Standby Counsel

3.5* – This novel would make a very exciting movie. Although it’s the second Monica Spade novel, it can be read as a standalone since the plot is completely different. I would nevertheless recommend reading <a href="https://judeinthestars.wordpress.com/2019/07/11/conscious-bias-a-monica-spade-novel-1-alexi-venice/" rel="nofollow noopener">Conscious Bias</a> first, because it’s really good and you’ll know where Monica and the people around her come from. You’ll also have a better idea of who Monica is, and I think it explains a lot about her actions and reactions in this book too.<br /><br />Monica Spade is not a trial lawyer. She’s perfectly content managing her new law firm and taking care of her biggest client, the Community Memorial Hospital, and all its legal needs, whether it’s an acquisition or a ludicrous lawsuit on behalf of a monkey. So when a judge appoints her as standby counsel in a criminal case, she’s not happy. Stela Reiter looks like a reserved librarian from Romania yet she’s anything but. Since she’ll be defending herself, arguing self-defence, Monica’s role is to explain to her the process of the trial. She soon realises, however, that the woman, who has confessed to stabbing her boyfriend numerous times, knows a lot more about legal proceedings than most people. Simultaneously, Monica’s romance with Shelby St. Clair is both sizzling and struggling, as Shelby tries to come to terms with her previous relationship.<br /><br />If you like courtroom drama, you’re in for a treat. Stela is incredibly intriguing, smart and wicked. Acknowledging from the start than she is the killer allows the story to focus on why the stabbing occurred, and the trial is full of twists and dramatic turns of events.<br /><br />The trial and the reasons for the trial were a lot of fun, in a scary what-has-this-world-come-to way. I didn’t care much for the romance aspect, didn’t believe in Monica’s relationship with Shelby until they got in real trouble and I got more interested. To be honest, I didn’t remember much of the romance in book 1 either, it’s the legal mystery that makes these books well worth reading.<br /><br /><i>I received a copy from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.</i>

I had mixed feelings reading Standby Counsel. The opening chapters of the novel felt disjointed and amateurish. The opening sex scene between lawyer Monica Spade and her art teacher girlfriend,Shelby ends in the couple breaking up. By the weekend they have made up and life carries on. The scenes in Monica’s law office revolve around tater tot casserole compliments and repeated references to a woman accused of stabbing her boyfriend thirteen times.The office chatter and weak relationship scenes brought me close to DNFing this book. <br /><br />The awkward and clunky writing smooths out when Monica is asked to act as standby counsel and explain court procedures to the woman accused of killing her boyfriend. Monica is reluctant to participate in a criminal case but is persuaded by the judge to fulfill her pro bono obligations and support Stela Reiter as she defends herself in court. Stela and her shady friends and equally shady past keep Monica on her heels. What seems like an easy case for the prosecution turns into a complex case with international implications. I loved the legal thriller second half of the novel and was all in rooting for Monica and her associates as she supports her client while searching for the truth. <br /><br />This author knows her way around a courtroom and her legal background really shines in court and in the interrogation room. The romance aspect of this novel may be weak but the court case makes up for those early deficits. <br /><br />3.5 stars<br /><br />ARC received with thanks from author via Book Siren for review. <br />

3.5 stars.<br /><br />The second part in the Monica Spade series, Monica is just settling in after having started her own law practice with her other colleagues who also escaped the misogynistic, homophobic practice they were previously at.<br /><br />Monica doesn’t specialises in criminal law, yet she finds herself requested by the court to act as standby counsel for Stela - a female student at the local university who has been arrested for murdering her boyfriend.<br /><br />I enjoyed the premise of the book. I’m a fan of queer law/crime based books and wasn’t previously aware of the concept of a standby counsel, so I found this refreshing. The interactions Monica has with Stela are both strangely amusing and kind of creepy, adding another dimension to the book.<br /><br />The case isn’t straightforward and brings unexpected elements into Monica’s life, including some stalking and some of the acronym based law enforcement agencies. These inclusions were done well, stoking but not over-exaggerating conspiracy theories.<br /><br />One of my frustrations with the book was the length. There were times where things could have been shortened as they repeated things that had previously happened. For instance this happens when counsellors are undertaking their closing arguments. I found myself skimming over these sections.<br /><br />Monica’s interactions with non-crime related characters were a little hit and miss. Her relationships with her colleagues are well written. There was a bit of a jealously sub plot with her girlfriend and her girlfriend’s ex that left me feeling a little strange about the HEA. <br /><br />I’d definitely be interested in a third part to this series if it happens and would recommend anyone who likes some queer romance and lawyers combined to give this series a go.<br /><br />I received an e-ARC via BookSirens in exchange for an honest review.

