A Lot Like Love (FBI/U.S. Attorney) [Mass Market Paperback]

Julie James (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 1, 2011 | Series: FBI/U.S. Attorney

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Jordan Rhodes is invited to all of Chicago's best parties, but there's only one the FBI wants to crash. To get her brother out of jail, she agrees to take Agent McCall as her date. But when the mission gets botched, requiring their "relationship" to continue, it starts to feel less like an investigation-and a lot like something else.

Julie James Chat

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Jordan Rhodes seems to have it all: money, fame, beauty, and her own successful business doing what she loves, introducing people to exceptional wines. But her twin brother Kyle is serving hard time after crashing Twitter in an emotional reaction to his girlfriend�s very public breakup with him. The FBI offers to commute Kyle�s sentence to time served if Jordan cooperates by getting one of their people into a very exclusive charity fundraiser. James� sassy, suspenseful sequel to Something About You (2010) exhibits her trademark sizzle and wit while focusing attention on another FBI undercover agent assigned to ferret out the secrets of Chicago�s Mob. James pits Nick McCall�s bad-boy appeal against Jordan�s warm heart in a classic romance trope and concludes with tantalizing hints about future installments set in the same intriguing venue. --Lynne Welch

Review

"With only four books under her belt, Julie James has cemented her place as one of contemporary romance's superstars." --San Francisco Book Review

"You'll fall head over heels for 'A Lot Like Love'...[a] charming romance." --USA Today

"Fueled by equal measures of seductive wit, edge-of-the-seat suspense and scorching hot sexual chemistry, James' latest scintillating novel of romantic suspense is a rare treat." --Chicago Tribune

"With a nod to Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious, this latest from James (Something About You) blends plenty of sparkle with a vineyard-full of oenological detail.... Sexy fun, romance fans will pop their corks over this one."  --Library Journal

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (March 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425240169
• ISBN-13: 978-0425240168
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.9 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After graduating from law school, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julie James clerked for the United States Court of Appeals. She then practiced law with one of the nation's largest firms for several years until she began writing screenplays. After Hollywood producers optioned two of her scripts, she decided to leave the practice of law to write full-time.

Julie's books have been listed on the American Library Association's Reading List for Top Genre Novels, Booklist's Top 10 Romances of the Year, and have been featured as one of Cosmopolitan magazine's Red Hot Reads. Julie's novels also were chosen as the Best Contemporary Romances of 2010, 2011, and 2012 in the All About Romance Readers' Polls. Her books have been translated into thirteen languages and Julie's sixth novel, LOVE IRRESISTIBLY, is now available.

Julie James lives with her husband and two children in Chicago, where she is currently working on her next book.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Whole Lot to Love With this Book (A Grade) March 1, 2011

By Katie Babs VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

There's a whole lot to love about A Lot Like Love from Julie James. This is a superb read, plain and simple. My inner fan girl cannot get enough of Julie's books and this may possibly be my favorite one of hers thus far. The writing is crisp, the dialogue is witty and the sexual tension is perfect without overtaking the plot. If you're longing for a great contemporary read, look no further. Julie James breathes life into a genre that so many say is dying.

A Lot Like Love takes place in Chicago, Illinois. FBI agent, Nick McCall has just come off of an undercover job where he helped take down twenty-seven dirty cops. The former Brooklyn boy is taking time off so he can go back home for his mother's sixtieth birthday party. But a sudden wrench is thrown in his plans. His boss asks him to help out on a case regarding Roberto Martino, who runs the largest crime syndicate in Chicago. They believe they can finally take him down through Xander Eckhart, a well-known restaurant and nightclub owner, who also has a wine bar that caters to the rich. They believe Eckhart is laundering drug money for Martino. The plan is to place a bug in Eckhart's office during an exclusive charity wine event on Valentine's Day that costs five thousand dollars a person. An Agent Huxley will be going as a guest while Eckhart acts as a consultant of sorts. The problem is that Huxley needs to go as someone's guest, and that's where Jordan Rhodes comes in. Jordan is the daughter to a billionaire who made his fortune through computers (think Steve Jobs). They believe Jordan will help them because of her twin brother, who's in prison.

Jordan may have a rich father, but she's financially independent. She's a business woman in her own right as the owner of DeVine Cellers, where she sells wine. When Huxley and Nick come to her with a proposition where they will release her brother Kyle from prison if she helps, she accepts. She'll have to play that part of Huxley's date. Jordan adores Kyle and wants him out of prison. This happened just because he shut down Twitter for two days. Kyle, the so-called, "Twitter Terrorist" and Sawyer look alike from the TV show Lost now sits in jail because of his actions. Jordan will do whatever she can to help him get freed, although she isn't took keen on Agent McCall. He rubs her the wrong way, assuming she's some spoiled rich girl.

