#CBR9 Book 38:"The Thing About Love" by Julie James

Page count: 400 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars

Jessica Harlow has just returned to Chicago and is eager to prove herself to her new FBI colleagues. Her divorce to a Hollywood producer just finalised and she's looking for a fresh start closer to her family. She's always enjoyed undercover work and wants to do well on her first mission with the Chicago office. Considering her husband pretty much asked for the divorce because he felt Jessica was spending too much time on her work, Jessica wants nothing more than to really forget him by becoming the best field agent there is.

John Shepherd came back early from an undercover mission in Detroit to surprise his girlfriend, who had been a bit distant on the phone lately and clearly unhappy with how much time he spent away. He walks in on said girlfriend literally on top of one of his best friends in bed, and to make matters worse, he soon discovers that two other close friends had known about the affair and not told him. Cutting his ties to all four people, John is ready for a change and decides to go for the gruelling try-outs for the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team. While waiting to hear back about whether or not he'll be excepted, he's going to do one last mission with the Chicago office he's worked at for six years.

Jessica, a former lawyer, and John, a former army ranger, have a history. They met during their training at the Academy, and neither remembers the other one fondly. Having developed a fierce rivalry, constantly competing with each other to be the best in their class, they are now both surprised and dismayed to find themselves partnered on an important undercover case. But since both are professionals, they are determined to hide their animosity from their superiors, and make things work. Tasked with proving a Florida politician is taking bribes, the two will pose as business partners to get the evidence the prosecution needs. The job requires several trips to Florida, working closely, staying at a luxurious beachfront resort.

Working together so closely means Jessica and John have to bury their hatchet and start actually communicating honestly with one another. Once they start opening up about what made each of them so determined to best the other back at the Academy six years ago and begin to realise just how much they also have in common, it starts to become more difficult for them to ignore the blatant chemistry and attraction between them. This is likely to be John's last mission before he moves across the country to start a new job, while Jessica has just moved back to Chicago. Surely acting on their attraction for a short, no-strings affair is a very bad idea?

Julie James is one of my favourite authors of contemporary romance, because even when her books aren't hitting it out of the park, they are always entertaining and she always writes novels with such competent and hard-working characters. Her books are pretty much competence porn - her protagonists are always very good at their jobs (although not suspend your disbelief great at them, just diligent and really professional). She also focuses on career professionals, most often lawyers and FBI agents, there are no billionaire CEOs here (although she does have a movie star hero in her very first romance, a notable exception to the rule). The characters have realistic career trajectories and a good network of supporting characters around them, either friends, family, colleagues or all of the above. No sad loners with super dark and tragic back stories for her. Another bonus - the characters have perfectly normal names. A heroine named Jessica and a hero named John - that's almost unheard of in romance today.

OK, so they are both absolutely gorgeous (Julie James has admitted on Facebook that she modelled John on Chris Hemsworth (and there are literal Thor comparisons IN the book) and Jessica on Margot Robbie), but really, there has to be escapism in there somewhere.

There isn't a lot of external conflict here. The major hurdle isn't that Jessica and John misunderstood each other's intentions back in the past and were fierce competitors, it's that they now both think they want a quick and passionate rebound fling before moving on with their lives, which are going in very different directions once their undercover mission wraps up. A lot of what conflict there is could probably have been solved with a frank and straight-forward conversation or two, but instead there are a whole load of misconceptions and misunderstandings.

One of the reasons this isn't a full five star read for me is that the book gets unnecessarily dramatic towards the end, when there is a dramatic action sequence that seems a bit out of place, with a lot of added drama and danger that I'm not sure the story needed, since both the characters had pretty much made up their minds about what they wanted to do next, and did not need a serious brush with danger to have their priorities made clear to them. John's reveal at the hospital also seemed a bit excessive to me, while the romance built quickly between these two, it was never insta-love, as they had a shared past and also worked together under a lot of pressure, that could make them fall for each other faster than would otherwise be entirely realistic.

Still, I always look forward to a new Julie James novel, and this book did not disappoint.

