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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Appealed is the third book in the Legal Briefs series, and I’ve really been looking forward to Brent’s story. I fully expected to love it, especially after falling madly in love with the previous book, [b:Sustained|22926485|Sustained (The Legal Briefs, #2)|Emma Chase|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1435809134s/22926485.jpg|42495691]. Appealed isn’t the slam-dunk I hoped it would be, but it’s still highly enjoyable. It’s a friends to enemies to lovers story that cleverly combines two popular tropes.
Brent is a successful defense attorney who happily enjoys his bachelor lifestyle. Throughout the years he’s often thought of Kennedy though. She’s the shy, unpopular, yet sweet girl next door who broke his heart when they were teenagers and then inexplicably disappeared from his life. When a prosecutor is assigned to the case Brent’s working on, he’s shocked to discover it’s Kennedy—now gorgeous and confident. He’s more attracted to her than ever, but for some reason Kennedy is blatantly hostile toward him. Each of them is convinced they are the wronged party. Their animosity and sexual tension spill over into the courtroom until eventually they’re forced to confront what happened fourteen years ago.
Kennedy’s resentment makes for some wonderful banter between the two.
“What’d you do to your face?” she asks, folding her arms.
I touch my chin. “I grew a beard.”
“Well ungrow it. It looks like a vagina from a 1970s porn film.”
I loved how their past is revealed in pieces. When we finally get to see things from Kennedy’s perspective, Brent realizes he has to do some serious groveling to get back into Kennedy’s good graces—and her bed. He recognizes that she’s the one who got away.
“What if the reason I’ve never let myself fall in love with a woman is because I didn’t have anything to give? Because I’d already given my heart to her when we were seventeen years old? And all these years I’ve just been waiting for her to come back to me with it.”
Brent’s humor and persistence make him extremely likable. Animosity can generate heat between couples, but I just wasn’t feeling the chemistry between him and Kennedy. While she is justified in her feelings of hurt and betrayal, Kennedy’s lack of trust makes her standoffish through much of the book. I think it contributed to my feeling somewhat disconnected from her. Brent may not have been deterred, but I felt frustrated for him.
In the end, Emma Chase’s witty writing, adorable hero, and a fun storyline make this well worth the read.
Recommended for fans of:
Enemies to lovers romance
Male POV stories
Underdogs
** ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review. **
Brent is a successful defense attorney who happily enjoys his bachelor lifestyle. Throughout the years he’s often thought of Kennedy though. She’s the shy, unpopular, yet sweet girl next door who broke his heart when they were teenagers and then inexplicably disappeared from his life. When a prosecutor is assigned to the case Brent’s working on, he’s shocked to discover it’s Kennedy—now gorgeous and confident. He’s more attracted to her than ever, but for some reason Kennedy is blatantly hostile toward him. Each of them is convinced they are the wronged party. Their animosity and sexual tension spill over into the courtroom until eventually they’re forced to confront what happened fourteen years ago.
Kennedy’s resentment makes for some wonderful banter between the two.
I touch my chin. “I grew a beard.”
“Well ungrow it. It looks like a vagina from a 1970s porn film.”
“What if the reason I’ve never let myself fall in love with a woman is because I didn’t have anything to give? Because I’d already given my heart to her when we were seventeen years old? And all these years I’ve just been waiting for her to come back to me with it.”
Brent’s humor and persistence make him extremely likable. Animosity can generate heat between couples, but I just wasn’t feeling the chemistry between him and Kennedy. While she is justified in her feelings of hurt and betrayal, Kennedy’s lack of trust makes her standoffish through much of the book. I think it contributed to my feeling somewhat disconnected from her. Brent may not have been deterred, but I felt frustrated for him.
In the end, Emma Chase’s witty writing, adorable hero, and a fun storyline make this well worth the read.
Recommended for fans of:
Enemies to lovers romance
Male POV stories
Underdogs
** ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review. **
Appealed was the absolute best book I’ve read in a very long time. This is what romance is about. It’s funny. It’s quirky. It’s emotional. It’s perfection.
Writing from the male POV is something not everyone can pull off. I’ve read some seriously bad POVs in my time but Emma Chase does it with ease. Her hero’s are alpha, they are conflicted, they are downright fucking hilarious and they are always, ALWAYS, the center of the book.
Brent has always thought of himself as a bachelor for life. Even when all his best friends are settling down and starting families, he’s thinking about vacations and one night stands. When he finds out the prosecutor he’ll be facing off with in court is a blast from the past, he’s struck dumb by the changes that have occurred in Kennedy. Gone is the girl he once loved and in her place is a confident prosecutor determined to take him down.