Things don't go according to plan because Huxley gets very ill the night of the charity event. Now Nick has to be her date and make it believable that she and Jordan are dating. Everything should still work out, but what Jordan never realized, and suddenly finds out, is that Eckhart wants her, not only for her wine expertise, but her body, as well as her fortune. Now she and Nick have to keep up their fake relationship until Eckhart is arrested. Not only does that place Jordan in a dangerous situation, but she finds herself attractive to the gruff Nick, who has no idea about wine and the total opposite of the men she's always been interested in. A heated kiss on her front steps starts the ball rolling where their acting becomes a reality.

A Lot Like Love is full of so much win. I can't find anything wrong with this book at all. It has everything I could want as a reader. This is a smart, mature, fun book with some suspense and marvelous sexual chemistry between Nick and Jordan. Talk about a great couple who steam up the pages! Julie has a great way of building up the tension between these two where the payoff is well worth it. At one point Nick's jealousy comes out in the open where he wants to claim Jordan. Making out against a wall surrounded by wine is my idea of fun, not counting a bathtub scene that had me nearly swooning.

The dialogue between the characters is top notch. There are more than a few laughs, especially as Nick lusts over Jordan. My favorite scene is where he picks up Jordan for the charity event and his eyes pop out over her dress. He finds out she's not wearing a bra, just Band-Aids over her nipples. His internal reaction is priceless:

"Don't think about her nipples. Don't think about her nipples. He was thinking about her nipples."

Julie has a great way of showing off her secondary characters as well. Kyle is a real hoot. He's a dorky, loveable computer geek, who looks much like Sawyer, played by the hot actor, Josh Holloway.

How can you not get behind that? I was also very interested in Xander, the suave, seductive villain. I couldn't get enough of him and envisioned him being played by the actor, Julian McMahon.

A Lot Like Love reads much like a screenplay, and one if it did get made into a film, I'd love to see. Perhaps Reece Witherspoon would be perfect as Jordan and Clive Owen as Nick?

This is a book I had such a blast reading. Not only did I crave wine while I read, but as soon as I finished reading, I was craving for more from Julie. A Lot Like Love is the first book of the year that I can say will be in my top ten favorite reads for 2011, and one I whole heartedly recommend you pick up.

Kariebabs

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loving this author! March 1, 2011

By incognito

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you like Julie James' other books, you'll probably love this one too. My absolute favorite book of hers is Practice Makes Perfect - busted out laughing many times and would recommend it as a read for anyone who liked this book. This book appears to be the 2nd in a series, first being Something About You (another great read), which is about Agent Pallas and U.S. States Attorney Cameron Lynde - the books can be read independently of each other. A Lot Like Love has Pallas and Lynde as minor characters.

A Lot Like Love is about FBI Agent Nick McCall, who, while preparing to head out of town for his Mother's 60th birthday, gets roped into a last minute consultation on a junior agent's assignment. Junior agent ends up getting sick and Nick ends up having to go undercover.

Jordan is a billionaire's daughter, though proclaimed as financially independent - this piece kind of stuck with me... I live in Chicago and its very tough to believe that a small business owner, though ahead in her 10-year business plan, can afford a 4,000 sq. ft home in Lincoln Park; that's like half a million dollars in real estate at the LOW end and she still has money for first class vacations (/business trips) and designer shoes? Anyways, I'm sure as a billionaire's daughter she has money, but maybe her everyday expenses are covered by her income or her store really does phenomenally well- whatever, it doesn't really matter, I liked Jordan as a person. She was completely down to earth and real.

Nick is on the case for taking down a money launderer, Xander, and so he poses as Jordan's BF to get into Xander's exclusive party and bugs Xanders office. Turns out Xanders got the hots for Jordan (and her Dad's money) and immediately wants Nick followed to find some dirt on him and figure out how serious the relationship is. This pushes Nick and Jordan to continue acting out their relationship.

This book has what's becoming James' trademark in my eyes, witty banter which is downright hilarious at times, a fast-paced story that keeps you turning pages, and lovable characters you could easily be friends with. James has a way of writing emotion you could feel, I hurt for Nick when he had to call and tell his Mom he was missing her party, the disappointment was tangible and I teared up when Nick calls home to say "Ma...there's this girl"

I even loved the secondary characters, Jordan's twin Kyle was great and I'm really hoping he gets a story soon!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Kinda boring May 9, 2011

By Katiekate

Format:Kindle Edition

I loved Julie James's first two books, and after reading her third I was unsure if I wanted to get this one. Its not that her writing is bad its just a little boring compared to the snappy lawyer, fighting the attraction till the end, super funny first two books. I don't know I guess there was just something missing for me that made me devour 'just the sexiest man alive'.