Illegally Yours (Laws of Attraction #2) by Kate Meader

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Rule #1: Never fall for your client.
Rule #2: Never fall for your client’s fiercely protective, smoking hot sister-in-law.

I’m the kind of guy who believes that everyone deserves the best legal representation money can buy—which just so happens to be me, Lucas Wright. Give me your henpecked, your cuckolded, your irreconcilable differences yearning to break free! And if you’re the bad guy in your marriage, that’s cool too. Your green is as good as anyone’s.

Tell that to Trinity Jones. It’s my job to destroy her sister—the soon-to-be ex-wife of my a-hole of a client—and Trinity’s “big sis” instincts are dialed up to the max. I admire that. I admire her. But she won’t stop me from representing my client to the best of my ability.

Not even if my chemistry with Trinity is undeniable. Not even if we can’t keep our hands off each other. Not even if she injects life into a heart assumed to be long dead.
 
Because when faced with a choice between love and duty, the job will always win—or at least that’s what I thought before I met Trinity . . . and suddenly conflict of interest never felt so right. 

This ebook includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

Source: advance e-galley provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review


I enjoyed the first book in the Laws of Attraction series, Down with Love, and I absolutely enjoyed a glimpse of a certain cocky British dude who made me laugh in the few scenes that he was in. Lucas is the kind of hero I like - annoyingly charming, funny, and oh hell yeah, sexy! All this makes the attractive Trinity, who is very serious about teaching people the art of savoring and understanding the world of whiskey, his perfect foil.

Man, do I love good banter and it is all over Illegally Yours. Lucas and Trinity can go toe-to-toe with each other which makes their interactions simultaneously amusing and sexy. There's that word again. Trinity drives Lucas batty because she's not so easily swayed by his looks or attempts to break down her defenses. She makes him work for her attention. Of course, she's about as stoic as a wet noodle on the inside because he does make her come alive and boy, oh boy, she is tempted! But trust is something that Trinity does not give away easily. 

The wrench in everything, and one that you see coming almost immediately, is that Lucas represents her future ex-brother-in-law who is hellbent on destroying her younger sister. Trinity is a fierce older sister who sees it as her job to protect her sibling from any additional pain. Unfortunately, Lucas breaches her defenses, making a sensitive and complex situation even more so. Let's also remember that it calls into question his ethical responsibilities to his client and as a lawyer overall.

I enjoyed reading Illegally Yours mostly for the excellent verbal exchanges between Lucas and Trinity. They're both so irresistible when they're going at it. Also, the other partners are pretty visible in this and they always give Lucas the business which is entertaining to no end for me. The hard part for me though was accepting any romantic move forward between them. He's a divorce lawyer and his client is public enemy number one to her family right now. I'd be reluctant to be with someone under those circumstances. I don't think I'd be able to separate the two, therefore, I struggled to believe that Trinity could turn a blind eye to that, too. I appreciated seeing a different side of Lucas which is seriously melt-your-heart magnificent, and understanding the emotional complexities of Trinity's life. This girl has a lot of baggage! Truthfully, they both do and it's interesting to see how it's shaped their worldview.

Even though I was a tad bit reserved about their romance because of the nature of his job and its connection to Trinity, but I still liked Illegally Yours. I adore Kate Meader's writing I always have fun with her books!

~ Bel

Down With Love (Love Wars #1) by Kate Meader

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Sparks fly when the hot-shot divorce lawyer meets the high-powered wedding planner. The only question is, what kind?

If you ever get married, remember my name: Max Henderson. In my line of work, you acquire a certain perspective on supposedly everlasting unions. . . .

1. Pre-nups are your friend. 
2. The person you married is not the person you’re divorcing. 
3. And I hope you didn’t spend much on the wedding because that was one helluva waste of hard-earned cash, wasn’t it? 

But some guys are willing to take a chance. Like my brother, who thinks he’s going to ride off into the sunset with the woman of his dreams in a haze of glitter on unicorns. And the wedding planner—the green-eyed beauty who makes a living convincing suckers to shell out thousands of dollars on centerpieces—is raking it in on this matrimonial monstrosity. 

The thing is, Charlie Love is not unlike me. We’re both cogs in the wedding-industrial complex. As the best man, I know her game—and I can play it better than her. But after one scorching, unexpected kiss, I’m thinking I might just want to get played.

Source: advance e-galley provided in exchange for an honest review

I think enemies-to-lovers might just be one of my favourite tropes as I'm sure is the case for so many romance readers. I enjoy the "showmanship" between the characters as they try to one up each other and try to squash any hope of a truce. On the flip side, I also enjoy that moment when well, the switch flips in the other direction and they don't obsess over hating each other as they have been. It's their reaction to this new knowledge that always gets me -- horror, embarrassment, disbelief -- and then they don't even recognize themselves. That anticipation leading up to when they finally admit that something is there is what I love so much.

Down With Love draws two opposites together thanks to a sudden wedding announcement. I don't think there could be a truer demonstration of opposites than Charlie, the wedding planner who wants nothing more than to create the most magical and memorable of days for her clients, and Max, the divorce lawyer, who sees the downside of marriage where that most magical day becomes the most painful memory for his clients. He sees Charlie's job as the ultimate lie that requires him to eventually swoop in to pick up the pieces at the other end. If only they could avoid each other, but no, the smitten groom happens to be Max's brother. Despite their opposing views on marriage, and Max's conflicted feelings about being both happy and weary for his brother, Charlie still gets under his skin. She may have a romanticized view of wedded bliss but she's also quite grounded in general and there's so much there to fall for. Same goes for her.

I had a blast reading Down With Love. Charlie and Max have that chemistry that made me smile and swoon. I've gotten a bit tired lately of uber alpha male heroes and their testosterones so I've have taken a break from those storylines. I was thrilled that Max is not like that. In fact, Meader does a fun thing with Charlie and Max's personalities when it comes to their views on hooking up and trust. I liked that little touch a lot and it just made them more appealing. The other star of the story is Chicago where you're taken on jaunts to the Peninsula, a Cubs game, and other cool areas around town.

Down With Love is a splendid start to the Love Wars series. Meader's side characters are just as fun which is great because they tend to be hit or miss for me. I know I'd like to get to know that cheeky Brit, Lucas a bit better ... nudge, nudge, wink, wink. Congrats, Kate Meader on another sweet, hot and entertaining romance!

~ Bel