Seducing the Defendant (The Conflict of Interest, #2)

by Chantal Fernando

New York Times bestselling author Chantal Fernando returns to her latest, steamy Conflict of Interest series with this electrifying tale of murder, justice, and intense attraction.

Jaxon Bentley is a hardnosed criminal lawyer whose entire life revolves around his work. He’s been asked to represent Scarlett Reyes, a woman accused of murdering her police officer husband in cold blood. All the evidence points to Scarlett being guilty and Jaxon is sure it’s an open and shut case.

But when he meets his client, he can’t help but feel that she’s innocent and that there’s more to the story than meets the eye. With a bit of digging, he uncovers a connection to the notorious Wind Dragons Motorcycle Club and realizes that Scarlett’s case is a complicated and difficult one. It certainly doesn’t help that the two share an immediate and passionate attraction. Will Jaxon be able to prove Scarlett’s innocence or are the two doomed to fail both in court and as a couple?

• ISBN10: 1501172379
• ISBN13: 9781501172373
• Publish Date: 14 November 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Gallery
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[thebookdisciple]

Jaxon is a bad ass criminal defense attorney. He has recently lost his sister and has been stepping away from his job. However, Scarlett is now seeking his help. The police claim she killed her husband; she swears she didn't. Oh, and the husband? He was a cop.

Jaxon isn't sure that taking Scarlett's case is a good idea. But, something about her makes him feel like he HAS to take this case. As they begin to mount a defense for Scarlett, they discover that her husband had an entire life he was hiding from her. Scarlett knew he was a jerk (and abusive), but she is stunned at how much he hid from her!

With the twisted plot bringing in dirty cops and MC clubs, Fernando really keeps you guessing. Honestly, it seems totally possible that Scarlett will go to prison. It would be SO easy for the cops that her husband worked with to set her up. It wouldn't take much for them to manufacture evidence. Now, having said that, the plot with her accused of murder is pretty much solved by about 40% in. I was like, "Uh oh....what is going to happen now?". Seeing Scarlett and Jaxon's relationship progress was really endearing. Scarlett is embracing who she never got the chance to be, and Jaxon is opening up and accepting her in his life.

And the end....I never saw it coming. I kept waiting for 'the bad'. Everything was going so well and I just knew something would happen. But, I didn't expect THAT.

If you read Fernando's Wind Dragon series, you will love how much of a part they play in this story. If, like me, you haven't read the series, it won't affect your enjoyment of this book at all!

 

• POV: dual 1st


• Tears: no


• Trope: lawyer


• Triggers: Scarlett was physically abused by her husband. It isn't described in detail, just stated.


• Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series


• Cliffhanger: no


• HEA: yes

On the Chase by Katie Ruggle, Torn by Cynthia Eden, The Dirty Money series by Lisa Renee Jones...then you will probably like Seducing the Defendant!

 

Seducing the Defendant

See full review on The Book Disciple

[Eve1972]

I enjoyed this one. It was one of those easy-peasy low angst types of reads. I thought the court case mystery would feature throughout the book, but it gets wrapped up in the first 30% and then we just get a lot of sex. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it also doesn't make for the most exciting of reads. That ending though, way to rip a girls heart out Miz Fernando. I think you may be on my sh!t list right now. ;D

Aside from that this one was a pleasant read. Well written and well paced. The plot although not the most exciting held my interest nonetheless. Like I said there is zero angst. There is a smidge of OW drama that quite frankly was pointless and could have been left out without changing the story in the least (SOOOO tired of this type of thing in romances lately). There was no OM drama. The sex scenes were hot and plentiful. The secondary characters were interesting and consisted mostly of other lawyers Jaxon worked with and Wind Dragons MC members.



Both main characters were extremely likable. Scarlett came off a bit weirdly at the beginning of this one. Very standoffish but then she morphed into this insecure introvert that slowly comes out of her shell with Jaxon. As I said, it was a bit odd. But I did end up liking her as a heroine. Jaxon was a great hero. Sweet. Sexy. Pretty much all in right from the start. Just a good solid hero. Lastly, it was all wrapped up in a bit of a bittersweet ending that this reader is going to pretend never happened...yup...that is what I am going to do...pretend...lalalalala.