I liked this book. I think there were a couple of things that could have been improved upon (like Ford not being a jerk because a woman doesn't want to go out with him) but overall liked this a lot. Hot and steamy romance scenes, with two very compelling leads. We had some interesting secondary characters, and a very nice ending showing our couple going forward.

Our heroine in "Suddenly One Summer" is Victoria Slade. Victoria is a high profile divorce attorney (the US Attorney for this story) and has a successful practice. Coming home late one night, she is awoken by the sound of someone(s) breaking into her home. The whole incident brings back bad memories for Victoria and causes her to move out of her home and to temporarily rent a condo until her new condo is available for her to move into. Catching eyes with apparently a man that would would have Superman envying his jaw (that whole line made me laugh and think of a friend) Victoria is intrigued, but has a policy of not dating and has no intention of getting married.

Ford Dixon is an investigative journalist. Due to some recent events in his personal life, things feel a bit upside down. After going to a bar and laying eyes on a hot brunette with legs to die for, Ford wonders if she would be available to soothe some of his hurts.

Of course readers realize that Ford and Victoria have both noticed each other (I wonder if this would count as insta-lust?) but things don't work out with them, but they quickly do meet again after both realize that Victoria is Ford's new neighbor.

I had to laugh at Victoria and Ford's bickering. If anything, I thought Victoria was 100 percent in the right, and Ford kind of sucked a bit here and there. Victoria through no fault of her own, thinks her neighbor is a philandering POS. However, when Ford corrects her, he makes it deeply personal (or at least he did in my eyes). And then gets outraged that she doesn't want to go out with him. Honestly, this type of stuff is what made me stop reading "It Happened One Wedding." Nothing sets me off more than a man asking a woman out or hitting on her and then proceeding to act like an ass when she lets you know she's not interested.

Due to what I consider a little bit of a reach for plot, Victoria and Ford are thrown together. I just hand-waved it away though and just enjoyed it. Of course sparks fly, and both start to open up to each other.

There are some references to characters in other books in Julie James series. I only know that though, because I browsed her books and recalled the first names of some of the characters in her other works. I do want to credit her though for making all of the secondary characters work in this book. Though Ford's male friends were too dude bro for me at times and kind of annoying.

There is no life or death element to this story. I am not complaining. Sometimes you want to read a romance novel period. The flow was pretty good too.

The setting of Chicago I thought worked well. I am going to say that Victoria talking about her new condo in The Trump Tower just made my lips curl in disgust every time it was brought up in the book. Sorry, due to current events I don't even want to sit around thinking about trumpets. Back to the book, Chicago comes alive in this book. It's pretty obvious the author knows about the city and the neighborhoods. I was curious about why certain things were named what they were like Wicker Park and the Gold Coast, but you can't get everything.

The ending I thought was sweet. We don't have a typical we are going to run off and get married ending (thank goodness) but instead you see Victoria and Ford moving forward with healing due to both of them having a lot of things to still process and forgive themselves and others for due to their respective childhoods.

Divorce lawyer Victoria Slade has seen enough unhappy endings to swear off marriage forever. That doesn't mean she's opposed to casual dating—just not with her cocky new neighbor, who is as gorgeous and tempting as he is off-limits. But once she agrees to take on his sister's case, she's as determined to win as ever—even if that means teaming up with Ford....

Investigative journalist Ford Dixon is bent on finding the man who got his sister pregnant and left her high and dry. He's willing to partner with Victoria, despite the fact that the beautiful brunette gets under his skin like no other woman. He might not be looking to settle down, but there's no denying the scorching attraction between them. Still, the more time he spends with Victoria, the more he realizes that the one woman as skeptical about love as he is might be the only woman he could really fall for…

Suddenly one summer is an easy breezy and entertaining read. Julie James' characteristic humor, sharp female characters, sizzling chemistry and witty dialogue shine through in this novel. I actually wanted to read a book about the relationship between neighbours- that's why I picked this up. The characters were well-rounded and easy to believe. They had their issues and Julie brought out the third dimension to their personality by discussing those issues.
My only complaint was that the book ended too soon. I feel the story could've gone on longer.
Overall, a satisfying, entertaining read. If you want some good romance and light-hearted humor, check this out.

I looked at this book on my kindle puzzled.  The little dot thingies at the bottom were all dark, which means I had made it to the end of the book.  But for the life of me I could not remember a single thing about this book. 

 

I had to read the blurb and even then it took me a minute.  And then I was like "oh, it was that book."

 

And even then it wasn't the hero/heroine that my mind immediately went to, it was the subplot with the hero's sister.  See, the hero's sister had a one night stand hook up and got pregnant but had no contact info for the guy.  The hero & heroine set out to find the guy because the sister is exhausted, overworked, could use  some financial child support.

 

The H/h become amateur sleuths to track down the guy behind the sister's back.  They don't want to get her hopes up if he's a total jerk.  I actually liked the scenes where they come up with list of possibles and come up with a slick plan to pin down the guy.  All the different guys were fun to 'meet.'  And I really liked how the whole reveal and resolution played out.  It was very satisfying.

 

"But, Tina," you say, 'What about the romance?"

 

To which I reply...."ummm...."  It was not remarkable.  They meet, the fight spiffily.  They banter.  They sex. 

 

I have always liked this author mainly because she writes urban professionals who live in big cities and incorporates their work very well into the story.  The heroine is a lawyer and I like it when she morphs into this barracuda lawyer.   Books set in big cities with smart professionals is a sweet spot that is very, very rarely hit for me in contemporary romances and one that I love.  So even though this book was somewhat unremarkable in some places, the writing was still bright and parts of it very much worked for me.

This was a good romance novel. Like most romances, it was forgettable, but I enjoyed reading it while it lasted. The writing was clean, the dialog snappy and funny sometimes, and the plot formulaic. You know, like all romance novels: a young man meets a young woman. Both have trust issues (and who doesn’t in our day and age). They spend time together, they learn to trust each other, love triumphs, end of story.

The characters were charming and recognizable. Did I identify with them? No. Did I sympathize with their struggles? Yes, somewhat. I don’t think people in real life have similar problems, but hey, there are no dragons in real life either, and I do read fantasy. I like sweets of all varieties, both cake for the mouth and romance for the soul.

On the whole, I think this writer is one of the best currently working in the modern romance genre. This is the fourth novel by her I’ve read, and I enjoyed all of them. I wouldn’t recommend her in large doses, but once in a while, it’s nice to indulge in such a pleasant reading diversion. I’ll read her again for sure. Some day.