“Overruled” Book Review

May 14, 2015 / 0 comments

“Overruled” Book ReviewOverruled by Emma Chase
Series: Legal Briefs #1
Published by Gallery Books on April 28th 2015
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Purchase @ AMAZON  or  BN
Add to Goodreads
Rating 

As 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.

Liezel’s Thoughts:

I absolutely loved Emma Chase’s Tangled Series and thought that there was no way she would create another series that could even compare. She sure did prove me wrong with this first installment of The Legal Brief Series  because Overruled   was just as good if not more! What I loved most about it was it felt like I was reading three love stories in one.

The first part highlights Stanton and Jenny’s relationship as teenagers.  I don’t know about you guys but I can’t get enough of stories that portray first love especially when they are  well written such as this one. Theirs was one that was well-played out. Their friendship was unbreakable, the connection was unmistakable and their feelings for each other ran deep. Even when their situation at one point wasn’t ideal they were mature enough and  loved each other enough to make the right decision to set each other free. I was convinced that no matter how much distance became between them that they could survive it but….

“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.”

The author hit it right on the nail with the quotation above which fast forwards us to current time. Stanton is now a successful trial lawyer and in a different relationship with his co-counsel attorney Sofia Santos. This relationship was based on “friends with benefits”… and I tell you these two were reaping the benefits  crazy-mad. The chemistry and passion between these two was ridiculous and for the life of me I couldn’t understand why they didn’t take their relationship to the next level. Come to find out that Stanton still  (or  he thought he had) hung-up on his first love Jenny.

Stanton is astounded when he first hears that Jenny is getting married and so he decides that he needs to go back to his hometown and is adamant that Sofia go with him. Sounds like T_R_O_U_B_L_E is about to ensure and at this point I’m thinking how dense and oblivious can Stanton be? This however brings us the most interesting part of the story… when Stanton finally comes to the realization that after all this time his love for Jenny  isn’t what it once was and finding out what the turning point in this entire situation was deliciously amazing!

“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.”

All the magnificence doesn’t stop there.  After Stanton finds his closure he now has to convince Sofia that what they have is real. I did have my doubts that Stanton wouldn’t be able to redeem himself after what he put her through and   felt anxious thinking it would be too late for them. I was happy to see that I was worrying for nothing. Stanton was definitely willing to put in just as much effort as he did in his previous relationship which Sofia 100% deserved.

“Jenny will always be my friend, the mother of the little girl who owns my heart, the first girl that I loved….but you Sofia…I swear, if you let me…you will be the last.”

What I also adored about the book were the likable characters especially Stanton. Early on I took a liking to him because he was represented himself as honorable and loyal which was so unexpected at that age. Loved him! I Sofia was remarkable as well. I didn’t think she would be able to pull of meeting the family that flawlessly but she sure did and she did it in style. I personally have issues when too many characters are thrown into a story but in this instance every single person from Carter to Nana and even JD – each played a vital role in this story which I thought was impressive.

I also commend the author for creating a story that was relatable. We all have these unforgettable memories of growing up, have that family member that we sometimes refuse to acknowledge,  experienced that first day leaving the nest and going to college and of course  experienced  falling in love that very  first time. All those and more are brought forth in this story.

I absolutely loved how Emma Chase was able to stick to her writing style in this new and promising series. She certainly delivered yet another terrific romance that was not just smoldering  hot but was just as amusing as well. I enjoyed this one and I can’t wait to see how the series further develops.

The Verdict:

rating-4

About Emma Chase

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.



Leave a Reply