This is a gripping courtroom drama that compels you to keep turning the pages eager to know what happens next.<br /><br />Read the full review @ <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://bestlesficreviews.blogspot.com/2020/08/standby-counsel-by-alexi-venice.html">https://bestlesficreviews.blogspot.co...</a>

I love this! <br>I really really liked the beginning. <br>Monica, a lawyer specialized in a <b> civil </b> law is assigned to a <b> criminal </b> case as a "standby counsel" for a defendant (Stela). <br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1605133127ra/30366106.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br>Stela is suspect of a murdering her boyfriend. She's totally my favorite character in this. Crazy. She represents herself in the court. It was SO glorious to see. She was incredible. <br><br><i> « ...realized in that moment that Judge O’Brien’s perspective of Stela had changed—he was treating her with more respect. She could almost hear him thinking that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience from the bench, as he regarded Stela with genuine fascination. ». </i><br><br>This book start really great. But in the middle so many useless things happened. Characters of little use entered the scene. And in the end I was just annoyed. <br>I was hoping for another ending. <br>But it's a good book for people who loves a good fight in a courtroom.<br>And yeah there is a love story in the background. PS: I didn't liked Shelby (Monica's lover) at all so I just ignored her existence haha.

Monica Spade and Shelby St. Clair are back with some of the characters from Venice's first Monica Spade book, "Conscious Bias". But don't worry. This is a stand alone story, and a really good one, too!<br /><br />We know Attorney Monica Spade is smart and a damned fine attorney. In fact, she's smart enough to know what she doesn't know and she doesn't know criminal law very well. Certainly not well enough to assist a defendant in her murder trial. How can a simple request to be standby counsel turn upside down so quickly?<br /><br />We see the deliberate drawing of a woman, Stela Reiter, a mysterious little Romanian woman who claims she killed a man in self-defense. Against all advice, Stela wants to mount her own defense, which Monica Spade is being asked to sit in on, not as a defense attorney, but as standby counsel, a legal advisor and nothing more. <br /><br />But the trail of facts about Stela Reiter that Monica has to follow is littered with the kinds of things that draw her in, indeed that draw the reader in. The more she learns, the more we learn and it's all very diabolical!<br /><br />I love a good courtroom drama, but this is a great courtroom drama! In fact, there is some intense drama outside the courtroom that will keep you involved and wanting to know what happens next, too. <br /><br />Alexi Venice writes very good books, excellent, intelligent books, in fact, and this one leaves me wanting to read more about Attorney Monica Spade!<br />

<strong>Monica is volunteered to assist with a murder case</strong><br /><br />SAPPHIC BOOK BINGO: award-winning, established couple, not a romance, out of your comfort zone; UNICORN: 400+ pages (possibly other categories)<br /><br />Monica and Shelby started having awkward moments and conversations after Monica commented on a piece of Shelby's jewelry. More was revealed about Shelby's ex, and Mon got nosy enough that she tried to seek her out. Their difficulties took place throughout a significant amount of the novel.<br /><br />As a joke, Nathan wrote Monica's name down on a list as a volunteer to assist as a standby counselor for anyone denying to use a court appointed attorney for their case. It turned out to be a very big mistake that she couldn't get out of, even though she had no criminal attorney background or schooling. She was assigned to the "Boyfriend Killer," Stela Reiter, a supposed Romanian chemistry student at the local college. <br /><br />It was quite a convoluted case that kept me intrigued until after the final moment of the jury's announcement of their decision. A few things lingered from the first book, including more issues with Marcus, but there was also some justice for Abdul. It was a good follow-up to the first book, and I'll be reading the final book of the trilogy soon.

