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James was written by USA Today Bestselling & Multi-Award Winning Author Xyla Turner

Trish:
It all started on the train platform...
He asked me to vote for him to be a State Representative. I politely declined, then the man had the nerve to ask me for my number.
What type of crooked politician was this guy...attempting to sleep around with his constituents?
Years later, I find myself face-to-face with the same man, except on his door, it read, U.S. Senator James Klinger. I asked him to support a bill that my company was hired to secure.
He, in turn, politely declined.
Great!


James:
There she was again. After losing her on the train platform that day. She was back, and this time, she wanted something from me. I wanted to know her on a deeper level even then, but now I won't let another opportunity pass me by.
She was back, and the plan was working until she found out about a political decision I made.
This could not happen again. I couldn't lose her.
I wouldn't let it.

--
Note: Readers should read Book 1, Trent, Book 2, Duncan, Book 3, Duncan's Pride, as those characters are heavily weaved into James. It is IR, BWWM, and HEA.

BONUS: Read the first chapter of Leaving Fletcher, coming in February 2020.

You can see more like this book with the following titles:
Trent | Duncan | Duncan's Pride | Crayson | Across the Tracks | Take A Knee | Always Right | Cole | 10-80: Line of Duty | 10-99: Line of Duty | Extraction | Power of the Pen | By Chance, No Choice | Undertones

189 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 24, 2020

578 people are currently reading
95 people want to read

About the author

Xyla Turner

85 books713 followers
Xyla Turner was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She has always been a writer, even as a teenager, she wrote short stories and essays that won awards and nation-wide competitions. Xyla is an avid reader of romance novels and a sucker for sassy females and dominant males. She is a lifelong learner, High School Vice-Principal and a pretty good Auntie. Outside of reading, Xyla likes to spend time with her family and friends, experiment with dangerous adventures and travel. She writes different genres, but her favorite is romance.

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5 stars
227 (46%)
4 stars
150 (30%)
3 stars
83 (16%)
2 stars
27 (5%)
1 star
2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews
Profile Image for SassafrasfromAmazon.
1,166 reviews74 followers
November 8, 2020

3 🌟

I enjoyed many parts of this book, especially the strong opinions surrounding hot political items such as special education, immigration reform and immigration deportation. Trisha is a lobbyist and James Is a US Senator. I really loved these two people because they both had integrity. They each had strong personalities, and they stood firm regarding their convictions. Another great part of the book was the appearance of beloved characters, Trent & Bernie, and Duncan & Portia, from previous books.

Still, I had problems with the book that I should have anticipated from previous books written by this author. Undoubtedly, many readers know about the eroticism in Ms. Turner’s books. Nonetheless, there were no warnings given to indicate that the book is erotic. Some readers may not know. There was spanking and lots of backdoor activity. I would have liked to have known those specifics beforehand. Also, there seemed to be some disconnect between Trish and James and their sexual escapades. IMOH, romanticism was missing from the sex scenes which may account for the disconnect that enveloped these encounters.

Moreover, the ending concluded abruptly and failed to elucidate pertinent missing information I believe to be germane to the story’s ending; in some respects, the epilogue was even more confounding. Why? The epilogue was told through the observations and musings of a child—a child whose identity, age and perception was never introduced during the book. 😳😱

Further, throughout the book there were serious editing issues, run-on sentences and wrongly used words, to name a few of them. Such issues did negatively impact my reading experience (of course this aspect may not affect some readers, but this is a big pet peeve for me).

Accordingly, for the reasons denoted above, the generous 3 star rating reflects my ambivalence about this book.
Profile Image for Shades N Pages .
1,001 reviews26 followers
February 19, 2022
This book was not at all what I expected. It started off good with James relentlessly pursuing Trish and not taking no for an answer. I enjoyed those parts. We didn’t get much out of them as individuals nor in their so called relationship. It seemed like everything faded to black. This book was very political. Not much into politics, bills and lobbying so those parts lost me. However, I did like the focus on special education and immigration. This book had the potential to be great but I felt the author fell short. It felt rushed and unfinished. I won’t even talk about the ending. Trish was just annoying and immature during parts of the book. Can we say mixed signals? Just when I thought the book was going into detail about the couples issues, it abruptly went to a wedding told from the POV of someone who wasn’t even in the book? We didn’t get any information about their therapy sessions, a proposal or even the wedding. Poor character development, plot and continuity issues. Is he a senator or a congressman? There seems to be some mixup because it switched throughout the book. I was really disappointed in this book. I expected more.
107 reviews4 followers
January 27, 2020
James and tisha

I know that every review that I write is about how I enjoyed a book, that's because I did. This story was just good as the last and I can't wait but wait for the next. Keep up the great work!!!!!!!! Thanks again
165 reviews2 followers
February 23, 2020
Disappointing.

