ORDER OF PROTECTION (Courting Justice #1) by Lexi Blake-Review, Excerpt and Giveaway Tour
ORDER OF PROTECTION
Courting Justice #1
by Lexi Blake
Release Date: June 5, 2018
Genre: adult, contemporary, erotic, romantic, suspense
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play/iTunes
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 5, 2018
To high-end defense attorney Henry Garrison, Win Hughes is a woman he met during one of the most trying times of his life. She’s soft and warm, and he finds solace in their brief relationship. But Win has a secret. She’s actually Taylor Winston-Hughes—born to one of the wealthiest families in the country, orphaned as a child by a tragic accident. Win moves in the wealthiest circles, but her lavish lifestyle hides her pain.
When her best friend is murdered in the midst of a glittering New York gala, Win’s charged with the crime, and the only person in the world she wants to see is Henry.
Henry is shocked at the true identity of his lover, but he can’t reject the case. This trial could take his new firm into the stratosphere. Still, he’s not getting burned by Win again. And yet every turn brings them closer together.
As the case takes a wild turn and Win’s entire life is upended, she must look to the people she’s closest to in order to find a killer. And Henry must decide between making his case and saving the woman he loves.
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REVIEW: ORDER OF PROTECTION is the first installment in Lexi Blake’s contemporary, adult COURTING JUSTICE romantic, suspense series, a spin-off from the author’s LAWLESS series. This is thirty-seven year old, high-powered, defense attorney aka The Monster of Manhattan, Henry Garrison, and twenty-nine year old, former reality TV star/heiress Taylor Winston-Hughes aka Win Hughes’ story line. There is a slight cross-over with the author’s Masters and Mercenaries series with the inclusion of several security experts from McKay-Taggart.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Win and Henry) ORDER OF PROTECTION follows the acrimonious relationship between thirty-seven year old, high-powered, defense attorney Henry Garrison, and twenty-nine year old, former reality TV star/heiress Win Hughes, and the search for the truth. A month earlier, hiding from scandals that had become their lives, Henry Garrison and Win Hughes would spend several glorious weeks together on Chappaquiddick with the knowledge that their relationship was only temporary, and no-strings attached. Never having revealed to Henry the true identity about her past and reality TV, Win would return to civilization, only to be charged with the murder of her co-star Brie while attending a fund-raiser set up by her Uncle Bel. Enter Henry Garrison, who has been hired to defend our story –line heroine. What ensues is the caustic relationship between our leading couple as everyone struggles to uncover the truth.
Approximately twenty-seven years earlier, an infant Taylor Winston-Hughes was the lone survivor of an explosion at sea wherein her billionaire parents were killed leaving their only child the heir to a fortune but her personal life would become fodder for the news media naming her the Billion-Dollar Baby, that followed her the rest of her life. Quiet, shy, determined and beautiful Win is a recovering anorexic whose time spent on the gossip beleaguered, reality television show brought with it the demands of perfection and more. Working with Henry to solve the murder meant working with a spiteful, angry, and demeaning man whose inability to forgive and forget found our heroine on the receiving end of acidic barbs and accusations of murder from the man hired to work on her defense.
From the outset, recovering alcoholic and scandal plagued Henry Garrison finds himself attracted to his temporary neighbour, and his relationship and sexual attraction is palpable and sweet, but murder charges against, and the revelation of our heroine’s true identity turn Henry into a caustic, monster of epic proportions. Cynical and untrusting Henry is unable to move beyond the scandal that plagued his marriage to actress Alicia Kingman, a disastrous and fraudulent marriage that has blinded our hero to love and a happily ever after. For all intents and purposes Henry became the nightmare our heroine was trying to avoid.
The relationship between Henry and Win is plagued by Henry’s intolerance of the lies of omission, and secrets about our heroine’s past. Henry’s bitter comments and scathing treatment of Win Hughes borders on mental and emotional abuse for a woman already haunted by the events of the past. Win is a sweet, sassy and intelligent heroine whose reactions to our hero’s abusive treatment are rather calm and emotionless under the circumstances. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and impassioned.
There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and dynamic secondary and supporting characters including several cast members of the reality TV show Kendalmire’s Way-Brie Westerhaven, Hoover Kendalmire, and Kipton Keever; Win’s uncle Bellamy Hughes, her cousin Trevor, and nanny Mary Hannigan; an assortment of security and investigation specialists from McKay-Taggart; attorney Margarita Reyes, and Henry’s legal partners David Cormack, and Noah Lawless of Garrison, Cormack and Lawless.
