REVIEW: Courtroom Drama by Neely Tubati Alexander

In Courtroom Drama by Neely Tubati Alexander, Sydney Parks and her best friend and roommate Mel have spent countless hours on the couch watching the reality show Authentic Moms of Malibu (AMOM). So, when Syd gets picked for jury duty and the case turns out to be the much-hyped murder trial of Margot Kitsch, a cast member from AMOM, she can’t believe her luck. Being sequestered during the trial will be a challenge. But she’s excited to be in the same room as one of her favorite reality TV stars–and to possibly help Margot be found not guilty of murdering her husband. Then Syd’s world explodes. Because one of her fellow jurors is Damon Bradburn, her former childhood best friend she hasn’t seen in a decade. And just like that, years of anger, loss, and questions come flooding back.

‘I wish I could undo the growing doubt that scrapes at my thoughts with each new witness.’

It’s clear from day one of the trial that Sydney and Damon still have that same connection, the same spark that was always there. She’s not certain it’s a good idea to foster those feelings, though. And not just because of the judge’s non-fraternization rule. No, this goes deeper. Syd still harbors resentment toward Damon about how things ended between them when they were sixteen. But as each day ticks by, and with every stolen conversation they share, she realizes that the decisions they made as teens aren’t the same ones they’d make today. And Syd can only hope that after the circus of a trial is finally over, she and Damon can find a way to stay in each other’s lives–romantic or friendship, she’s not sure. She just knows she can’t lose him a second time.

“I don’t remember a me that didn’t love you.”

Former childhood besties stuck on a jury together for a reality star’s murder trial, COURTROOM DRAMA had a reunion romance with a huge backstory as well as all the many discoveries and aha! moments from the witness stand.

‘When I saw Damon that first day in the courtroom hallway, I thought it was a punishment of some kind, being trapped here with my past. Now, I might just believe it’s a gift.’

CW: View Spoiler »Cheating (secondary cast), emotional & verbal abuse (historical), adolescent death, drug use mentioned. « Hide Spoiler

In Neely Tubati Alexander’s newest novel, COURTROOM DRAMA, the theatrics weren’t just seen during the trial. The dozen or so jurors gave the lawyers, defendant, and witnesses a run for their money with their antics–mainly during their downtime in the aging hotel where they were sequestered. And the shenanigans were understandable considering the seriousness of the case and the jurors’ sheer boredom outside the courthouse. But it was former childhood best friends Sydney and Damon who found the most time to spend together secretly, reintroducing themselves to each other ten years after they last spoke. And they had a lot to discuss.

I’m all about second chance romances and this one was a doozy. Damon and Sydney were the closest of friends from about age eleven until a big betrayal split them apart at sixteen, just when things were beginning to turn more romantic. The drama between their families affected them greatly. So, you can imagine that after a decade with no communication, Syd seeing Damon again on their way to the courtroom was a shock. It did take some time for them to open up again. But I loved how much it meant to both of them to get a chance to finally talk things out and with how much they still cared for each other.

Digging into the past brought up some difficult memories, but Syd and Damon realized that most of the best moments in their lives were when they were together as teens. The trial made it tricky to find alone time to be able to talk openly but they made it work. It did seem like the drama from the case–as interesting as it was–took center stage for a lot of the book. But to me it made Damon and Syd’s scenes that much more poignant. There were a couple of fairly shocking twists toward the end that will have readers seeing things differently but overall, the finale was on a positive note with a promising future for the couple.

QOTD: Have you had to serve on jury duty? If so, any interesting or fun tidbits to share?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: May 20, 2025 | Harper Perennial |

Legally Blonde and Jury Duty meet The Real Housewives in this high-stakes courtroom love story—a sexy and sweet but heartfelt novel about friendship, romance, and reality television from the acclaimed author of Love Buzz and In a Not So Perfect World.

Sydney Parks thinks she might be the first person in the world to look forward to serving jury duty. When Margot Kitsch, an OG cast member of the hit reality show Authentic Moms of Malibu is arrested after the untimely death of her cast member husband, Joe, Sydney knows being selected for the jury is the most interesting thing that ever happened to her.

However, it doesn’t take long for Sydney to realize that being part of a sequestered jury in a high-profile case is not at all what legal dramas had led her to expect—especially when she learns that her childhood best friend, Damon, whom she hasn’t seen in ten years, is also a jury member.

As the trial wears on, Sydney realizes there’s a lot more to the case than she first thought. And there’s also a lot more to Damon—she soon finds herself falling under his spell despite the court’s instructions not to fraternize. His tendency to break the rules and find adventure is hard to resist in their otherwise dull juror’s world. But getting close to Damon also means having to face the complicated reasons their friendship abruptly ended just when they were on the precipice of something more.

With all the drama in and out of the courtroom, how is Sydney supposed to ignore the fraught history between them? How is she supposed to avoid him when he’s sitting next to her in the jury box every day with his broad shoulders and intoxicating smell? And how is she supposed to ensure Margot gets a fair trial if her unfinished business with Damon causes the mistrial of the century?