Staci Warren’s “Legal Trouble” matches super-lawyer Emma against her tall, dark, and dashing wet dream client, CEO Noah. He is open and ready to fall in love with the woman of his dreams despite their mutual work obstacles, but she is much more cautious. She is not only in a precarious situation because she is the newest partner in her law company and her mentor just passed away during their largest case, but she also has a lot of baggage from her past that continues to influence all of her decisions and her feeling of self-worth.
Despite having a troubled past of his own, Noah is adamant that he and the lady he loves deserve a happy ending after everything they’ve been through. Warren has delivered a satisfying start to the Texan Hearts trilogy with plenty of groundwork for the following two volumes. It is full of twists and turns, revelations that never cease stunning, and poignant moments enough to make the heart pound. An ideal choice for Romance fans seeking a fast, digestible book with constant plot development.
Because the tale has so many strong elements, I feel confident awarding this book a solid three stars. Both Emma and Noah are motivated characters, fully dedicated to chasing their goals, making them interesting to see how far they’re ready to go to attain them. Because of Emma’s sincere commitment to her profession — not because of the job itself, but because of the people behind it — I was rooting for her and empathising with her from the first page.
Her heart and purpose have always been obvious to be caring for people in a way she hadn’t been, which flawlessly connects her present self to the past that moulded her and drives the story. Although I do wish we had had more of his back story to understand how he matured from a youngster to the man we see on the page, Noah presented an interesting and convincing parallel to her. The romance is constant and entertaining, keeping the reader glued to the page as the characters dance around each other to the backdrop of a legal battle of personal and ethical ramifications.
This book’s compact size was my main complaint about it. I believed there were enough gaps in the character development and emotional dynamics of the relationship for me to be dubious rather than in love with the sending. To properly explain how things came to be, the book would need to be extended by another 20,000 pages in order to address the great majority of these issues. A good read all around.
About The Book
Falling for a client—especially the sinfully sexy CEO of Whitlow Group—might not be the dumbest career move Emma’s ever made, but it certainly makes her Top Five List. When Noah Whitlow toys with women, it’s either for a headline or a good time, and she’s had enough drama in her life.
Emma’s smarts, sass, and salacious curves should be the last thing on Noah’s mind, especially with a potentially career-ending lawsuit to fight. She is Whitlow Group’s attorney, their defender in court—and the star of his fantasies.
As the line between client and attorney blurs, a family power struggle within Whitlow Group threatens Emma and Noah’s relationship, as well as the company’s future.
Lies.
Greed.
Backstabbing.
Past sins unearthed.
If Emma can’t get to the bottom of the plot against Noah, their love won’t be the only thing to go up in flames.
The Review
Legal Trouble
This is the first book in The Texas Hearts series, it is one of those books which once you start to know you just have to finish. It concentrates on the meeting and coming together of Noah and Emma who both have traumatic pasts which have held both of the back from ever having a serious relationship. In order to know what they have dealt with the author has included within their story some details that some may find difficult to read, so be warned there are references to parental abuse both emotional and physical, gun violence and even attempted suicide. This is a story of instant attraction on Noah's part but it's an attraction he ran from afraid of how she made him feel. He never expected to see Emma again, but fate had other ideas because she's his new legal advisor and suddenly avoidance isn't going to be possible. But what about Emma does she return his feelings?