Release Day Review ~ Alex's Law by Jayce Ellis ~ (Review + Guest Post)
BLURB
Law can’t wait to see his clerk again. But Alex is cold and distant in the light of day, and Law doesn’t understand. The party looms in the background, but Law’s excitement is turning to dread. On top of that, someone is sabotaging them, trying to get Alex fired and drive Law off the bench. If there’s any chance for a happy holiday for Alex and Law, they’ll have to find out who.
Okay, so Christmas is supposed to be the holiday, right? The big Kahuna of holidays. Especially if, like me, you’re an only child. And the only niece, and the only grandchild, which, on my dad’s side at least, is exactly what I am. He was the only one of grandma’s three kids to have a kid, so you take everything you think being a spoiled brat is, and multiply it by infinity. Presents coming out of my ears, right? Except… (cue dramatic music and pause)
Except Christmas is grandma’s birthday. Which means Christmas is not about me. At all. And that’s probably my favorite part of it. My family’s in California, and I’ve lived my entire adult life on the East Coast, first in Ohio, now in Northern Virginia. So, starting right after my birthday in October, mom and I start planning what to do for Grandma for her birthday. She gets two presents, at least, but it’s closer to four or five. Because, as I’m sure you can imagine, when you grow up in Depression-era Dayton, Ohio, getting one present is a feat, let alone a second just because it happens to be your birthday. So we have a ton of years to make up for her. It was a given that I would fly home every year to spend Christmas with her. And that was all gravy—until I married a man whose brother’s birthday is Christmas Eve.
Pardon me, what? What do you mean I’m not supposed to go home for every Christmas ever? I’m supposed to alternate Christmas in California with Christmas in Florida? I’m an only child; he’s the baby. Can you say “conflict?” For a while, we each did our own thing, me in Cali and him in Florida. Then we decided we didn’t like being apart for the holidays (aww, isn’t that sweet?), and we made some adjustments.
In California, Christmas goes something like this:
“Grandma, it’s your birthday. Go sit down. We’ve got this.”
Receive the side-eye that only grandmothers have perfected. Commence to sit on the plastic-covered furniture and shake your head at the stubbornness of an almost 90-year-old woman.
It used to be dinner at grandmas. Now it’s lunch at my aunt’s house. Waffles, grits, ham, eggs, and the Lakers. Which in recent years has been the Warriors—even better since we’re in the Bay Area. So basketball starts at 9 am, and we watch until 9 pm. Throw in brunch, card games—or dominoes, as the case may be—grandma’s presents (you open your presents on your own time), Taboo, and more basketball. The youngest person at Christmas is in her mid-20s. It’s a lovely, adult, basketball-centric day. Of course, now that Kobe’s retired, I don’t know who my father is going to hate on. Pity. It always made for such humorous conversation.
In Florida, Christmas is just a touch different, and we’re still developing our groove. I suppose that’s to be expected when there are children involved.
My brother-in-law’s birthday is spent conning us into watching our two nieces (“Don’t you want to babysit? You haven’t seen them in forever!” We see what you did there.) so he and his wife can have a night out. Then we stay up until two, maybe three in the morning, wrapping presents for them. We argue over which wrapping paper is for which girl, break open a bottle of Hennessey, and promptly forget which wrapper goes for which child. I sleep the just sleep of someone who has papercuts from the paper and never cares if she sees another princess wrapper again in life.
Of course, it’s all worth it, even when I’m being awakened by the sound of screams while still recovering from too little sleep and one too many drinks. It’s a different kind of awesome, watching them open presents, complain that one sister got the present meant for the other sister (keep opening, you got one too—promise), find their favorite, discard it in favor of a new favorite, and repeat. Then I get to be a kid again and lay on the floor with them and play. Or go outside and play. The key word here is play. The best part is that since they open gifts first thing in the morning, when basketball starts at noon on the East Coast, they’re good, and we’re ready to sit and watch.
So, to make a long story short (too late!), Christmas in the Ellis household varies, as do the traditions that go along with it. The only thing that’s for certain is that basketball will be watched regardless, and chances are, it won’t be white.
BUY LINKS:
Dreamspinner Press: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/alexs-law-by-jayce-ellis-7303-b
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/alexs-law-jayce-ellis/1124059387?ean=2940158205552
AllRomanceEbooks: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-alex039slaw-2065126-149.html
What do you get when you combine an anxiety ridden Judge and a tenacious Law Clerk (who are too afraid to admit they have feelings for one another) together to throw a Christmas Party? But to really make it interesting they'll first have to overcome a series of obstacles, Find out who's determine to ruin them and hopefully see them finally act on the attraction they've been dancing around since they met.
Sometimes a little bit goes a long way. That's how I felt about Alex's Law. Would I have liked it to be longer? Definitely, however, I found it to be an entertaining and easy read. I liked the characters for the most part, although I think with a longer book I could have easily fallen in love with them. As for the story itself, it was cute if not a bit predictable with a hint of mystery‒who's sabotaging the Christmas party?
In the end the mystery is solved, our MC's get their HEA and I was left with a smile. I'd say that this is a good read for when you're in the mood for a quickie *winks* or a Christmas romance.
4 Stars!
AUTHOR BIO
Jayce Ellis has three loves: her husband and her two turtles. Hubby loves her back. The turtles she’s not so sure about, but they do love their sports (Bay Area teams FTW!). She still hasn’t figured out why she lives in Northern Virginia, where there’s weather, instead of California, where she’s from, and where it’s just…pretty. Jayce spends her days divorcing happily-married couples (or so she’s been told), and her nights talking maniacally to herself. Thankfully the recorder catches her rumblings and magically turns them into words on a screen. Painting nails is way easier when you don’t actually have to type, and with well over 500 polishes to get through, there’s a lot of painting going on.
Notwithstanding her no-good, very bad, horrible day job, Jayce seriously believes that true love conquers all. Even Maleficent said it. Sure, she was having an epic Mean Girls moment at the time, but she still said it. And she’s right. The only thing Jayce loves more than writing about true love conquering all, is hearing from readers who feel the same way. Drop her a line; she’d love to hear from you.
Website/blog: www.lawyerwritelife.com
Twitter: @thelawyerwrites
Pinterest: thelawyerwrites
Facebook: Jayce Ellis, author
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