Tag: Julie James

Throwback Thursday Review: A Lot Like Love by Julie James

Posted February 18, 2021 by Rowena in Reviews | 11 Comments

Throwback Thursday Review: A Lot Like Love by Julie JamesReviewer: Rowena
A Lot Like Love by Julie James
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: March 1, 2011
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Point-of-View: Third Person
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 304
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-half-stars

Previous edition for this ISBN found here

The FBI wants her cooperation. As the daughter of a billionaire and the owner of the city's top wine store, Jordan Rhodes is invited to the most exclusive parties in Chicago. But there's only one party the FBI wants to crash: the charity fundraiser of a famous restaurateur, who also happens to launder money for the mob. In exchange for her brother's release from prison, Jordan is going to be there—with a date supplied by the Bureau.

Agent McCall just wants her. As the top undercover agent in Chicago, Nick McCall has one rule: never get personal. This "date" with Jordan Rhodes is merely an assignment— one they're both determined to pull off even if they can't be together for five minutes before the sarcasm and sparks begin to fly. But when Nick's investigation is compromised, he and Jordan have no choice but to pretend they're a couple, and what starts out as a simple assignment begins to feel a lot like something more.

This review was originally posted on February 23, 2021.

Julie James has written another contemporary romance novel that I thought was fantastic. This book follows Special Agent Nick McCall and billionaire heiress Jordan Rhodes as they go undercover as a couple to try to bring down more of Roberto Martino’s minions who are trafficking his drug money through legit businesses and the guy that they’re targeting and going after is Xander Eckhart, a business friend of Jordan.

How did they get Jordan to take part? They offered her a deal that she couldn’t and wouldn’t walk away from.

Once again, James has written a heroine who is both strong, smart, and totally capable and I adored her. I thought Jordan was a great part of this book, her character might have been totally loaded but I connected with her dilemma and I connected with her as a person. Watching her fall in love with Nick was a delight to read about and she was a fun person to get to know.

Then there’s Nick. I’m a sucker for the name Nick. If you want me to love your hero, you’ll get off to a great start by naming him Nick because there’s something about that name that totally gets me. Nick McCall was a sexy beast that I enjoyed getting to know. I loved his manly man attitude and while some might find him a little over the edge (because of his refusal to drink anything pink, haha), I adored him. I loved his overt manliness and I adored that he called Jordan, Rhodes. The way that he said Rhodes, got me each and every single time.

Julie James does such a great job of making the reader feel like they’re apart of the stories she writes and this book was no exception. When everything is going down, I can see it all coming together like I’m apart of the action and I appreciated that. I loved that I could feel Jordan and Nick falling for each other. I was right there, anxious and nervous when Nick and Jordan arrived at Xander’s party. My heart was pounding when the shit hit the fan and I was annoyed as all get out Lisa came back into the picture.

Another thing that I absolutely loved about the story was the inclusion of Jack and Cameron. They were a part of the story but they didn’t take over the story and I liked that. It was so good to see them again and see how they’re doing so I loved that James included them.

I’m a blood-thirsty bitch and I wanted something to happen to Lisa. I wanted to see Nick tell her where to shove her love for him and I wanted to see Nick with his Mom. It would have been nice to see Nick with his family but aside from wanting those things, I still enjoyed the book quite a bit and am sure that fans of Julie James will not be disappointed with this new book. Julie James wrote another winner for me and it was such a fast read that I’m already anxious for more from Julie and I cannot freaking wait for Kyle’s book. Holy goodness, I was so excited to see that Kyle’s story is next. Woo hoo!

Grade: 4.5 out of 5

FBI-US Attorney

four-half-stars

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Sunday Spotlight: Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James

Posted March 17, 2019 by Rowena in Features | 2 Comments

Sunday Spotlight is a feature we began in 2016. This year we’re spotlighting our favorite books, old and new. We’ll be raving about the books we love and being total fangirls. You’ve been warned. 🙂

A few weeks ago, a friend and I were talking about all things books when our love of Julie James came up. Mention of Julie James made us both realize that it has been a while since we’ve gotten a new release from her and I really hope that we’ll be getting something new soon because she’s great and new things from Julie James is always a good thing. So because I’m missing reading the goodness that is a fresh Julie James book, I thought I’d revisit an old favorite to remind everyone that Just the Sexiest Man Alive is a fantastic book.

