A Lot Like Love by Julie James
Contemporary Romance
March 1, 2011
Paperback, 304 Pages
Berkley
I am so happy to have Nicole from Books, According to Nicole at Smexy today! I love her blog and she is tons of fun to tweet with. Nicole, take it away.
Favorite Quote: Time for Wine Tasting 101. “So here’s how this works. When tasting a wine, as opposed to casual drinking, there are four basic steps you need to remember: sight, smell, taste, then spit or swallow.”
Nick paused at that last part and cocked his head. “And your personal preference on the latter would be…?”
Julie James is back with another fabulous novel about the FBI field office in Chicago. A Lot Like Love features FBI agent Nick McCall, the leading undercover agent in his office, and the sexy heiress Jordan Rhodes. Nick gets called in to assist with a junior agent’s undercover assignment. But in order to get what they need, they enlist civilian Jordan Rhodes by dangling the release of her brother from prison over her head.
When things get dicey, the one night undercover operation turns into a week long ordeal, and Nick and Jordan must continue their “relationship” in order for the FBI to obtain their evidence. But when jealous ex’s and creepy private investigators get involved, things take an unexpected turn that no one saw coming!
I absolutely love James’s books, and A Lot Like Love might be my favorite so far. Nick is such a classic guys guy at the beginning of the book, and as a long time undercover operative, a little hardened with normal life. He is used to stringing women along, only being available when not working undercover. He isn’t used to having friends, and his family usually gets put onto the back burner for the job. But once he is placed in the role of loving and doting boyfriend, he really takes to Jordan. His jokes about wine and Jordan’s heiress lifestyle are hilarious and keep the story moving quickly.
I’ve always loved James’s heroines. They are strong independent women with great values and self confidence. Jordan is no exception! Although she is an heiress, she is also a dedicated business woman who wants to make her own way and devoted sister and daughter. I enjoyed the way that she helped Nick grow into his own, and stood up for what was right and wrong.
Their relationship was great as well, filled with sexual tension and innuendo that sparked up the pages. Their conversations about wine always carried playful undertones, and even though I’m a total beer girl, it was fun and flirty and sexy all the same. The dialogue was absolutely fabulous. James is always witty and sarcastic and fun to read, it’s one thing about her writing that always stands out to me.
We also get to see some more of Cameron and Jack, the hero and heroine from Something About You. And this investigation continues on a little with what Cameron and Jack unraveled in the last book. While I was a little disappointed that we deviated from the norm of having a female lawyer lead, I liked the theme of staying with the FBI office and agents we met briefly in the last book.
I think that one of James strengths is her ability to really bring to life her secondary characters. Jordan’s genius twin brother Kyle was an absolute doll and so fun to read. I cracked up every time he made an appearance, and his back story of being the “Twitter Terrorist!” Absolutely hysterical. Junior Agent Huxley also stood out for me, as I tend to have a love for all things nerds, and he was the quintessential pocket protector type. I can only hope that James continues to stick with characters we know, and we can see more of these guys in the future. (There was a small note that the next book should be featuring Jordan’s brother Kyle!)
Rating: A
Recent Reviews
The Book Smugglers – 7/10
Book Binge – 4.5/5
Book Lovers Inc – 5/5
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Oh yay – you gave it an A!!! I cannot wait to get my hands on this book – Julie James is an auto-buy author for me.
I 100% agree with you about how Julie writes her secondary characters. They are always incredible fun to read. I can't wait to get my hands on this one! Great review!
@Patti – I don't think I've read any of her books that weren't an A for me! I ADORE her books
@Julie- I hope you love this one. I think this one might be tied with Something About You for my new favorite!
I've never read Julie James before. Sounds good. Great review Nicole.
I haven't Julie James but I only hear good things. I have a couple of her books on my Kindle, just need to find the time. Great review!!
I refuse to believe that there is anyone in the world who DOESN'T love Julie James! Tori & FV – You MUST get on the bandwagon!
I love the author's strong heroines too. I cannot wait to get and read this book! Thanks for the review Nicole!
The scene where Nick sees Jordan in her dress and tells himself to not think of her nipples, and then realizes he's thinking of them cracked me up.
So… I think I have a think for Xander. If A Lot Like Love was made into a movie I can see Julian McMahon playing the part.
I really enjoy Julie James books! I am going to crack this one open soon! I love it when supporting characters stand out.
@BV – Julie James just told me via Twitter that the next heroine is another lawyer! *cheer*
@KB – Oh yes… the dress. I love the fabulous dress theme in her last couple books. *sizzle*
@Mandi – Thank you again and again a million times over for giving me this and having me here today. *wink*
Good to know there's more to come!
I love Julie James' books! I've read all her other ones and thought they were great. Can't wait to read this one. :)
@wishes4me – I hope you enjoy it!! I know I did. =D
I haven't read anything by this author, but this is obviously my kind of book! Can't wait to give this a try – going to start at the first one though.
I just got my notice today that A Lot Like Love had shipped and I can't wait to read it. Julie James is an auto-buy author for me and I can't wait to read this one. It sounds like it was right on par with the rest of her books!
Must read now.
Love the cover, love the purple dress and I think this book sounds like it would be great especially with the funny character Kyle and your A rating! Going on the TBR list.
@Samantha – I hope you love her books as much as I do!
@The Book Pimp Blogs – Happy reading! Hope your book arrives soon.
@Artemis – Yes. You must.
@deannalynnc – I love that in the last two James books, the dresses from the covers have been in the story. I love that!
Oooh. I wouldn't have thought about picking this book up normally, but your review makes it sound really interesting and fun. I think I might have to check it out :-)
~Ailsa