I waited months for James' story and was seriously underwhelmed. This work felt rushed and not well developed compared to the other books in series. The relationship felt forced and inauthentic. What a shame. This story could have been so much better than what was presented.
145 reviews
February 8, 2020
Wasn’t feeling this one

Still a good story even if their actions and the time in which their relationship progressed didn’t make sense. James was very possessive and it just didn’t seem right. I didn’t feel the chemistry like I did with her other characters.
Profile Image for La Vida Rose.
605 reviews22 followers
March 20, 2020
Ok read

Not as compelling a read as the others in the Across The Aisle series. Trish and James have chemistry but even with the well written and hot love scenes, this couple didn't really ignite the Kindle like I am used to with Xyla Turner books. I also found the story to be a bit on the slow side. Thankfully, it wasn't too long and unwrapped up fine. It just wasn't a compelling read for me.
Profile Image for Janice Campbell.
203 reviews1 follower
March 9, 2021
James

I love this series just finished reading James loved it. I am glad they took their relationship serious enough to fight for it in the way of counseling. These men are not ashamed of going to counseling which is a good thing. They are planting positive seeds in their relationship before something g goes wrong, where it can't be fixed. Am sorry Georgia got arrested but am glad she left her boyfriend and although she could have been hurt am glad she fought back. Am not condoning violence but sometimes that's all some people knows. Thank you for these stories. They are really fun to read.
934 reviews8 followers
January 30, 2020
Just okay

I was on pins and needles waiting for James' book. I must say my anticipation for the book far outweighed my enjoyment of the story. Yes, I'm disappointed as the story did not impress me at all.
Profile Image for Nancy  L Thompson.
2,158 reviews15 followers
January 29, 2020
Ending!!???

The ending on this book had me scratching my head and wondering....huh??? It made no sense to me. You go from counseling to the wedding seen through a child's eyes that wasn't even in the book??? Tell me how that tied in at all?
Profile Image for Cherryl.
2,153 reviews1 follower
January 30, 2020
He wasn't taking no for an answer!

Senator James Klinger was not going to let her get away again. Now that he had lobbyist Patricia Bond in his office, she was not getting away again after their first meeting on a train platform five years before when he was running for a councilman's seat in a Maryland county. He did everything short of following her on the train to get her to agree to a date which she promptly refused. He agreed to hear her lobbying for the IDEAL act if she agreed to dinner with him. He got dessert instead which was all the IN he needed. Trish was taken aback by his aggressive pursuit of her. She was just coming out of a non-committal relationship with her ex. Everything she wanted Jeff to do, here was James doing everything she wanted, to win her heart. Win it he did, with the help of his mother's peach cobbler. Win her heart he did. From that chance meeting five years prior, he knew that Trish was destined to be his and he never forgot the effect she had on him all those years prior.

Their love and attraction for each other came at a cost of their political differences on a subject that Trish had a hard time dealing with because it was personal to her. In comes old favorite characters from previous "Across The Aisles" books to help the couple. It was great to see Trent and Bernie and Duncan and Portia lending a hand with the couple getting through their time apart. Plus, Trish had the support of wonderful girlfriends. She supported them when they needed help. It was not easy for Trish or James but they were determined, with the help of a professional to resolve their philosophical differences because they loved each other and wanted it to work, because being without each other did not work for them. Besides James was not going to give up. He had the tenacity of a dog with a bone when it came to what he wanted, and he wanted Trish.

I loved reading this series of "Across the Aisles." It shows how persons of different backgrounds and ideologies can work at solving those differences to make it work for themselves and their relationship for that hard-earned HEA.
Profile Image for Rachel.
379 reviews7 followers
Read
February 9, 2020
DNF 32%

This was another case of picking up and putting down. I really enjoyed Duncan so I was hoping James would be on par, but this was more political than anything else. Trish and James didn't come across as viable characters to me, mainly because the only description given of Trish at the percentage I stopped reading was: she was tall with brown eyes. Wooooow. What was her hair texture, body type, did she have a nose ring, beauty mark, broad nose, what kinds of clothing, music, books did she like?? And with James, XT was a bit more descriptive and what I mean by "bit", she let us know the cut of his jawline and his intense gray eyes in nearly every scene. M'kay.

