ARC Review: Suddenly One Summer by Julie James

 

“I’ve always love James and will always be a fan.” ~ Under the Covers

I’m always excited when a new Julie James book rolls around because it means I’ll be reading about a smart heroine, some witty banter and a delicious hero. SUDDENLY ONE SUMMER has all of this all this there is something that feels a little different about this book as well.

Victoria Slade is a divorce lawyer and a damn successful one at that. As she tries to maintain this impeccable image of herself, she gives herself a really hard time when her house is broken into and she experiences a panic attack so severe that she passes out. Since then she has developed a panic disorder that prevents her from doing thing like taking the subway or being in small, enclosed spaces. As she works with a psychologist to help her overcome that she becomes James’ first heroine with a real vulnerability that she struggles with.

Now I will say that her doctor annoyed me. As someone who studied Psychology, it’s always nice to see the profession portrayed in books. However this doctor just didn’t work for me. All his scribbling down of his thoughts as Victoria spoke probably would have caused more anxiety in a person than really help so sorry, I could have done without all that.

When I mentioned this book feels different before I think it’s most evident in the beginning. First of all, the story takes a long time to set up. Victoria and the hero, Ford Dixon don’t even meet each other until maybe 50 pages in and the story of how they start working together doesn’t happen until 100 pages in so I could have done without the first few chapters and actually start the story where Nicole, Ford’s sister and baby Zoe show up at Ford’s apartment. Of course that would mean all the build up of how Victoria got her anxiety wouldn’t be as pronounced but as it wasn’t my favorite part of the book anyway, I would be totally okay with that.

When Victoria and Ford actually do meet each other that’s when the book really starts to feel like a Julie James book. There’s the snarkiness, the witty banter, the annoying/lustful looks that the characters shoot each other when they think the other isn’t looking. THIS is what I read Julie James for so I was a bit disappointed it took so long to get there.

One thing I did like was the presence of Nicole and Zoe in the book. I think it added more to Ford’s character to see his protectiveness and of course it’s quite charming to see Ford taking care of his little niece.

So while this isn’t my favorite of Julie James’ books, there are still many things I enjoyed about it. I’ve always love James and will always be a fan.

 

[about-author author=”Julie James”]

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