Sunday Spotlight: Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie JamesJust the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James
Publisher: Penguin, Berkley Sensation
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 296
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books

No woman could resist him—except the one he wanted most...

Cool, Calm, Collected...

Nothing fazes Taylor Donovan. In the courtroom she never lets the opposition see her sweat. In her personal life, she never lets any man rattle her—not even her cheating ex-fiancé. So when she's assigned to coach People's "Sexiest Man Alive" for his role in his next big legal thriller, she refuses to fall for the Hollywood heartthrob's charms. Even if he is the Jason Andrews.

Confident, Famous, Irresistible...

Jason Andrews is used to having women fall at his feet. When Taylor Donovan gives him the cold shoulder, he's thrown for a loop. She's unlike any other woman he's ever met: uninterested in the limelight, seemingly immune to his advances, and shockingly capable of saying no to him. She's the perfect challenge. And the more she rejects him, the more he begins to realize she may just be his perfect match.

Julie James is known for writing strong heroines who don’t take shit from anyone. Taylor Donovan is one of those heroines and she really kicks ass in this book. She wasn’t intimidated by anyone, not even A-List celebrity hotshot Jason Andrews. This was the first book that Julie James released and I have such fond memories of all the laughing I did while reading it. It’s a good one guys and here’s a short excerpt that showcases the magic that is Taylor and Jason.

Order the Book:

AMAZON || BARNES AND NOBLE || GOOGLE PLAY

Excerpt

“You’re here.”

“I am.”

Jason boldly took in the way she looked.

“I take it you don’t often wear that dress in court.”

“Probably not a good idea.”

He grinned. “Yes, I can imagine it would be somewhat awkward standing before a judge who has a huge hard-on.”

“Is that the effect this dress has?”

Taylor’s eyes traveled downward, to the zipper of Jason’s pants, and he was momentarily caught off guard by her bluntness.

Her eyes sparkled, amused.

“You’re blushing, Jason. That’s cute.”

If you haven’t read this book yet, you should definitely fix that because it’s fun, flirty and smart. It takes place in my hometown of Los Angeles and Julie James got the L.A. setting down great. This a closed door romance though so we don’t get to see the steamy scenes but I don’t think the story suffers from that at all. It’s pretty awesome, I promise!

Giveaway Alert

We’re giving one lucky winner their choice of one of our Sunday Spotlight books. Use the widget below to enter for one of this month’s features.

Sunday Spotlight: March 2019

Are you as excited for this release as we are? Let us know how excited you are and what other books you’re looking forward to this year!

About Julie James

New York Times bestselling author Julie James practiced law with one of the nation's largest firms for several years until she began writing screenplays. After Hollywood producers optioned two of her scripts, she decided to leave the practice of law to write full-time. Her books have been translated into twenty-two languages and Julie’s ninth novel, THE THING ABOUT LOVE, is now available.

Julie James lives with her husband and two children in Chicago, where she is working on her next novel.

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Throwback Thursday Review: Something About You by Julie James

Posted April 26, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 17 Comments

Throwback Thursday Review: Something About You by Julie JamesReviewer: Rowena
Something About You by Julie James
Series: FBI/US Attorney #1
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, Suddenly One Summer, A Lot Like Love
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Publication Date: March 2, 2010
Point-of-View: Third
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 307
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Fate has thrown two sworn enemies...

Of all the hotel rooms rented by all the adulterous politicians in Chicago, female Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde had to choose the one next to 1308, where some hot-and-heavy lovemaking ends with a death. And of all the FBI agents in Illinois, it had to be Special Agent Jack Pallas who gets assigned to this high-profile homicide. The same Jack Pallas who still blames Cameron for a botched crackdown three years ago—and for nearly ruining his career.

Into each other's arms...