Judging a book by its cover: I'm guessing the designer stiletto heel crushing a lollipop heart (fun fact, everyone, did you know that the Norwegian expression for lollipop translates word for word, I swear to God, as "love on a stick". Look it up - kjærlighet på pinne). has something to do with both characters being on the rebound at the beginning of this book. But more importantly, the shoe (sans a foot in it to give it any weight) is trampling love both figuratively and literally in Norwegian. While there are designer heels (or so I'm assuming, Jessica seems like the sort of woman who would wear them) in the book, as far as I can recall, no sugary confections were harmed over the course of the book. But aren't you glad I told you that bit about "love on a stick"? You're welcome.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR7 Book 67: "Suddenly One Summer" by Julie James

Page count: 304 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Divorce lawyer Victoria Slade has a cynical view of romance and relationships. She's seen enough bitter divorces and custody battles to really believe in happily ever after. She's certainly not looking for anything permanent herself. Not that she'd mind something casual, she just needs to find the right guy. Who certainly isn't her new next-door neighbour, who while he seemed hot when their eyes met across a bar, appears to have a veritable cavalcade of women in and out of his apartment at all hours of the day and night. That's too casual even for Victoria.

Investigative journalist Ford Dixon has a soft spot for women. He loves his mother and younger sister dearly, and his best friend since childhood is a highly successful lawyer who likes to give him a hard time. He's happily single, for all that several of his friends have begun to settle down. However, his bitchy and judgemental new neighbour Victoria, for all that he likes the way she looks, is not the sort of woman he would go for. Yet when his younger sister enlists Victoria's help to locate the one night stand who is the father of her baby, Ford insists he be allowed to use his research skills and contacts to help. Soon he and Victoria are spending a lot of time together, and discovering that their first impressions of the other might have been rather wrong.The attraction they felt during their first encounter in the bar returns, stronger than ever, and soon they are questioning whether casual dating is enough.

Julie James is one of my "pre-order"-authors and I pretty much clear my schedule when one of her new books come out, so I can enjoy it properly. She writes witty and entertaining contemporary romances, featuring successful professionals who are really good at what they do. This book is a slight departure from her "Chicago FBI/District Attorney" books, but it has ties to former books in the series, with cameos from previous heroes and heroines.

After a home invasion, Victoria moves into a sub-let (the apartment next to Ford's) over the summer, while waiting for her new condo to be ready. She also starts suffering panic attacks, which for a woman who's used to having complete control, is unacceptable. The owner of her own profitable law firm, Victoria is deeply frustrated when she's told by her therapist that there isn't an easy fix for her new anxiety. In the process of attending her sessions, she also discovers that there may be more to her refusal for long term commitment than her job. There are clearly issues in her past that are influencing both her current panic attacks and her cynicism about romance. Being as successful as she is, she is able to take on Ford's sister's case pro bono, and working on locating her baby daddy is very different from what Victoria normally does. She likes the idea of reuniting a family rather than seeing it dissolve.

At the start of the book, Ford attends the funeral for his father, who while a very popular and well-liked man in the community, was also an alcoholic, with an erratic behaviour that influenced his children negatively. Because of his father's drinking problem, Ford stepped in to take care of his mother and sister more than a lot of young boys might, and he feels deeply responsible for their well-being. So when his sister confesses that her baby is the product of a one night stand, and her ex-boyfriend who left the state is not actually the one responsible for knocking her up, Ford feels helpless, furious and is determined to move heaven and earth to locate the man who slept with his sister. If that means working with the shrewish woman next door, he will do it.

As I said, Julie James is always a good bet for light, entertaining romance and I wasn't disappointed in this. Not one of her best books, it certainly wasn't one of her weaker ones either. I liked both Ford and Victoria as individuals, and there is great support in Ford's sister, Victoria's snarky personal assistant and infinitely patient therapist. The resolution of the book was perhaps a bit sudden, but I very much liked the epilogue. My biggest problem now is that I have to wait another year for the next book.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR6 Book 51: "It Happened One Wedding" by Julie James

Page count: 304 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Sydney Sinclair has moved back to Chicago after years in New York. Her engagement ended badly just two weeks before the wedding, when she discovered her fiancee had been cheating on her. Now she's completely done with commitment-phobic men. She wants a faithful husband and a family, and doesn't have any more time in her life for casual dating. So when handsome and charming Vaughn Roberts approaches her after another failed first date in a coffee shop, she recognises his happy go-lucky playboy attitude a mile away, and can't stop herself from venting all her frustration over him. Of course, she'll never see him again, so it's not that big a deal, is it?

It wouldn't be much of a fun book if that was the end of it. Special Agent in the FBI Vaughn Roberts is the older brother of the man who Sydney's younger sister has just gotten engaged to. The happy couple don't realise that when they invite their siblings to an announcement dinner, said siblings met awkwardly in a coffee shop close by. Now their siblings want them to be best man and maid of honour, at a wedding that needs to be planned in a hurry. So Sydney and Vaughn are going to be spending a lot of quality time together, fighting their attraction for each other all the way, as even if they had mutual goals for the future, risking a messy future break-up when they're set to become in-laws is just asking for trouble.

