Julie James

When newly divorced FBI Special Agent Jessica Harlow finds out that the Chicago field office has an opening for an undercover agent, returning to her hometown seems perfect. But her new partner, John Shepherd, just happens to be the cocky Army Ranger she met at the FBI Academy six years ago. Just one assignment away from joining the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team, John isn't going to let the woman who once showed him up throw him off his game. He'll have to stay close to Jessica . But the heat behind their sparring threatens to make the simple job a whole lot more complicated...

The Thing about Love

Ella Patterson

A little bit dull with an overwhelming amount of detail about the FBI that was unnecessary. The romance wasn’t particularly special either.

Kristen

I LOVED this. It was seriously one of the best romance novels I've read all year. 

Hate-to-love, without either party having done anything horrific or terrible to the other. Strong female character, strong male character, pretty healthy relationship.

The story did focus primarily on the undercover FBI case the pair was working together, and that was... not really interesting. It really wasn't the greatest choice of a case for a novel whose secondary focus, besides the romance, was that FBI case. The stakes were pretty low, and I found myself bored with it and skimming ahead to the (frustratingly few) steamy scenes. 

But if you're looking for a safe, cute, warm-fuzzies-with-a-little-FBI-action romance, this is fantastic.

b.andherbooks

Two FBI agents who detested each other during their training at Quantico six years ago find themselves partnered up for a white collar under-cover operation. Jessica, recently divorced and newly transferred to the Chicago FBI office, remembers John as a cocky ex-Marine who irritatingly challenged her both mentally and physically. John, soon to be leaving Chicago to start training for an elite part of the FBI similar to SEAL Team 6 remembers Jessica as the hyper-intelligent and frosty woman who rebuffed his offer of camaraderie on day one of training, and embarrassed him in front of their entire class. He said, she said has never been hotter.

My first Julie James, and I loved it! The characters were both intelligent, professional, and had such simmering sexual tension I could feel it oozing off the page. The story, while a bit too bloated with technical information and side stories, was dramatic and exciting. I am sucker for FBI stories (thanks X-Files), but this is the first traditional romance book I've found featuring agents that aren't doing absolutely crazy missions that just seem too ridiculous to be true.

Thank you to Negalley for the ARC!

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads.


Can you believe this is my first Julie James book? I'm almost embarrassed to admit that. What I'm not ashamed to admit, however, is how much I enjoyed The Thing About Love. I don't know that I could've picked a more perfect book to introduce me to Julie's writing. It had everything — fantastic characters with insane chemistry, super sexy (and sweet) times and a little bit of suspense. 

I enjoyed Jessica and John so much! I'm a sucker for a hate-to-love story, so I was down with this one before I even started reading it. These two gave great banter and sexual tension. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about them getting to know each other and getting over their spotty past from when they were in the Academy. They made one heck of a team — in and out of the bedroom — and it made the book that much more fun to read. 

I do know this much — this won't be my last Julie James book. I have every intention of attacking her backlist ASAP. 

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

FAVORITE QUOTES

There are few greater bonds than that between a man and the guy—or girl—who will be standing next to him if the shit hits the fan.

Although, for the record, she noted that his facial scruff was quickly approaching that fine line between dirty-hot and "MAN LOST AT SEA, SURVIVES ON KELP AND RAINWATER FOR THREE WEEKS!"

"Just to clarify, are you trying to get under my skin as much as possible, or is it simply an inherent talent of yours?"

"Why weren't we doing this six years ago?"
"Because you didn't like me six years ago."

"I love when you're on the edge like this. You're so goddamn sweet. So mine."

Lacey

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life

4.5 STARS

It’s been a long time since I picked up a Julie James novel (even though I don’t know why, because I’m a big fan of her work), but reading The Thing About Love reminded me of all the reasons why I love her and her books. She writes such fantastic contemporary romances starring FBI agents in a realistic, believable light. If you want contemporary romance done right, plus a little enemies-to-lovers trope and suspense, The Thing About Love will be the perfect read for you.

Six years ago, Jessica Harlow and John Shepherd first met at the FBI Academy in Quantico, where they ended up with the wrong first impressions of each other and clashing from the get-go. To say they didn’t get along would be an understatement, so it was a relief to graduate and go their separate ways. But now, when John moves back to Chicago after leaving his cheating girlfriend and receives what might be his last undercover assignment before joining the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team, he is paired up with none other than his old nemesis, Jessica Harlow.

“John,” she said, her light blue eyes widening in surprise.
“Hello, Jessica.”
Nearly fifteen thousand special agents in the FBI, spread throughout the United States in fifty-six field offices, and she had to show up in Chicago for what was quite possibly his last undercover assignment.
As his new partner.
And here he’d thought HRT tryouts had been hell.

Newly divorced, Jessica is also looking for a fresh start in Chicago. She’s not happy about John being her partner, but she’s determined not to let their past get in the way of their assignment. But the more she’s around John and the closer she gets to him, she finds that her first impression of him might not have gone the way she thought it did. She gains a new perspective on John… and it’s one she finds herself falling for. But with John joining HRT and leaving Chicago in a few weeks, can they make a relationship between them work?

“Do you know how long I’ve waited for you to look at me this way?”
She assumed he was teasing her. “What are you talking about? You didn’t even like me for most of the time we’ve known each other.”
He bent his head before turning to go, his voice low and confident in her ear. “Or may I’m just that good of an undercover agent.”

I absolutely adored this book. The Thing About Love was sweet, funny, kickass – I had the best time reading it. Jessica and John had me grinning and giggling in spades. My heart was honestly so happy the whole time I was reading their story. I loved both their characters and how they made me laugh and swoon. Their banter is the absolute BEST – I loved it! If you’re ever in the mood for something light-hearted and fun about two undercover FBI agents who hate to love and love to hate each other, I highly recommend this book! 

Thanks to the publisher for generously providing me an ARC to review.

Quotes are taken from the ARC and are subject to change in the final version.

Amazon Ebook: http://amzn.to/29u1df3
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/29WKnUQ
Audible: http://amzn.to/2ojdjfV

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Lorena

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The New York Times bestselling author of Suddenly One Summer blows the covers of two FBI agents who can’t hide who they are from each other... FBI agents Jessica Harlow and John Shepherd have a past. The former lawyer and cocky Army Ranger clashed during their training at Quantico and gladly went their separate ways after graduating from the Academy. Six years later, the last thing either of them expects is to be assigned to work as partners in a high-profile undercover sting. For both of them, being paired with an old 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 together—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 lot more complicated... READERS GUIDE INSIDE

The Thing about Love

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