Cover Image: Spirit of the Law

Spirit of the Law

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Member Reviews

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and publishers of "Spirit of the Law" for the opportunity to read and review this novel.
I usually enjoy this author's style and genre, - lesfic set usually with a legal backdrop. This novel added the dimension of paranormal and I found it a seemless very enjoyable read. I liked the main characters, the premise, the twists and turns and the obvious connection between Summer and Owen. The paranormal aspects blended in well and this is one pairing that I really would love to read a follow up of the characters and hope they reappear in one of the author's subsequent novels down the tracks., The minor characters contributed well to the story and enhanced it, adding complimentarysupport and background. 5*

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Pretty enjoyable read. I enjoyed the romance between Summer and Owens but it felt a bit rushed in the beginning. However, by the end of the novel, I came to love their relationship dynamic. Solid read.

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3 stars. Summer Byrne has jury duty, where she is hoping she can get away without being on a trial. While she is in the courtroom, she meets prosecutor, Owen Lassiter, who has a winning, undefeated record. When Summer is chosen for the jury, she knows the person is not guilty. She convinces enough of the jury that the person is also not guilty, ruining Owen's perfect record. Owen and Summer run into each other again when Summer sees a robbery that is important to Own's case and reports it to the police, she is hired as a jury advisor for the case. In reality, Summer can see spirits and can feel presences which can help find out if a person is guilty or innocent. Sparks fly with Summer and Owen they start to spend time together.

I enjoyed this novel, I always enjoy a crime novel. Summer and Owen's relationship kind of went from zero to 60 very quickly, The mystery was interesting enough to keep me wanting to know what actually happened, but there were a couple times when I wasn't sure it made complete sense. I did enjoy their dynamic, but I did wish there was more tension between them, especially since Owen was a little suspicious at first. I would recommend this to anyone who likes supernatural mysteries.

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I loved the main couple so much - their chemistry was absolutely sizzling right from the start. The build up was so well written. The scenes with Summer's family were very entertaining and sweet. The murder case kept me engaged throughout the book without overshadowing the romantic storyline. I enjoyed reading about Summer's gift. The author also touched upon similar themes with Owen and the two leads having a psychic connection, which I wish she'd explored further. Other than that, this book was absolutely perfect. This isn't the first time the author has had one of the main characters starting off wondering if the other is slightly crazy, but still being drawn to them and eventually developing a new understanding of them, which adds a certain dynamic that really works.

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I am sucker for any Carsen Taite law book, even this one where the author ventures outside the norm is a nice read.

Summer upped and moved her life and daughter from Santa Cruz to Dallas to be with her Nan, but also to escape what happened on her previous job. Summer is a psychic-medium and she worked for the DA’s office, determined to do something else with her life and start over in her new town she just can’t escape her gift. When she is called for jury duty she meets Owen. Owen has never lost a case, that is until Summer comes around. Summer meets someone in passing in the court house and she can’t shake the vision dreams she gets from this person. Her calling this tip in leads to Summer being involved in Owen’s high profile case.

The intrigue and the law aspects are always very well done by Taite, and this book certainly isn’t exception. I’m normally not really into the paranormal things, but in this book I really didn’t mind it. I’m ok wit paranormal in shows and when I read this review by Lex https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3800128314 I was intrigued, liking it to Medium, I series I really enjoyed, is a plus, and it isn’t a let down.

If I were to mention one downside of the book is that it feels really short and the romance starts rather late, maybe too late. A couple more chapters of Summer and Owen as a couple would have been nice. Now it also sorta feels similar to insta love, they proclaimed these words pretty quickly, involving Summer’s family as well, it’s a bit too fast too soon in my opinion. With the ending of this book I am actually hoping this is the start of a new law series from Carsen Taite. Here’s to hoping it is. I’d like to read more about these mains and secondary characters, they are a good mix.

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Once again an enjoyable read by Carsen Taite. You know what you will get with this writer as her books usually involve lawyers or cops with the added romance. And she excels in giving us a good story with realistic courtroom action or police investigation, the romance part of her books are sometimes hits and sometimes misses for me personally but this story about Summer and Owen was a very nice read. On top of this she added a little bit of the paranormal in this book and it worked surprisingly well.

You always know a book from Taite is worth your reading time and Spirit of the Law is now among her books I like best.

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

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I have to say this wasn’t what I was expecting when I started reading, it’s certainly a lighter read than I’m used to from Taite (though I am still working my way through her back catalogue so it could just be me). I also wasn’t expecting the elements of the paranormal that the narrative includes, though whilst they surprised me, I did in fact enjoy them.

