Julie James, Love Irresistibly

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!