"Romance sparks when hotshot defense lawyer meets a determined prosecutor."

Tony Landry came up the hard way. The son of a convicted murderer who died in prison, he grew up in migrant camps and foster homes and went to college on an athletic scholarship. Now he's a famous criminal defense attorney, and he's newly returned to Tampa, the town he grew up in. Too bad his first case is defending pond scum like Manny Garcia, a local druglord. He can't understand why the State's Attorney, Harper Wells, hasn't plea-bargained, because the case is weak and circumstantial. But he does his best to fight for his client, even though he's distracted by the pretty blonde who is prosecuting the case with far too much zeal. She's not his type -- too innocent and sweet for his taste -- but something about her calls to him in a way the sleek, sophisticated brunettes he usually dates never have.

Kristine Granger has only worked in the state's attorney's office for a year, and Garcia is her first case. She's determined to put him away and get a drug dealer off the streets —- a dealer like the one who sold her sister the coke she O.D.'ed on a the age of 16. The stress of her sister's death killed their father, and Kristien hates those who traffic in drugs with a passion. But Landry gets his client acquitted, and Kristine, upset by the loss of her first case and the reporters outside the courtroom, trips on the curve and falls. Only Tony's quick reflexes keep him from running her over with his black Ferrari. He scoops her up, takes her to the hospital, drives her home, and makes dinner for them. Kristine can't help wondering how a man so kind-hearted can defend ruthless criminals and fight to get them off. What she doesn't realize is that Tony defends the guilty so he can do pro bono work to free those wrongly convicted.

Even though she disapproves of his choice of clients, Kristine accepts his invitation to be his date to the Bar Association ball, where passions flare, and she ends up making love with him on his boat, Miss Trial. But can her growing attraction to him overcome her distaste for his profession? Will Tony's own dismay over his low-class origins drive them apart?

Another winning performance by Jacobs, this story deals with real issues as well as with a love affair between two people who come from different worlds. Tony knows his paying clients are often guilty, but sees himself as providing the strong defense our justice system guarantees. Kristine, dedicated to putting away drug dealers, can't understand why he isn't more conflicted over this. It's a real difference in viewpoint for a change, instead of the Big Misunderstanding which all too often keeps lovers apart in romances. Kristine is a sweetheart, dedicated and idealistic -— but she has to learn that sometimes politics play more of a role in who gets prosecuted than guilt or innocence. She's one of the first virgins in books who rang true -— too dedicated to her cause to find time for sex, too idealistic to sleep around. Tony is a gorgeous hero, strong, capable, and, under his cynical exterior, a closet idealist who wants to help those who get screwed over by the system because they're poor and powerless. As always, the sex is hotter than a Florida summer, yet more tender than in many books. There's a scene with silk scarf bondage guaranteed to fog up your monitor. This is a love story that manages to be both erotic and gentle at the same time, and you'll care deeply about the lovers, as well as the issues they have to face.

Sensuality Rating: R-rated for monogamous heterosexual sex including oral sex and bondage with a silk scarves. As steamy as July in Florida.

Reviewed by Gillian Fitzgerald
Courtesy Sensual Romance Reviews
Posted January 5, 2005

Summary

Truths come not only in black and white, but in shades of gray.

A young prosecutor from a background of wealth and privilege, determined to put criminals behind bars, clashes with a brilliant defense counselor soaring to fame and fortune from the depths of poverty and degeneracy. A woman tortured by her past and a man driven by his history— neither can deny their fierce attraction, but both fear the outcome of their passionate affair.

For Tony to win his heart's desire, he'll have to make the most compelling argument of his career—to Kristine...in his own defense.

Sexual Content: Hard R. Genre: contemporary.