A Lot Like Love by Julie James

4 Stars.

A lot Like Love was a cute and entertaining read that had enough action to keep me invested in the police-undercover subplot.

I've read Julie James before but have to say I wasn't that impressed, I started with her book Just the Sexiest Man Alive and although it had it's fun moments, overall it was a disappointment. I can barely remember it actually which says something given that I can usually remember even little details about books I loved.

The one thing I will say is that I usually prefer a bit more steam in my romances and from what I can remember the last James book I read was lacking in that department. This book though amped it up a notch which was nice.

I liked the heroine, enjoyed the fact that she was older (33) although that's not overly referenced, it just makes it so that you understand that Jordan is mature and self assured, independent and knows what she wants and how to handle herself. Nick was a nice hero as well, although his macho-ism got on a tiny nerve towards the end - I mean seriously?! You're worried about seeming less of a male if you take a bath (with or without bubbles) with a naked woman, I think regardless of bubbles or flowery frangrances, any guy would gladly switch places with Nick for a chance at a sexy interlude in a bath tub. Anyway, besides the point, it was just a little odd that Nick had to be such a guys guy when it came to such seemingly small things. The dialogue and back and forth was fun between hero and heroine and I liked that Jordan coudl give as good as she got. She wasn't about to roll over and play nice if it meant getting taken advantage of.

The whole setup of Nick and Jordan going undercover in order to catch a money launderer was entertaining and believable in the sense that it gave Jordan and Nick a reason to be around one another and to really fall for each other while pretending to fall for each other.

Jordan's twin brother Kyle, and his trouble with the law was an interesting side story and I really ended up liking his character. I see that his story is next and will most likely pick it up to find out how Kyle's life outside of prison is shaping up. (Not a hardend criminal people - when you read what he did to land himself behind bars it's actually quite entertaining and creative of the author.)

Overall I enjoyed this story, although I can't say that I would remember it next year around this time. I tend to like my romances with a bit more angst and like it when the hero and heroine really have to work to be together. It always seems like more of a payoff in the end when the hero and heroine can work out their issues and admit their feelings for one another. In this book, mostly because of the tone, everything shaped up a little too easily towards the end. There was never a feeling of great obstacles in their way and I would have liked to have seen Jordan and Nick work a little harder for their HEA. I could believe that they definitely had strong feelings for each other at the end, but am not totally convinced that it was the balls-out love Nick described to Jordan.

A cute and light read, for readers who want a fun book for a summer's day.