If I'm being honest, soon after we met the Landon character was worried about how Taite was going to write the ending (I could see two outcomes right away and I didn't love either of them).

It's the story of Landon and Carly. They're both lawyers for the same firm and they, along with their boss Jane are working on a big case. After the outcome of the case Jane is also going to pick one of the two of them to be the partner spot.

We then learn more about Landon's background and that complicates the partner thing too.

I didn't love parts of it. Why does the 'doesn't play politics, just wants to work hard' get made out as the bad one who needs to be 'released or improved'? This isn't the first time I've seen it in a novel and it won't be the last.

On the other hand I liked most of the characters (sans Landon, she was a hard character to like). And I liked the mystery behind the Trevor case too. It wasn't super complex, but it did keep me guessing a little.

It was a book that I went back and forth on liking and not liking as much. So a three star middle rating is perfect for it. Personally I thought that overall it was enjoyable, but also won't go on my best ever Carsen Taite list.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.

I really enjoyed reading this! While some of the characters felt lack luster at times (Carly in particular), Taite does a good job crafting this part legal drama, part romance story. I did love Landon and Carly's dynamic and basically chanted in my head 'KISS KISS KISS' every time the two of them were together. The book is filled with some legal jargon but the author does a good job of explaining what it all means. Overall a fun, quick read albeit a tad predictable.

This is my favorite book by Carsen Taite. I loved the two characters Landon and Carly who complimented each other perfectly. I do love a romance based on opposites attract. Landon being the sociable and likable character compared to Carly who struggled socially and focused on data and facts. The chemistry hit the mark perfectly with the build up of attraction throughout the book done at the perfect pace. The storyline was interesting and had you keen to see the case unfold.

Definitely recommend this book that provided a perfect balance of romance and the crime investigation.

An interesting law/court room drama. Enjoyed the building relationship between the two women but found the identity of the murderer a bit too easy to guess from half way through book.

A nicely paced and accomplished romance. It was easy to spot whodunnit early on, but that didn’t detract from the story due to the quality of the writing. The legal details were absorbing and balanced well with the burgeoning love affair between the two main characters. A good holiday read.

Carsen Taite always delivers a great read. She is consistent in giving you a lot of legal drama with characters who are insightful, well thought out and noteworthy chemistry. You know when you pick up one of her books you are getting your money's worth time and time again. Love’s Verdict is no exception! This story has a cloud of mystery, did he really do it, with a side of I think you’re so hot but I can’t date you.

Carly Prachett is a fifth-year associate at Sturges and Llyod, a boutique law firm in Dallas. She excels at negotiations but is has trouble loosening up and bringing in high-dollar clients. She wants to make partner more than anything. This driven young lawyer has put work before everything else.

Landon Holt is the daughter to one of the wealthiest families in Texas. While Landon is one of the heirs to the Holt dynasty she wants to make her own way without her father’s help or influence. When her law firm forces her to return to Dallas for a big case involving a Dallas Cowboy, Landon reluctantly agrees but it only the lure of being Sturges and Llyod next partner that she agrees.

Right from the bat Carly and Landon are pitted against each other. Their boss gives them the reins on this high-profile murder case with the caveat of working together but only one will come out as partner. The stress is high, the tension is high but so is the attraction.

This book has legal drama in spades, a developed love story, and charming characters. You can't help but like this book, it’s solid on all fronts and well worth your time. My only complaint is that I wish we had just a dash more time between the two main characters. A few more down moments of them with dialogue would have been fantastic.

I am a die hard Carsen Taite fan. I enjoy her law mystery stories and the build up of the courtroom atmosphere. Though this one was a little harder to dive into, I still enjoyed it. At times it was a little slow but at other times the pages turned themselves. I liked the characters even though the chemistry between the main characters was a bit frustrating. It was well written romance that I highly recommend.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving my review.

I have read many of this authors books and although I did enjoy this book I don’t think it is one of her best ones. The storyline is good and I liked the characters of Carly & Landon. You could feel the chemistry with the two characters from the beginning of when they first meet. Both are after the partnership that is open to them from the law firm they work at. Both of them want it but only one of them can get it.

Overall it is a good book with a good storyline and likeable characters.

Love’s Verdict is about two high powered female attorneys vying for one partnership position at the same law firm. The dynamics between them swings hot and cold through some quirky, delightful and thrilling scenes. Quintessential Carsen Taite delivering a thrilling, romantic legal drama.

Carly and Landon are both lawyers in their fifth year, both hoping to become partner in the next year. Quiet Carly is from the Dallas firm and sociable Landon is from the Austin firm. Their boss puts them on a case together, defending an NFL player accused of murder, and promises only one will become partner, the one who "wows" the most. The two women butt heads and try to get the upper hand on the case to show off their skills to their boss, but neither can resist the attraction between them.

