So, despite the fact that, ahem, I have been known to buy the same book twice only to discover it lurking on my shelf (or find it sitting on a digital shelf, although, in my defense, most of my digital duplicates are due to someone telling me the purchase didn't go through, but it really did) - ah, where were we? Right, so despite all that, I am crazy good at remembering where I got books. I can usually even tell you if it was a sale purchase or I got it at conference and if it was in the conference bag or I picked it up from a giveaway table. I took a stroll through both my in person and digital shelves, and I got nothing I can't account for. Even stuff I no longer feel any particular draw for I remember about where it came from. Or why.
So, I'm going to talk about Julie James' Something About You. I remember the buzz about this. I think I picked it up not long after it was a pick for Save the Contemporary. So, I meant to read it really soon after. And then one day I tried. Didn't work. So due to one of those fascinating and happily unusual sets of circumstances, I was unable to make my copy work and unable to get another*. So, anyway, I ended up getting a copy from the library and I'm still counting it because I bought this book two years ago even if the actual copy I read belongs to the lovely folks at the DC public library. And technically we could argue instead of How Did This Get Here, I'm going for a Hey, What Took You So Long. (Those of you pointing out that's the entire point of the TBR challenge, um, yeah, I see your point.)
Oh right, so the book. Love. Just, totally worth all that wait. Prosecutor Cameron Lynde calls the front desk after the couple in the next room's, erm, antics seem headed for yet another round at three in the morning. Except hotel security discovers a dead body in the room, and now Cameron's a witness. And the special agent assigned, Jack Pallas is of course the agent whose case she had to toss a few years back resulting in him telling the TV cameras that she's an idiot. So, they are thrilled to be working together again.
In many ways it sounds like lots of other books, and in some ways it is. What makes it great is just smart characters. They don't want to work together but they are professionals, so they suck it up and do. They don't keep stupid secrets from each other. There isn't a stupid fight where he storms off leaving her unprotected just in time for the killer to show up nor does she lie about where she's going and try to just take a break from protective custody. There was banter, there was bad guy POV that didn't totally make me crazy, there were smart people up against some worthy villains, it was good. Oh, and yeah, Cameron and Jack might also discover some chemistry together.
Rants About New (and old) Things
