As some other readers of this author pointed out, this story was unexpected and different which in my opinion was refreshing. Not much "lawyering" going on. Different is just different; not less than; not bad; just different. The focus was on the characters and their feelings about each other, relationships, and, commitment. Roxanne Daly, blogger, "Bride's Best Friend". Abby Keane, attorney, in partnership with her two friends. Neither women is looking for love or "the one". It is during times of not looking that "the one" may fall into your lap. The chemistry between Roxanne and Abby is flirty and hot. Because this is the second read in a three read series, I liked how the author informed the reader about previous mentioned characters. For example, Wynne and Campbell.

Just to start with stating the obvious, this book is the second in what seems to be a three book series. You do not need to read the first one to enjoy this book.

I thought this was a solid read! A little short, since it's under 200 pages, but enjoyable. You just don't get the extra scenes that some authors would throw in there, like Abby meeting Roxanne's sister or some other events that are remarked on offhandedly. At least it keeps the book from moving too slowly, I guess...

It's also not a steamy book, so don't go into it thinking you'll get the hottest sex scenes between these two. They are sexy, but that's not what this author excels at. That would very clearly be law, and the women who practice it!

One of my favorite things about this book is that Abby is very clearly a commitment phobe, but Roxanne doesn't pressure her at all. She just goes with the flow and takes whatever Abby is capable of giving her in that moment. It was refreshing not to have a big drawn-out fight about it, like some lesbian books do. It is OK to fall in love at different paces ladies!

Overall, I liked this one better than the first in the series. I'll read the third when it comes out!

The story of a “single-for-life” ice queen lawyer, Abby, and a a romantic wedding blogger, Roxanne. I guess if one would have summed up for me like that I might have skipped this one. The writing style of the author is nice and easy going as always, but the characters seem lacklustre and just a bit boring to be honest.
I liked how they met and how you they both seem to struggle with feelings, one for not wanting to scare the other and one because she is insecure about all of it. The storyline that brings them back together again after they leave paradise is not entertaining at all. I honestly couldn’t find anything I liked about it.

I like Roxanne and I also like one of Abby’s best friends/partners Grace. They seem like the two most real characters and I find them the most relatable.

This book was addicting. You wanted to continue reading even long after it was over. The characters felt so real and relatable, and the story was so original.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers, Bold Strokes Books Inc., of 'Out of Practice' for affording me the opportunity to read the book and review it. This is the first book I have read by this author and I fully intend to read her other books.

First off it was a joy to read. The words flowed on the page, the pages turned themselves. "Out of Practice" has a great storyline with well-described likeable main and secondary characters. The chemistry between the two main characters was sizzling throughout and evident throughout their quick-witted banter and other exchanges from the get go and throughout the novel. It reads well and appears natural, emphasising that chemistry and sexual attraction is multi-layered.

I enjoyed the settings, the dichotomy of Abby's mother being a serial bride and Abby being the pole opposite. There was enough push and pull in the narrative and storyline to sustain the reader's interest throughout. The sex scenes were understated and that worked well in this storyline especially between two intelligent women whose banter fuelled their chemistry. 5 stars from me!

3.5 Stars. This novel is about Attorney Abby Keane who goes on vacation to PV and meets Roxanne Daly. Roxanne is a blogger for a famous wedding blog, BBF. She is in PV to write an article about the resorts, she does not expect to meet a beautiful, fun woman who she cannot stay away from. They do not know much about each other when they both leave PV. They come to find out that Abby is the attorney working against Roxanne's new TV series. Abby is working with a bridal store owner to re-open the stores that his siblings are trying to close. Roxanne is trying to get a good story for her new TV show that is about to launch. They have to stay away from each other as they are working opposite sides of the case,

I really enjoyed this novel as I could not stop reading it. I enjoyed the chemistry between Roxanne and Abby, as their chemistry evolved throughout the novel. I enjoyed the banter between them and thought the story went at a decent pace. The book did seem to rush the drama at the end of the novel and that part did not last vert long, as well as some of Abby's feelings about relationships. AS a whole, the novel was pretty solid.

