Customer Reviews

Just the Sexiest Man Alive (Berkley Sensation)

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been a little leery of reading debut authors lately after one too many bad experiences, so I admit I did hesitate in picking up this book (even though I loved the cover and it kept drawing me back to it). Definitely a mistake on my part. Just the Sexiest Man Alive is one of the best debut novels I've read in a very long time! As a fan of virtually every sub-genre in romance, I found it surprisingly refreshing to have a light-hearted, sweet, romantic storyline without a vampire or serial killer in sight. Contemporary romance seems to be on a downward shift lately and authors are more frequently jumping onto the paranormal bandwagon (which I am a fan of, but every now and then you just want to pick up a nice boy-meets-girl story without a lot of subplots and angst involved).

This book follows a somewhat simple premise, but puts a unique spin on it. Yes, boy-meets-girl, boy-ticks-off-girl, hate at first sight ensues, but the difference being that girl is a very successful lawyer and boy is "The Sexiest Man Alive" (three times over) and the biggest name in Hollywood. An unbelievable plot told in a very believable way. When Taylor Donovan finds out she is supposed to "coach" Hollywood playboy Jason Andrews for his new upcoming legal thriller that he's scheduled to film, she's initially star struck. But after a no-show (twice) on his part, she's not impressed when he saunters into the courtroom two days late and a dollar short.

These two characters start their first scene off with a bang and the witty banter (especially during their first meeting) kept me turning the pages. There is sexual tension in nearly every scene - although actual consummation of said tension is very limited. I finished it in less than a day and actually found it hard to put down.

If you're looking for a light contemporary romance, this is definitely a book I would recommend. If her next book is as good as this one, I've found a new autobuy author!

I read the first editorial review and "almost" clicked off to look at another book and I am glad I did not. If you are into vampires, murder or lots of sex..this is NOT the book for you. If you like contemporary romance books with a great story and lots of humor..THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU! Publishers Weekly missed this book by a mile on their review. I loved this book so much that from now on if Publishers Weekly gives a book a bad review...I'm probably going to buy the book.
This story is about Taylor Donovan, a lawyer that has moved to L.A. to cover a sexual harassment trial. Busy with the trial her boss asks her to also help Jason Andrews prepare for his upcoming film where he plays a lawyer. Jason blows off their first appointments and that gets him off on the wrong foot with her. Good looking and People's Sexiest Man, Jason is used to women falling over themselves for him not getting in the last word and walking away. It is a fun filled book from beginning to end.
Jason't long time friend, Jeremy is a hoot in the book (a book with him would be good). In my opinion this book compairs to Susan Elizabeth Phillips books. I love her humor.
I read where Julie's next book is also about lawyers. I was disappointed when I read the preview at the back of the book...I was thinking the new book would be lawyers from Taylor's law firm. Didn't want the story to end...(-:

Just the Sexiest Man Alive was so much fun to read! I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a long time! I love well written, engaging, realistic and witty contemporary romances and this book was fabulous! I had a smile on my face while reading and I didn't want the story of Taylor and Jason to end. I can't wait to read the next book by Julie James!

This story is a contemporary romance, there is no graphic sex. However there is intense foreplay, which comes in the form of verbal sparring between the heroine and hero, I have to say the erotic sex I've become accustomed to in the majority of my romance reading these days wasn't missed in the least. The narrative of this story is extremely fast paced and the dialogue, which drips sarcasm, had me hooting with laughter.

Just the Sexiest Man Alive

Chicago litigation lawyer Taylor Donovan has been sent to Los Angeles to defend a company being brought to trial on charges of workplace sexual harassment. It is a very important case for the firm. Taylor is brilliant, driven, a total professional who has never lost a case, and mapped out her career and climb to a partnership within two years. The other thing about Taylor Donovan is she loves her job, she thrives during the thrust and spar verbal dynamic of the courtroom. She also knows how to be diplomatic when the occasion warrants it, cool, calm and collected. The best way to describe Taylor? A weapon...

Taylor has a history of being jilted by her womanizing ex fiancée Daniel Lawry, who she finds in a, shall we say, compromising position with his 22 year old teaching assistant. She doesn't wallow in self-pity at finding Daniel cheating on her. She calls off the impending nuptials, has drinks with her best friends. And, because there is, "no crying in baseball", she picks herself up and moves on, her career being her total focus. When she comes home one evening to 2-dozen red roses from said ex fiancée I was worried that she would decide to call the jerk. However, Ms. James surprised me and when Taylor takes the flowers and does something very innovative with them, I LOVED her.