Kennedy wants nothing to do with the man who broke her heart as a teenager. She doesn’t care how hard he’s trying to win her back now, she’s going to best him in court like she never could as the younger version of herself. Their attraction is still just as potent and it threatens to bring their case to a stand still so they find a better solution. Steam up the sheets after work, and play by the rules from 9 to 5.
Of course Brent makes a few missteps along the way but the road to this relationship had been paved for years, they just had to travel it. Kennedy is stubborn and really wants to win the case and in doing so she becomes something that she had always despised. The way these two helped each other get passed issues they didn’t even know they had was simply awesome reading. I loved the fact that Brent was an amputee and how that just drove him to be better, stronger, more. He never once used it as an excuse not to do or become something. In fact losing his leg probably made him even stronger. Kennedy never pitied him either and instead she too pushed him to do more (even as a teenager). What limitations he did have he made up for in creative (and very hot) ways.
The ending, you guys, OMG the ending…well the last chapter and the epilogue, I was in tears. It was so sickeningly perfect that I just had tears running down my cheeks in twin streams. It was that good. Brent, he’s just so, ugh PERFECT, and I loved it. I loved him. The way he was willing to risk everything for Kennedy was just something that touched me. It touched me in my happy place (my heart people, get your minds out of the gutter). Then came the epilogue. I can’t even.. Just go read this series…or just read this book because it can be read as a standalone. Epically done Ms Chase, epically done.
I give Appealed by Emma Chase 5 stars!
Writing from the male POV is something not everyone can pull off. I’ve read some seriously bad POVs in my time but Emma Chase does it with ease. Her hero’s are alpha, they are conflicted, they are downright fucking hilarious and they are always, ALWAYS, the center of the book.
Brent has always thought of himself as a bachelor for life. Even when all his best friends are settling down and starting families, he’s thinking about vacations and one night stands. When he finds out the prosecutor he’ll be facing off with in court is a blast from the past, he’s struck dumb by the changes that have occurred in Kennedy. Gone is the girl he once loved and in her place is a confident prosecutor determined to take him down.
Kennedy wants nothing to do with the man who broke her heart as a teenager. She doesn’t care how hard he’s trying to win her back now, she’s going to best him in court like she never could as the younger version of herself. Their attraction is still just as potent and it threatens to bring their case to a stand still so they find a better solution. Steam up the sheets after work, and play by the rules from 9 to 5.
Of course Brent makes a few missteps along the way but the road to this relationship had been paved for years, they just had to travel it. Kennedy is stubborn and really wants to win the case and in doing so she becomes something that she had always despised. The way these two helped each other get passed issues they didn’t even know they had was simply awesome reading. I loved the fact that Brent was an amputee and how that just drove him to be better, stronger, more. He never once used it as an excuse not to do or become something. In fact losing his leg probably made him even stronger. Kennedy never pitied him either and instead she too pushed him to do more (even as a teenager). What limitations he did have he made up for in creative (and very hot) ways.
The ending, you guys, OMG the ending…well the last chapter and the epilogue, I was in tears. It was so sickeningly perfect that I just had tears running down my cheeks in twin streams. It was that good. Brent, he’s just so, ugh PERFECT, and I loved it. I loved him. The way he was willing to risk everything for Kennedy was just something that touched me. It touched me in my happy place (my heart people, get your minds out of the gutter). Then came the epilogue. I can’t even.. Just go read this series…or just read this book because it can be read as a standalone. Epically done Ms Chase, epically done.
I give Appealed by Emma Chase 5 stars!
I really enjoyed this book. It was definitely giving me a Cinderella story vibes- with the flashback scenes to the truly awful high school mean girls. Brent and Kennedy both loved each other early on- and both got their heart broken. Fast forward to fourteen years later and she is the prosecutor on a case he is also working. I liked the therapy representation, and how he made it his mission to help her slay her demons. The ending was great- how he got a little payback for her. Loved the scenes with the whole gang at the McQuaid house.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What an ending to the Legal Briefs trilogy! God I love Emma Chase books. This plot was the most fun for me, with Brent getting back together with Kennedy after their childhood love turned raw. I was a big fan of all the characters from the beginning and it just went up from there. Kennedy was a complex, emotional character that I wished they had explored more. They kept saying she had issues and problems, but never let her say it or explain it. Brent was great too, and I loved how his therapy sessions intertwined nicely with the story arc. Usually when a character has revelations during a therapy session, they seem cheap and staged, but I thought his thought were progressive and steady. It was a little hard to believe just how in love Brent was with Kennedy as soon as she came back. He explained that maybe she had been what was missing in his life, but from what he explained about his past it didn't make it feel like anything was missing. Usually with Emma Chase novels the main characters will do something really stupid about 20 pages before the end, pushing their love interest away. Usually the conflict comes out of nowhere and comes off as drama for the sake of drama, but I didn't hate it this time. I understood why Brent didn't want her to try the case and I also totally got why he got flustered and said what he did. The only part of the ending I didn't like was Brent going to see the mob bosses. It seemed like a back step for him and Kennedy and I knew she would be pissed to know he did it. That was just drama for the sake of drama, but I get why they wanted to end it that way. Oddly enough, I did not like the 'extended epilogue' either. It was confusing because we were introduced to children we didn't know about and I spent most of my time trying to piece together who they were. But the story was solid and sweet, and hopefully not the last from Emma Chase. 4.5
Visit Britt's Book Blog for more reviews.
