So I have to say, the bar was set very, very high for The Thing About Love. 2014’s It Happened One Wedding was James at her very best, and it’s a book I’ve listened to multiple times, not only for the the well-plotted story, the witty banter and the electric attraction between the protagonists, but also for the heart-melting ending. The combination of Julie James’ sophisticated + laugh-out-loud, layered and complex writing delivered by Karen White is truly one of my greatest audiobook pleasures, and we Julie James fans have had to wait two long years for a new fix. And now it’s game on for these 2 adversaries.

The mayor of Jacksonville is apparently lining his pockets with bribes from developers, so the local FBI has requested 2 “shady Chicago developers” to see if they can catch him red-handed. John, currently in the Organized Crime squad, is just about to try out for Hostage Rescue Team, which had been his goal when he first entered the FBI, when he’s called in to work with the new agent (Jessica) on an undercover sting in Jacksonville, Florida. Six years later, Jessica has just transferred back to the Chicago FBI office to work in Public Corruption, leaving Los Angeles after her divorce. In fact, her cold shoulder to him, and his reaction to that, starts them down a competitive path of one-up-manship that lingers well beyond their eventual graduation. Although John tries to befriend her, based on the fact they are both from Chicago, she rebuffs him, remembering her recruiter’s advice about people wanting to not take her seriously, and she senses that any whiff of gossip about her and the “hot Ranger” will be her downfall. John is 6 feet 4 inches of built badass, a former Ranger who ran circles around Jessica in the physical training (she is more than a foot shorter), but Jessica’s way with people and the law – in interviews and investigations, she is cool under pressure, using her experience as a lawyer – shows up John in the academic training. It wasn’t a “meet cute” – it was a diametrically opposed in every way meet. John Shepherd and Jessica Harlow first met in Quantico, in training for their work as Special Agents with the FBI.

The thing about love julie james