Work with Cameron Lynde? Are they kidding? Maybe, Jack thinks, this is some kind of welcome-back prank after his stint away from Chicago. But it's no joke; the pair is going to have to put their rocky past behind them and focus on the case at hand. That is, if they can cut back on the razor-sharp jibes—and smother the flame of their sizzling-hot sexual tension.

Every Thursday in 2018, we’ll be posting throwback reviews of our favorite and not-so-favorite books.

This review was originally posted on February 24, 2010.

It just keeps getting better with each and every book. James has shown that she is definitely no one hit wonder with this latest installment into her backlist. Something About You was an entertaining read from cover to cover. It had everything you could want in a great contemporary setting. Characters that leaped off the page, a storyline that kept you interested and a hero that was just to smexy for words.

The chemistry between Jack and Cameron was crazy good. Even when they were hating each other, the chemistry was evident. They worked well together and they were just great characters that I came to love over the course of the book.

Cameron Lynde is an assistant U.S. Attorney who had floor troubles at home so she treated herself to sleeping in an upscale hotel room instead of on her friend’s couch or guest bed or something. She thought she was treating herself but she was actually treated to the loud sex going on in the room next door. Just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, the loud sex that was keeping her up all night stopped….only to start up again about an hour later. Fed up with all of the noise going on over there, Cameron calls the front desk and complains. She puts the phone down and waits for the security to come up and take care of her little noise problem but she hears thuds coming from the room, noises she didn’t hear before and then she hears the door open so she peeks through the peep hole and sees someone walk out of the room.

Turns out that she witnesses the murderer of the woman in the other room walking out after the murder and so the FBI turns up on her doorstep. One of the FBI agents that shows up to interview her is the one guy that she’d love to forget for the rest of her life. It’s none other than Jack Pallas, the FBI agent who told the entire nation that she had her head up her ass. They’re not fans of each other and Jack holds her responsible for his transfer to Nebraska. So when Jack shows up on Cameron’s hotel doorstep, to say that she’s annoyed is putting it mildly.

…and of all the hotel rooms to show up at, Jack had to land on Cameron Lynde’s hotel doorstep. Jack cannot stand Cameron because he felt like he wasted two years of his life gathering evidence and she wouldn’t prosecute. It pissed him off but he was a professional so he was going to get this job done, even if it killed him or he killed someone. Either or.

Watching these two battle their feelings and then come together was such a treat! First they hate each other and then they grow soft on each other and then their together. The transition from hating each other to loving each other made for an enjoyable ride that I was absolutely adored.

Jack was a great hero who was stubborn, arrogant and yet lovable. He was such a man. A man’s man who did man things and thought man things and I ate him up. He wasn’t the cookie cutter perfect hero because he assumed the worst in Cameron at every turn and yet I never once hated him. I never once thought, oh get over yourself because he the way that he protected Cameron was just too hot damn sexy that I’d forgive him anything. He was normal and the way that Julie wrote him made his character real. He was a very three dimensional character and I absolutely loved him.

Cameron was one of those heroines that I can appreciate. She was smart and she was capable but she wasn’t one of those heroines who thought she could do everything and tried to do it too. She didn’t need to prove herself to anyone, she knew her strengths and she did her best to let the professionals do their jobs. I loved that about her. She wasn’t the kind of heroine who hid from the bad guys and let everyone run her life but she wasn’t a pushover either. She didn’t think she needed to tell the FBI how to do their job and she trusted them enough to protect her and I admired her for that. She wasn’t that heroine who did the most. She did what she was supposed to and I loved her for that.

Overall, this book was really good. It was perfect for what I was in the mood for and I trusted Julie to entertain the socks off of me and I’m so happy that she did. She’s going to do big things in the publishing world and I’m so excited for her. The villain wasn’t scary or anything but as far as villains went, he fit the bill and I was pretty bummed that we didn’t get to see any scenes with Jack and his sister and nephew. Jack mentions that he wanted to spend more time with his sister and nephew now that he was back in Chicago but we didn’t get to see any interactions with them, I thought it would have been nice to get to know her since the only people on Jack’s side that we got to meet was his partner and his boss. It would have been nice to get some personal interactions but aside from that, I loved the book. I thought it was a great way to spend a few hours. James did a great job of keeping me interested in the romance budding between Jack and Cameron and she kept me entertain throughout the entire story which is exactly what I like in a book.