Julie James is probably my favourite author of contemporary romances, and excels at dialogue and witty banter. Her protagonists tend to be driven, likable, sociable and very successful in their chosen field. The supporting characters tend to be well fleshed out and feel as fully satisfying individuals in their own right, not just there to give the main characters to talk to occasionally. Vaughn is a very successful FBI agent who likes the work he does, but his undercover work also means that he ends up in dangerous situations every so often, and there are huge aspects of his everyday job he can't tell his loved ones about. He's not ashamed of being a ladies' man and is proud that of the fact that he's never led any of his many conquests on. He understands pretty much immediately that Sydney's rant isn't really personally directed at him, but isn't really used to being rejected so vehemently either. Hence he begins seeing it as a challenge when they are forced to spend more time together.

Sydney loves her younger sister, but has to struggle to keep a brave face on when she realises that not only has her baby sister found a really good guy, she's sure he's a keeper after less than three months together. The reason they need to hurry the wedding is because Isabelle is pregnant, and doesn't want anyone but Sydney to know. Vaughn and Simon's parents are staunchly Catholic, so they want to be married before Mrs. Roberts discovers that she's going to be a grandmother. They don't even want Vaughn to know, which leads to some pretty farcical behaviour in order to cover up Isabelle's raging morning sickness and other obvious pregnancy signs. Naturally, as a trained observer, he's not really fooled for a second. Sydney, who has all her dreams of weddings and future families crushed by her dirt bag of a fiancee less than a year earlier, now has to see her sister get everything she ever dreamed of for herself. Her strong attraction to Vaughn, while he drives her crazy, is not making the situation easier.

This book may have struck more of a chord with me because I understood a lot of where Sydney was coming from. While I have been happily married for years, I'm now at a stage where so many of my friends and colleagues are having babies, while as of yet, I have not been lucky enough to conceive. In her early thirties, with a wish for children, Sydney doesn't have time to casually date any more. She needs to find Mr. Right, so she can settle down and start the family she's dreaming of. Of course, as her best friend says, what's the harm of enjoying herself with Mr. Right Now, having a bit of fun while she utilises her comprehensive 34-point checklist to find that special someone who's just as ready to commit as she is? She and Vaughn have crazy chemistry, and because he's only looking for a fun time, what better adviser to have when she's trying to sort through all the candidates for Mr. Right? Being a playboy himself, he knows all the tricks that other commitment-phobic men use. He's the perfect person to help her. As they spend more time together, Vaughn comes to realise that it's not all that fun that Sydney keeps dating other guys while still seeing him, and Sydney discovers that even if the some of the men seem perfect on paper, there is still something very important missing for them to fit just right.

I don't think I've really disliked a single of Julie James' books, and there is a reason she's on my auto-buy list. For anyone looking for fun, escapist, clever romance of the contemporary variety, I highly recommend her.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR5 Book 35. "Love Irresistibly" by Julie James

Page count: 304 pages
Rating: 4 stars

Brooke Parker has worked her way up from being a scholarship kid to working as General Counsel for one of the top restaurant chains in Chicago. She's proven to be extremely capable, but the job demands a lot of her time. So much so, that the hot doctor she's been dating, just dumped her, saying he never sees her, and it's like dating a guy. Pretty much the same story as with the last two guys. Having been dumped by three men in the last eighteen months makes her consider taking a relationship sabbatical.

Then assistant DA Cade Morgan walks into her office, needing her help to catch a dirty politician in the act. The DA's office and the FBI need to plant a microphone in one of the restaurants that Brooke's company owns, and she's the person who can make that happen. A former college football star and rising golden boy in the Chicago DA's office, Cade is used to attention. His last three girlfriends claimed he was emotionally unavailable, but he's not particularly bothered by his bachelor status. Sparks fly when he and Brooke face off against each other, and while they both try to deny the attraction, it doesn't take long before they're meeting for something more than business as well. Can two people who've been accused of working too much and sharing too little of themselves make it work?

What do you think? This is a romance novel. No one reads these for the surprise revelations. You read them for the meet cutes, the witty banter, the (if you're lucky) scorching smexy times and inevitable, yet satisfying happy ending. I mostly read historical romance, but Julie James is one of my exceptions when it comes to contemporaries. A former lawyer, James writes what she knows, her books all feature lawyers and/or the FBI agents who work along side these lawyers. Sometimes the books involve a secondary mystery/suspense plot too, but this one didn't. She writes one book a year, and is the only contemporary romance author on my auto-buy list.

