Please note that I gave this book 4.5 stars but rounded it up to 5 stars here.

This was a cute book. Unfortunately I read book #6 first, so I already knew that how this story would end up. I am still glad I read it though. The hero/heroine were great. Though I will say that James heroes all seem to be over 6 feet tall with dark hair. And the heroines always have long hair to their backs practically and wear it in a high ponytail. Plus they all have high heels. Not to put too fine a point on it, but some women wear ballet flats, or gasp sandals, etc. There was a secondary character that really got on my nerves while I was reading this, and that is the main reason why I gave this 4.5 stars.

Our heroine, Brooke Parker is general counsel for a growing restaurant empire. Due to her busy schedule she barely has time to date. After her latest boyfriend dumps her since she is so unavailable, she starts to think that causal dating is a solution. That way, she can still hang out with a guy, make love, but no strings attached (you know how well this is going to go right?)

Our hero, Cade Morgan, is a former college football star. After a career ending injury, he contracted on the law, and is now one of Chicago's rising Assistant US Attorney's. I have to say, that I actually for once liked the hero in the story more than the heroine. Readers find out right away that Cade has issues. Being raised by a single mom, and having his father abandon him until he was 10, and then abandon him all over again, Cade is not looking to delve too much into his inner democracy. Sorry, I had to include that. Cade and Brooke meet up when the US Attorney's office needs her cooperation to bug one of her restaurant's where a dirty deal is about to go down. Sparks fly, and we get to watch.

I think the main reason why Cade's story was more interesting to me, was that he does have a lot of pain to deal with involving his father. James introduces a character that is close to someone that Cade knows (no spoilers) and I was really tired of this character by the time we get to the end of the book. I didn't like how things got flipped around to suddenly make Cade a bad guy, though he had nothing to do with the situation at all.

Brooke and her best friend Ford with his two dude bro friends are entertaining when they get together. I do like that we have a book that showcases a man and woman who are best friends, who love and support each other, and shockingly don't fall in love or get all hot and bothered about the other one. I liked that. I wish that we had seen more of them interacting in Ford's book, but oh well.

The writing was great, I found out a lot about how at least the FBI and US Attorney's work (I knew some of this, but it was nice to read about it anyway) and the dialogue between Cade and Brooke was great. I don't know why he thought of her as sassy, but whatever. It seems like in this books, any woman that doesn't fall all over a guy is sassy. The flow worked too, I thought the ending of the book with Brooke having to make a choice was great. And her response to that choice was smart too. I liked that for her, it was really about being more available to her family and friends. As a working woman climbing up the ranks at my office, I get it. We work a lot of hours, push ourselves, because otherwise we have to worry about someone eventually saying that we don't seem as committed as we used to be. I liked that Brooke didn't give up her career aspirations for a guy (like most romance novels have the heroine do).

The setting of Chicago shines in this one as well. I really want some drinks and pizza after finishing this book, and I hate deep dish anything.

The ending was once again cute showing the hero/heroine proceeding with life, but thank goodness does not end with a wedding. ( )

I was planning to give 4 stars (because I like [b:About That Night|11235783|About That Night (FBI / US Attorney, #3)|Julie James|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1342553249s/11235783.jpg|16161897] more) but the last 2 chapters got me. I'm looking forward to more FBI/US Attorney series ;) ( )

Brooke Parker is a smart, tough-as-nails lawyer with a very demanding job. As general counsel of an up-and-coming food & beverage provider, she works long hours doing everything from drafting employment contracts to wining and dining new clients. As a result, Brooke has no time to spend on other aspects of her life, especially not a relationship. Meanwhile, Cade Morgan is a former college football star who now works as a federal prosecutor after sustaining a career-ending injury. He dates a variety of women but doesn't like to get serious with anyone. But when an investigation of a corrupt politician brings Cade and Brooke together, sparks immediately fly between them. At first, they seem to be on the same page, both wanting nothing more than a casual fling. But as they spend more time together, Brooke and Cade start to develop genuine feelings for one another. Will they be brave enough to go beyond the superficial and really commit to each other?

