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Just the Sexiest Man Alive by Julie James
My rating: 4 of 5 teacups


A 4 star rating is always a positive thing, especially with me because I have a tendency to be annoyingly picky over little things in books... but I still think this is my least favourite Julie James novel so far. For me, it just didn't have what Practice Makes Perfect and Something About You had. Of course, there was plenty of the author's trademark witty banter and the inevitable love/hate relationship that I've come to expect but Jason Andrews never really impressed me.

The story is about a Chicago lawyer, Taylor Donovan, who is sent to work with a Law firm in Los Angeles and then ends up getting roped into working with Hollywood's hottest actor - Jason Andrews. Jason is working on a part for his latest film where he will starring as a lawyer and wants Taylor's help in order to perfect the role. He cannot believe it when Taylor seems immune to his good looks and charm, when every other woman in the world wants more than anything else to sleep with him. His reputation in the press shows he's only too happy to oblige.

Okay, so this means the guy's really arrogant, conceited, pigheaded and often just plain annoying. There are plenty of stories where it all comes out that the tabloids got it all wrong and that the actor is actually a kind, caring individual with more to him than the large amount of notches on his bed post. I never really got that with Jason. The redemption of him just didn't seem to work and if I was in Taylor's position and knew what she knew about him at the end, I would never have ignored my previous concerns in favour of trusting him.

The novel would have been better if we'd been led to fall in love with Jason's personality, this seemed like an area that was never tapped into and I finished reading wondering if he actually had one. I also couldn't help but dislike the fact that Taylor gave up her partnership opportunities as a lawyer to be with an arrogant, oversexed actor. She seemed to all of sudden change from Ms strong-and-independent into Ms screw-my-career-if-I-can't-be-with-him and it wasn't a particularly smooth transition.

I enjoyed the novel and I really love Julie James' writing style of sarcastic humour and quickfire bantering. But I wanted more from this book and I feel unsatisfied by the conclusion. I want a male character I can like as much as the female lead does, I want character development that makes sense and I want more sex. Yes, that's another thing - I like smut with my romance, I'm not going to lie to you. This book had exactly 1 sex scene and it went something like "And then Taylor reached for his belt buckle..." *fade to black*. I've said in other reviews that I don't care if it's not overly descriptive, but come on, at least give a little detail. Dreamfever isn't descriptive like, say, a Lora Leigh novel, but it is damn hot!

Posted on June 20 2011
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