The main story in this book, apart from Brooke and Cade banteringly discovering that they're perfect for each other and can't live apart any longer, is Brooke's slow realization that while she's happy with her professional achievements and where it has brought her, she's not ok with how much of her life her work is consuming. She barely has time for family and friends, let alone a relationship. While her friends claim her last three boyfriends were insensitive douches, she still suspects that there may be some truth in their accusations that she's too distant and focused on her job.

In addition to his high profile grand jury case to bring down the aforementioned corrupt senator, Cade has daddy issues, literally. Raised by a single mother, who was knocked up while still in high school, Cade only met his father once, when he was ten. Now a high school kid shows up in his office and announces that he's Cade's half brother. Having never suspected he had a sibling, Cade is reluctant at first, but also remembers the bitter rejection of his father never returning from the one visit, so agrees to spend some time with the kid, on condition that the boy not tell their father anything about it.

Cade and Brooke agree to keep their dating casual, but it doesn't take long before they're utterly besotted with each other. Julie James writes attractive and likable people, and as these two had some very good banter going, it was a fun ride to see them find their happy ending. The previous two books in this series were ok, but not up to the excellent quality of the first books of hers that I read, so it was a relief to see that she hadn't completely lost the magic.

One of the things that makes her books so enjoyable, is the cast of extremely sympathetic supporting characters that she surrounds her protagonists with. Cade's best friends are two of the FBI agents he works closely with, and Booke has Ford, her best friend since childhood, and his two flatmates. There are also appearances by characters from earlier books, which is a nice touch. New readers won't be bothered by it or care, but for recurring readers, it's nice to see a bit of what happens after their HEAs. The fact that her characters can have close friends of the opposite sex that they're not in any way sexually interested in is also a great feature, as I don't really subscribe to the When Harry Met Sally theory that men and women can't be just friends.

CBR4 Book 35: "About That Night" by Julie James

Page count: 304 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Date begun: April 3rd, 2012
Date finished: April 3rd, 2012

This is the third book in a series, but works fine without any previous knowledge of the preceding books.

Kyle Rhodes is the brilliant computer programmer son of IT billionaire Gray Rhodes. When his supermodel girlfriend cheats on him very publicly with a movie star and dumps him on Twitter, Kyle gets monstrously drunk, and hacks into Twitter determined to remove all traces of the video the model posted, not to mention the humiliating break-up message. He goes a wee bit further as well, and shuts down Twitter for 48 hours, then absconds to Mexico. Upon his return to the US, he's arrested, labelled an online terrorist, and sentenced to 11 months in prison. He's released after four months, thanks to a deal his twin sister makes with the FBI (see A Lot Like Love).

Assistant District Attorney Rylann Pierce has recently moved back to Chicago after ending a seven year relationship (She thought he was about to propose, he wanted them to move to Rome). Nine years ago, while still at college, she and Kyle Rhodes met in a bar and shared some witty banter, and a sizzling kiss after Kyle walked her home. They were supposed to go on a date the next evening, but Kyle's mother was killed in a car accident, so they never saw each other again. Until they face each other in the courtroom, where Rylann has to finalise the DA Office's deal, and release Kyle from prison.

Having been forever stamped as the "Twitter Terrorist", Kyle is naturally not on the best terms with the Chicago DA's Office. Yet he too remembers the night nine years ago, and when Rylann approaches him a few days after his release, needing him as a witness in a murder case she's prosecuting, he's unable to refuse. Especially if it means spending more time with her, even though their conversations are mostly strictly professional. As the new girl in the Chicago office, Rylann is determined not to screw up, and she certainly won't risk her reputation by dating a witness in a case she's prosecuting. But what happens once the case is over? Can she resist Kyle Rhodes' manifold charms? Will they finish what they started one night nearly a decade ago?

I don't read a lot of contemporary romance (I'm a sucker for history, me), but Julie James has written several that I greatly enjoy, and one that I absolutely love. In her previous two books, as well as romance, there is a criminal case, and a fair bit of suspense. That is not the case in this book, and the main conflict (can Rylann get over the fact that Kyle is an ex-con - what will her colleagues and family say?) is a bit unengaging.

Kyle freely admits that he made a huge drunken mistake. The DA's Office admits that Kyle was given a much harsher sentence than he deserved, and that the "terrorist" moniker was grossly inappropriate. He's charming, handsome, generous and kind, not to mention a brilliant, wealthy businessman (not just because his Dad is rich - he made his own money). He shut down Twitter - he didn't destroy people's lives. I thought Rylann's reservations were a bit rubbish, but hey, girl comes round in the end. The previous two books in this series (dealing with Rylann's boss Cameron Lynde, and Kyle's twin sister Jordan, respectively) were better, but this still had enough witty banter, a very charming and sexy hero, and some very steamy love scenes. Not bad at all, but not up to the high quality I've come to expect from James either.

