Thing about Love by Julie James (Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Also by this author: Suddenly One Summer
Published by Penguin on April 18th 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Contemporary Women, Fiction, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Pages: 384
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. . .
Jessica Harlow and John Shepherd first met at the Quantico training facility as fresh recruits ready to show they were the best. They very gladly parted ways after graduation, with a strong dislike for each other. Six years later, they never expected that they would be paired up for an undercover assignment in a high-profile case that would force them to work side-by-side and actually get along.
The timing of this is less than ideal, John, fresh from a stinging betrayal and Jessica fresh from a divorce, are both eager to prove themselves for different reasons, but as they become closer and closer, they find maybe they had the wrong impression of each other back in school and the person they thought they knew is actually someone completely different and someone they can’t imagine not having in their life.
You may know this by now, but I absolutely adore a well done hate to love trope, and James knocked this one out of the park for sure. I really loved both Jessica and John as characters and I really loved the chemistry between them. I found that I couldn’t help myself from cheering for them even when they were both doing stupid things, and believe me… there are plenty of times where you want to kind of knock their heads together and just tell them to stop being dumb, but I really, truly loved it!
I’m also a fan of suspense and this story had just enough to keep you on the edge of your seat! I’ll be honest and admit that I haven’t read a ton of Julie James, I don’t really know why, since the few that I have read I’ve enjoyed, but I think I’m going to make a bit more of an effort to do so!
If you are a fan of contemporary romance with characters you just can’t help but root for, and a bit of steam and a bit of suspense then The Thing About Love is going to be just the read you need!
Thank you to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