Overall, this was an enjoyable book. I liked both of the characters, but did get frustrated with them when they wouldn't just talk things out and immediately went to sniping at one another. I also wish that we could have seen more of the two doing the activities on the island - it would have helped establish how and why they fell for one other rather it seeming to center around sex. I also with people hadn't brushed off Abby's complicated feelings about long-term relationships - having a parent constantly falling in love, getting married, and then subsequently divorced would probably cause most people to not understand relationships.

I enjoyed the characters of Abby and Roxanne, the initial setting of where they met and got to know each other better in Puerta Vallarta, and the challenges they faced in the lawsuit and their relationship. There was just enough drama in this book for my liking.

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

Abby is an attorney that was introduced in the author's previous book "Practice makes perfect". She and her best friends are partners in a law firm. Overworked and tired of never doing something fun for herself she goes on vacation to Puerto Vallarta where she meets wedding blogger Roxanne Daly.

They have an insta-lust and basically they agree to pass their holidays together without having to talk about their daily lives or their work. After a few days in paradise Roxanne has to leave but she can't say to Abby that she is basically working and her job is to review resorts for her blog. After a few days Abby sees her casually at the PV airport and she thinks that Roxanne left her to go have the time of her life in another resort with other women.
When they both go back to Austin they think of each other but they don't have a way to communicate. But when Abby’s biggest client and one of her oldest friends who owns a chain of bridal stores, suddenly closes leaving hundreds of brides without their already ordered dresses, Abby and Roxanne meet at the doorsteps of Abby's firm.

I was really surprised from this book mainly because it's a romance!
Carsen Taite is known for her stories filled with legal drama but this book is more focused to the romance .
Both characters have good chemistry together and are very interesting as personalities. I got invested in this story but a weak point in my opinion are the brief sex scenes and that the plot is a bit predictable.

Overall, I would totally recommend it and as I'm a big Taite fan, I can't wait for the third book of this series.

*An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Never the bride...

Abby flies off to her vacation destination completely prepared to relax and enjoy her time of seclusion from others. But when Roxanne falls into her lap, her personal itinerary falls by the wayside. Their no-strings/no personal information fling becomes more than they agreed to but end up going their separate ways anyway. Once back home, their jobs bring them back together as adversaries.

This is the second book in the 'Legal Affair' Series by Carsen Taite. I enjoyed the first book, 'Practice Makes Perfect,' but this one was even better. The three best friends are still working hard at lawyering. Campbell and Wynne, from book one, are still together and make appearances throughout.

I liked the contrast between the main characters. Abby has an aversion to relationships. She is jaded and doesn't believe in marriage. Her mother hasn't been the best role model and continues to marry men in hopes of finding 'the one.' On the other hand, Roxanne is a romantic and has a wedding blog. She wants the real thing even though she is unsure if she'll ever find it.

I enjoyed the ruse of a casual relationship between Abby and Roxanne when it was so clearly anything but. The conflict between them seemed as if it was going to be easy to navigate until evil TV got in the way. The ending was super campy with grand gesture and dramatics. Something you would see at the end of a romantic movie and I loved every second of it. It really appealed to my sappy heart.

Overall, this was a quick read romance that gave me all the good feelings.

I recommend to people who like to read about romance, vacations, flings, lawyers, blogging, weddings, friends, fighting the feelings, grand gestures, protesters, and wedding veils.

Abby a lawyer, is on her way to a well-deserved vacation when unexpectedly a beautiful woman falls into her lap on the plane, that woman is Roxanne who is a writer for a bride magazine. The two have a strong attraction to one another and end up having a few days and nights of incredible adventure and lovemaking. Both agree this was going to be a relationship that began and ended on this vacation although deep down both women really would love for the relationship to continue after the vacation. Since neither vocalize is this they go their separate ways,only to find each other meeting up again and a very unexpected way as Roxanne is on the story about wedding dresses while Abby is representing the owner of the wedding dress shops. Clearly these two are on opposite ends of the story even though they wish it was more like it was on the island there does not seem to be a way for that to happen. But these two suddenly take a turn and begin to see each other again romantically, Roxanne wants more our of Abby but Abby is dead set against marriage. Are these two doomed to live separately?

