Seducing the Defendant by Chantal Fernando Pages: 320
Series: Conflict of Interest #2
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Source: ARC, NetGalley
Also in this series: Breaching the Contract, Approaching the Bench
Also by this author: Breaching the Contract, Approaching the Bench, Ace of Hearts, Knuckle Down, Going Rogue, Fallen Princess, Saint, Temper
Goodreads
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?
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: View Spoiler »
- Series/Standalone: stand alone within an interconnected series
- Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
- HEA: View Spoiler »
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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
that’s awesome, glad you enjoyed it despite it wrapping up the case early. I heard that part didn’t always work for some people, felt rushed? But the main focus is probably the relationship anyway, so no matter