Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Illegally Yours by Kate Meader


Rule #1: Never fall for your client.
Rule #2: Never fall for your client’s fiercely protective, smoking hot sister-in-law.


I’m the kind of guy who believes that everyone deserves the best legal representation money can buy—which just so happens to be me, Lucas Wright. Give me your henpecked, your cuckolded, your irreconcilable differences yearning to break free! And if you’re the bad guy in your marriage, that’s cool too. Your green is as good as anyone’s.

Tell that to Trinity Jones. It’s my job to destroy her sister—the soon-to-be ex-wife of my a-hole of a client—and Trinity’s “big sis” instincts are dialed up to the max. I admire that. I admire her. But she won’t stop me from representing my client to the best of my ability.

Not even if my chemistry with Trinity is undeniable. Not even if we can’t keep our hands off each other. Not even if she injects life into a heart assumed to be long dead.

Because when faced with a choice between love and duty, the job will always win—or at least that’s what I thought before I met Trinity... and suddenly conflict of interest never felt so right.

Add to Goodreads –


Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo




I’m on the periphery of both these conversations, wanting to contribute but having too little expertise, when I’m nudged by an elbow.

“Bad luck there, Ms. Jones,” Lucas says. Whispers, really, which makes it all seem so much naughtier.

“I wouldn’t say that. You won fair and square with your oddly encyclopedic knowledge about a children’s book. Not weird. Not weird at all.”

Something flashes across his face, a shadow that disappears as quickly as it came. “Can I help it if I’m a master of all trades?”

“Hmm, not the phrase.”

“It is when we’re talking about me. I’m very good. At most everything.”

“Modest, too.”

He tilts his head. “You have problems with self-confidence?”

“Just braggarts.”

“Don’t you consider yourself an expert in whiskey? Don’t you advertise yourself as such? What’s the point in pretending you’re only somewhat knowledgeable at something when you’re the best there is?”

I seek to unpack that. “People are put off by overconfidence,” I say carefully.

“Should I substitute men for people in that sentence?”

A foreign heat warms my chest while Lucas’s blue-on-blue eyes cut through me. My friends don’t condescend about my ambitions, but my family—my sister—has never really understood why I chose my profession (So manly! Unless it’s a strategy to find a man? Is it?).

I respond with, “A whiskey sommelier isn’t a traditional job for a woman.”

“Harry Potter’s not the traditional reading material for a divorce lawyer,” he shoots back.

“So why do you love it?”

“Why do you love whiskey?”

I think of my granddad and the time when I felt safe and secure. “Nostalgia. Longing. Soothes the senses and feeds the soul. It also feels good to... understand an entire world of taste. Of sensation. It’s a world I can dive into and control.” I shake my head. “I’m not making much sense.”

But I am to Lucas. I can tell what I’ve said has struck a chord somewhere deep inside him. A private place I’d like to visit. I curl my hand into a fist to stop from touching him.

“You, too?” I whisper, the intimacy of the moment shocking me. “With Harry Potter?”

Now his smile is tinged with sadness. “Me, too.”

My heart contracts. Behind the clown in the ridiculous plaid pants is a man in pain. Worse, I want to know him.

Lusting after him was safer. Despising him after discovering his mission was logical. But this? Peeling back a layer in Lucas’s good-time-lad façade gives me chills.

“I should go,” I say, which conveniently coincides with Gid and Pete offering me a ride home.

Lucas nods, pulls away. Something shudders between us, and I tell myself it’s for the best. “Yes, you should. See you around, Trinity.”

Not if I can help it. I’m starting to realize that Lucas Wright is a hundred times more dangerous than I previously thought.




Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah☆☆☆☆☆
This is a wonderful romantic romp with surprising depth and heart. Lucas Wright is a high-powered divorce lawyer – who just happens to be representing Trinity’s soon-to-be-ex brother-in-law. Chemistry crackles between these two from the start but legal ethics and Trinity’s loyalty to her sister make things complicated.

Full of banter, crossed communication, and colourful supporting characters, this is a fun romcom. But it is also a thoughtful read. Trinity is black, female, and working in a white male industry. While the book doesn’t ever get too dark, I love that the author doesn’t shy away from the complexity of Trinity’s work life. I love that Lucas observes and appreciates the intersectional challenges that Trinity experiences in various aspects of her life. As always, Kate Meader writes intelligent and reflective romance and Trinity is both a challenging and an inspiring character.

It took me a while to warm to Lucas. I was initially put off by his arrogance and he feels like a player at first. But Lucas is more complex than he initially seems, and I fell in love with the more vulnerable character we see later in the book. To a British reader, some of Lucas’ ‘Britishness’ feels exaggerated and unnecessary. Some of Lucas’ British slang is a little bit over-the-top and not always used appropriately. Lucas is also an impossibly successful 28-year-old and there are moments where his perfection is both unbelievable and incredibly irritating. But his personal life is messy enough to make him loveable and he’s got enough depth to make him interesting.

This is a book as much about family as it is about romance. Before Lucas and Trinity can commit to a relationship, they both have to work through their family relationships. I love the personal growth in this story and I love the way these two challenge each other to deal with things they’ve avoided for too long.


Ruthie☆☆☆☆
This is the second in the series, and is definitely worth reading. I have enjoyed all the Kate Meader books I have read, and this is no exception. I would recommend that you read Down with Love first, as it is a fun book and sets the scene for the divorce lawyers' playground.

Meader writes hot, sexy, and intelligent male leads, and Lucas fits the criteria perfectly. In fact, he is also British, which ups the levels even more (I have to admit at times his use of language is not quite right to this Brit's ear, but I forgave him!). Add in the fact that he is fun, coaches kids’ soccer, and yet has issues from his past, and he is swoon-worthy. His immediate chemistry with Trinity, and his understanding of the issues she faces are sexy too. However, the conflict of interest is huge, and his career and ethics are important.

With this kind of set up, it is always going to be fun seeing how the author manages to swing the situation around, as we know that they have to get to the happily ever after they so deserve; it is just the method that has to be discovered.

There is an interesting extra dimension and depth to this book due to the recognition of the issues which Trinity faces in her job. She is an African American woman working in the white male dominated world of sommeliers, and whilst exceptional at her job, she faces discrimination for both, It is a poignant reminder of how the outward facing still influences expectation, and is a point well made.

For an intelligent, sexy read this will serve you well. I am excited to see what comes next!


Also Available in the Laws of Attraction Series

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

For reviews & more info, check out our Down with Love post.



Originally from Ireland, USA Today bestselling author Kate Meader cut her romance reader teeth on Maeve Binchy and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Harlequins thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron, a fire hose, or a hockey stick, and she’s there. Now based in Chicago, she writes sexy contemporary romance with alpha heroes and strong heroines who can match their men quip for quip.

Connect with Kate

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads




http://readloveswept.com/


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Illegally Yours (Laws of Attraction #2) by Kate Meader to read and review.

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