My Thoughts On: Irresistible by Liz Bankes

Posted February 20, 2013 by Asheley in Uncategorized / 14 Comments

Irresistible by Liz Bankes
Published by Walker Childrens
Publish Date: February 14, 2013,

(paperback expected June 18, 2013)
240 Pages
Source: Publisher



When Mia gets a summer job at a prestigious country club, it’s hard work, but fun, especially as a romance develops with fellow student Dan. However, from the beginning she is drawn to the sexy, rich and bored Jamie–he’s got everything he could ever want, and enjoys nothing more than messing with people’s lives for his own entertainment. Mia knows getting involved with Jamie is a bad idea, but there’s something so dangerously exciting about Jamie she just can’t resist. -(from Goodreads)

Irresistible by Liz Bankes



My Thoughts:  Irresistible opens with this: 


“Jamie Elliot-Fox is toxic.” 


I wrote that in my diary in the middle of last summary. To warn myself. In case I got sucked in. In case I let myself fall for it. In case I unleashed a whole load of trouble. But I still did.*  

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The first thing you need to know is this:
Mia Johnson gets a job as a waitress 

at the prestigious Radleigh Castle Restaurant. 
There are two boys that catch Mia’s eye.

Mia Joseph is hired to work as a waitress at Radleigh Castle by Julia Elliot-Fox, a no-nonsense woman who can be a bit awful at times. Before she is even hired – in the interview – Mia is introduced to Julia’s son Jamie right away as she witnesses some of his bad-boy behavior through a window. He holds her eyes the entire time, willing her to watch what he’s doing. (It is from the beginning of the book that I realized Jamie Elliot-Fox is going to be a very interesting player in this story.)


Fast forward – Dan David begins work on the same day as Mia. He’ll be working with her in the restaurant kitchen. Mia and Dan are soon cracking jokes comfortably around each other and there is witty banter and tons of smiles. The two form an easy friendship that progresses to warm feelings and hand-holding. Dan walks Mia home at night and the conversations are always non-stop and fun. Mia begins to wonder if they are boyfriend/girlfriend, and she hopes that they are. She really likes Dan. 


Jamie Elliot-Fox is a very rich, snobby, and bored boy that lives in the castle’s pool house. He loiters around the grounds all day/every day, causing tons of trouble for anyone that he chooses. Every night, he throws parties at his pool house. Jamie has a beautiful, exotic girlfriend named Cleo that also is summer resident of Radleigh Castle. (Cleo is nothing but trouble. TROUBLE.) Mia wants to despise Jamie for his behavior but as much as she tries, she is captivated by this boy and finds herself drawn to him. He’s very handsome – he makes her feel butterflies in her stomach and he makes her knees weak. If she likes Dan so much, then why do her thoughts linger on Jamie all the time?


This cannot be good. It cannot be good. 

The second thing you need to know is this:
Mia finds herself juggling both boys. 

This cannot end well.   
It isn’t long before Mia ends up spending her days with Dan – either working in the restaurant with him or hanging out with him outside of work – and spending her nights with Jamie. Mia either goes to Jamie’s pool parties after work and stays over, or she sneaks to his place late at night. When Mia is with Dan, she always has fun, but her thoughts always turn to Jamie. 

When she is with Jamie, Mia feels guilty and thinks of Dan. To be honest, she never stops liking him. He’s a great guy. But he just isn’t Jamie. The thing is – Jamie is a spoiled, rich brat with terrible behavior. He does some pretty awful things to people in the name of pranking and joking around. Mia still isn’t sure she wants to get tangled up with someone who behaves that way, but she needs to make a decision before people get hurt.  

The third thing you need to know is this:

A THING HAPPENS. 

It was inevitable. Mia knew something would happen. She even told herself at the very beginning not to get tangled with Jamie. But she did, and stuff happened, and MAN OH MAN. 

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Irresistible by Liz Bankes had me from the quote I mentioned above, which precedes even the first chapter. THIS is how I met Jamie Elliot-Fox. I knew he was trouble right away, before I even met him. No, he was toxic. Oh, this intrigued me so much! What on earth did he do to make Mia put this in her journal? THAT question, coupled with the cover of the book, made me pretty excited to read this book.

Irresistible is a fun, fun book. These characters are in their summer – between school sessions – and it seems like they’re trying to work and have a good time, just like most young people. They joke around with one another and goof off, and they get into plenty of trouble. The thing about these folks is that with wealth and privilege comes the ability to not get caught much of the time. Jamie Elliot-Fox is one of the most fun “bad-boy” type characters I’ve read about in a long time. I just loved him. He was such a jerk to most people – he did such terrible things, but he justified his behavior in claiming that his victims deserved it. It was sort of funny. His girlfriend Cleo – that gal was trouble. I could see it a mile away – I just knew. But maybe think Jamie did too, and perhaps that is why he kept her close? He certainly didn’t act like he liked her very much.

