Reviewer: Rowena
Appealed (The Legal Briefs, #3) by Emma Chase
Series: The Legal Briefs #3
Also in this series: Overruled (The Legal Briefs, #1), Sustained (The Legal Briefs, #2), Sidebarred (The Legal Briefs, #3.5), Sustained (The Legal Briefs, #2), Sustained
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: January 19th 2016
Point-of-View: First
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 304
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Series Rating:

The New York Times bestselling author of the Tangled books returns with the third standalone romance in the Legal Briefs series, a collection of sexy novels about first crushes, second chances, and the final verdict of the heart.

When Brent Mason looks at Kennedy Randolph, he doesn’t see the awkward, sweet girl who grew up next door. He sees a self-assured, stunning woman…who wants to crush the most intimate—and prized—parts of his anatomy beneath the heels of her Louboutins.

When Kennedy looks at Brent, all she sees is the selfish, Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue–worthy teenager who humiliated her in high school in order to join the popular crowd. A crowd that made those years a living hell for her.

But she’s not a lovesick social outcast anymore—she’s a Washington, DC, prosecutor with a long winning streak. Brent is the opposing attorney in her next case, and Kennedy thinks it’s time to put him through a little hell of his own.

But things aren’t exactly working out the way she planned. Brent has his sights set on Kennedy, and every fiery exchange only makes him want her more—and makes her wonder if he’s as passionate in the bedroom as he is in the courtroom. In the end, they may just find themselves in love…or in contempt of court.

Emma Chase delivered another cute romance with a main couple that rocked my socks. I was coming off the high that was Sustained and didn’t think another book could hold a candle to the awesome-ness that was that book but then we got Brent’s book and he just knocked me on my ass in the most delicious of ways.

Brent Mason is the last lone wolf in the circle of friends that we’ve come to know over the course of this series. He’s feeling the effects of being on his own now that his friends are all paired up and living the domestic life. He doesn’t necessarily want what his friends have but he’s bored…until he comes across a blast from the past.

Her name is Kennedy Randolph. Kennedy used to be his next door neighbor and he grew up with her. He was close friends with her. He was also a little bit in love with her until she broke his teenaged heart after rocking his mother freaking world. He knows that he wasn’t the best friend to Kennedy growing up but he wasn’t prepared for how much hatred she spewed every time they were in the courtroom together. He didn’t understand it but he had never been this excited to be across the courtroom from someone and he wasn’t going to let her slide right back out of his life. Not again.

Kennedy Randolph is back in her hometown, practicing law and winning cases. She’s come a long way from the young woman Brent used to know and she hasn’t forgotten what a shitty friend Brent was. All these years later and she’s just as angry at him now as she was back then and the humiliation she suffered all those years ago is fresh and the rage burns bright every time she sees him. She can’t wait to face off against him and tear his case to shreds. She’s stronger now. She’s more fierce and he’s going to rue the day he thought he could humiliate her and get away with it.

Watching these two battle wits and just flat out fight with each other throughout the book was on one hand funny but on the other hand, there were times I wanted to pull Kennedy’s hair because she acted like a spoiled brat…IN COURT. I got where she was coming from but I felt like there was a time and a place for her to spew her hatred for Brent and in court was not one of them. She gets better over the course of the book but we had a rough beginning, Kennedy and I.

As much as Kennedy got on my nerves in the beginning, it was Brent that I came to the party for. It was Brent that had me from hello. It was Brent that I couldn’t get enough of. He made this entire book. I loved seeing him realize and then try to make right on being such a shitty friend when they were kids. I loved seeing him fall in love with Kennedy and I loved how sure he was that they were going to be together. Even when I didn’t see it, he did and because he did, I wanted that for him. He knew that he had his work cut out for him and seeing him go to the lengths he did to make things right, to give her better memories made me all swoony.

I completely adored Brent Mason and with each passing book, I am more impressed with Emma Chase’s skill at writing from the male POV. Her male POV is so spot on. Often times, I read from a males POV and get the feeling that the author is writing what a woman thinks a man would think and say but I don’t get that with Chase’s books. Her male POV comes across as genuinely male and I really dig it.

This book had humor, a steamy romance and a hero that will knock your socks off. He will rock your world and leave you panting for more. I adored this story and am pretty anxious for more from this author. Kudos on a job well done, Emma Chase.

Grade: 4.75 out of 5

The Legal Briefs