I enjoyed the previous book <i>Conscious Bias</i>, but I really hoped the opening chapter of this one wasn’t setting the tone for the rest of this book. Unfortunately at times both women were more like teenagers in their first relationship instead of intelligent adults.<br /><br />As for the court case, this was certainly different, I don’t know enough about the American justice system to know if it is realistic, but if it is close to real life, then it is almost farcical situation. My main difficulty was that I had no real interest in the defendant and Monica wasn’t actually conducting the case, in fact she was even helping the prosecution at times.<br />After finishing the book I noticed several reviewers described it as ‘a gripping courtroom drama’ or a ‘legal thriller’, I’m afraid I found most of the courtroom stuff meaningless and a bit boring.<br />Towards the end of the book the author tried to turn it into a bit of a thriller, which livened it up a bit and gave a decent ending.

<strong>A Great Read</strong><br /><br />Another interesting and great read from Alexi Venice. Written well, nicely paced, and captivating, I enjoyed the story through and through. I was completely unfamiliar with a "standby counsel" so I learned quite a bit, too, which is always a bonus.<br />I highly recommend this book.

When I downloaded this one, I wasn't aware it was a (so far) second book of a series; luckily, and I'd guess, by the author's intent, it works perfectly well and is quite satisfactory as a stand-alone. How good is it? Well, as soon as I finished it, I immediately downloaded and read <i>Conscious Bias</i>, Alexi Venice's first Monica Spade novel, and that's something I almost never do. I prefer to put at least a couple of months between books in a series, but after reading <i>Standby Counsel</i>, I truly didn't want to leave these characters. I takes a special book to make me break that two-to-three-months rule, and special is a word I'd apply to both these novels.<br /><br />As I implied above, I loved the characters, both Monica and her lover, Shelby. When the story opens, things become strained between the couple and I had a moment's trepidation wondering, in the case of Shelby, WTF is wrong with this woman? It's a real sense of animus on her part  I won't reveal how the situation is resolved but I have to say it's a terrific way to draw the reader into the story. It's also an indication that Monica's personal life is as important as the murder trial and, in fact, bookends the narrative.<br /><br />While I like a compelling story as much as the next person, to me, the characters are an equally important part of my enjoyment and on occasion, even more important. The balance between the courtroom drama and the romantic plot is very satisfying and is also integral to the excellent pacing of the novel. <br /><br />Monica is very easy to root for: she's loyal, compassionate, unflinchingly honest, relentless in pursuit of her goals, both in the courtroom and in her personal relationships, not only with Shelby but also with colleagues and the <i>pro se</i> defendant she's charged to assist. She's also a good deal sexier than she realizes. A smidgen of  self-doubt relationship-wise, rather than weakening the character, merely adds to her complexity and her not inconsiderable charm. Shelby's equally engaging and relatable, the fraught opening scene notwithstanding. Again, despite that odd first scene, the pair seem absolutely right for each other.<br /><br />Secondary characters are well-defined and, so, make significant contributions to the novel's complexity. Even those who make only brief appearances still stand out in the mind of the reader and, though not the principals, the prosecutor and, perhaps Monica's law partners might be considered a second tier of major players, a level of intricacy not always present in genre fiction, although that's a label I'm not especially fond of. <br /><br />The only place I disagree with most other reviewers is concerning Stela Reiter, the Romanian woman on trial for the murder of her boyfriend and who has chosen to act as her own defense counsel. The trial judge has appointed Monica as Reiter's "standby counsel" to explain legal issues. Those other reviwers reacted more positively to Stela's character and were virtually united in hoping Stela would be acquitted. I, on the other hand, took an instant and intense dislike to her, not the reaction the author intended, perhaps, but still a valid one in my opinion, based on the characterization.<br /><br />The plot of <i>Standy Counsel</i> is, on the whole, straightforward and when it becomes "twisty" it is not jarringly so, with only one exception: near the book's climax, events take on unexpected global ramifications which I found incongruous with what's gone before. However, even that doesn't detract from the very pleasurable reading experience even if it evokes a WTF response in my case.<br /><br />As to the mechanical aspects of the writing, all those things which can potentially lift us out of a story by calling attention to the words themselves, I have not even a quibble. In addition, the author's obvious familiarity with matters legal and medical, and a wealth of detail create a truly believable narrative with that single exception noted above. Lastly, there's just enough humor to counter the grittier moments of the story.<br /><br />To conclude, <i>Standby Counsel</i> by Alexi Venice is a well-written, highly enjoyable legal thriller filled with engaging characters you might like to know in real life. In short, highly recommended!<br />