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A review by transientmeow
The Thing about Love by Julie James
5.0
I was so excited to see this in a box of books I won from a Berkley Instagram giveaway!! I'm surprised I managed to make the reading last as long as I did, but I'm glad I savored it. I think reading in smaller chunks helps me to remember the story and absorb it better.
Anyway, this is just as amazing and wonderful and well-written as I've come to expect from James. Snappy, funny dialogue? Check. Smart heroine who is really good at her job and doesn't apologize for it? Check. Hero who doesn't have a problem with smart women, and isn't too emotionally constipated? Check. Good Book Noise throughout? Check!
Jessica and John met at the FBI training academy six years before, and each has a slightly different memory of their time there. The way they each interpreted the others actions felt very true to their characters, and how women and men in general see the same situation in a different light. After the academy they each went their separate ways, had some personal ups and downs, and now find themselves working an investigation together in their hometown of Chicago.
Side note - James lives in Chicago and does a good job at describing the city in a way that makes you feel like you know it too. And it's clear she keeps up on the restaurant/bar scene, so her characters can go to places that feel authentic to their personalities.
Over the course of their undercover work, Jessica and John put aside their initial hostility and start to enjoy each other's company. I liked that the discussion of their academy days took place pretty early on, so their could correct assumptions about each other. It's a slow transition from not-quite-enemies, to co-workers, to people who suddenly realize that this feeling might be love. I think this is the slowest burn relationship in any of James' books, but it works well here. Both Jessica and John have just gotten out of a relationship that ended badly, and are taking their time to focus on career and life changes. If they'd jumped into bed right away, I don't think their relationship would have lasted.
You definitely do not have to have read any of the other books in this loosely-connected series to be able to enjoy this story. I only spotted one brief cameo from a previous character, and it's only a sentence or two in passing.
Anyway, this is just as amazing and wonderful and well-written as I've come to expect from James. Snappy, funny dialogue? Check. Smart heroine who is really good at her job and doesn't apologize for it? Check. Hero who doesn't have a problem with smart women, and isn't too emotionally constipated? Check. Good Book Noise throughout? Check!
Jessica and John met at the FBI training academy six years before, and each has a slightly different memory of their time there. The way they each interpreted the others actions felt very true to their characters, and how women and men in general see the same situation in a different light. After the academy they each went their separate ways, had some personal ups and downs, and now find themselves working an investigation together in their hometown of Chicago.
Side note - James lives in Chicago and does a good job at describing the city in a way that makes you feel like you know it too. And it's clear she keeps up on the restaurant/bar scene, so her characters can go to places that feel authentic to their personalities.
Over the course of their undercover work, Jessica and John put aside their initial hostility and start to enjoy each other's company. I liked that the discussion of their academy days took place pretty early on, so their could correct assumptions about each other. It's a slow transition from not-quite-enemies, to co-workers, to people who suddenly realize that this feeling might be love. I think this is the slowest burn relationship in any of James' books, but it works well here. Both Jessica and John have just gotten out of a relationship that ended badly, and are taking their time to focus on career and life changes. If they'd jumped into bed right away, I don't think their relationship would have lasted.
You definitely do not have to have read any of the other books in this loosely-connected series to be able to enjoy this story. I only spotted one brief cameo from a previous character, and it's only a sentence or two in passing.