Jason Andrews is drop dead gorgeous and Hollywood's biggest superstar, as in huge! He is beyond rich, has the world at his feet and is a known womanizer. Jason also has an ego the size of Mount Rushmore to go along with his good looks and fame. No one says no to Jason Andrews and he has an entourage who take care of his career down to the smallest detail.

Jason has a staring role in a courtroom drama that is about to begin shooting. As part of the preparation for the role it is decided he needs to spend time with a lawyer who is experienced in litigation. The senior partner at the Los Angeles law firm where Taylor works is contacted. When Taylor is called into the office of her superior and given the assignment of coaching Jason Andrews for his movie, she is nearly driven to a state of apoplexy. However, she realizes regardless of the fact that this is a critical time in preparing for the sexual harassment case she is defending, she has no choice but to acquiesce to her boss' request. So an appointment is arranged and Taylor's calendar is cleared for an entire day so she can "coach" the "Sexiest Man Alive".

On the day that Jason Andrews is to attend the law office to meet with Taylor, the whole place is abuzz waiting his arrival, however he never shows. His assistant calls late in the day and states there was a mix up but he would be there the following day. Of course the following day he doesn't show up either. By late afternoon Taylor packs up and heads out of the office, more than annoyed. Monday morning comes and she watches the news while getting ready for work and the entertainment piece comes on. Low and behold, there is a beautiful smiling Jason Andrews caught on camera during a junket to Los Vegas when he was supposed to have met with her. To say Taylor is frothing at the mouth would be an understatement. She heads to court ready to crack heads.

Ms. James was a lawyer and it is evident she knows how they think and present in the courtroom. As Taylor Donovan argues the case to the judge to prohibit some parts of testimony a reader is given a wonderful opportunity to watch her in action. The courtroom dialogue (although my knowledge is extremely limited) seems authentic and Taylor is amazing. I felt like I knew this character by page 30.

Unknown to her, his highness, himself, Jason Andrews slips into the courtroom and sits in the back while she is arguing their position. When the arguments are completed and the judge dismisses the lawyers, Jason approaches her. After he attempts to charm her and gets nowhere, "Mr. Andrews", asks Taylor to show him something "lawerly"?

I along with Taylor had a great deal of difficulty liking Jason at the beginning of the book. While yes he was a drop dead gorgeous movie star, his arrogance was repugnant. However, our Taylor verbally annihilates Jason during their first meeting by putting him on the stand and through intense questioning has him admitting to his little foray to Vegas. It is brilliant!

When Taylor, turns on her heel and leaves Jason sitting on the stand by himself stunned he decides that she is a woman of interest, or at the very least a challenge. This is when things really get FUN!

Here is an example of the wonderful narrative and dialogue in, "Just the Sexiest Man Alive". After Taylor leaves Jason in the courtroom, he calls his connection to her law firm who speaks to her boss who summarily orders her to make amends and coach his highness. Needless to say, Taylor is fit to be tied, she is not impressed with his fame or wealth, but mind you he is nice to look at. lol

"And so here she was five hours later, sitting in her car parked on some random street in West Hollywood. Taylor peered through her windshield to get a better look at the bar, and wondered what kind of name Reilly's Tavern was for a hot celebrity hangout. She rechecked the address on the Post-it-note Linda had handed her to make sure she was at the right place.

Taylor tapped her fingers nervously on the steering wheel. The thought of crawling back to Jason Andrews was just so humiliating. It infuriated her that, due to his "status" (which she doubted was the product of little more than sheer looks and being in the right place at the right time), people automatically gave him such deference - that with one snap of his fingers, she was expected to smile politely and apologize to him.

Hopefully Jason Andrews knows the Heimlich, Taylor thought to herself. Because she most definitely was going to choke on her words.

Realizing she couldn't sit in front of the bar all night, she got out of her car and strode briskly in her heels to the front door of Reilly's tavern. A quick peek in the window told her that she'd been very wrong - the bar by no means was any sort of hot celebrity hangout.

As Taylor opened the door and stepped in, she felt as though she'd been transported back to the south side of Chicago, back to one of her father's off-duty cop hangouts. Decked out in aging mahogany wood, Reilly's Tavern was part sports bar, part Irish pub--complete with dartboards, pool tables, and two small televisions (both showing the same basketball game) mounted over the bar. The after-work crowd consisted almost entirely of middle-aged men, many still in their service or government uniforms.