We meet Summer on her first day of jury duty. She ends up being voted as the foreperson on a case where Owen is the DA. Owen doesn’t lose cases, in fact she has a perfect record. When the jury convenes to decide the verdict, Summer finds herself with influence she didn’t want and an understanding and outlook to the case that leads to her peers breaking Owen’s perfect run.

Owen is working on a larger case with bigger implications and when Summer has a vision involving the case, Owen’s boss forces them together. Owen is sceptical as to what Summer can provide to her case, but it’s fun reading them battle and work through the case together.

I loved all of the characters in this one, including the friendship Owen starts to develop with Summer’s family. I really started to believe that she would fit in with them by the end of the book.

The biggest drawback to this book for me was that it ended too early. I liked the ending, but it felt rushed. I like it when I get to see the characters together for a while before the book ends. I would definitely love a second part of this to see them continuing to work together and how their relationship develops.

Taite fans won’t be disappointed with this. I would definitely recommend this to romance fans and those that like their romance to include lawyers and a little bit of mystery. Due to the slight paranormal elements I think paranormal romance fans would also enjoy this even if they don’t normally read Taite.

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

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Spirit of the Law kept me intrigued from start to beginning. After I finished reading this one, I immediately went back to the blurb to see if it gave me any clue about what I was "really" going to read. There might be one hint but it is really easy to gloss over. I have read a number of Taite's book and you can expect her to give you a well written romance. I am not surprised that I liked this one.

When you start reading Spirit of the Law, you are placed right there in the thick of the action. In the back of your mind you are puzzled about what is happening and that is how you get drawn in. The mains Summer and Owen are instantly attracted to one another, but the flames are quickly put out. The chemistry does carry over after they start working together. I really liked the supporting characters including Summer's daughter. There are not many romances out there that I have read with this unique perspective that Summer has. For me, I think this is the best Taite romance I have read. 4.25 stars.

This arc was provided by netgalley and the publisher for an honest review.

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Well what can I say. I was craving a lawyer book and this ticked all the right boxes. I liked the characters, although Owen seemed a little too stiff in places. I liked the setting but I didn't really get the psychic part. Also I felt that once they were together it moved really fast. I think that last point was just a personal thing as I didn't really want it to end.

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I have never read book like this one. Where real life takes on spiritual one.
It is amazing story, and I love all characters involved however the soft spot is for Nan and Faith.
The setting and trying to understand person with special gift is not easy.
The way Owen let Summer in made me think of the possibilities and choices people have.
Owen felt comfortable yet she was scared and same came to Summer however it felt as she had bit more easy going approach to the relationship that was happening.
The setting, the case, the twist......I very much enjoyed this book!

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This is definitely my favorite book so far by Carsen Taite! Her law based books are always good, with enough legalese to make it interesting but not unintelligible for the average layperson. Adding the paranormal psychic medium aspect added a richer depth to the storyline that kept me reading nonstop.
The mystery portion wasn't easy to figure out despite little clues leading the story. The characters were engaging and sympathetic. I appreciate lesfic stories that include children. It feels more reflective of modern life. This is a definite recommend! I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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This was a very entertaining read. I’m a big Taite fan, especially of her romantic intrigue books that are about some aspect of the law. She is one of the best writers out there, when it comes to writing about courts and lawyers, so when you see a new book of hers in that category, you know you are in for a treat. And a treat is the perfect way to describe what reading Taite’s books feel like, like eating a bowl of your favorite Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. You know what to expect and you know you are going to enjoy it, and sometimes you might even get a little extra cookie dough or chocolate chunks since the manufacturer messed up and you get the benefit. And that is what happened in this book, Taite decided to add a little more of that chocolate in the form of a psychic medium character. A tiny paranormal twist mixed into one of Taite’s law books… well you can’t get a much better match for my personal tastes and I had a ton of fun with this book.

I loved how this book started off. The beginning was so good and it just caught my attention right away (such a sign of a great author). We are in the courtroom, as a member of the jury, and our character somehow knows, without a doubt, whether the defendant is guilty or not and it is up to us to get the other jurors to see it the same way. As a long time mystery fan, TV and books, this reminded me of almost every amateur detective show like Murder, She Wrote or Monk, where they are stuck in jury duty and have to convince the rest of the jury to really look at the evidence. Don’t ask me why but they were always some of my favorite episodes to watch and to have a book start off that way, well I loved it. It really was one of the more enjoyable beginnings to a book that I have read in a while.

