First Published: 2013
Paperback
Adult, Contemporary
Rating:
HE’S USED TO GETTING WHAT HE WANTS…Let's start by saying this: Julie James is one of my favorite contemporary writers. She is a master at sophisticated yet funny conversations, of strong characters and great romances. She makes the ideal reality, and she makes you believe it's possible to have it all.
A former football star and one of Chicago’s top prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cade Morgan will do anything to nail a corrupt state senator, which means he needs Brooke Parker’s help. As general counsel for a restaurant company, she can get a bug to the senator’s table at one of her five-star restaurants so the FBI can eavesdrop on him. All Cade has to do is convince Brooke to cooperate—and he’s not afraid to use a little charm, or the power of his office, to do just that.
AND WHAT HE WANTS IS HER.A savvy businesswoman, Brooke knows she needs to play ball with the U.S. Attorney’s office—even if it means working with Cade. No doubt there’s a sizzling attraction beneath all their sarcastic quips, but Brooke is determined to keep things casual. Cade agrees—until a surprising turn of events throws his life into turmoil, and he realizes that he wants more than just a good time from the one woman with whom he could fall terrifyingly, irresistibly in love ...
While Love Irresistibly is no exception to the rule, it is also my least favorite James novel to date.
The characters were as strong as ever - Cade is a cocky guy. Like, really. He has every confidence in his ability to get whatever he wants, and the idea someone will say 'no' to him never crosses his mind. And despite this, he wasn't obnoxious. In fact... I loved him!
I will say that a big part of my loving him was due to the fact we lived inside his head for half the novel. If all we saw of him was what he says outwardly, I might have been singing a different tune.
Brooke is trademark Julie James - she is strong, she is smart, and she inspires awe wherever she goes. Companies will literally fight to have her, as she is such a dedicated, serious and hard to beat businesswoman.
And while I adored the hate-to-love relationship between these two, the romance was definitely lacking to me. When these two confessed their feelings, all I could think about was how they weren't in love yet. I felt like yes, they were heading there, but they still had a way to go.
Then there was the... emphasis on the physical. I loved their dates, but there weren't many of those. instead, there was a lot of sex due to the 'no strings attached' deal they tried. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I felt like it wasn't balanced. I felt like they didn't get to know each other.
The second issue I had with this book was the lack of solid frame plot. Up to this point, every book in the series had some form of overall plot-line moving along with the love story. That kept things interesting and added some action and tension. Note the "up to this point" part. In Love Irresistibly there was no such thing, and you feel it.
Not to close this review on a bad tone, I'll mention a favorite character - Zach, Cade's brother, is such an adorably awesome and awesomely adorable kid. His story arc was the best of all the book, to me. Not to mention seeing old characters! It was so much fun to catch up and learn who's engaged, who's married and who's having pretty little children. Kyaaa!
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