There was also the issue of the mains dropping names like we, the readers were supposed to know who those people were and their relation to them. Also don't read this if you're diabetic because the mains seem to consume nothing but cupcakes, cake, and peach cobbler. But hey, everyone has a vice, right? In the end, I just couldn't connect with this because of the writing style, and the fact the mains were moreso mouthpieces in terms of getting funding for special education, a worthy cause, don't get me wrong. But I read to unplug from the politico world, and yes I get these are about senators but there has to be a balance. It was exposition after exposition with little details about the world around them and what made them who they were. Disappointing, to say the least.
Profile Image for Pamelon.
924 reviews17 followers
January 26, 2020
James and Trish was well worth the wait!!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

I've been waiting on this story for what seemed like FOREVER and Xyla as usual didn't disappoint. The brotherhood continues to grow. Trent❤Duncan❤Rich and James.❤ James and Trish were drawn to one another when they first met on the platform. They dreamed about each other but didn't meet again until 5 years later and the feeling was even stronger. They were still bickering. They're chemistry was fire hot. These two are headstrong and Alphas. I loved this couple, though they argued and bickered, giving up was not an option! James reminded me of a young Trent in some ways. He refused to give up. When he went to Trent, Duncan and Rich for advice, I just fell in love with James. Thank you Xyla for the update on characters from former books. I recommend this author and her books!❤❤❤🙋🏾‍♀️
134 reviews1 follower
Read
January 27, 2020
Great Read Real Issues

I love that X yla Turner tackles real issues in her books, even though there's a love story going on. There were super funny moments, serious, and down right angry ones as well. This book dealt with a whole lot in a little time. Education, domestic violence, immigration reform, love issues, and relationships. But there's some of my favorite people too! Trent and Portia are always a hoot. Duncan is, well, my Duncan. Mr. Vega (that's all I can ever call his dominering self). Friends, always willing to lend hand. I'm so looking forward to the next one.
Profile Image for LaTanya Galloway.
326 reviews6 followers
January 28, 2020
Grown folk

What I love about this series is these are "grown folk". There is no beating around the bush, dropping hint or none of that nonsense. These men did't come to play when they set their sight on their ladies. James was no different. He was less intense in his everyday life but when it came to Trish......he was alpha on 10! All these couples to the approach of when things got hard, they communicated and worked thorough the issue like adults. Trish just the same as the other ladies is strong to a fault and don't budge when standing up for themselves. I. Love. This. Series! And lil sweet Casey Vega at the end just melted my heart.....an alpha in the making❤
121 reviews1 follower
April 28, 2020
Good read

Rated this a 5 has outline of story have a clear history of James and Trish meeting was synonymous of their journey to link up again.

James saw Trish 5years ago and never forgot her, she remembered him when she heard his voice, she wanted him to back her lobby project to get Education bill through Congress to support less fortunate in society. Great step to take but challenging Senators to vote it through was not easy. James pushed his support by asking Trish to a sweets date, very different but effective way to get a date. All ladies have sweet tooth.

Enjoyed James and Trish journey, thoroughly recommend the reading.
841 reviews4 followers
April 26, 2021
Great story

Another great Across the Aisle Book by Xyla Turner
This one focuses on James, the policitian and Trish, the lobbyist
We also got to see Trent, Duncan, Bernie, Portia, Such from previous books.
It was fun seeing them again
As always Xyla knows how to bring serious issues, Domestic abuse and deportation
And deal with it to help the reader understand without hopefully triggering a bad experience for them
The love that Unfolds for James and Trish was beautiful and one you will enjoy reading
MS Turner never disappoints in this series and I love forward to reading Lucas story next

445 reviews4 followers
January 28, 2020
Great read

This is a great series and this was another good book in the series. I love that James and Trish shared a passion for politics. It made their relationship more real to me and being on that same level helped them understand one anothers jobs. I love that he didn't fault her for being driven and loving what she does. And I absolutely loved the back and forth they had. My only issue was it felt like it ended abruptly. Even the epilogue didnt feel like it was about then. Still a great read and I cant wait for Lucas.
4 reviews3 followers
January 29, 2020
Loved James, just wanted more

I really love the author and this series but a little disappointed in the book. The ending was abrupt and the epilogue was weird if you hadn’t read. Mr. Vega, which was a fantastic book!. I really wanted to know more about Trish & James. Could have had more character development. I really wanted to know why they did the things they did. Not that they just did them. Anyway overall a good book but expected more since the I love most of the authors books.
Profile Image for Toya  Davis-Stokley.
2,549 reviews99 followers
February 28, 2020
Alright now James!