FULL REVIEW::::::
First sentence: “You rotten bastard!”
APPEALED is an intoxicating blend of humor, witty dialogue, and lovable characters. Emma Chase once again brings her A-game when writing male point-of-view. APPEALED is the third book in The Legal Briefs series and each book is standalone. You don’t necessarily have to read them in order since they each focus on a different couple. While reading Overruled, the first book in the series, I fell in love with the secondary characters and couldn’t wait for their stories. One of them was Brent. I was giddy and super excited when given the opportunity to dive into his story early.
FRIENDS FIRST
Brent and Kennedy used to be close. They were best friends while growing up. And they haven’t spoken in years. Now they’re on opposite sides of the courtroom. Brent is a defense attorney and Kennedy is a prosecutor. And they find themselves on the same case.
There is history between Brent and Kennedy. They have a connection and we don’t exactly know what happened between them and why they lost touch over the years until later in the book. Through flashbacks we see them as they grew up and how they were friends.
HATE TO LOVE
APPEALED has two of my favorite tropes; friends first and hate to love. A combination that sounds like a mess but in APPEALED it was perfection. Kennedy and Brent were friends during their childhood but after losing touch and Kennedy can’t stand Brent, they have a massive amount of tension between them. Tempers flare as the case unravels and Kennedy and Brent are on opposing sides of the courtroom. Brent is immediately attracted to Kennedy when he sets his eyes on her for the first time in years. She isn’t the same girl he used to know. Kennedy is a knockout who has sass for days. She tells Brent like it is, something I loved. And she didn’t hold back. The tension between them built up and made all of the sexy scenes explode with passion. It was glorious.
CONCLUSION:
APPEALED was a wonderful, delicious book that I gobbled up. I couldn’t get enough of the humor, witty dialogue, and heat. THE HEAT! APPEALED is the third book in this series but can be read as a standalone, so don’t fret if you haven’t read the previous books. Emma Chase is a talented author who is exceptionally good at writing male point-of-view. No other author gets it right like she does. There was a huge amount of tension combined with swoons and a sassy heroine. I did have a few things I didn’t really connect with but that didn’t keep me away from enjoying this story. I loved Brent and Kennedy.
RECOMMENDED TO:
Fans of The Legal Briefs series. Also, readers who enjoy friends before lovers, hate to love, sassy heroines, and male point-of-view.
FULL REVIEW::::::
First sentence: “You rotten bastard!”
APPEALED is an intoxicating blend of humor, witty dialogue, and lovable characters. Emma Chase once again brings her A-game when writing male point-of-view. APPEALED is the third book in The Legal Briefs series and each book is standalone. You don’t necessarily have to read them in order since they each focus on a different couple. While reading Overruled, the first book in the series, I fell in love with the secondary characters and couldn’t wait for their stories. One of them was Brent. I was giddy and super excited when given the opportunity to dive into his story early.
FRIENDS FIRST
Brent and Kennedy used to be close. They were best friends while growing up. And they haven’t spoken in years. Now they’re on opposite sides of the courtroom. Brent is a defense attorney and Kennedy is a prosecutor. And they find themselves on the same case.
There is history between Brent and Kennedy. They have a connection and we don’t exactly know what happened between them and why they lost touch over the years until later in the book. Through flashbacks we see them as they grew up and how they were friends.