I was very happy with the mix of the light paranormal twist with the more realistic court scenes. I thought Taite did great on the right balance of what she needed. Her books are supposed to put you into the courtroom so if her paranormal twist was too out there, it would have lost some of that realism and the feeling of Taite’s experience that makes her books so great. I don’t know if people remember the TV show Medium, about a psychic medium that worked for the DA’s office? That show was actually based on a real person who worked with law enforcement. Taite’s choice to write this story to have a similar feel to that show, was a good match with her law knowledge. So even if you are not a big paranormal fan, don’t let that put you off this story. This is well done and fun to read.

While I obviously really enjoyed the premise and most of the story, I did have an issue that stopped me from giving this book 5 stars. One of the biggest problems for me was the book’s length. It is just too short. I can’t tell the page number from my Kindle, but I know this book was shorter than the average BSB book. This had the same problem that her book from last year, Drawn, had. Things were tied up at the end with a summary of what happened instead of letting us see it play out. This time wasn’t as frustrating as Drawn, but I still felt like there was more to the story to be told. What also suffered to me was the romance. The romance started in a way that singled a slow burn type of romance, but then it was fast-forwarded to fit the shorter story. It didn’t feel like enough of a build-up, and enough of a connection was established before they had sex. The chemistry was there, but it was still at a tiny spark stage and it needed to be slowly nurtured so it could grow into this passionate flame but it never had the time to. I needed more. I needed more of the law storyline and more of the romance. I know I’m only going to get to read one, maybe two, of Taite’s romantic intrigue books a year. I want to savor that reading experience; I don’t want to fly through it in a few hours. This story was good and I really enjoyed it, but another fifty pages added and it could have been great!

Even with the issue of the romance not having the right pace, and the book being too short, this still was such a fun read. I would absolutely recommend this to fans of Taite and fans of law and intrigue type books. The premise was excellent and the beginning was one of the better starts to a book that I have read in a while. I guess it’s a pretty good sign when my biggest complaint is that I needed more, but I just hope that Taite stops rushing so much and lets us really enjoy her great writing instead.

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This was an enjoyable quick read which had a little bit of everything. The enjoyable characters and the chemistry from the start, the law and crime component that Taite does so well with the addition of having Summer as the psychic medium which I found really enjoyable portion of the story. It is something I would have enjoyed as a series giving opportunity to spend more time on the case and the detail around discovering the truth. The one issue I do have with Taite's stories, at times the romance and the crime storyline just moves too quickly making it difficult to feel believable or feel the connection. I found this happened a small amount for me in this book and I would have loved more detail and time in all aspects of the book.

Another well done book by Carsen Taite and would love to see more with Summer and Owen.

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When I choose a book by Carsen Taite, I’m used to getting a great story that is often focused on lawyers and their work, with an engaging romance added to the mix. I do not expect to have any part of the paranormal genre as part of the tale, but that’s exactly what we get with Spirit of the Law. I was definitely surprised, but it was a really good surprise. In fact, I loved this book.

Summer Byrne and Owen Lassiter have a rocky beginning when Summer ends up as the forewoman to a jury that ended prosecutor Owen’s perfect winning streak in the courtroom, especially after Owen finds out Summer supposedly has psychic powers. Owen becomes even more upset when her boss tells her to hire Summer as a consultant to an important murder trial. Owen doesn’t believe in any of this psychic mumbo jumbo. She really doesn’t, but she can’t seem to get Summer out of her head…and maybe her heart.
I fell in love with Summer, Owen, and even Summer’s daughter Faith and grandmother Nan, almost immediately. Ms. Taite did an excellent job of character development with all of the characters in this book. They were easy to connect with, and for a character reader like myself, that is very important. The story is a mixture of a law-based mystery and intrigue mixed with a beautiful romance, with just a touch of the paranormal added in. This mixture turns out to be a perfect Carsen Taite mystery/love story.

This is a fairly quick and easy read with only a little angst; just enough to make the story even more interesting. The only real critique I have with the book is I would have loved to see more of Summer and Owen together, and maybe a bit more of their past histories. That should tell you how much I enjoyed the novel.
If you are looking for an exceptional story written by an excellent mystery and romance author, then check out Spirit of the Law.

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

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3.75/5

Owen Lassiter is a well known and excellent prosecutor with a perfect winning streak. That is until she meets Summer Byrne, who is part of the jury. When they meet again, it is under circumstances none of them is ready to jump into. Summer acting as a consulting in Owen's latest case will drive them closer and will make them face and accept truths none of them were ready to face.