CBR3 Book 17: "A Lot Like Love" by Julie James

Publisher: Berkley
Page count: 304 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Date begun: March 9th, 2011
Date finished: March 10th, 2011

Nick McCall has just finished a six month undercover operation for the FBI where he helped take down twenty-seven dirty cops. He's looking forward to a well earned vacation and going to his mother's 60th birthday party in New York. Before he has time to leave, his boss asks him to help out for a few days on an operation involving a major Chicago mob boss. Agent Huxley is going on his first undercover mission at an exclusive charity event on Valentine's Day. The FBI need to plant bugs in the office of restaurant and night club owner Xander Eckhart, believing that his various venues are being used to launder money for the mob.

Jordan Rhodes is the daughter of a computer software billionaire, but few people realize that he's extremely keen for his children to make their own way in the world. So Jordan has worked hard to establish her own career, and runs a successful wine shop, bought with her own money. When the FBI show up on her doorstep, her first thought is that something has happened to her twin brother, Kyle, who's in prison after hacking into and shutting down Twitter for 48 hours. He's had several fights in jail, and she worries about him constantly. When agents McCall and Huxley explain that they need her help getting into Eckhart's party, she's initially reluctant to help, but if it could mean early release for her brother, she's willing to consider it. She and Nick don't exactly hit it off, and she's relieved when she finds out that Huxley is supposed to act as her date for the Valentine's Day party.

However, when Huxley comes down with stomach flu, McCall has to be her date instead. At the party, it also becomes very clear that Eckhart may have a romantic interest in Jordan as well, so Nick will have to pose as her boyfriend until the FBI gather enough evidence to arrest him. As the two can barely be in the same room without bickering, their acting skills will be put to the test.

A Lot Like Love is a sequel of sorts to James' last novel, which also featured an undercover FBI agent. It's a fun read, but not quite as satisfying as last year's Something About You, mainly because Jordan and Nick didn't spend as much time together actually getting to know each other. They go very quickly from being annoyed with each other and slightly antagonistic to suddenly being very much in love. As they are interesting characters, it would've been nice to see the relationship develop a bit more, and have more scenes of them bantering and getting to know each other properly. I also felt that the supporting characters in this one were less fleshed out and interesting than those in her last book. It was by no means bad, but didn't quite live up to my expectations. Her next novel is apparently about Jordan's brother Kyle, a computer geek who looks like Lost's Josh Holloway. I'm very intrigued by the prospect, and will absolutely be checking it out.

CBR22 Book 31: "Something About You" by Julie James

Publisher: Berkley
Page count: 336 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Date begun: March 3rd, 2010
Date finished: March 4th, 2010

Cameron Lynde is an Assistant D.A. in Chicago, and spends the night in a hotel while she has her hardwood floors redone. In the room next door, a couple appear to be having a marathon sex session, and as the walls are thin, she finally calls the management to have the situation dealt with. Just before hotel security arrive, she sees a man walking past her hotel room door and assumes the problem is solved. But her problems are just beginning. Hotel security finds a dead escort in the room, and the man she had the prolonged lovemaking with, is a married U.S senator. He is also, coincidentally, clearly not the man Cameron saw walking past her door.

Suddenly a key witness in a high-profile murder case, Cameron is less than thrilled to realize that the F.B.I agent in charge of investigating the case is Jack Pallas, the man who blames her for ruining his career three years earlier. He doesn't know that Cameron actually saved him from being fired, instead of just relocated, after he said some really unfortunate things about her on national TV. But even though he is furious to see her again, he is not about to let anything happen to his witness, and will do anything to make sure she is kept safe.

I don't tend to read a lot of contemporary romance, but had read several very glowing reviews of this on other review sites, and was so happy to discover that all told the truth - this book is greatly enjoyable, and feature a hero and a heroine who are both intelligent, reasonable, very good at their jobs and who communicate clearly and openly with each other. Their dialogue, from the first very tense scenes together, until the end, when their relationship has obviously changed, sparkles and is reminiscent of old-style romantic comedies.

The secondary characters are all great too, from Jack's younger partner, to the policemen on duty guarding Cameron, to her two best friends, one of whom just happens to be gay, but who's also a sports writer and blissfully un-stereotypical. There is no murder mystery, as it is revealed fairly early on who actually killed the victim, and why, and there is also, thankfully, no psycho internal monologue about the killer's motivations for the murder. Some of the reviews I read felt that the ending of the book dragged on a bit, but I didn't really mind, and will absolutely be looking out for more books by Julie James in the future.