Definitely the type of crowd who wouldn't notice a celebrity in their bar, Taylor thought, and probably wouldn't care even if they did. Maybe that was the point.

She stood hesitantly in the doorway, scanning the faces of the men seated at the bar, who in turn stared right back at her. Clearly, womenfolk didn't often frequent this particular establishment. And just when Taylor thought she couldn't possibly have felt more self-conscious, she heard a feigned loud gasp and a voice call out her name with delight.

"Ms. Donovan!"

She turned and saw Jason Andrews near a pool table in the back. He walked over to her, pretending to be shocked.

"Why, imagine seeing you here!"

At the sight of his smug, victorious look, Taylor staggered back a few steps and fell against the door. Oh god, she couldn't do it.

Feeling a little woozy at the thought of continuing, she closed her eyes and silently said a few oms from her yoga class for serenity.

With his arms folded expectantly across his chest - he did indeed know what was coming--Jason's grin grew wider as he watched Taylor's reaction to his greeting. This girl seriously cracked him up. At the nauseated look on her face, he half expected her to turn around and walk right out the door without one further word.

But instead, she took a deep breath. Jason watched as she pulled herself up to what he guessed had to be no more than her full five-feet-five height and strode efficiently over.

"Don't be coy, Mr. Andrews," she said in that all-business tone of hers. "I know your assistant told you I was coming."

Jason's eyes widened innocently. At the way she'd walked over all snappy-heels, he couldn't resist hamming it up.

"You were looking for me? Whatever can I do for you, Ms. Donovan?"

Taylor stood there, staring evilly at Jason as if she wanted nothing more right then than to grab him by his cashmere zip pullover and zip it right up to his eyebrows.

But then she took another deep breath.

"It seems I may have been a bit...hasty when I walked out of the courtroom the other day," she told him. "My firm would very much like to work with you on your...little project."

He ignored her not-so-subtle dig at his film. "And You?"

She responded matter-of-factly to this. "I'm willing to put my personal preferences on the matter aside."

Jason gazed down at her. She really wasn't affected by him at all."

"Just the Sexiest Man Alive" © Julie James


LOL! And the story is full of scenes like this. IMHO, it is wonderful however I have to admit I enjoyed Taylor's sarcastic wit and she ALWAYS gets the last word. And Jason, he cannot believe that this woman isn't falling into bed with him.

As the story progresses and Taylor is forced to spend more time with Jason both come to respect one another. Jason's character is laid bare with respect to the pressures of constantly being in the limelight and Taylor does take him down a few pegs. Jason is forced to take a look at his past relationships with women and realizes he doesn't have a lot to be proud of. When he commits some genuine acts of kindness and a reader learns more about him through his close friend Jeremy I grew to like Jason. However, Taylor is unable to trust him enough to enter into a relationship and I had to empathize with Jason. His sense of frustration and loss was quite heartbreaking.

Ms. James also wrote a wonderful group of supporting characters into the story and gives us a glimpse inside the mechanization's of Hollywood and how the next contender for the "Sexiest Man Alive", is in the wings waiting to make their move.

The subplot of courtroom drama surrounding the sexual harassment case is interesting and the final scene dynamic.

I want to say more about the scene where Taylor and Jason finally do get together, because it is simply awesome! However I don't want to spoil it for those of you who may choose to read this story. I will say when these two finally do make it to the bedroom it is a "fadeout" scene, but sexy nonetheless, and as with the rest of the story, fun and very well told!

As I was reading "Just the Sexiest Man Alive", I felt as if I was watching Taylor and Jason's story on a movie screen. It was that good.

Needless to say, this book has definitely found it's way to my keeper shelf and I will read it again. I am currently enjoying "Practice Makes Perfect", and hope to finish and review it soon.

Yes, the dialogue is witty at times, but how much narcissism can one put up with. The chemistry was all about one upping the other and nothing else.

My only complaint with Julie James is her handling of sex scenes. I just don't like the odd choppy style 'then she was naughty in her apartment, in the foyer, inside the front door...' It would be better if she simply they kissed... then picked up afterwards.

That complaint aside, this book is fabulous. It's everything I look for in a contemporary romance. GOOD characters I can root for, excellent supporting cast, details and scenes that make me smile and even laugh... yep. The tale of sexiest actor alive (Jason) vs attorney (Taylor) is one I'll enjoy again and again.

I thought the balance of "LA life" and life as a serious lawyer was balanced and contrasted in interesting ways. The building of this relationship was awesome, and I only wish it had been longer so I could have read more! Two thumbs way up.

