Review: Overruled by Emma Chase
Overruled (The Legal Briefs #1)
by: Emma Chase
Publication Date: Apr. 28, 2015
Publisher: Gallery Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: Adult
Source: e-ARC received via the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 272 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 5/5 stars
Emma Chase, New York Times bestselling author of the Tangled Series, returns with the first installment of the Legal Briefs Series. A
s a 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 and 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 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.
s a 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 and 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 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.
When I first started this one, I was a little worried about how things would go with Stanton, Jenny, and Sofia. Chase paints us a picture of how things with Stanton and Jenny used to be, so I was afraid it was going to be a really emotional, really messy book with hearts being broken. I've read Chase's Tangled series, so I should have really known better. Instead, it's a book about growing up, moving on, and letting go. I not only enjoyed the storyline immensely, but I also fell in love with a new set of characters!
Stanton Shaw is one sexy SOB. Seriously. I loved him. There were moments where I wanted to shake him, sure, but overall you can't deny this man's appeal. He's a public defense lawyer, has swagger for days, and loves his daughter unconditionally. Oh and he's definitely an expert in other areas....
He has a friends with benefits arrangement going on with his co-counsel Sofia Santos, who I also adored. She's pretty badass and reminded me a lot of Kate (from Tangled). She is extremely driven and loves her career. She hasn't wanted a relationship because relationships are complicated and she doesn't have time for all of that. Her arrangement with Stanton works. I felt it was absolutely mutual. By the time she starting having lingering feelings for him, so did he. It just took him a bit longer to get his head out of his rear and 'fess up to it! (Isn't that the case with most guys?) Their situation starts to change subtly- her spending the night for the first time, him getting jealous over another guy ogling her. However, Stanton is hit with the news that his ex, Jenny and mother of his child is engaged to another man. This obviously upsets him because he always thought it would be him.
I get why Stanton runs off to try and dissuade her. He thinks he's still in love with her. She's the one who pushed him to go to school across the country and then told him it was ok for them to have an open relationship. There was a part of him that always wanted to go back and be a family, but at the same time, both of them have grown up and have become different people. Having previously both been attached, they did engage in sexual activity while he was home visiting, but neither one made any promises to one another. I think Jenny always knew how their relationship would play out from the beginning when she sent him away to live out his dreams. Jenny isn't some random woman he hooked up with and impregnated. She was his first love and has always considered her his girl. They've been best friends even before they were lovers, so I get why he does what he does. Sofia is not the other woman in this situation, infringing on a happy relationship and trying to ruin it.
I loved seeing Stanton and Sofia back at home in Mississippi. His family, Jenny's family, their friends... it was so much fun. Sure, there were times when my heart hurt for Sofia because you could tell she was falling for him and it would sting when he would go off to try and talk sense into Jenny. But there wasn't a lot of that. He always had Sofia's back and was protective of her and cared about her. When he finally realizes that Jenny isn't the one for him, that he's been chasing a shadow of a memory, he begins the process of letting go and moving forward. He and Jenny will always share a daughter together and he will always love her, but there's no passion, no heat, no sparks.
I am really excited to continue this series. I enjoyed Brent and Jake's characters, two other lawyers who also work at the same firm as Sofia and Stanton. This book definitely did it for me. I loved the chemistry between Sofia and Stanton. They complement each other so well and you know they are meant to be together as soon as they cross into Mississippi lines. They have some seriously sexy times and I loved how they both know what they want and aren't afraid to give and take. The epilogue was so perfect for these two and I felt it was important for the readers to see that progression for them as a couple. This book was a huge win for me and I can't wait for more!
7 comments
I haven't read Chase's other books even though I keep hearing about them, so maybe I'll grab this one instead and give it a shot. It sounds really good! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and great review
ReplyDeleteYay, good to hear! You know I hate kids in books but I love Emma Chase. Will be listening to this soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed this, Jess.
ReplyDeleteHaha! Sexy SOB is the perfect description for Stanton! Sure he was a douche, but he was very upfront about what he wanted out of women. I did feel hurt for Sofia though. She was such a great character. I can't wait for Jake's book. That sampler at the end was precious. :)
Lovely review, Jess!
*sigh* I gotta make time for her books soon... been meaning to for so long now! Glad to know her new series is great too. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI been thinking about reading this one for a while now and you just made me buy it heehee. I can't wait to read it. Awesome review hun xoxo
ReplyDeleteI know you and Nick both enjoyed this, but it doesn't sound like my thing AT ALL. I'm sure the writing is great and funny (I loved Tangled!), but the whole situation really bugs me. :( I'm hoping I can jump into the series with the next book!
ReplyDeleteNot sure if my comment worked....... anyway, I think this one sounds interesting and it's available on audio so I may do that. :) Plus I loved tangled so I feel like I'd like this one too.
ReplyDeleteLeave me some comment love! And I will get around to commenting back!
My blog is an award-free blog, however, as I just do not have the time to follow-up.