This book is well written with terrific characters that you want to see in a happily ever after with very hot love scenes. I highly recommend this book.

Carsen Taite is best known for her legal thrillers, but with Out of Practice, she has created a beautiful, fun, and lovely romance with just a bit of legal drama. This is the second book in the Legal Affairs Series about three lawyers who have started their own practice together.

This book tells the story of lawyer Abby Keane and Roxanne Daly who works as a wedding blogger. The two meet on the way to a vacation resort and fall almost instantly in lust. They make a pact to leave their work lives behind while they are at the resort together, so neither knows what the other one does for a living, or even their last names. This works well at the resort, but becomes a major problem when they return to real life, and their work lives suddenly collide big time.

This is really a sweet romance that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. The story has a good pace. All of the characters are well developed, and it was easy to see the attraction the two main characters had for each other. I liked the way they fell in lust from the beginning and slowly realized over time that they were in love. In fact, the two seemed to fight the emotion within themselves which added to the drama. This is definitely a character driven tale, so it was great seeing such well-developed main characters. The legal part of the book is really secondary to the romance, but does cause most of the angst that Abby and Roxanne go through. It also provides the reader with a few really funny moments.
Even though this is the second novel in a series, I can assure you that this book can be read as a stand-alone story. I know that because I missed the first book in the series (though I plan to read it as soon as I can), and I had no problems reading this one. I will also be looking for the next book in the series.

If you love a good, solid, and well written romance from an excellent author, then make sure you read Out of Practice.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Attorney Abby Keane goes on vacation to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, where she meets wedding blogger Roxanne Daly. After a brief affair at their holiday resort, they go separate ways without exchanging contact information. But when Abby’s biggest client, a chain of bridal stores, suddenly closes leaving hundreds of brides without dresses, Abby and Roxanne meet again at the opposite sides of a legal and media conflict. But neither Abby nor Roxanne can forget their time together in paradise… will they be able to get back what they left in Mexico?

This is book two of the ‘Legal Affairs’ series by this author which follows the love life of three lawyer friends who are partners in their own law firm. Each book tells the romantic story of one of them and can be read as standalone. Ms. Taite is well known for her legal thrillers but this series is more oriented to the romance rather than any legal dispute. I have to admit that I prefer Ms. Taite’s legal thrillers as she can throw all her experience as a former criminal defense attorney into a story. That is, in my opinion, what makes her books original. In ‘Out of Practice’ the legal aspects of the plot are only touched briefly and superficially and there isn’t much thriller either.

Regarding the romance, both characters are well written and have good chemistry together. Nothing off the charts, but enough to get the reader invested in their relationship. The plot is a bit predictable, but it allows for an entertaining story. There is a third book left in the series which I’m planning on reading and hopefully, it will give a good conclusion to the full story.

Overall, a good lesbian romance book with a small legal subplot. 4 stars.

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

See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com

I'm a fan of this author. It was surprising to see her writing this book differently, because I'm used to Taite's books being filled with legal terms, steamy court fights and encounters... This is not that kind of book, even though one of the characters is a lawyer. It was a nice read, interesting characters and their point of view on some life issues and dealings, and the dialogue between them was very nicely written, like always in Taite's novels.

"Attorney Abby Keane’s vacation is perfect, especially her steamy interlude with a beautiful stranger. But her newfound zen crumbles when her biggest client crumbles. In addition, a new wedding blogger is doing her best to stoke the anger of the already unhappy brides and has chosen Abby as the villain."
I found this book to be alright. Not amazing (or earth-shattering) but also not terrible. I really enjoy that Carsen Taite writes romances book for same-sex queer womxn, even if the books are somewhat predictable. That being said, I found the characters to be a tad flat. A bit more development in character fleshing would have made this a 4 star read for me.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of the story.

