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 and 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.
It's no secret I love Emma Chase. She has a knack for making me laugh and making me swoon with her books. There's something just a touch more special about Sustained that has had me coming back to this book time and time again-and falling in love with it each and every time.
Sustained has a little something for everyone in it. It's laugh out loud funny in spots, sweet in other spots. It has moments that break my heart every single time I read them. There's also passion, sexy times and love. It's the love that gets me every time. It's not just the romantic love between Jake and Chelsea, though lord knows that's enough on its own, but it's the love of family that has me sighing endlessly. There's something about seeing a man with kids/babies that just makes me melt.
Focusing on Jake for just a moment...he's one of my all time favorite book boyfriends. The growth he goes through in this book is tremendous. Is he perfect? No. But he's perfect for Chelsea. Together they represent a true relationship to me. Both are human and have flaws but they are truly the perfect match for one another.
The writing here is superb. You truly get the sense that you are living in the moment with these characters, experiencing what they're experiencing. Good, bad or ugly. The pacing is great, too. There's no mad rush at the end to give these characters the ending they truly deserve.
I enjoy the peeks into the secondary characters lives. This is a standlone, but there are characters from other books mentioned. They don't take away from the story at all, they simply enhance it.
This book truly has something for everyone in it. It's one I find myself coming back to time and time again and I can't recommend it highly enough. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars-it deserves them all.