So really, kudos to Julie James on another winner and I think this is my favorite book by her so far. Would I recommend this? Heck yes!

Grade: 4.75 out of 5

FBI/US Attorney

four-half-stars

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#BerkleyBookmas: Let’s Bake Cookies with Julie James!

Posted December 7, 2017 by Rowena in Promotions | 1 Comment

Book Binge is so excited to participate in Berkley Bookmas and we’re hosting Julie James today! She will be sharing her favorite holiday recipes so here is the place to be to find out what Julie James likes to munch on during the holidays. You can never have too many recipes, right?

Berkley Bookmas is chock full of exclusive content from authors like exclusive excerpts, deleted scenes, author recipes and more! Check out the calendar of events below:

Julie James’ Favorite Holiday Recipe

Need Cookies for the holidays? I’ve got your back.

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things about the holidays was my grandmother’s cookies. She used to spend days baking, and when we visited her house every Christmas Eve, there would be platters and tins of cookies seemingly everywhere.

Over the years, my cookie recipe book has expanded, but below are two classics that have been part of my family’s holiday traditions for years. Both are kid-friendly, adult-friendly, easy to make, and loaded with chocolate (generally a requirement for all my cookies, snickerdoodles excepted.) Enjoy!

Snowball Cookies

1 cup butter (softened to room temperature)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups flour
1 package Hershey’s kisses
Confectioner’s sugar

Beat butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add flour and nuts. Shape dough around kisses and roll into balls. (Hint for first-timers: you don’t want too much dough; use just enough to cover the Hershey kiss.) Bake on cookies sheets lined with parchment paper at 375 degrees for about 8-10 minutes, or until the bottom of the cookies are a light golden brown. Let cookies cool, then roll them in confectioner’s sugar.

Variation: Mr. James is a little fussier than I am about cookies, and doesn’t like milk chocolate. (Miraculously, we’ve managed to stay married for 15 years despite this character flaw.) So for some of the cookies, I roll the dough around a bunch of semi-sweet chocolate chips (instead of a Hershey’s Kiss), and everyone’s happy. 

M&M Cookies

1 cup butter (softened to room temperature)
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 ¼ cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 pound bag of M&Ms

Julie’s add-on: I also throw in 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips because more chocolate = yummy goodness

Beat butter and sugars, then beat in vanilla and eggs. Add remaining dry ingredients, mix well, then stir in M&Ms (and chocolate chips). Bake at 375 degrees on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper for 9-11 minutes, or until light golden brown.

 

Giveaway Alert

Berkley is giving away some awesome prizes like a $100 Visa gift card, and a book/galley/bound manuscript by each of the authors participating so if you’re interested in any of that, make sure you head over here to enter.

For tomorrow’s fun, head to one of the following blogs:

Stuck in Books
Thoughts in Process
The Romance Dish

Berkley Bookmas 12 Days of Shipmas on Instagram

If you’re on Instagram, we invite you to participate in Berkley Bookmas’s “12 Days of Shipmas” challenge! In a nutshell, we’re celebrating our favorite ships on the ‘gram and you’re welcome to join the fun – the schedule is below!

The Ships:

12/1: I Will Go Down With This Ship = fave ship of all time
12/2: Paranormal Pairings = fave paranormal couple
12/3: Love Is Love = fave LGBTQ couple
12/4: Haters to Lovers = fave enemies-to-lovers couple
12/5: Game Baes = fave sports romance couples
12/ 6: Men in Uniform = fave couple with military/army/navy/etc. character
12/7: Angst on Angst on Angst = fave angstiest couple
12/ 8: 3’s Not A Crowd = fave ménage/poly pairings
12/ 9: Christian Bae Day = fave kinky couple
12/10: Heroes in History = fave historical romance couple
12/11: Biker Baes = fave MC romance couple
12/12: Hot Scots = fave Scottish heroes/heroines

About the Author

Julie James

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | GOODREADS

New York Times bestselling author Julie James practiced law with one of the nation’s largest firms for several years until she began writing screenplays. After Hollywood producers optioned two of her scripts, she decided to leave the practice of law to write full-time. Her books have been translated into twenty-two languages and Julie’s ninth novel, THE THING ABOUT LOVE, is now available.