This is a lovely light chick lit, contemporary romance story. If you are looking for a roll-in-the-sack Harlequin romance novel, this is not it. This book has substance and a storyline that is quite delightful.

Taylor Donovan is Chicago lawyer visiting L.A. to defend a sexual harassment case with hopes of winning the case, which could be the case she needs to make her a partner at her home office. While she is in L.A. on this case, she is assigned to help the oh-so-popular babe magnet actor Jason Andrews prep for a courtroom drama. The story really begins when Jason misses two appointments with lawyer Taylor. This sets the stage for how she begins to feel about him, and thus, her hatred for Jason begins immediately because she only sees him as a spoiled, arrogant Hollywood star. When he does show up in her courtroom, the bantering and enchantment begins; it leaves a smile on your face, and it will continue throughout the story.

More and more as they work together, Taylor begins to see Jason as a nice guy underneath his Hollywood attitude. At the same time, Jason is beginning to have these feelings he has never experienced before. There is sexual tension throughout the story but there is also light humor that makes this so much more enjoyable. Coming towards the end, Jason tries to convince Taylor to stay in L.A. but doesn't come out and say anything more. This is where the book suddenly turns seriously romantic, but getting there is no fun for either Jason or Taylor; however, for the reader, it's the anticipation that we have been waiting for and it finally detonates and sparks go flying off the grid. This is a very enjoyable,lovely read...highly recommended!

This is one of the best romances I have read in a long time. Smart characters with intelligent, witty dialogue. Every bit of this book was fun. I will definitely be buying Julie James next book.

The characters in this book came alive while I was reading it. It was impossible to put down and I was very quickly wishing it could be longer. The heroine is an intelligent and strong woman who knows what she wants.... until she doesn't. I like that the male lead had to work for the relationship {rather than the strong independent woman falling into the hero's arms and tossing away her career that seems to prevail in the genre} Book will bring a smile to your lips as you read. I recommended to my mom who is way more difficult please and she loves it as well.

This is a woman who can write amazing contemporary romance. I usually need something more with my contemporaries (as the hundreds of books on my romantic suspense shelf will tell you!), but Julie James is something special. I loved this book.

Julie James gets the best covers. Seriously. She has real men, and they don't have to be naked to be appealing. Cover designers should take note - you don't need a waxed, oiled twelve-year-old to get people buying a book.

There are so many reasons I shouldn't have liked this book. The whole situation seemed a bit contrived really - Chicago lawyer Taylor is sent to Los Angeles to work for a few months, gets forced to help out movie star Jason with his new role, the two eventually fall in love amongst a whole lot of Hollywood craziness. It all sounds so cheesy, chick-litty (shudder). However, I loved it.
This is the kind of book I'd usually hate, but instead I couldn't put it down, and was laughing and cheering through the whole thing.

James' characters are intelligent, accomplished people. No stupid `feisty' romance heroine in this book. It's very refreshing.
Jason is such an unlikeable character at the beginning I didn't know how James was going to redeem him. She did of course, which made him all the more interesting.

I thought maybe the ending could have been a bit better. I understand that this is Hollywood and there is drama and there're too many people watching every move. But even considering that, it was a tad too contrived for me. On top of that, there is a lot of celebrity name-dropping which is going to date the book so fast. (And I don't think there need to be Eva Green references in every one of the author's books - I don't care how much you worship her!)

One thing that really annoyed me about this book was the `villain' - Scott. While I am eternally grateful to Julie James for not making her Australian character a `G'day cobber', shrimp on the barbie, crocodile-hunting, cork hat-wearing stereotype, she kind of missed the heart of Australian culture. She shows Scott not getting sarcasm and dry humour. The thing is, Australians ARE sarcasm and dry humour. We have trouble in the States because of it - not the other way around. That you could have this charming (yet sleazy) Australian guy there and have him NOT get sarcasm is utterly ridiculous, and was culturally very incorrect.

My other issue is with the dreadful editing. Seriously, where are all the editors these days? I shouldn't have to come across the hero being referred to as `Vason'. I shouldn't have to come across changes of tense in sentences or missing or extra words because there wasn't any decent proofreading done. And it's COULDN'T care less. If I read `could care less' one more time I was going to scream. If you could care less, it means that you DO care and that it's possible for you to care less than you do.

This book was fantastic fun. It had so many things I didn't think I'd like, but it all worked for me in this story. It's nice to see a book like this where the characters are intelligent rather than infantile - it's very rare indeed. Just The Sexiest Man Alive was a great weekend read.