Title: Overruled (The Legal Briefs, #1)
by Emma Chase
Date of Publication: April 28th 2015
Genre: New Adult | Romance
Synopsis:
A Washington, DC, defense attorney, Stanton Shaw keeps his head cool, his questions sharp, and his arguments irrefutable. They don’t call him the Jury Charmer for nothing—with his southern drawl, disarming smile, and captivating green eyes, he’s a hard man to say no to. Men want to be him, and women want to be thoroughly cross examined by him.
Stanton’s a man with a plan. And for a while, life was going according to that plan.
Until the day he receives an invitation to the wedding of his high school sweetheart, the mother of his beloved ten-year-old daughter. Jenny is getting married—to someone who isn’t him.
That’s definitely not part of the plan.
***
Sofia Santos is a city-raised, no-nonsense litigator who plans to become the most revered criminal defense attorney in the country. She doesn’t have time for relationships or distractions.
But when Stanton, her “friend with mind-blowing benefits,” begs her for help, she finds herself out of her element, out of her depth, and obviously out of her mind. Because she agrees to go with him to The-Middle-Of-Nowhere, Mississippi, to do all she can to help Stanton win back the woman he loves. Her head tells her she’s crazy…and her heart says something else entirely.
What happens when you mix a one-stop-light town, two professional arguers, a homecoming queen, four big brothers, some Jimmy Dean sausage, and a gun-toting Nana?
The Bourbon flows, passions rise, and even the best-laid plans get overruled by the desires of the heart.
Honestly, it was hard reviewing this book because I’ve read and loved the Tangled series. Those books made me laugh like nothing else had before. So while reading a whole new other books from Emma, I can’t help but compare it to her former works. I kept thinking, uh oh, can Emma make me love these new characters as much as I loved her Tangled gang? But putting that aside, I tried to review this book as honestly as I could.
I have read over a hundred NA books, but it can be counted on one hand the number of that genre I've read that features lawyers. Having said that, let me tell you that I’ve really enjoyed this one. Emma’s trademark wit and sarcasm is present, the laugh-out-loud moments were numerous and smart and sexy characters grace the pages of this book.
What I really loved about this though, was the apparent gentle side of the male lead, Stanton Shaw. Sure he could be really ruthless inside the courtroom but as a man, it’s obvious that he’s really loving. Forgive me for bringing up one of Tangled’s character but he is reminiscent of Matthew in the 3rd book, Tamed. Yep, Stanton Shaw is a sweetheart (just don’t tell him I said that).
As for the female lead, Sofia Santos, I think she’s smart but most of the time here, her brain got overruled by her heart (yep, see what I did there?). At first, I think she will finally break the long line of female leads in the NA world who falls for her friend-with-benefit. But the heart won, after all. Nevertheless, Sofia was a strong female lead with just enough vulnerability to make her really likable. I’m gonna be honest, though. Even if I’m Team Sofia all the way, there were moments there when I really wanted Stanton and Jenny to get back together. They were really an awesome couple when they’re younger and that translated to their relationship 10 years later.
The other characters were what made this book even more exciting. Jenny’s Nana was super hilarious and Stanton and Sofia’s colleagues in DC were pretty funny, too. Overall, they have a cool gang of friends and family in this book that did something to make Stanton + Sofia happen.
As a whole, Overruled is a fun, laid-back, laugh-out-loud New Adult romance with a heart. It made me laugh, made me teary-eyed, made me angry and evoked all other emotion from me. Though not perfect, I can say that Emma Chase delivered with this book once again. I can’t wait to read the next books coming after this one!
4/5 Overruled by emotions Star
Giveaway (int'l)!!!
About the Author:
By day, Emma Chase is a devoted wife and mother of two who resides in a small, rural town in New Jersey. By night she is a keyboard crusader, toiling away the hours to bring her colorful characters and their endless antics to life. She has a long standing love/hate relationship with caffeine.Emma is an avid reader. Before her children were born she was known to consume whole books in a single day. Writing has also always been a passion and with the 2013 release of her debut romantic comedy, Tangled, the ability to now call herself an author is nothing less than a dream come true.
Love,
This looks great! Great post!
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