This was not one of my favourite books by Carsen Taite, I found the two main characters really interchangeable. To me they weren't unique or distinct characters so I found their motivations and passions got a little lost. Landon perhaps was a little more developed, but Carly was not. Their chemistry wasn't lacking at all but I did miss the emotional connection to the characters and their relationship. The writing, as always, was excellent, and the case was superbly fleshed out. Carsen Taite doesn't disappoint there! I still can honestly say I enjoyed the book, it just fell a little bit flat for me in some aspects.

I know I will always pick up any Carsen Taite book I can get my hands on, and I will always enjoy them!

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 Stars. I thought this book was okay, not great but not bad. This was about Carly Pachett, a buttoned up attorney who is working for an appeal case for a famous football player, Trevor Kincade. When Trevor is convicted of murdering his girlfriend, Landon Holt comes in to help with the trial from the Austin office. Landon Holt is from a famous family in Dallas is dreading her return. The partner at the law firm, Jane has promised a partnership to whoever deals with the case the best. It is a competition between the two.

I never really felt the chemistry between the two of them, it seemed flat. I never really got that they felt strongly about each other. I mean, there was some good character development and interactions between Carly and Landon, but they went from o to 60 fast when the tension built up. It was not my favorite book and I actually would not recommend it to my friends.

This book develops a good judicial plot, with a side conflict between the two protagonists, who must be both partners in the defense of a man accused of murder and competitors for a position of partnership in the law firm for which they work.

They do not go from hatred to love, as the blurb says, they do not hate each other at any time, but they antagonize mostly at the beginning of the book. Then they discover their common points and the relationship becomes more personal.

I've found Landon's character quite interesting and coherent in the way her behaves, but the character of Carly has seemed unclear to me. From the initial fear of facing public situations, she goes, too quickly, to lose that lack of socialization although she may have a good motive with the partnership at stake. I have not found coherence in this character.

The judicial plot is well treated, with some jargon but without being cumbersome, as usual in the books of this author. But in this case I think the resolution is hasty. Also the final decisions of the two protagonists have seemed to me taken too quickly. But it is still an entertaining book that makes for a pretty nice reading.

Recommended for fans of legal plots with beautiful lesbians in power suits.

<i>An ARC was sent to me from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley for an honest review </i>

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.

I like Carsten Taite’s books. They can be hot or miss and this one was a miss. I gave it 3.5 stars because they story was intriguing, I was unable to put it down at certain points, but at others I felt it was the long slog to get through this book. It definitely dragged in certain sections. I don’t know where the chemistry and the intense love for each other came from. It was like one minute they hated each other and then very suddenly with almost no build up they were madly in love.

The characters both of them were fine, there wasn’t anything I loved about either. I like all the characters except Jane and Landon’s father. They seemed very one note and a little unnecessary. The story was well written and I did not see the twist at the end coming. I did think that the first 3/4 of the book dragged and the ending was way too abrupt and short. It was not an evenly spaced book.

Overall not Taite’s best. Okay story, okay characters, but great twist. Worth a read.

Carsen Taite excels at writing legal thrillers with lesbian main characters using her experience as a criminal defense attorney. Lately, she has written the 'Lone star law' series which was inspired in the 1980s 'Dallas' soap opera which, in my opinion, didn't showcase her knowledge of the American legal system. I'm happy to see that with 'Love's veredict' she's back at what she does best.

Attorneys Landon Holt and Carly Pachett work for a prestigious criminal defense firm with their eyes on a single opening promotion to partner. As one of the firm's clients is accused of murder, they are both assigned to the case which means that they have to work as a team but only one will get to be appointed as partner. As hours shared together go by, their initial antagonistic feelings develop into something else which can jeopardise both their careers.

This is a legal thriller with a romance at the side. The focus of the book is the procedural intricacies of a murder case, including details of the grand jury process, jury picking and defence strategies. Ms. Taite puts in layman's terms all these procedures and that are very informative and interesting. However, you might be disappointed if you are looking for romance as it is much in the background. Despite this, the main characters are multilayered and their chemistry is hot. There are also a couple of good secondary characters, such as Skye (from Taite's book 'The best defence') and Carly's nosey neighbour. The 'baddies' are a bit stereotypical and predictable but despite that, the book is entertaining and the plot twists and turns keep the reader turning the pages.

Overall, an enjoyable novel by Carsen Taite that will satisfy more legal thriller fans than romance ones. 4 stars.

