Order of Protection (Courting Justice, #1)

by Lexi Blake

A sexy and suspenseful new contemporary romance from New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake where love and law entwine for a conviction of the heart.

To high-end defense attorney Henry Garrison, Win Hughes is a woman he met during one of the most trying times of his life. She's soft and warm, and he finds solace in their brief relationship. But Win has a secret. She's actually Taylor Winston-Hughes--born to one of the wealthiest families in the country, orphaned as a child by a tragic accident. Win moves in the wealthiest circles, but her lavish lifestyle hides her pain.

When her best friend is murdered in the midst of a glittering New York gala, Win's charged with the crime, and the only person in the world she wants to see is Henry.

Henry is shocked at the true identity of his lover, but he can't reject the case. This trial could take his new firm into the stratosphere. Still, he's not getting burned by Win again. And yet every turn brings them closer together.

As the case takes a wild turn and Win's entire life is upended, she must look to the people she's closest to in order to find a killer. And Henry must decide between making his case and saving the woman he loves...

• ISBN10: 0399587462
• ISBN13: 9780399587467
• Publish Date: 5 June 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780399587467

Reviews

[thebookdisciple]

2 broken souls, hiding out in Massachusetts, find solace in each other briefly. Then, their realities collide and the solace is totally destroyed!

I struggled with Henry. He is sympathetic to a point: he is recovering from his addiction to alcohol,  he just ended a very public marriage in a very messy divorce. During his first meeting with Win, I adored him. After that though, I was finding it harder and harder to like the guy. When he becomes Win's lawyer he is a major douchebag. Win, however, is a delight! She is recovering from an eating disorder and attempting to get her life on track. She is set to attend Duke University before her life is derailed by the death of a friend. Even though Henry is treating her like she is dirt on the bottom of his shoe, she never just lays down and takes it. She is smart and not willing to let anyone walk all over her.

Win's story really resonated with me because I know many teens who develop eating disorders because they are desperate for some modicum of control over their own life. My heart hurt for her because her story is, in many ways, all too common (except for the filthy rich part!).

Characters aside, Blake gives you an excellent mystery! This is a classic whodunit type of plot and I really just loved it. Bottom line: if you like the May/December romance trope, secrets, murder, and broken characters, Order of Protection is a great pick. I am excited to see where Blake takes this series!

 

• POV: 3rd


• Tears: No


• Trope: May/December romance


• Triggers: both characters are dealing with addictions


• Series/Standalone: stand alone


• Cliffhanger: no


• HEA: yes

The Dirty Money series by Lisa Renee Jones, Fighting for Everything by Laura Kaye, Seducing the Defendant by Chantal Fernando...then you will probably like Order of Protection!

 

Order of Protection

 See full review on The Book Disciple

[Eve1972]

I've been hooked on Lexi Blake since I picked up my first M&M book of hers. But her latest books just haven't been doing it for me (except Remi's). Yet I continue to read every new one she puts out in hopes that I can recapture the love I felt when I first started reading her. Unfortunately, this book was a whole heaping of hot mess.

There were things that were so far-fetched (AKA the ending. Which made ZERO sense IMO)... Really? These two brainiacs put a baby in a lifejacket and set her adrift in the ocean with their fingers crossed she wouldn't drown? Or die from dehydration? Or, you know, get eaten by a shark? I don't know about y'all, but that seems like a really iffy plan to me. What if she had never been found? Then they would have still been out an heir! AND how did the ship captains wife know the ship had sunk? Because she couldn't reach him by radio?? Ahhh...maybe the radio just stopped working?! AND...the ship captain never sent out a distress single when their ship was going down? AND...they were sailing on their way to Bermuda when the ship sank in a storm. How exactly did these two get the baby out to the shipwreck site to leave her in the immediate aftermath of a storm? There were also things that annoyed the hell out of me. For example, Henry is just six months out of rehab, and I am pretty damn sure relationships are frowned upon for the first year after getting sober. That aside, he NEVER goes to an AA meeting? Never talks with his sponsor? She is a recovering anorexic, yet NEVER goes to see her therapist? She is accused of murder, and he is thrust into a high profile case, yet neither ever need to have a chat with their sponsors to help them cope? And yes, maybe that is me being nitpicky, but it is the smalls details that can derail a book.





On top of that, the first 40% of this book was a major snoozefest. Nothing happened but a ton of inner dialogue. I felt no connection between Henry and Win. I found it impossible to believe that Henry wouldn't have recognized Win right away given he was married to an actress and lived in LaLa Land surrounded by the entertainment industry. She was a famous heiress that was on a super popular reality show. I mean...COME ON. Things did pick up at the 40% mark, but then Henry turned into this giant whiney a$$hole, and I hated him. I get he was butthurt she didn't tell him who she was (although she never actually lied about who she was either), but if anyone understood that things are not always portrayed accurately in the press, it should have been him. But...NOOOO. This douche acted like she murdered a litter of puppies and buried them in his backyard! "You lied to me...whaaa." "You betrayed me...whaaa." -- HOW he came to THAT conclusion, I have NO idea since she never actually did a single thing to him. He just kept whining about it over and over and over again. I spent most of the last half of this book wanting to throat punch him and tell him to GROW THE F-CK UP.





On the positive side, I did like Win. She was a super sweet heroine. I thought she should have told Henry to go f-ck himself on several occasions, but I didn't get the doormat vibe from her...thankfully. I also liked the secondary characters of David, and especially Noah Lawless and Micheal Malone. Plus we get cameos from a couple of guys from the M&M series (Chase and Remi). So yea, a bit of a mixed bag with this one.