.
Is it little wonder the chronically ill never speak up? Its because the fantasy is always the shot term fixable depression.
Ten days, and oh depression.
Would have been interested in a Union leader discussing long term trauma but the Repbulican angst must be injectged because RWs and Conservative Centrists thrive on angst, its not them it kills you see, its the starving who will die regardless of a shutdown.
She wants to beg forgiveness.
Poor girl.
How dare the depressed girl have bundaries.
Gawd what a joke to do on a traumatised person.
But poor white man!
She had absolutely nothing to apologise for at the end of the book and I had to read her try to convince me that she did because of her trauma.
He spent years helping people starve others but we have to pretend he's not.
We have to pretend that these people are good even though they keep facilitating a very abusive system that starts when it needs to compartmentalise babies at birth based on how they will pass on their gametes.
A nice wee Patriachial Parable where a mans ACTION S and CHOICES are compared and equated to a womans BOUNDARIES.
"Oh I'm sorry, I pretended this system is good for a second so I could pass the buck along and at least the same cycle isnt on MY shoulders."
Seriously, reading this, seems like these people are just interesting in how much responsibility and how pure they are seen to be.
Socialist care about the outcome and the people are dying regardless of a shutdown or not.
I should know, my government was shudown from 2017 to 2020 and now since 2021 and continues to be.
They tell you this is the worse thing but living in he worst area, it looks the same. The only difference is, the Middle Class are louder about it.
Awk Poor Little White Cis Het Boy Learnt That He Is What He Does, Because Middle Class Might Starve Like The Rest Too.
"I hope she's worth it."
That is such a toxic mindset for him NOT to correct at the end.
But it doesn't matter, he could have planted a seed in Jim's brain and said "Jim, I did this for me, not her because idolising someone is toxic for them" but alas I assume being a MacGuffin is the point.
A union organiser against a shut down.
Is she against strikes too?
She can sleep with someone working with people who kill most Americans.
Most Americans die by Heart Disease.
Anything that puts undue pressure on your heart is a direct cause of that.
But don't do a shut down, the upper class might end up losing something.
The poor already have nothing.
But the "do-gooder" need to feel needed.
Not one mention of A Universal Basic Income, or Universal Needs being met, Shelter, Healtcare, Food, Autonomy.
Every single one of these is a need to prevent Heart Disease.
They just want you to take personal responsibility for systemic abuses. So they focus on why you are "putting too much sugar in your body" when no, "you are putting too little limiters in your body you are causing constant sugar CRASHES because it burns through it".
But the culture of self denial means charity is important.
When your societal change is for personal reasons, its no more Narcissistic than the Republicans.
She has diagnosed herself with depression in such a short term too.
Is it little wonder the chronically ill never speak up? Its because the fantasy is always the shot term fixable depression.
Ten days, and oh depression.
Would have been interested in a Union leader discussing long term trauma but the Repbulican angst must be injectged because RWs and Conservative Centrists thrive on angst, its not them it kills you see, its the starving who will die regardless of a shutdown.
She wants to beg forgiveness.
Poor girl.
How dare the depressed girl have bundaries.
Gawd what a joke to do on a traumatised person.
But poor white man!
She had absolutely nothing to apologise for at the end of the book and I had to read her try to convince me that she did because of her trauma.
He spent years helping people starve others but we have to pretend he's not.
We have to pretend that these people are good even though they keep facilitating a very abusive system that starts when it needs to compartmentalise babies at birth based on how they will pass on their gametes.
A nice wee Patriachial Parable where a mans ACTION S and CHOICES are compared and equated to a womans BOUNDARIES.
"Oh I'm sorry, I pretended this system is good for a second so I could pass the buck along and at least the same cycle isnt on MY shoulders."
Seriously, reading this, seems like these people are just interesting in how much responsibility and how pure they are seen to be.
Socialist care about the outcome and the people are dying regardless of a shutdown or not.
I should know, my government was shudown from 2017 to 2020 and now since 2021 and continues to be.
They tell you this is the worse thing but living in he worst area, it looks the same. The only difference is, the Middle Class are louder about it.
February 15, 2022
Millie and Parker both work in Washington DC politics, and they are generally on the same side of the aisle - she represents labor unions and he is on the Democratic Senate Majority Leader’s staff. He is trying to get a deal with the Republican-held Congress to pass a budget, but one of the issues is worker’s wages, which impacts the unions.
