Review: Suddenly One Summer by Julie James

Reviewer: Holly
Suddenly One Summer by Julie James
Series: FBI/US Attorney #6
Also in this series: About That Night (FBI/US Attorney, #3), A Lot like Love (FBI/US Attorney, #2), Love Irresistibly, It Happened One Wedding, Suddenly One Summer, Suddenly One Summer, Something About You, A Lot Like Love
Publisher: Penguin, Jove
Publication Date: June 2nd 2015
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 304
Add It: Goodreads
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Series Rating:

From the New York Times bestselling author of It Happened One Wedding comes a novel about a man and a woman whose summer is about to get very, very hot...

Divorce lawyer Victoria Slade has seen enough unhappy endings to swear off marriage forever. That doesn't mean she's opposed to casual dating—just not with her cocky new neighbor, who is as gorgeous and tempting as he is off-limits. But once she agrees to take on his sister's case, she's as determined to win as ever—even if that means teaming up with Ford....

Investigative journalist Ford Dixon is bent on finding the man who got his sister pregnant and left her high and dry. He's willing to partner with Victoria, despite the fact that the beautiful brunette gets under his skin like no other woman. He might not be looking to settle down, but there's no denying the scorching attraction between them. Still, the more time he spends with Victoria, the more he realizes that the one woman as skeptical about love as he is might be the only woman he could really fall for…

"If you need a great read to throw in your beach bag, make sure Suddenly One Summer is one of your choices." --USA Today

From the Paperback edition.

James is a go-to for smart heroines, and Victoria Slade is no exception. She’s witty, sarcastic, independent and in charge of her life. Her unexpected friendship with her next door neighbor made for some sweet, poignant moments, and also a lot of snickering and laugh-out-loud moments.

Victoria’s house was broken into while she was home. After having a couple panic attacks, she decides she needs a change and buys a new condo. While she’s waiting for the sale to go through, she sublets another condo and ends up sharing a bedroom wall with Ford Dixon. She’s already sleep deprived thanks to the attempted robbery, and his nighttime antics don’t do much to help the situation. Things finally come to a head when she jumps down his throat, and they vow to stay away from each other (despite a rather sizzling mutual attraction). Until Ford’s sister decides to find the father of her baby and Victoria inadvertently volunteers her services as a lawyer. Ford is determined to help his sister. so Victoria is forced to partner up with him.

The more time they spend together, the more they realize their initial impressions about each other were wrong. Neither is really in the market for a long-term commitment, but a summer fling might be just what the doctor ordered. If they can keep their hearts out of it…

Victoria was sarcastic and witty. Ford was charming and fun. Together they were a great couple. I loved the way their romance developed, and their unexpected friendship. Neither was good at being vulnerable, but they both ended up leaning on the other. The plot featuring Ford’s sister was interesting, and I loved the glimpses we got of their respective careers. One thing I think James excels at is giving us well-rounded characters. Too often in contemporary romance their main characters focus on each other to the exclusion of all else. That isn’t the case here. Victoria had her work, and so did Ford. He had his friends, and so did she. It wasn’t hard to immerse myself completely in the story, since I felt like we lived their lives with them.

This was everything I’ve come to expect from James; fun and flirty, with the unexpected bonus of a lot of spice.

4.0 out of 5

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