HATE TO LOVE
APPEALED has two of my favorite tropes; friends first and hate to love. A combination that sounds like a mess but in APPEALED it was perfection. Kennedy and Brent were friends during their childhood but after losing touch and Kennedy can’t stand Brent, they have a massive amount of tension between them. Tempers flare as the case unravels and Kennedy and Brent are on opposing sides of the courtroom. Brent is immediately attracted to Kennedy when he sets his eyes on her for the first time in years. She isn’t the same girl he used to know. Kennedy is a knockout who has sass for days. She tells Brent like it is, something I loved. And she didn’t hold back. The tension between them built up and made all of the sexy scenes explode with passion. It was glorious.
CONCLUSION:
APPEALED was a wonderful, delicious book that I gobbled up. I couldn’t get enough of the humor, witty dialogue, and heat. THE HEAT! APPEALED is the third book in this series but can be read as a standalone, so don’t fret if you haven’t read the previous books. Emma Chase is a talented author who is exceptionally good at writing male point-of-view. No other author gets it right like she does. There was a huge amount of tension combined with swoons and a sassy heroine. I did have a few things I didn’t really connect with but that didn’t keep me away from enjoying this story. I loved Brent and Kennedy.
RECOMMENDED TO:
Fans of The Legal Briefs series. Also, readers who enjoy friends before lovers, hate to love, sassy heroines, and male point-of-view.
it was a fun read, however i found both characters to be a bit complicated but they work for each other
I received an ARC copy of Appealed in exchange for an honest review.
First off, Emma Chase has always and will always be blowing my mind, there is a consistency in her writing level and to be honest, it’s not that constant, it gets better with every book she writes.
Appealed is about our beloved Brent whom we already met in Sustained and Overruled, and his childhood friend, Kennedy.
The book certainly starts off with a rather compromising situation, just like we met Emma Chase’s debut couple- Drew and Kate.
Misunderstandings between Kennedy and Brent led to them being separated for years before meeting ‘coincidentally’ at a party, this doesn’t change that they definitely are familiar with each other. I feel as if they had to be separated in high school, otherwise they wouldn’t have developed into the characters that I enjoyed getting to know.
Brent is the mellow, chill guy. He doesn’t like relationships, loves his friends and is protective about the people he cares about. He’s a wee bit of a man whore, but even that makes him kind of lovable. His imperfections make it only easier to relate to him and forgive his sometimes chauvinistic comments and actions.
Kennedy definitely changed her image after leaving high school and Brent behind. But with the new exterior a new persona had to be born to, leading us to the headstrong, intelligent and no-bullshit Kennedy that I admired from the first moment. A hard childhood and adolescence definitely pushed her to the cold exterior that she tries to put on.
They are both professionals and don’t let anything come between it. Their rivalry feels not only important as foreplay to their budding relationship, but also for an understanding of the plot and their personal developments, strengths and weaknesses.
Of course, as usual with Emma’s books, the supporting characters only strengthened this book and made for interesting scenes and a lot of laughs.
I’m not sure at which point I fell in love with everything, but I figure it was around the time I read the acknowledgments.
I’m so very thankful for the chance to read this gem before it hit the retailers and hope that you'll love it as much as I do! :)
First off, Emma Chase has always and will always be blowing my mind, there is a consistency in her writing level and to be honest, it’s not that constant, it gets better with every book she writes.
Appealed is about our beloved Brent whom we already met in Sustained and Overruled, and his childhood friend, Kennedy.
The book certainly starts off with a rather compromising situation, just like we met Emma Chase’s debut couple- Drew and Kate.
Misunderstandings between Kennedy and Brent led to them being separated for years before meeting ‘coincidentally’ at a party, this doesn’t change that they definitely are familiar with each other. I feel as if they had to be separated in high school, otherwise they wouldn’t have developed into the characters that I enjoyed getting to know.
Brent is the mellow, chill guy. He doesn’t like relationships, loves his friends and is protective about the people he cares about. He’s a wee bit of a man whore, but even that makes him kind of lovable. His imperfections make it only easier to relate to him and forgive his sometimes chauvinistic comments and actions.
Kennedy definitely changed her image after leaving high school and Brent behind. But with the new exterior a new persona had to be born to, leading us to the headstrong, intelligent and no-bullshit Kennedy that I admired from the first moment. A hard childhood and adolescence definitely pushed her to the cold exterior that she tries to put on.
They are both professionals and don’t let anything come between it. Their rivalry feels not only important as foreplay to their budding relationship, but also for an understanding of the plot and their personal developments, strengths and weaknesses.
Of course, as usual with Emma’s books, the supporting characters only strengthened this book and made for interesting scenes and a lot of laughs.
I’m not sure at which point I fell in love with everything, but I figure it was around the time I read the acknowledgments.
I’m so very thankful for the chance to read this gem before it hit the retailers and hope that you'll love it as much as I do! :)