REVIEW: OVERRULED by Emma Chase

Release Date: April 28th 2015

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22923997-overruled?from_search=true

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.

Buy Links ~

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1P1Ef9O
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1GrTGmU

Review

Emma Chase creates heroes who while flawed and foul mouthed are also captivating and endearing, deeper than their macho façade portrays. Chase’s newest hero, Stanton Shaw, is a man after Drew Evans’ heart – at least the older version of Stanton. I’m sure the “old Drew” would have a thing or two to say about the “pansy ass” Stanton who wanted to do right by his high school girlfriend, Jenny, and his baby girl, Presley. But for readers, Stanton’s need to take care of his daughter and Jenny despite his future goals makes him extremely likeable. Stanton’s complexity as a character, though, will also make readers extremely frustrated because his vision of how things are “supposed to be” cannot be dissuaded and when that path goes awry, his stubbornness leads him to make decisions that not only affect him but those he cares about in ways he can’t even begin to comprehend because his headstrong focus won’t allow him to delineate from the course he’s followed ever since he was young.

Chase’s heroines are her cocky heroes perfect match. Any woman who can bring a man to his knees knows how to hold her own, and that’s exactly the type of woman that Sofia Santos is. She’s a passionate and driven lawyer just like Stanton and she knows how to handle Stanton in all areas of his life, which is exactly what Stanton needs when his life threatens to implode, requiring him to head back to his hometown and make a play dragging Sofia along for the ride.

Sofia is extremely self-assured and portrays herself to be okay with the no strings relationship she has with Stanton, but through her point of view, readers grow to understand just how much she cares for Stanton, and it’s heartbreaking to witness a clueless Stanton unknowingly shred Sofia’s heart when she agrees to help keep him grounded as he works to make things right for his family.

Emma Chase also creates stellar secondary characters, and Overruled has them in abundance. Between Stanton and Sofia’s friends, Sofia’s family, Stanton’s daughter, Presley, and Jenny’s nana, there’s a plethora of hilarious, witty, and emotional moments that add so much goodness to the storyline, which means that future books in the series are going to continue to include fantastic supporting characters and allow those characters who readers have already met to have their time in the spotlight.

I have to admit…I didn’t know if Overruled was going to be a book for me because I couldn’t see how the dynamics between Stanton, Jenny, and Sofia were going to work without the whole cheating vibe ebbing into the storyline, but to my delight, it doesn’t have that feel at all. Loving someone and being in love with someone are two concepts that are explored in Overruled and being able to understand the difference between them is what the characters have to work through, especially Stanton, which means hurt feelings, overreactions, and heartache around prominent emotions strewn throughout the text.

Once again, Emma Chase’s sweet and filthy talking alpha male made me swoon and want to kick him in the face at the same time. The moments between Stanton and his daughter are beyond precious, and the times Stanton acts without thinking are situations where he needs a wakeup call, but warts and all, Stanton is a fantastic hero, and his and Sofia’s story is must read!

A complimentary copy was provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.

4/4.5 poison apples

About the Author

By day, Emma Chase is a devoted wife and mother who resides in a small, rural town in New Jersey. By night, she toils away bringing 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.