ORDER OF PROTECTION is a detailed and complex story line with a couple of twists revealed at the very end. The premise is engaging, entertaining and edgy; the romance is dramatic and provocative; the characters are spirited, startling and animated but saying that Henry’s abrasive, antagonizing and ill-tempered treatment of our story line heroine is offensive until the very end; the character portrayal of Henry is questionable-he is not a likeable hero but more of an anti-hero; redemption is difficult. ORDER OF PROTECTION is a well written, thought-out story of suspense with an energetic cast of characters.
Copy supplied by Netgalley
Reviewed by Sandy
Because it was still a bad idea.
Alicia might have given in to Noah and Drew Lawless’s blackmail, but she would be back at some point. Then there was the fact that he dealt with unsavory clients on a daily basis. He took on high-profile cases and often got dragged through the mud along with the client.
There were plenty of people out there who hated him. Loathed him and despised the very fact that he existed and cheered if he failed. He was used to it. Sweet little Win was not and would be horrified.
So he was going to tell her how amazing their night together was and then turn her down gently.
Except she hadn’t shown up and that bugged the hell out of him.
She’d been the one to claim she would be here despite the fact that he’d told her not to come. She’d told him she didn’t care what he thought.
It was perverse, but if he’d had her number, he might have called and said a few things about setting expectations and then not meeting them.
He started another pot of coffee. This was completely foolish. She’d put some distance between the two of them and realized how little they had in common. At least one of them had some sense.
The scent of French roast hit the air and he realized he was pro-crastinating. He was putting off the moment when he had to step back into the city and face the music. He would have to work his ass off to find anyone who wanted to hire a lawyer with his tarnished reputation. It didn’t matter that his addiction issues had never cost a client a dime. The perception would be there, and perception was over half the battle in life.
He should pack up tonight and leave it all to the agent. It’s what he should have done yesterday, but he’d enjoyed spending time with David, showing him places on the island and telling him stories.
It was time to go home now. Time to forget about pretending to be someone he couldn’t afford to be anymore. Time to put away thoughts of quiet and peace and get back to being the Monster of Manhattan. That was the only way he was going to survive.
The Monster of Manhattan didn’t give in to urges. He plowed through all problems with a single-minded, ruthless intent. The Monster didn’t need attention, though he tended to get it. Attention didn’t matter to the Monster. Money mattered. Power mattered.
He would get them both back.
The Monster certainly didn’t need some do-gooder in his bed. He would select a woman, rationally discuss his needs with her, and pay her for her services, whether they be as a plus-one to gatherings or as a body in bed. That was how he would view it. Transactional.
Transactional was safe.
So he was going to stop being such a whiny asshole and be grateful that Win had some sense.
A knock broke through the quiet of the house.
He practically ran for the door.
He opened it and there was Win, standing in the soft light of the afternoon, her hair up in a ponytail. She was wearing denim shorts and a blousy, feminine shirt. She had a bag of groceries in one hand and what looked like a duffel in the other.
“I know you said I shouldn’t come back, but you’re wrong and I’m going to give you all my reasons why.”
He didn’t care. She was here. He walked straight up to her and cupped that pretty face in his hands and kissed her for all he was worth.
Fuck transactional. He wanted something real for once in his damn life.
When he came back up, he was rewarded with a soft look in her eyes, her lips curving into a small smile.
“No arguing with me?”
He did have some problems they should discuss. “You’re late.”
Her smile went brilliant. “I had some things to clear up. I thought if you didn’t mind, I might stay with you for a few nights.”
He took the bag of groceries out of her hand and led her inside. “I think that sounds like a great idea.”
“This is way easier than I thought it would be,” she admitted. “Have you had lunch? I could whip up some sandwiches and we could have a picnic.”
He stashed the grocery bag in the fridge. She set down her duffel, and that made it much easier to scoop her up and into his arms. “I know exactly what I want for lunch.”
Her eyes went wide, but she didn’t struggle at all. Her arms went around his shoulders as he carried her to the big bedroom.
It had been cozy in his old room, but he needed more space if she was going to live here with him for a few weeks.
He stopped at the edge of the big bed he’d had brought in after he’d inherited the place. It was the only room he’d redone, with the thought of spending long weekends with his friends up here. He never had managed the time, but now he was happy he’d spent the cash to do it because he could share it with her.
The last few weeks of being Henry before going back to the real world.
He set her down on the bed and pulled his shirt over his head. He wasn’t playing around this time. That was for later. It had been entirely too long since he’d had her.
He needed her.
He knew it was something he should question, even be slightly afraid of, but he didn’t care in the moment. All that mattered was she was here and he could put off any thoughts of letting her go for a few days. He could sink into her.
She was his reward for every crappy thing he’d been through in the last couple of years.
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.
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