As always, I was excited for this new book by Carsen Taite. I didn't really know what to expect until I started reading it and I loved it. The story and the characters were fascinating and something the author hasn't really done before. Hence my excitement and why I was so involved in the book.

However, to my surprise and disappointment the characters I was growing to love and understand slowly, were instead rushed to a quick abrupt end. I felt like it went against what the characters were portrait to be from the beginning. I felt like I was mid-book when really I was at about 70%-80%. The story felt rushed at the end and their story line just didn't make sense at the end.

This is completely a personal opinion. I was enjoying the story so much that I just wanted more.

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

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Carson Taite delivers another courtroom drama and romance but with a different twist this time. For Spirit of the Law she expands her repertoire into the paranormal with Summer Bryne’s ability to see and hear dead people. Summer is hired as a courtroom consultant to help attorney Owen Lassiter with a case that she is trying. The chemistry between the two is immediate. I also enjoyed the interactions and relationship with Summer’s twelve-year old daughter, Faith, and her grandmother, Nan. 4 stars

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

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When I was a law student, I learned that sometimes you have to go beyond what’s written in the law (“la lettre”, the letter) to what was meant, the intent (“l’esprit”, the spirit). That’s what came to mind when I opened this book, not having read the blurb – I often skip blurbs with certain authors. I was, therefore, slightly surprised to realise the spirit here refers to the paranormal kind.

Owen Lassiter had a perfect conviction record until a jury decided what should have been an open-and-shut case wasn’t as strong as she thought. To make matters worse, the beautiful juror she couldn’t help but notice is the one who derailed her plans. Summer Byrne has a gift she sometimes wishes she could ignore. Dead people talk to her and she can, in the right circumstances, read minds. It’s exhausting and the responsibility that comes with it is overwhelming. Yet when, in a dream, she sees a man getting strangled, she informs the police. The next day, Owen, the gorgeous prosecutor she crossed when she was on jury duty, turns up at the house she shares with her daughter and her grandmother.

The focus of the story is on the case or, more precisely, on Summer’s gift and Owen’s journey to stop rolling her eyes and to accept the impossible. It’s not that the romance is in the background, it’s that it’s so inextricably tied up with every other interaction between the two women that there’s not a lot of flirting or anything. It just happens, in a rather organic way. From time to time, Owen shows a more private side of herself, adorably cocky, and I wish we’d had more of that. She seems to have a pretty mischievous grin Summer can’t resist. The chemistry between them isn’t in the forefront but it’s completely believable, and I like that it’s almost a given. It just is, and it brings tiny but sweet moments, like how well Owen fits in with Summer’s family even before anything happens between them.

Finding a balance between the legal proceedings and the romance isn’t easy, and in the end, I wish there had been a little more of both.

I’ve written a few times how much I love Carsen Taite’s books when they’re about lawyers and judges and prosecutors and the law. This one checks all these boxes with the added and, as I wrote above, unexpected bonus of “a little dose of the unworldly”, as the author writes in the acknowledgements. I wasn’t convinced it would work at first, but it did, totally.

ARC provided to Les Rêveur for an honest review.

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I love reading Carson Tate books because she always writes some intriguing and compelling stories. The main characters Owen and Summer had chemistry. I enjoyed the flow. Owen interaction with Summers daughter Faith and her Grandmother Nan was a joy to read. I would recommend this book. 4.5 stars.


I received an ARC copy from the Publisher Bold Strokes Books Inc. via NetGalley for my honest opinion. Thank You.

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The author stepped way outside the box with this story. I always enjoy reading Carsen Taite's books because her stories are so compelling and pull your right into the pages. She did go a tad off script with this one but that made it even more interesting. The chemistry between the two MC was there but I feel like I wanted more between them. I would love to tell you all about the twist in this one but that would spoil it for you. So as soon as this is available you should definitely grab a copy.
 i received an advanced readers copy from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review

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I buy Carsen’s books because, as an attorney, I live for the courtroom drama as well as the drama in the workplace. This book was different from her others and at first I didn’t think that I was going to like it as I’m not a believer in people who can see the future but give me a werewolf or a vampire and I’m all in. I know, it makes no sense. To my surprise, I liked the story because it was something different. The characters had chemistry at first, they were strong women (and I love when the MC’s) are confident. My only gripe is this: can we, as a community, come away from the stereotypical “gorgeous, e trembly rich, charismatic, butch type character. It always seems that when the butch is written in that way then the other character is struggling in some fashion either financially, mentally, with family Issues, or whatever and then this butch can “save the world and her day”. That’s so hetero and so Hollywood. Other than that, a nice quick read

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