Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Sustained (The Legal Briefs, #2) by Emma Chase {ends 9/4}

I've heard people talk about anxiety. Nerves. But that doesn't happen to me. I don't get nervous before an opening statement or a closing one, not when my boss calls me to his office for a meeting, and sure as hell not before a hookup. I guess I just never cared about anything - or anyone - enough to anxious about things not working out. I always figured I'd be able to fix it or find an equal option to replace it. 

You know what I'm goign to say next, don't you?

Yes: standing outside Chelsea's tightly closed bedroom door, I'm fucking nervous.

I've read one of Emma Chase's books previously, and she sometimes writes from the male's POV; this book does that as well. Chick lit, especially New Adult (R-rated), is usually from a woman's point-of-view, so it's always interesting to read a book from a man's (especially as written by a woman!).

Official synopsis:

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.

This novel is the second novel in Chase's The Legal Briefs series, but can definitely be read as a standalone novel - I haven't read the first book in the series, Overruled, but I'd like to read it now, as it focuses on two friends of Jake's. Appealed, the third book in the series, will be out on November 17th, and focuses on another of Jake's friends, Brent. 

I found this to be a fun and fast read. Jake Becker is a bit of a "manwhore" - he doesn't get attached to his partners, and hasn't had a legit girlfriend in a while - but when he gets a diagnosis of syphilis, from someone he slept with, he starts to rethink his life. Soon after, he meets Chelsea, a 26-year-old who is now the sole guardian of her six nieces and nephews, since their parents passed away in a car accident a few months previously. He's having all these ... feelings for her (he's confused at first), because she's gorgeous ... but he also gets attached to the kids, too, and ends up hanging around the house a lot as sort of a stand-in father. 

Some of the sex scenes in this book were actually kind of funny to read, but overall it was a quick read that fans of Chase's other books should enjoy. It's definitely a New Adult book, meaning it has a good plot but there's also some R-rated (sex) scenes thrown in their too. I want to go back and read Overruled at some point too, to see how Stanton and Sofia met (two of Jake's friends, who are now married in this book). 

3.5 stars out of 5.

The Legal Briefs series:

Overruled (#1 - purchase)

Sustained (#2 - purchase)

Appealed (#3 - pre-order)

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

GIVEAWAY:

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Friday, September 4th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified the next day via email and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen. 

Winner will receive a paperback copy of Sustained. 

U.S. and Canadian residents only, please.

Good luck!

Sustained