Aleveria / KarenL

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Every time I finish reading a Julie James book, I know I'm about to start the "James-shakes" while I wait for the next one. They're just that good. The good news is that this year is ripe with talented authors, so I have a lot of things to fill the void, but man.. The Thing About Love was great!

If you're a fan of the first kiss, hoo boy is this the book for you. One of the best (but short) first kiss scenes I've ever read. I don't want to build it up into this big "thing," but it was tummy flipping goodness of the highest order.

Jessica and John are combustible from the very start, perfect hate-to-love characters. Ms. James even gives us some flashbacks from both POVs. And don't get me started on Jessica's first flashback... I was all like, "oh this is gooooo... WHAT?! WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?!" And then I waited until she laid the rest of the story on me and it all made sense - and I forgave her everything.

It was only their second week of training, and they’d been assigned to the same four-person team in a timed competition. So here she was, running up and down rocky terrain, slogging through mud, jumping over fences, and sloshing through cold, dirty creek water— all the while hoping that her stupid tampon wasn’t leaking since, for extra fun, she’d gotten her period that day— and the entire time, all she could hear was John’s deep, rich voice shouting at her.

Let’s go, Harlow!

Step it up, Harlow!

Grab the rope, Harlow!

Pick yourself up, Harlow! Now move, move, MOVE!

For Pete’s sake, she was perfectly aware that she was bringing up the rear on their team. Did the man really have to keep announcing it to the whole forest?

Needless to say, by the time they got to the cargo net, she’d been feeling a little testy.

“Maybe you’d rather just tie a rope around my waist and drag me the rest of the way?” Unfortunately, the sting of her sarcasm was lessened by the fact that she was panting so hard she barely got the words out.

Not even winded, John shrugged matter-of-factly. “I was going to suggest throwing you over my shoulder, but if bondage is your thing, Harlow, I’m fine with plan B.”

Ha ha, wasn’t he such a riot? She’d glared at him while climbing onto the cargo net. Try doing this with cramps, buddy, and then we’ll see who’s so tough. And then she’d dug even deeper to finish the course as strong as possible.

Yeah that's right, bantery goodness right there. I'm glad I have a huge TBR pile because I'm already jonesin' for the next Julie James book. 5 Solid Stars.