Summary
There’s a devil on my shoulder, and every Monday morning she announces herself. She’s this delicious flame in my chest, a flurry of whispered suggestions in my ear. Suggestions I ignore…because every single one of them is about Ben Tate.
Ben—Stealer of Clients, Evicter of Homeless Women, Nemesis. Sitting across from me every damn Monday with his lovely, smug smile and his too-perfect teeth, the living symbol of everything I hate.
It’s been my policy to avoid him, but when a case comes into the firm—one that could change his career and mine—I make an exception. It means weekends and evenings by his side. It means enduring his smirk and his smart mouth and never taking the bait.
Until the night Ben says “Beg”…and that devil on my shoulder decides to make a few demands of her own.
Excerpt
When Gemma Charles smiles at you, rest assured you’re fucked. And she’s been smiling since she entered the courtroom.
Her client, Victoria Jones, is about to lose her three children. The prosecutor has provided his evidence, and you can make anything sound believable if you know how to tell a story.
Unfortunately for him, Gemma tells a better one.
She begins by proving the grounds for the welfare check were baseless. She plays bodycam footage showing a gross abuse of power by both the police and the social worker.
She proves the letter notifying Victoria of the visit was mailed after the visit. She’s blown up the social worker’s photos of the dirty kitchen floor—the only specific complaint made about cleanliness—and asks the social worker to demonstrate how, exactly, Victoria was supposed to get the floor clean while confined to a wheelchair.
And Gemma, naturally, has brought a wheelchair and a broom with her for the demonstration.
The court is laughing, the judge is getting irritated, and Gemma is in her element. She has the face of an angel—high cheekbones, wide mouth, almond-shaped eyes—but she’s too goddamn argumentative and short-tempered to do anything but fight for a living. She’s gliding across the floor like a dancer and turning the courtroom into a circus, one in which the arresting officer and social worker are the clowns. She’s clearly proven her case, but she’s still going strong because she’s so fucking mad. She wants every single person in this room to see how ludicrous and unfair the situation is.
“Miss Charles,” grouses the judge as Gemma begins to push the wheelchair out, “put that away. This isn’t drama class.” He turns to the state’s attorney. “Motion is denied. This was a disgusting abuse of power on the part of social services, and I won’t forget the way you just wasted the court’s time.”
Victoria and her family cheer. Gemma hugs them all before rushing toward the exit. I’m hidden at the back of the courtroom, but I catch a glimpse of her eyes just before they disappear behind sunglasses.
She’s crying. And I’m not sure they are happy tears.
Review
(audiobook) I have mixed feelings. I loved this book a whole lot, until the very end. Warning, it’ll get a bit spoilery near the end, but I can’t explain my feelings without those little spoilers.
First of all, it was a good enemies to lovers story. Sure, it begins with a lot of lust and some angry-ish sexy times, but quickly Gemma and Ben more than tolerate each other as they start working together. They open up and share some personal details. Gemma sees another side of Ben and maybe admires him in the end.
We don’t really know about Ben’s feelings–at first–as the story is seen almost exclusively through Gemma’s eyes. But clearly learning more about Ben’s past and mind forces her to re-evaluate the way she sees him, and she realizes there were some misunderstanding.
Despite all her prejudices–somewhat legitimate, as they come from past experiences–Gemma was a great character. She’s dedicated, has a good heart, and wants to change the office’s ways. It was terribly frustrating to see how her bosses kept interfering. Her journey wasn’t an easy one.
At least she had Ben to help her. Early on, it becomes clear that Ben is basically the opposite of what she thought. He has her best interests at heart, though he has to hide it. Until the end, I thought he was great. I especially enjoyed the way he lost control when he was with Gemma, how she unravelled him. How he wasn’t afraid to show his softer belly, while still being a real alpha male.
But–here are the spoilers–it’s revealed in the end that Ben has serious stalker tendancies, and it made me cringe hard. Some of his actions were definitely cute, but others would put him in a ward in my opinion. Obsession isn’t a sexy trait. It kind of ruined the character for me. And it made me sad because I really enjoyed him until then! And the cringiest element wasn’t even necessary. I suppose the author thought it would be funny.
There was a strong feminist message that I loved, all through the book. Between fighting privileges and misogyny at her workplace, and helping women in family court trials, Gemma sure has a lot to say about women’s place in the world. But as you’ll see, she also knows that individually, people can be good or bad, no matter their gender.
What makes me give this book a good grade nonetheless is the narration. The narrator was absolute perfection! She made me shiver, she made me–almost–cry. She does an excellent job. And the special appearance from one of my favorite male narrators for a little taste at Ben’s mind made it even better.
Quickie
- Series: Devil #3 (can be read as a standalone)
- Hashtags: #office romance #enemies to lovers #lawyers #forbidden relationship
- Triggers: cheating by side characters
- Main couple: Gemma Charles & Ben Tate
- Hotness: 5/5
- Romance: 4/5
- + I love it when a man lose control
- – okay, Creeper McCreepy…
Stalker mode
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