Although I’m not a big fan of politics, I enjoyed The One You Want. Granted, the main characters fall on the same side of the political spectrum as I do, which made the political discussions tolerable. I liked that we get a peek into the politics because it is such a part of the characters’ lives. But we aren’t tossed into lengthy political discourse just for the sake of making it a political story.
Millie was recently a victim of a hostage situation and hates the attention she receives from the media. Deciding to put it behind her, Millie goes out with friends where she meets the polished Parker. They connect, but when she hints they should leave together, he turns her down. A week later, they meet again in a professional setting. Sparks continue to fly, and eventually, Parker finally decides she’s worth the effort.
Their romance is very back and forth, up and down. Parker wants a relationship like his grandparents had, but he’s not found the right person and thinks he’ll only hurt Millie in the end. Millie is dealing with the emotional scars left from being held hostage and thinks she’ll never be enough for Parker. I love when Parker decides Millie is worth it and asks her out on a real date - it’s awkward and funny, but he shows Millie he’s serious about her.
I like how we see both slowly come to middle ground when it comes to their underlying emotions and thoughts. Their mutual attraction keeps them working at the rest… listening to the other and understanding what is work and what is passion. They continue to have ups and downs, but each eventually realizes what they have is worth it.
In the end, I enjoyed reading The One You Want. Millie and Parker are passionate individuals. I love that they are both flawed and recognize they need to work on things. Their courtship is both fiery and sweet.
My Rating: B
Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About
Review copy provided by the author
Although I’m not a big fan of politics, I enjoyed The One You Want. Granted, the main characters fall on the same side of the political spectrum as I do, which made the political discussions tolerable. I liked that we get a peek into the politics because it is such a part of the characters’ lives. But we aren’t tossed into lengthy political discourse just for the sake of making it a political story.
Millie was recently a victim of a hostage situation and hates the attention she receives from the media. Deciding to put it behind her, Millie goes out with friends where she meets the polished Parker. They connect, but when she hints they should leave together, he turns her down. A week later, they meet again in a professional setting. Sparks continue to fly, and eventually, Parker finally decides she’s worth the effort.
Their romance is very back and forth, up and down. Parker wants a relationship like his grandparents had, but he’s not found the right person and thinks he’ll only hurt Millie in the end. Millie is dealing with the emotional scars left from being held hostage and thinks she’ll never be enough for Parker. I love when Parker decides Millie is worth it and asks her out on a real date - it’s awkward and funny, but he shows Millie he’s serious about her.
I like how we see both slowly come to middle ground when it comes to their underlying emotions and thoughts. Their mutual attraction keeps them working at the rest… listening to the other and understanding what is work and what is passion. They continue to have ups and downs, but each eventually realizes what they have is worth it.
In the end, I enjoyed reading The One You Want. Millie and Parker are passionate individuals. I love that they are both flawed and recognize they need to work on things. Their courtship is both fiery and sweet.
My Rating: B
Originally posted at That's What I'm Talking About
Review copy provided by the author
March 9, 2022
I generally avoid political romance, because in order to have conflict and not alienate readers they often hype up some totally benign political stance as though it's controversial, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only are there actual politics discussed in The One You Want, both MCs treat politics and political differences as serious things that need to be respected. You don't see that often, and it was the thing that hooked me in and will keep me on the series. That said this is not a book that you're likely to enjoy if you tend to vote Republican, regardless of your opinions on Trump.
That aside, the chemistry between the characters was solid, they both had flaws that made sense for their personalities and lives, and they both seemed to have lives outside the main romance in ways that made the story feel very grounded. My only "complaint" is that the pace of the relationship was a bit bumpy and could've used a steeper conflict escalation, and I still don't think actually had anything to apologize for at the end but that's not a flaw so much as personal taste.
Anyway read this if you thought Josh Lyman/Amy Gardner deserved a better storyline.
That aside, the chemistry between the characters was solid, they both had flaws that made sense for their personalities and lives, and they both seemed to have lives outside the main romance in ways that made the story feel very grounded. My only "complaint" is that the pace of the relationship was a bit bumpy and could've used a steeper conflict escalation, and I still don't think actually had anything to apologize for at the end but that's not a flaw so much as personal taste.
Anyway read this if you thought Josh Lyman/Amy Gardner deserved a better storyline.
