Sustained by Emma Chase

Sustained (The Legal Briefs)

by Emma Chase

A knight in tarnished armour is still a knight.

When you're a defence attorney in Washington D.C., you see first-hand how hard life can be and that sometimes the only way to survive is to be harder. I have a reputation for being cold, callous, intimidating - and that suits me just fine. In fact, it's necessary when I'm breaking down a witness on the stand.

Complications don't work for me - I'm a "need-to-know" type of man. If you're my client, tell me the basic facts. If you're my date, stick to what will get you off. I'm not a therapist or Prince Charming - and I don't pretend to be.

Then Chelsea McQuaid and her six orphaned nieces and nephews came along and complicated the ever-loving hell out of my life. Now I'm going to Mommy & Me classes, One Direction concerts, the emergency room and am knee deep in a damn compost pit.

Chelsea's too sweet, too innocent and too gorgeous for her own good. She tries to be hard, but she's not. She needs someone to help her, defend her…and the kids.

And that - that I know how to do.

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

4 of 5 stars

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I love romance novels, so I knew I would probably like this book, but I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, and it was not because of all the romantic bits.

This is Jake's story. Jack is pretty much a man-whore. A successful lawyer, who likes to engage in no strings sex. This is the first image of Jake we are presented with, but as the story goes on, we learn that there is a HUGE heart inside that man. From his visits to The Judge to his interactions with the McQuaid children, we learn there is a soft side to this man. Because this story is told exclusively from Jake's POV (interesting, right?), we get to know a lot about him, as we are always in his head. I adore a redemption story and expect personal growth with my MCs, and Chase delivered on both.

they're half a dozen little c***blockers, but they're funny. Smart. In general, pretty awesome.


The kids are quite a crew. SIX! Six kids, ages 6 months to 14 years old. The antics we get to be part of with all those kids were so much fun, and to me, the heart of soul of this book, is the relationship between Jake and these kids.

She puts her little hands on my cheeks, looks me in the face, and squeaks her third word. "Jake!" And the whole world goes blurry. "Damn, kiddo, you've got a way with words."


Seriously, the book is filled with gems like the quote above. I laughed often and smiled so wide, my face hurt. And, of course, we have plenty of sexy romance, but still, I was won over by the whole "family" dynamic. It was meeting these kids, this family, that helped Jake become the man The Judge knew he could be, and it was all very heartwarming.

I love them, too, in case that wasn't clear. They're awful and perfect...and I love them like they're mine. Like they're ours.


If you want a fun, sexy, adorable read, I think you will be happy with Sustained.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 20 May, 2016: Finished reading
  • 20 May, 2016: Reviewed