Sustained
Legal Briefs, #2
by Emma Chase
A knight in tarnished armor is still a knight.
When you’re a defense attorney in Washington, DC, you see firsthand how hard life can be, and that sometimes the only way to survive is to be harder. I, Jake Becker, have a reputation for being cold, callous, and intimidating—and that suits me just fine. In fact, it’s necessary when I’m breaking down a witness on the stand.
Complications don’t work for me—I’m a “need-to-know” type of man. If you’re my client, tell me the basic facts. If you’re my date, stick to what will turn you on. I’m not a therapist or Prince Charming—and I don’t pretend to be.
Then Chelsea McQuaid and her six orphaned nieces and nephews came along and complicated the ever-loving hell out of my life. Now I’m going to Mommy & Me classes, One Direction concerts, the emergency room, and arguing cases in the principal’s office.
Chelsea’s too sweet, too innocent, and too gorgeous for her own good. She tries to be tough, but she’s not. She needs someone to help her, defend her…and the kids.
And that — that, I know how to do.
Well this was another awesome book from Emma Chase’s Legal Briefs series. I found it very difficult to put this book down for any reason and ended up devouring it in less than a day. The characters were fun, sexy, and down to earth. You also get to see Sophia and Stanton from Overruled (Book 1) which was really cool. They play a pretty big role in Jake’s life so I was glad to see they weren’t forgotten.
Jake and Chelsea meet by total accident when he brings home one of her nephews after tries to pick Jake’s pocket. Jake has always been controlled and organized in his life. Ruthless in the courtroom and all about the one night stands in his personal life. After getting an STD scare, he vows to vet his potential bed partners and its not going so well. Then this little boy bumps into him, picks his wallet, and a chase ensues. Thus begins the gradual inclusion of Jake into Chelsea’s (and her 6 orphaned nieces and nephews) life. These two fit so well together. When Jake starts coming around, he’s hesitant to help but feels theses urges to do what he can and Chelsea is so sweet and it’s obvious she’s doing the best she can but 6 kids are overwhelming at times. Chelsea is determined to take care of her family no matter what and left a graduate program back in California to do it.
I couldn’t get enough of the whole group of characters. Even the kids had me laughing. And when it really counted, they all banded together (even Jake’s friends who quickly became Chelsea’s as well). The story flowed so well and I was easily lost in this very realistic world that I found myself losing track of time while reading. I really recommend this book and if you haven’t read any from the series, I recommend starting with Overruled even though each book is a standalone. I will definitely be reading Appealed (book 3-Brent’s book) when it comes out in November. 5 out of 5 palm trees!