"Most stories finish at the end.
But not this one.
This one finishes with a whole new beginning."
But not this one.
This one finishes with a whole new beginning."
--Emma Chase, Overruled
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 288
Publication Date: April 28th, 2015
Source: Gifted to me by Steph--thanks, bitch!
Other Books in Series: Sustained
Goodreads Description
Emma Chase, New York Times bestselling author of the Tangled series, returns with the first installment of the Legal Briefs series!
A Washington, 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, the 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 her 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.
Emma Chase, New York Times bestselling author of the Tangled series, returns with the first installment of the Legal Briefs series!
A Washington, 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, the 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 her 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.
The Characters
I recently read Sustained, the second book in the companion series, first and fucking fell in love with it. It was hilarious, heart-warming, and all things sexy. I knew I had to go back and read Overruled, the first book, Stanton and Sofia's story. I was a little hesitant because the premise is Stanton taking Sofia home as a friend so that he can woo his high school love and mother of his child back and not get married to another mean.
*Phew* exhausting, right? But Emma Chase handled this very complicated emotional situation SO WELL. How she writes Stanton and Jenny--the teenage love and woman getting married to somebody else--is perfect. While Stanton has his head up his ass about what emotions are really present, it is clear to see their friendship and love runs deep but not romantically and I thought it was handled so fantastically.
Stanton is charming and a total douche at the same time. He has his head so far up his ass he doesn't see what is right in front of him and the dumbass doesn't even know his own emotions. It's endearing in a totally idiotic way but I love him nonetheless. Sofia is incredible though. She knows she and Stanton and friends with benefits and truly wants what is best for him/what he wants. He wants to be with Jenny and his daughter, she respects this and helps him while breaking her own heart and while he continues to come to her for *ahem* help. I truly loved how much Sofia valued her friendship with Stanton and didn't play the jealous other woman when she went home with him. It was incredible.
The Setting
Speaking of home, home for Stanton is Sunshine, Mississippi. It was your run-of-the-mill middle of nowhere and I loved every second of it. The horror Sofia has over the lack of amenities and no wi-fi, no 'business district', one stoplight, it was too funny. The barbecues, the trailer park party, racing tractors, I'm not kidding you, I was DYING laughing my ass off at these fucking hicks. It was too endearing for words and I wanted to take a trip to this town and have some fun and drink some moonshine. I just could not with how much I enjoyed reading about this town. Stanton's other siblings...DYING. The under the age of legal consent sister hitting on Brent, the nudist hippie older brother, all of it.
I am a city girl who loves the outdoors so I feel like I got the best of both worlds in this book. It was the extreme end of small town and I love reading stories taking place there. It makes you feel a part of something unique and special and small, in the best way. I just couldn't get enough of Sunshine, Mississippi.
The Romance
While I thought it would be hard to root for this story, I found it just the opposite. As I said above, Chase writes this story so perfectly balanced that while Stanton is a clueless moron, the reader knows what's up and I enjoyed it immensely because of it. Just because he couldn't see what was clearly right in front of his face doesn't mean the rest of the world couldn't. Don't let the premise fool you, it's an amazing and heartfelt story to root for. I was surprised by the feels I had while reading because Sofia's acute disappointment just pulled at my heart strings. I felt connected to her feelings and the emotions that followed. It was weird because the page kept blurring and shit kept getting in my eyes. Seriously.
I recently read Sustained, the second book in the companion series, first and fucking fell in love with it. It was hilarious, heart-warming, and all things sexy. I knew I had to go back and read Overruled, the first book, Stanton and Sofia's story. I was a little hesitant because the premise is Stanton taking Sofia home as a friend so that he can woo his high school love and mother of his child back and not get married to another mean.
*Phew* exhausting, right? But Emma Chase handled this very complicated emotional situation SO WELL. How she writes Stanton and Jenny--the teenage love and woman getting married to somebody else--is perfect. While Stanton has his head up his ass about what emotions are really present, it is clear to see their friendship and love runs deep but not romantically and I thought it was handled so fantastically.
Stanton is charming and a total douche at the same time. He has his head so far up his ass he doesn't see what is right in front of him and the dumbass doesn't even know his own emotions. It's endearing in a totally idiotic way but I love him nonetheless. Sofia is incredible though. She knows she and Stanton and friends with benefits and truly wants what is best for him/what he wants. He wants to be with Jenny and his daughter, she respects this and helps him while breaking her own heart and while he continues to come to her for *ahem* help. I truly loved how much Sofia valued her friendship with Stanton and didn't play the jealous other woman when she went home with him. It was incredible.
The Setting
Speaking of home, home for Stanton is Sunshine, Mississippi. It was your run-of-the-mill middle of nowhere and I loved every second of it. The horror Sofia has over the lack of amenities and no wi-fi, no 'business district', one stoplight, it was too funny. The barbecues, the trailer park party, racing tractors, I'm not kidding you, I was DYING laughing my ass off at these fucking hicks. It was too endearing for words and I wanted to take a trip to this town and have some fun and drink some moonshine. I just could not with how much I enjoyed reading about this town. Stanton's other siblings...DYING. The under the age of legal consent sister hitting on Brent, the nudist hippie older brother, all of it.
I am a city girl who loves the outdoors so I feel like I got the best of both worlds in this book. It was the extreme end of small town and I love reading stories taking place there. It makes you feel a part of something unique and special and small, in the best way. I just couldn't get enough of Sunshine, Mississippi.
The Romance
While I thought it would be hard to root for this story, I found it just the opposite. As I said above, Chase writes this story so perfectly balanced that while Stanton is a clueless moron, the reader knows what's up and I enjoyed it immensely because of it. Just because he couldn't see what was clearly right in front of his face doesn't mean the rest of the world couldn't. Don't let the premise fool you, it's an amazing and heartfelt story to root for. I was surprised by the feels I had while reading because Sofia's acute disappointment just pulled at my heart strings. I felt connected to her feelings and the emotions that followed. It was weird because the page kept blurring and shit kept getting in my eyes. Seriously.
Backstage Pass
If you love small towns, hilarious banter, and good ole' fashion fun...this book is for you.
If you love small towns, hilarious banter, and good ole' fashion fun...this book is for you.
Aww, Overruled sounds pretty great to me! I have a thing for Southern settings, as you know, and I also just think that the romance sounds really great too :)
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