REVIEW: Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James

COPYRIGHT: 2009
PAGES: 291
SETTING: Contemporary
TYPE: Straight Romance
SENSUALITY: Warm
REASON FOR READING: KristieJ gave this one a 4.5 out of 5 and Jane at DA gave it a B

SUMMARY:

When it comes to the laws of attraction, there are no rules The battle between the sexes is about to make these two lawyers hot under the collar. Opposites collide when two lawyers try to make partner at the same firm. Payton Kendall is a feminist to the bone. Cocky J.D. Jameson was born privileged. But when they’re asked to join forces on a major case, they gain a newfound awareness of each other’s personal assets. The partnership spot will be offered to only one of them, though. The competition heats up. Sparks fly. Let the games begin.

THOUGHTS / OPINION:
When I first heard about this book about two lawyers I was not at all tempted to give it a try. Books about lawyers tend to bore me and all the technical legal talk is a real yawn. But Jane's and KristieJ's reviews convinced me that I should at least give it a try. Within the first couple of pages I got right into it but somewhere around page 40 I was ready to strangle the "hero" who infuriated me. What a male chauvinist PIG, sexist cocky bastard! Yeah, I know, that's kinda harsh but it's true and I was steaming at that point and ready to throw the book up against the nearest wall. But I hung on and I'm glad I did because it was a great ride and I enjoyed the book.

J. D. Jameson & Payton Kendall are two hot shot lawyers who have worked for the same prestigious law firm for the past 8 years and both are up for a partnership. But unfortunately the firm has decided that only one will make it and the other will have to leave the firm. So the competition heats up between J.D. and Payton and neither one is afraid to play dirty.

J.D. and Payton have been rivals since day one. They have treated each other with cool reserve but underneath they detest each other and are constantly trying to outdo the other. Payton hates J.D.'s privileged rich boy attitude, his expensive clothes and his fancy car. She feels she has to work twice as hard to get any respect from her boss. J.D. hates Payton's feminist attitude and feels he will be discriminated against because the firm sent out email to the employees stating their intention to grow the female partnership and Payton is the only female up for partner (*rolling eyes* oh, those poooooor white rich males who for centuries held all the cards in jobs and promotions and now feel threatened when a female might just get a job they want ... boo. hoo.). Kinda hard to like J.D. at this point. But J.D really grew on me and slowly I came to realize that I really liked him which surprised me.

You know the old romance cliche about love and hate being closely connected? So true in this case. The intense competition between JD and Payton ratchets up a notch and so does their attraction. They like to play pranks on each other and some of them were pretty funny and there were some laugh out loud moments. PMP is a romantic comedy, very light and fun. However, there were some underlying themes pertaining to class, gender, and workplace discrimination that the author chose to ignore that I found a bit unsettling and rather irritating. I found a review by Jessica over at Racy Romance Reviews that perfectly described my problems with these issues and how they were portrayed in the book.

In the end I chose to ignore those issues since I liked both the H/H and loved their relationship and how realistically the author portrayed the legal profession yet made it fascinating to read. As a feminist I couldn't resist cheering for Payton to make partner all through the book but the ending surprised me and I rather liked it. I haven't read Ms. James' debut novel, Just the Sexiest Man Alive, but it's sitting on my nightstand now and I look forward to reading it soon.

GRADE: B+