I enjoy how you create a love story with characters that are unlikely to be together, but work. Then you add the element of a hot political button to the mix, to shake it up. James was assertive, and not playing games about getting with Trish. She tried hard to fight it, but he won her over every time. The ending felt abrupt to me. I would have loved to see them work out their issues, and see how James proposed. Hopefully in the next one, they will get their time in to resolve those issues. Good job. 👍👍👍
2,670 reviews23 followers
February 29, 2020
Good Stuff

This was a refreshing look at a couple that didn't have a perfect relationship that just fell into place. This was really well written and given much thought. I do however think that Trish to a certain extent was being unfair to James. I mean I get her feelings about her friend but letting it hang over your relationship is crazy. The writer once again brings a story that's more like food for the mine,with a little humor and a whole lot of love.This was and is such a worthy addition to the series to be enjoyed like the rest.
339 reviews4 followers
November 17, 2020
Nice

This was a good book, but I don't like how this cuts off. Instead of such a short book that cuts off 3/4 of the way with a ton of bits from other books....can we just have a better conclusion, nicer epilogue to see what happens with the couple down the line. I read this series through and liked the other books better as they had more meat to them imo, but also I just think the stories don't feel finished in a way (except for Duncan). This book more so than the others. Can we have a better epilogue/finish? Duncan was my fav!
Profile Image for Bev Simon.
541 reviews6 followers
February 4, 2020
Very satisfying story....The are worthy to be together

Would have liked to know how his Mum got on with Trish also some more interaction with Trent and Duncan's family, like what was said and how the ladies felt about all being married to politicians and what was expected of them from the wife's point of view.
Nevertheless, the couple deserved their story andd had a lovely ending.
486 reviews1 follower
March 2, 2020
Book Number 4...

This was a joy to read with another new strong intelligent woman character along with the the strong alpha male who gets said strong intelligent woman after a few hurdles and it was nice to revisit the old characters from the other books in the series and stand alone books as they seem like old friends. Sad that this is the second to the end of the series, but hope have these characters revisit in some stand alone books from Ms. Turner.
308 reviews5 followers
April 20, 2020
Great Series

So far, I have loved every book in this series. I loved how James knew what he wanted and when he got his opportunity, he took it, and didn't let anything stand in his way. Not even Trish. At times, Trish was a bit much and annoyingly as freak but, she got her stuff together and managed not to get in her own way, and kept her man. This book, and the entire series, are must reads.
443 reviews6 followers
June 27, 2021
My least favourite of the series. I liked James and Trish but I just didn't feel the supposed romance between them. Also their main issue was never really resolved, the ending was really abrupt, and the epilogue was from Casey Vega's pov (Logan's son from Mr. Vega) which made no damn sense to me.

I will say I like Trent more and more as the series goes on and his input tends to bring comedy value so there is that I guess?
Profile Image for Stephanie Jynelle.
1,251 reviews8 followers
September 11, 2022
Love can conquer all

5 years. Sometimes you just know who your person is before the right time comes. These 2 definitely lit sparks from the first look. That second encounter was the universe letting them know that it was time. Differences in politics were not the true obsticle, judgement without purpose and reason were. Love this series and seing all of the couples from other stories in this series. Can't wait to see who is next.
Profile Image for Nycskpe.
766 reviews
February 1, 2020
😎😎😎

This follows along with the previous books Trent, and Duncan. Great Alpha stories with strong personalities clashing. I enjoyed the dialogue between James and Trish. Though, at times I was frustrated me with her emotional Outburst over situations and decisions James had made prior to their relationship.
Overall a very good book in the series is one worth reading.
Profile Image for Cammyjoe.
1,425 reviews8 followers
February 26, 2020
Great read!!

Keep them coming Xyla. .😁
Awesome read, I enjoyed it a looooootttt! James is the kind of guy that make your heart beats faster... And him and sassy, bada** Trish are magical, these two are FIRE ,in and out of the bedroom. I wish there was a scene when Trish meet the parents ( peach cobbler and all).
Dylan Turner you ROCK, Kitten!!😁,
Great read!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 79 reviews

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