Sunday, May 3, 2015

Book Review: Overruled

Overruled (The Legal Briefs, #1)Author: Emma Chase
Publication Date: April 28, 2015
Publisher: Gallery
Series: The Legal Briefs # 1


Emma Chase, New York Times bestselling author of the Tangled series, returns with the first installment of the Legal Briefs series!

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 and 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 and 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.


“You’re so stubborn – you’re so stuck on what you think is supposed to be there, that you’re missin’ what’s right in front of you.”

Young love is strong. First love is powerful. But what you don’t know when you’re young – what you can’t know – is how long life actually is. And the only dependable thing about it, besides death and taxes, is change.

We all know what happens when we play with matches – but I will not get burned. I’m like…the hand that passes through the flame of the candle without getting burned. I’m fireproof.


Sex with Stanton is exhilarating; working beside him is a privilege. But loving him…that just hurts.

I love a good Emma Chase story! The first book in a series always makes me nervous, especially if it is an author that I thoroughly enjoy. I am always hoping to love it and scared that I won’t. Of course, Emma Chase does not disappoint! The story starts with Stanton and Jenny, a young couple who got pregnant as teenagers. Stanton, after much hard decision, decides to take the full ride law scholarship that was offered to him and he and Jenny decide to maintain an open relationship. I will be honest and say that I did not know how to feel about this at first, but I promise you will learn to adjust as you read. Stanton stays in New York and maintains a long distance relationship with Jenny and his darling daughter. However, in New York he falls into a “friends with benefits” relationship with his sexy co-worker, Sofia. I LOVE Sofia. She is strong, confident, and sassy to her core. Sofia has no plans in messing up what Stanton has with Jenny, but can Stanton ever live without Sofia? That is the real question.

I usually do not like reading the male point of view, but then again I have never read it quite like Emma writes it. It is always exhilarating and very entertaining. This story is not easy to read because of the two women involved, but it is nice to see how it pans out in the end. Let’s not pretend that this type of relationship does not exist in today’s society because we know it does, even though that does not make it right. However, Emma is able to spin a tale so full of drama, love, angst, and real, raw emotion that most times you forget about Stanton’s flawed characteristics you just want so desperately to find out what is going to happen ultimately. I cannot wait to continue on with this series!


***A free copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Gallery Books in exchange for my honest review***





2 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed Tangled by Emma Chase so I'm excited to see how this one will go. Glad to hear you enjoyed it! Can't wait :)

    Haraiah @ Random Things In Action

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  2. Glad you enjoyed! I know the feeling of being worried that a new series by a favorite author won't be your cup of tea, but it's good that this one was worth it. :)

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