Abbey is a stressed out attorney taking her first vacation in years and, oh yeah, Abbey is anti relationship and marriage.

Abbey and Roxanne meet enroute to a bliss filled tropical resort. Sparks fly and while acting on their physical chemistry, they agree to not talk about their lives away from the resort. They spend three intimate. Intense days together without knowing more than each other's first names.

Roxanne is actually a wedding blogger who is reviewing honeymoon destinations. She leaves the resort before Abbey as her work takes her to the next resort. Roxanne leaves her phone number in a book Abbey is reading - hoping that Abbey will want to continue exploring their attraction to one another.

Back from vacation, Abbey and Roxanne run into another as their careers cross paths.

They take up their non relationship even though they are embroiled in a legal case that could put an end to their fling.

A growing love story, just the right amount of tension due to work and a fundamental disagreement on special days - I enjoy Carson Tait's style of story telling. I recommend this book as 5 stars. I will continue to look for her works as fun, relaxing reads.

I RECEIVED AN ARC COPY OF THE BOOK FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY AND VOLUNTARILY LEAVING MY REVIEW.

THIS IS BOOK 2 IN THE LEGAL AFFAIRS SERIES.

ABBEY IS AN ATTORNEY. SHE IS ONE THIRD OF A TRIO OF FRIENDS WHO DECIDED TO OPEN UP THEIR OWN LAW PRACTICE IN BOOK 1.

ROXANNE IS A WEDDING BLOGGER. HER JOB GOES FROM BAD TO WORSE THROUGHOUT THE STORY.

I LIKED THIS BOOK. FOR ME IT WAS JUST AN OKAY READ. BOOK ONE I LOVED THIS ONE ISN'T AS GOOD. I LOVED ABBEY; SHE IS A GREAT CHARACTER AS ARE HER FRIENDS CAMPBELL & GRACE. ROXANNE, I JUST COULD NOT TAKE TO HER AT ALL. THERE WAS JUST SOMETHING ABOUT HER I DIDN'T LIKE BUT CANNOT QUITE PUT MY FINGER ON IT. THERE WAS SOME CHEMISTRY BETWEEN BOTH ABBEY AND ROXANNE. THE STORY LINE WAS OKAY. SECONDARY CHARACTERS WERE GOOD AND THE PACE WAS OKAY. I THINK I JUST WANTED MORE COURTROOM ACTION IN THE STORY. I LOVE A GOOD FIGHT IN COURT WITH THE ATTORNEYS FIGHTING TOOTH AND NAIL FOR THERE CLIENTS BUT THIS BOOK LACKED THAT.

IT IS NOT THE WORST BOOK I HAVE READ BUT IT IS NOT THE BEST EITHER.

3.5 STARS ROUNDED UPTO 4 STARS

Out of Practice is book 2 in the Legal Affairs. When I decided to read this, I forgot how disappointed I was after reading book 1. I think that is why I signed up to read this one. First let me say that you don't need to read book 1 to read this one, but I would still recommend you read 1. Out of Practice was really good and I am glad I took a chance on this one.

Abby meets Roxanne at the start of her week long vacation to an exclusive resort in Mexico. They have that instant attraction and Taite does a really good job showing that chemistry on paper. Turns out they are going to the same resort and end really enjoying each others company. Things sort of fall apart once they return home and have to put things on hold when they meet up because they end up on the other side of the aisle on a case Abby is working on.

So why is this one better than book 1 for me. The story flows better, the chemistry is fresh and exciting and I just seem to like the MCs more in this one. I would not say the angst is heavy in the one so that makes for a better story for me. This story just really gelled well for me. I do wish it had a little more detail on the sex.

I give this one 4.25 stars

Ms Taite seems to enjoy making her characters literally fall in love. A carpet incident threw Campbell in Wynne’s arms in Practice Makes Perfect. In Out of Practice, boarding a plane drops Roxanne in Abby’s lap.