March 31, 2022
Emma Barry has quietly moved onto my list of favorite authors. She makes work integral to her characters in a way that resonates with me. For all of the main characters in this series, their work is fundamental to who they are as a person, which makes how they balance romance and work life central to the story. I particularly appreciated the double burden that the women in Barry’s books carry – falling in love and making room for a new relationship in a career focused life.
Before the series starts, Millie has had a couple of experiences that have shifted her sense of self – she turned down a marriage proposal, and she was taken hostage by a man in a chicken suit with a gun she didn’t realize was fake. When she meets Parker, who works for a ranking Senator, she’s still trying to understand this new version of herself. Once Parker settles into the idea of dating Millie, he goes from “let’s see if I’m still interested in a couple of weeks” to “she’s the one I’m going to marry” very quickly, while Millie is still figuring out how Parker fits with the new Millie and of course it’s temporarily a disaster.
Before the series starts, Millie has had a couple of experiences that have shifted her sense of self – she turned down a marriage proposal, and she was taken hostage by a man in a chicken suit with a gun she didn’t realize was fake. When she meets Parker, who works for a ranking Senator, she’s still trying to understand this new version of herself. Once Parker settles into the idea of dating Millie, he goes from “let’s see if I’m still interested in a couple of weeks” to “she’s the one I’m going to marry” very quickly, while Millie is still figuring out how Parker fits with the new Millie and of course it’s temporarily a disaster.
February 1, 2023
Political Junkies unite!
Well written, a bit of millennial maturing and a very detailed view of the undercurrents of DC politics, this book is quite enjoyable. I like the view of DC: the neighborhoods, restaurants, the summer swelter and the night humming. I like that the details like how the deal making in preventing a federal shutdown is managed, and how the book respects the staffers, interns and non-profit managers, as well as the unions and labor movements. Yes, there is romance and sex, and it interweaves the lives of the characters in a way that is, not so much starry eyed fantasy, but rather hopeful.
Well written, a bit of millennial maturing and a very detailed view of the undercurrents of DC politics, this book is quite enjoyable. I like the view of DC: the neighborhoods, restaurants, the summer swelter and the night humming. I like that the details like how the deal making in preventing a federal shutdown is managed, and how the book respects the staffers, interns and non-profit managers, as well as the unions and labor movements. Yes, there is romance and sex, and it interweaves the lives of the characters in a way that is, not so much starry eyed fantasy, but rather hopeful.
Read
April 3, 2022I read the version, now repackaged and slightly edited, called Special Interests. Two driven, immoderately hard-working people have an instant attraction but one pulls back immediately. Eventually, they try and will need some soul-searching to make a go of it. Washington setting and obsessions accurate. Recommended!
August 2, 2024
Romance and politics don't always intersect well but I liked this book. The characters seemed real and I enjoyed that the story wasn't completely focused on their romance, but also their own personal journeys.
The politics wasn't over-written which was something that I was worried about before I picked it up. Overall a nice, easy read.
3 STARS OUT OF 5.
The politics wasn't over-written which was something that I was worried about before I picked it up. Overall a nice, easy read.
3 STARS OUT OF 5.
March 5, 2022
The book is a good, and enjoyable romance read. The story has a good story line. The characters are good, and they have good chemistry.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 17, 2023
Excellent
I like this author because she writes so well and creates real characters who are complex and who you can care about. This book has politics in the background, the issues are sadly still the same. Nevertheless I found this quite believable, sadly.
I like this author because she writes so well and creates real characters who are complex and who you can care about. This book has politics in the background, the issues are sadly still the same. Nevertheless I found this quite believable, sadly.
November 19, 2024
Quick, easy rom com about a bad boy who meets a sweet girl. They’re both going through a quarter life crisis in Washington DC. Starts with a meet cute. Deals with some psychological traumas the FMC is working through. Overall, enjoyed it!
March 11, 2025
Needs editing
I enjoyed the book at first. The characters were smart and snarky.
More and more errors crept in as I continued reading. Sloppy, lazy mistakes that should have been caught in editing.
I finally gave up, because it was just too much.
I enjoyed the book at first. The characters were smart and snarky.
More and more errors crept in as I continued reading. Sloppy, lazy mistakes that should have been caught in editing.
I finally gave up, because it was just too much.
August 22, 2023
Too political for me to understand, but the push & pull of the characters. Mizz Emma get my score of 3 fingers up & 6 toes.
October 16, 2023
Fun, quick little palate cleanser.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews