Review : Sustained by Emma Chase

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title :  Sustained (The Legal Briefs #2)
Author : Emma Chase
Publication Date : August 25th 2015
Publisher : Gallery Books
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A knight in tarnished armor is still a knight.

When you’re a defense attorney in Washington, DC, you see firsthand how hard life can be, and that sometimes the only way to survive is to be harder. I, Jake Becker, have a reputation for being cold, callous, and 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 turn you on. 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 arguing cases in the principal's office.

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

And that — that, I know how to do.

Personal Thoughts

Oh this book! Oh my heart! Sustained was a romantic, emotional, laugh out loud, and sexy novel that took over my life for the few hours that I was reading the book. I've loved all of Emma Chase's books, but I have to say that Sustained is her best book to date. I honestly don't think any words I have to say about Sustained will express just how much love I have for this book, but I'm still going to try.

We met Jake Becker, Stanton's fellow defense attorney, in the first book, Overruled. I was intrigued by his character and knew that he, as with all Emma Chase heroes, would probably have me giggling and swooning in a matter of minutes. Turns out, I was absolutely right. Jake was very much an Emma Chase main character. He was total alpha, ruthless at his job, didn't mince his words and was very sexy. But there was something very special to Jake that we get to experience as readers over the course of this book. He had a sweeter and more vulnerable side to him that made him so much more real to me. Basically, Jake Becker owns my heart. I loved loved loved seeing him interact with Chelsea's nieces and nephews. I mean he was already pretty swoony on his own, but surround him with six adorable kids? My ovaries went kaput! I don't know what it is, but watching an alpha male like Jake open up his softer side in the presence of children had my heart screaming in glee.

I really really loved Chelsea's character as well. She had had to upend her life overnight after her brother and his wife's accident, having to ditch graduate school so that she could look after their 6 children. I loved that she was a kind and caring woman who was willing to do that for the sake of her nieces and nephews. And I admired her so much for how she handled it all because those kids could be handful when they wanted to be. The beautiful thing is though, Chelsea did it all by herself, never once complaining or resenting the kids. She truly had a heart made of gold. I was glad that Jake entered her life and provided her with the love and support she needed.

Their romance was really sweet. It developed slowly with them obviously being attracted to each other from the get go, but Jake took his time with her, which I certainly approved of. He was definitely a man-whore before he met Chelsea, but a STD scare from one of his one-night stands had him re-evaluating his life. I loved that he was willing to change and you could really see that change in him in his relationship with Chelsea. Their chemistry was undeniably hot, but more than the sexy scenes, I appreciated the conversations that Chelsea and Jake had. They got to know each other on deeper levels and they became very open with each other. There were times when Jake was being bone-headed because he thought that he wasn't good enough for Chelsea and at those times, I was ready to smack him in the head with my e-reader. Thankfully, that phase of his didn't last too long and what we ended up getting was a butterflies-in-the-tummy-inducing romance that I loved!

This wasn't just a romance between Jake and Chelsea though. It was also the love story between Jake and the 6 kids. Watching him develop all these relationships with this children had my heart fluttering and oh my goodness, there were some seriously sweet moments! Who can not fall for a guy who is willing to ditch his old ways to go to One Direction concerts and Mommy and Me classes and tolerate being peed on? Not me! I loved all the kids too even though they were a handful at times. They had so much personality, individuality and spunk. They easily wormed themselves and settled in my heart. They obviously also made up for some really funny scenes. I personally think this is Emma Chase's best book to date because she made me go through an emotional roller-coaster - I smiled, laughed, teared up, giggled, swooned, fanned myself and cried. So yeah, Sustained was quite the engaging read for me.

I don't feel this way about many books but as soon as I finished Sustained, I was ready to re-read it. This is just one of those books that is really special to me and will remain me for a long time. It wasn't just entertaining, but it also struck me right in the feels with the emotions I experienced. Contemporary romance fans, pick up this book asap!

Rating 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5

**Overall Rating : 4.5/5**

Thank you to Gallery Books for the ARC of Sustained.