Abby Keane is one of Campbell’s best friends and partners in the new law firm. A few months after they – with Grace – left their jobs to be their own bosses, the firm is doing well, and Abby is the first of the three partners to take advantage of the fact and go on holidays. A week in paradise awaits, in an exclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta. Abby plans to read, relax and drink fruity drinks with tiny umbrellas. The plan doesn’t include falling in lust with the first woman she meets on the way there. Yet, even in paradise, life is full of surprises. Roxane Daly is an up-and-coming blogger, known as the BBF – the Bride’s Best Friend –, on a business tour of couples resorts. Having fabulous sex wasn’t in her job description, but acting like part of a couple can only help her do her job, right?

The first part of the book is all instalust and perfect fun. It’s light and playful and very enjoyable. Then real life reasserts itself, misunderstandings abound and duty calls when both women find themselves on opposite sides of a bridal clash. One of Abby’s clients (and childhood friend) is fighting to stay in the wedding dress business, despite unhelpful siblings who shut all the family stores. Roxane, on her way to TV stardom, finds herself leading hordes of disappointed brides-to-be.

It doesn’t help that Abby is not the marrying kind and has made it very clear from the beginning that she doesn’t believe in forever. Roxane isn’t looking to get married either but she’s not a one-night-stand kind of gal and she does believe in all things wedding.

I really enjoyed reading about Abby and Roxane as they tried to navigate falling in love with the wrong person at the wrong time as well as doing their job to the best of their ability. Roxane’s work conundrum and Abby’s annoyance with her serial-bride mother were my favourite parts. There were a few inconsistencies, though, and it seemed a bit strange to have Roxane and Abby act like they were adversaries when they both (or at least the brides-to-be Roxane’s championing and Abby’s client) want the same outcome: the reopening of the stores so the BTBs can get their dream wedding dresses. And at times I wanted to shake those two lovely but stubborn women and remind them that talking isn’t enough, there needs to be some listening too.

While Carsen Taite writes decent romance, I miss the legal aspect at which she excels. It’s the same with Radclyffe’s novels, my favourites are the ones with doctors and plenty of action in hospitals. With Taite, I want law and courts. Everything else is fine, but I miss the thrill that comes from a complex legal puzzle, and she’s the best in that area.

I received a copy from the publisher and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Opposites attract – and how!

Abby Keane is a hardworking attorney who has just opened her own practice with two of her best friends, Grace Maldonado and Campbell Clark. When starting off on their own, the three friends had promised themselves and each other that they will no longer kill themselves for work and they will have vacations. Abby is the first one to benefit from this decision and she decides to pamper herself to a week in a remote destination in a resort devoted to luxury flying first class both ways. Her idea is fruity alcoholic drinks with little umbrellas and catching up on her reading. Roxanne Daly, known as the Bride’s Best Friend, is a popular blogger about all things weddings and brides. The person covering honeymoon hotels can’t make it and at the last minute she is sent to do the article. Abby and Roxanne meet in the plane and hit it off immediately. They fall headlong into a vacation fling – which is more about sex than romance. When Abby returns home, her client and old friend is facing a crisis. His siblings have shut down their bridal dresses business behind his back with immediate effect. Brides are running amok over being cheated out of their dream dress for their special day. While Abby is trying to find a solution, it turn out that Roxanne, whose popularity has landed her a TV show, is leading the bride-brigade.

When the book started off, Abby seemed rather winsome, but as the story progressed, Roxanne outpaced Abby on the likeability chart. In fact, Taite tried too hard to establish Abby’s anti-marriage stand and Abby completely crashed and burned on being anything likeable in the very first scene with her mother (further exacerbated later too). Nothing was left of the character – except for the fact that someone like Roxanne liked her. We detected Melissa Brayden’s influence in some of the dialogues (particularly banter) and some character attributes (particularly in Roxanne). The most surprising thing in the book was the number of incorrect and misspelled words (brusk instead of brusque for instance).

On the whole this is a fairly okay light, fluffy read.