ARC provided by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Love’s Verdict is a decent courtroom/mystery drama slash romance. Carsen Taite knows her subject matter and the legal part of the story runs like a well-oiled machine, however, the ‘mystery’ part was anything but. I spotted the bad guy early on so the twists where not that shocking (maybe seeing too many episodes of Law and Order has honed my senses, I don’t know).

The push and pull between Landon Holt and Carly Pachett starts from the moment they lay eyes on each other. With opposite personalities they are like night and day but still have to find a way to work together to present a high profile case to court. The stakes are high for both attorneys, because only one will come out the other end as a new partner to the firm.

There are reasons enough the two rivals should keep it strictly work related but that fails when mutual attraction keeps rearing its ugly head. It takes the whole story-line for the two to keep chipping away at their mistrust and assumptions to finally see the light. I thought their chemistry was lacking.

So all in all Love’s Verdict is an entertaining novel be it a predictable one. Fans of Taite will probably enjoy themselves.

f/f

Themes: I was a bit underwhelmed, predictable plot, the romance followed standard convention, no big suprises there, the law part of the plot was competently written, Taite does what she does best there, I thought Carly had an enormous stick up her bum, didn’t warm up to her much.

3.4 stars

* A free copy was provided by Netgalley and Bold Strokes Inc. for an honest review.

It's not that the book was boring or poorly written but I had trouble finding the chemistry between the 2 leads. that's always disappointing. The mystery was not why i continue reading since I kinda figured it out around the half of it. I guess I kept reading thinking I will find the connection, depth or whatever, and honestly I don't think they will make it working together. I think thats the one major thing one need to work on when writing something more than romance, you need to make sure you build the romance along the way in convincing way without messing the other genre you're adding to the mix
If you're looking for book to kill time this is good not memorable and wont wow you but you wont feel bad or regret getting it

From the first page to the last page, Carsen Taite provided the reader with an intriguing plot and characters to match. Her latest novel, Love’s Verdict, highlighted a high profile court case which featured a star Dallas football player accused of murder. Lawyers Landon and Carly, while vying for the one available partnership spot, had to work together not only as collaborators for the sake of their client, but also as competitors for the sake of their career.

The author effectively allowed her characters to evolve and interact with each other in a mature fashion with intelligent, thought provoking dialogue. They were multidimensional and very likable. The secondary characters’ involvement within this story allowed the author to create an atmosphere of intensity and curiosity. It was skillfully executed!

Ms. Taite’s writing was not only entertaining but also informative, especially in terms of her knowledge of the legal system and procedures. This added another layer of depth to an already captivating story.

Love’s Verdict was a fast paced, engaging read and highly recommended!

Can I give more than 5 stars? No? Well here goes 5.99

Why?
An intriguing case which could have been simple but was done in a way that it became interesting. A law firm with romantic leads who are drawn to each other but are also cut throat competitors. Their client who is either the nicest guy to be setup for domestic abuse/murder or he's a killer psychopath. And finally their boss who is either playing them or promorting unhealthy competition.

I didn't want this to end but it did and I know I'll be reading this one again on a slow reading day.

A great read by Carsen who has topped It should be a crime very easily

'Love’s Verdict' is a really good legal drama with mystery, suspense and romance all rolled into one. Carly is a fifth year associate with one of the most prestigious criminal law firms in Dallas. She’s meticulous, hard-working and ridiculously smart but isn’t particularly outgoing which might be a detractor in her bid to make partner. Her work representing a professional footballer seems to be a step in the right direction until she is pitted against the vivacious, well-connected Landon for partnership.

Both main characters are likeable in spite of their completely different personalities and a fantastic tension is set up by having them work together as well as against each other. The legal aspects were very interesting and it was clever putting in a character that didn’t always get the intricacies so I also got a better understanding some aspects of the Texas legal system. The suspense was pretty riveting too. Well worth reading.

Book received from Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Love’s Verdict is one of those unique books that works surprisingly well despite two characters that shouldn’t remotely like each other. The synopsis drew me in with the fierce competition for a coveted partnership in their law firm as Landon and Carly have to team up to defend a high profile football player for murder.. The push and pull of their attraction coupled with their fierce and intelligent professional skills made for a heady combination of suspense throughout the story. In fact, it’s difficult to pinpoint which theme I liked most. Landon and Carly have very different skill sets as lawyers, but together as a team they complement each other perfectly and are practically unstoppable at uncovering the truth. Meanwhile, behind their mad lawyer skills is a slow, sweet romance, and they soon discover they complement each other on a personal level in ways that not even a coveted partnership can distract them from the truth about their attraction. Their personal growth as human beings above and beyond their careers became the icing on the cake. There’s some clever writing here that made these complicated themes work really well together for a truly engrossing and entertaining story.