Julie James is the author who convinced me that not all romance novels are terrible, and she's been on my auto-buy list for a long time. But for some reason, I wasn't terribly fond of this book. It's certainly a fun, quick read with a lot of good points. For example, I liked the fact that there were no contrived obstacles or Big Misunderstandings keeping Brooke and Cade apart; their hesitations seemed genuine and realistic. I also loved Brooke's friend Ford (give him his own book, please!) and Cade's FBI buddies. They may be there for sequel fodder, but they're also fun characters in their own right. However, I just couldn't get invested in the romance betwen Brooke and Cade. Maybe it's because they're both annoyingly perfect, with supermodel good looks and prestigious, high-paying jobs. Even though they each have a backstory that provides them with a smidgeon of depth, they just seemed like generic hot people to me. That said, I haven't given up on Julie James and will definitely be reading her next book!

Every now and then, a girl needs a sex-on-the-table scene.
*nods sagely* ( )

Julie James has continued her FBI/US Attorney series with the latest installment, Love Irresistibly.

Love Irresistibly almost feels as if it straddles two eras of romantic fiction: old school up front simple love story with here and now intelligence, humor, and realistic characterization. It is so deceptively simple in its boy-meets-girl-girl-snarks-on-boy-boy-falls-deep story that you’re halfway through the book before you’re suddenly struck at how layered the characters are, and how strongly they stand as individually created personas.

Brooke Morgan is an ambitious, successful in-house attorney for a restaurant and food-service corporation. She has been with the company from its humble beginnings, and has served in large part to making the company the prosperous powerhouse it is becoming. Cade Morgan, he of the former college football fame and now of the good-looking Assistant U.S. Attorney fame needs Brooke’s help in planting a bug at a restaurant table to aid in the ongoing investigation of a crooked state Senator and his unappealing habit of taking bribes for legislation. They meet, he flexes a little legal muscle to impress the girl, and she politely tells him to kiss her ass. He’s a goner.

There is so much to love on the construction of this story. First and foremost, the two characters completely worked. They are strong individuals, made strong by their pasts and the weight of mutual common sense and deep wells of integrity. I really liked these two people. The conflicts they face are realistic and I could connect to the issues that shaped who they both were. It was a huge plus for me that their “baggage”, while not magically dealt with, is addressed by each of them individually and not viewed as damage that only romance can cure. I liked that Brooke is so confident and self-sufficient, and that even within the dismal ending of her third relationship (it’s indicated that she’s not a “big-picture kind of a gal”) leaves her in a funk more about how unbalanced her life is than upset about losing a potential Mr. OK. By the same token, Cade is definitely The Job, but more out of a true instinct of right and wrong than for some deep-rooted need to succeed. Their relationship becomes structured more on mutual respect gifted with a major itch for each other than simply a need to slide tab A into slot B. It’s relatable and charming.

Second, I truly appreciated that this is a story of the development of two characters and not the story of an evil Senator and the investigation weighing on his head which forces him to hire a bunch of killers. As senators do. The senator angle was peripheral to the story, and served mainly as the meet cute. Julie James has my undying devotion for that alone. Cade’s background of having a father who chose to be absent and uninvolved makes Cade’s decisions as an adult all the more poignant and admirable. Again, a deft hand constructed this subplot and it is handled very well.

I love a story that shows camaraderie that makes you want to know the people involved, and the side-kicks here, some from past books and some obvious with bullseyes on them for future books, are engaging and fun. I love that one of Cade’s best friend is a woman. I love that Brooke’s best friends are men. The conversations with the friends are funny, insightful, and well written. Which leads to…

The humor. This book provided such deft and unexpected touches of humor that I found myself laughing out loud.

“I pulled out too late with her,” he said simply.
Vaughn nearly dropped his glass. “Oh fuck. Brooke’s
pregnant?”
“Whoa there. NO. Nobody’s pregnant. I meant that I pulled out of the relationship too late.”
“Oh.” Vaughn paused. “You know, you really might want to add that clarification next time.”

That particular conversation, and what follows it, makes me smile each time I read it.

Intimacy is dynamic in this story, and well written. Sex is written as, in turns, hot, frantic, mellow, languid, and funny. There’s a definite sense of fun, but you also get the feeling of discovery for these two. There is a sense that this is something so much more than the relationships they have had in the past, and it feeds a sense of calm, and a sense of discomfiture for both of them.

It’s definitely a shelf-keeper for me, and a rec to friends. Julie James has crafted a well thought out story that hinges completely on an appreciation of well devised characters and an almost casual pace to the evolution of the story of Brooke and Cade.