When Jamie sees Mia through the window during her interview, he keeps her stare. She isn’t sure what to do. She can see that his behavior is deplorable, and there are repercussions that are disastrous for another person. Mia knows that the truth can help the other person, but her intrigue and pull toward Jamie keep her from saying anything. This was one of the first clues to me that Mia would be a bit of a weakling…and she kept up behavior like that throughout the book. Mia was weak at times, and largely unable to make decisions for herself. She pretty much did whatever anyone told her to do – which is how she ended up with a double life to begin with and ultimately how she ended up the center of a big mess when everything blew up. (Blew up big time!) I would like to say that it would be nice for Mia to have been a bit stronger and more decisive – but honestly, if she would have been different, the book wouldn’t have been as humorous and the story wouldn’t have been as charming. So this time – this time – I’m going to say that I liked Mia’s character the way that she was, flawed as she could be. This is not my norm but I think Liz Bankes nailed Mia in this case because the story worked with an indecisive Mia Joseph. 

The drawback to an indecisive Mia is that she was two-timing Dan. Oh, poor Dan! Dan is a great guy, and that is obvious from the beginning. I liked him immediately. He was very charming and funny. And he took Mia on picnics! The two talked about plans to backpack through Europe together, and Dan walked her home in the evenings after work so she wouldn’t have to walk home. He was such a great guy that I genuinely felt bad for him because I felt like I was keeping a secret from him too. 


Back to Jamie – once Mia begins secretly seeing Jamie and thus leading her double life of seeing two boys – Jamie changes quite a bit. The Jamie that everyone else knows during the day is not the Jamie that Mia sees at night. Jamie-at-night is thoughtful and kind, and smiles all the way up to his eyes instead of throwing off smirks left and right. Jamie-at-night makes small talk that turns into conversations instead of maintaining an intimidating silence most of the time. It isn’t that Mia notices these things about him because she is spending more time with him, but he actually makes changes to himself and opens himself up to her. THIS is why I like Jamie so much – because the bad boy actually has a heart and a mind – he just doesn’t like to show it to anyone. I loved Jamie. Toxic Jamie. 


Irresistible seems like a cheating book, and I suppose it is – some readers will be put off by that and not want to pick it up at all. BUT what I took away from Irresistible is that it was the experience of a girl that fell in love and made a huge, huge mistake. Some things happened after all of that that I really enjoyed because things started looking up for Mia again. The characters are great – even the toxic/not-really-toxic Jamie Elliot-Fox, who is the star of this book, in my opinion. 


I do want to note that this book has a lot of alcohol in it for people that are under twenty-one BUT the legal drinking age is eighteen in England, which is where this story takes place. (Someone correct me on that if I am wrong. I am in the US.) I would also like to note that Irresistible is pretty steamy – steamy enough that I would recommend it for older young adult readers or adult YA-loving readers. I actually think this is more along the lines of a New Adult book rather than a Young Adult book even though I am not quite familiar with the schooling terms used in the book. 


I really liked Irresistible. It was a fun, quick read that satisfied my craving for a fun, delicious story with a fun, delicious character. I found this in the story’s toxic bad-boy, Jamie. Some readers may be put-off by the double life that Mia led, but if you are able to see that the story is about an indecisive girl that fell in love and made some mistakes, you just might enjoy this one. I’ll definitely be keeping this on my re-read shelf. 

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Irresistible will appeal to fans of:

YA/New Adult Contemporary Romance
Romance: Love triangle. 
Great Setting: England!
Characterization: Love the “bad-boy” in this one.
**Younger readers be smart! This book is for older YA/NA readers.**

Irresistible by Liz Bankes
is currently available for purchase.

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions. I received no compensation for my review. Thank you Walker Childrens and NetGalley!

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What do you think? 

Is IRRESISTIBLE on your to-read list?  

Irresistible is only $2.51 for Kindle and $2.99 for NOOK right now. 
The paperback format will be available in June. 

(I am not an affiliate of Amazon or B&N, fyi.
I just liked this story.)


*This quote taken from eARC and may appear differently in final copy.
Asheley

About Asheley

Asheley is a Southern girl. She loves Carolina blue skies, Ben & Jerry's ice cream, and NC craft beer. She loves all things history but prefers books over everything.

You can find her somewhere in North Carolina, daydreaming about the ocean.

Find Asheley on Litsy @intothehallofbooks!

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14 responses to “My Thoughts On: Irresistible by Liz Bankes

  1. I'm glad that steam from the cover delivers in the book! I love books that are set out of the US (I'm reading one now) and I cannot say no to sexy stories. (Even if there is a triangle.)

    Have I said I've given up buying books for Lent? Sigh. I'm going to have to write this down though because 2.99 for the Nook is so good. But if I press OKAY, it will launch a can of worms and all my HARD WORK FROM THE PAST WEEK (so sad) will be for nothing.