Julie James lives with her husband and two children in Chicago, where she is working on her next novel.

 

Julie’s Latest Release

The Thing about Love by Julie James

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | GOOGLE BOOKS

Two undercover FBI agents can hide who they are from everyone but each other in the latest novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Suddenly One Summer.

FBI agents Jessica Harlow and John Shepherd have a past. The former lawyer and cocky Army ranger clashed during their training at Quantico, gladly going their separate ways after graduating from the Academy. Six years later, the last thing either of them expects is to run into each other again–assigned to work as partners in a high-profile undercover sting.

For both of them, being paired with a former rival couldn’t come at a worse time. Recently divorced from a Hollywood producer and looking for a fresh start, Jessica is eager to prove herself at her new field office. And John is just one case away from his dream assignment to the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team. In order to nail a corrupt Florida politician, they’ll have to find a way to work as a team–a task that becomes even trickier when they’re forced to hole up at a romantic, beachfront resort as part of the investigation. Suddenly, the heat behind their nonstop sparring threatens to make the job a whole lot more complicated. . .

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Julie James Comes to Los Angeles! (+Giveaway)

Posted May 1, 2017 by Rowena in Promotions | 11 Comments

The minute Holly and I found out that Julie James was coming to Los Angeles, we made plans to be there because if you know us…we love us some Julie James. Our love for Julie James was established in 2008 with the release of Just the Sexiest Man Alive. I adored that book to pieces. I adored it so much I forced Holly to read it, and have not missed a release of hers since. We’re just as much in love with her stuff now as we were then.

Friday night, Julie James was in town chatting with People Magazine’s Kara Warner at The Ripped Bodice in Culver City and our book nerd asses were over the moon. If you haven’t been, you really must make The Ripped Bodice, the only exclusively romance bookstore in America, a stop when you’re in LA. Sisters Leah and Bea have created funky, fun atmosphere where you can relax, browse new (and used!) books and be with like minded women who love romance as much as you do. Not to mention spend time with Fitzwilliam Waffles, the shop dog (https://www.instagram.com/fitzwilliamwaffles/). I live about 15 minutes away from The Ripped Bodice, but I don’t get out there nearly as much as I’d like. Which is a bummer, since they offer writing workshops, book signings and all manner of reader/writer events (check out their events page here to see what’s coming up).

It’s funny that we were much more excited about seeing Julie James than we were about People Magazine being in the house but well, I guess that’s not such a surprise considering our book nerd status. Having People Magazine there was just an added bonus.

Leah, Bea and their crew turned The Ripped Bodice into an awesome venue with a Chicago flair and we definitely appreciated their efforts (along with the refreshments, of course. :P). Julie James was welcomed with a good sized crowd. She regaled us with stories of her writing adventures, background on the books she’s written and her inspiration for The Thing About Love. She also took some questions from the audience, then signed some books. It was an all around fabulous book signing, even though my Dodger loving heart was a bit bummed that the Chicago Cubs game was playing in the background. Ha!  (H: Sometimes I don’t even know how we’re friends. CUBS 4EVER!!) If you have a chance to attend a Julie James signing, you really must. She’s a wonderful storyteller in person as well as in print. Holly and I enjoyed ourselves immensely.

To celebrate the event, we’re giving away a signed copy of Julie Jame’s The Thing about Love to one lucky winner. Please use the rafflecopter widget below. Good luck!!

Giveaway Alert

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to Julie James, Kara Warner of People Magazine and everyone at The Ripped Bodice for a fun night. It was one for the books and I will definitely be making more time to visit the best bookstore in the entire universe! 🙂

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