REVIEW: Overruled by Emma Chase

In Overruled (The Legal Briefs #1)by Emma Chase, Stanton Shaw has spent the last ten years trying to balance school, then his promising career as a defense attorney in Washington D.C., with his girlfriend Jenny and their young daughter Presley remain back in Mississippi. Through it all, he’s planned on them all being together one day, under one roof as a family. In the meantime, Stanton has some approved freedom for physical pursuits. And Sofia, a lovely fellow attorney has become his FWB. So when a wedding invitation arrives announcing the end of his dreams, Stanton recruits Sofia to help him win back Jenny. But things don’t turn out quite the way he plans, and he may need to reevaluate his entire future.

“I’m in love with you, Jenny.”
Her eyes are dry, but there are tears in her voice. “No, you’re not. It’s an echo. Of who we were, the promises we made, the passion we had. But an echo’s not real — you can’t build a life on it. It’s just a memory of a sound.”

Sofia Santos knows she’s flirting with danger every time she and Stanton are together. He may be keeping it casual, but she’s becoming more emotionally invested in their relationship than she planned. That’s why, when he throws a bombshell her way and asks her to go to Mississippi with him, Sofia says yes when she should say no. Watching Stanton pine over another woman in front of her is torture. But she knows he has a family to think of. Too bad Sofia can see that Jenny is moving on. Now if she can only convince Stanton that what they have is real, that would be like winning the biggest case of her life.

‘I can’t stand by and pretend to help him fight for her. Because I want him to fight for me. More than anything. For him to want me — not just as a friend or a lover. But as his forever. Like she is.’

Overruled is even more proof as to why I have come to look forward to every single book Emma Chase releases. She never lets me down with her dirty-mouthed alpha men and those kickass ladies I admire.

I will confess I went into this new series wondering how in the world it would ever live up to the Tangled series. I mean…how could anything come close to Drew Evans and Kate Brooks as a couple? So, okay, I’m still a ‘Drew-Girl’ through and through, but I will tell you this: Stanton gives Drew a run for his money. I’ll admit to being a sucker for a kindhearted guy with a Southern accent. And Emma Chase definitely did right by us readers with Stanton’s take charge attitude, legal maneuvering, boyish charm, and moral aptitude. *dreamy sigh*

Sofia was every bit as tough and intelligent as Stanton, which proved to be extraordinarily fun as they verbally sparred and tried to outwit each other. I liked that they challenged each other as lawyers, yet were supportive as well, working as a team on cases. But when they hit the bedroom? It was all on Stanton to run the show. That was pretty interesting to see Sofia finally give up control and let someone else lead the way. And I thought it was done in a manner which was hot as hell, of course, but where Stanton and Sofia still respected one another while having fun.

Now, I was a bit wary when the storyline was with Stanton and Jenny living so far apart and with the option of seeing other people casually. How could that possibly ever work? It didn’t seem plausible, especially with them being young parents to Presley. But that plays into the plot and it was a situation where it really makes the reader think about what would happen if we were in their shoes. Although they made some missteps along the way, things ended up working out just fine and the way they were meant to.

Humor. Mayhem. First Love. New Love. Passion. These are just some of the wonderful tidbits we get in Overruled. If you’re not already a fan of Emma Chase’s writing style, I think this book will close the deal.

Book Info:

Publication: April 28th 2015 by Gallery Books | 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.

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.