    Long Estelle rant!

    • Yes! This one is interesting because I almost think it is being marketed as YA but I really consider it more NA than YA although it isn't written *quite* as maturely as NA. BUT the steam is there! It is kind of in-between, which is neat. But I really liked this one. It was so fun AND I will read it again. And good gracious, I loved that Jamie Elliot-Fox, the *toxic* bad boy. Haha. He's such a brat but I couldn't help but fall in love with him by the end. I want to hear your thoughts!

      Gosh, no buying books! That's awesome and also tough. But good for you, E!

  2. WOOOOO. This sounds so good! I love when there are boy options (sometimes a good love triangle is just… kind of nice.. because they can be so dramatic). AND a thing happens? Sign me up. Buying this now. I must note that I really, really like how you wrote this review. You share so many great insights, but it didn't feel like too much at all. Sometimes I feel like I babble on forever in my reviews (and comments, obvs) and need to just get to the point. <3

    • I love a good triangle. This one makes for a good story – there's the good boy and the bad boy. Your heart breaks for the good boy because he's the obvious good choice, but the bad boy is so irresistible – hence the title, obviously. I told myself that I wouldn't fall for him, just like Mia, but in the end, I found him irresistible too.

      I'm very interested in your thoughts, Magan, because you're always really clear in how you feel about things and this one has some stuff in it with THE THING. So I really really am interested in what you and Estelle think.

  3. While I quite like new adult, I just can't get behind a hint of cheating, it makes me mad. And honestly, Jamie sounds like a douche which also makes me mad, I guess I am just not into that. Like, I prefer characters who are nice by day and by night, not you know douche by day, nice by night. So luckily with my mile long TBR I don't feel awful passing on this. I am glad you loved it though 🙂

    • Haha, that's okay! Jamie is absolutely a brat and a snotty boy. BUT he is indeed irresistible, just like the title suggests and I was surprised that I fell for him because I am usually a pretty level-headed girl. But I am also honest and I wanted to lay it all out there. I did feel bad for Dan, the good guy, because he got shafted when Mia was living her double life. But ultimately when I looked at the book from her point of view when everything blew up and from what she learned from her mistakes, I found the book to be overall just fun.

      There is definitely a group of people that the book will not appeal to, and I completely understand that, so I wanted to make it clear up front that the two-timing, cheating behavior was in the book. But that also, on the other hand, there was another perspective available as well.

  4. Hmm. This book does sound appealing to me but, at the same time I'm not sure if it would be something that I would be really interested in reading at the moment. Like, I'm not sure I'm in the right mind set to read something where there is a hint of cheating, or a love triangle. You know what I mean? I'm glad you enjoyed it though, and who knows maybe one day I'll decide to give it a chance, and read it too! 🙂

    • I totally get what you're saying, Allison! It's good to have books like this on your radar for when you are looking for something like this, though, and this one absolutely satisfied my sweet tooth. Basically it came at just the right time for me. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂

  5. I'm a little thrown off by the weak-willed-sounding Mia…but you totally hooked me with the fact that it's in ENGLAND. I figured "oh, restaurant decorated like a castle," but this is a legitimate castle?! I loooove the UK. And pretty much any story set there. (Well, except for Wuthering Heights…blech.) Anyway, it is now on my nook. 🙂 Thanks for the wonderful review, Asheley!

    • Yes, Mia is weak-willed and I wanted to put that out there so everybody would know it going into the book because I'm usually talking about pretty strong MC's BUT the silver lining in her weakness is that she was able to see her weakness eventually and learn from her mistakes. And yes, this is a legitimate castle, with hidden passageways and turrets (is that what they're called?) and stuff – they've turned it into a vacation destination/ hotel/ restaurant that they live in and use for income, and it is a really awesome setting, I thought. They talk about the stone floors and walls being cold and stuff.

      This one is fun, just one of those that satisfied the in-between the bigger/tougher – need something light-and-fun cravings I had and I loved it. I feel sorry for Dan because I feel like the poor guy suffered so I could have a good time, but does all right. 🙂

      Let me know your thoughts when you read it. (I thought the prices was pretty good too, right? Particularly from a big publisher as a new release!)

  6. I'm intrigued by Jamie's character, honestly. He does sound like a bad boy, but he also sounds like a person who can be redeemed from that reputation. And I do love that this is set outside the US (which is always cool)!

    HOWEVER, it'll be difficult for me to read about her seeing both boys since I've never been a fan of the cheating thing.

    We'll have to see how it goes, I suppose. I still am going to put this one on my TBR!

  7. This was a very good read. Mia is a delight Typical town girl who takes a job at a country club where she meets James He is a rich playboy who lives there It is a wonderful story of how there relationship develops It has many twists and turns but you will enjoy their journey.

    Mica
    iPad Repair Bellevue

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