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 Cocktails and Books on

5 of 5 stars

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This review was originally posted on Cocktails and Books

Wow, hot bad boy lawyer who falls for a grieving aunt and her 6 (yes 6) nieces and nephews – what’s not to love about this book!

Jake is a hot young defense attorney in Washington DC, he is not looking for a serious relationship in fact he has hard fast rules about dating – he doesn’t date. When he runs into Rory a 9 year old who steals his wallet he sees himself; when he takes the would be thief home and meets his aunt Chelsea he leaves still thinking about her and the 6 kids she is left to care for.

Chelsea, a young graduated student whose life is turned upside down after her brother and sister in law pass away in a horrible car accident; she rushes to Washington to take care of her 6 nieces and nephews and leaves her life behind in California. As things progress she finds herself more and more over her head and starts to reach out to Jake as he starts to feel obligated to help her and the kids. That along with the mutual attraction they feel for each other, their feelings and dependency on each other starts to grow whether they are ready for it or not.

I loved this book! I had never read an Emma Chase book before and am so glad this was my first experience with her. Its told completely from Jake’s point of view which I love! You feel his conflict about his past, his love for his mentor and as his relationship with Chelsea and the children grows you see how his thought process starts to shift. He still has internal conflict with himself, is he good enough to be part of this ready made family and is he in the right job. Defending people who he knows are not good doesn’t help with his feeling of not being good enough. Jake also has a great set of friends who the series Legal Briefs is based on and they are fantastic – funny, smart and are there for him when he needs them the most.

I also loved the kids – they all had their own unique voice and seeing them through Jake's eyes was fun. He thinks of them as real people and not just little kids and you see that in the way he treats them.

You see Jake grow from start to finish but you also see how his time with the kids impacts them and then Chelsea who holds it all together. I laughed out loud multiple times and had a few tears and really felt something towards these characters – to me everything needed for a perfect book.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 10 August, 2015: Finished reading
  • 10 August, 2015: Reviewed