This review was written by Elyssa. This story was nominated in the Contemporary Series Suspense/Adventure Romance category.

The summary:     

As chief legal council for Project Justice, widow Raleigh Shinn doesn't seem the type to accept bribes. Still, Griffin Benedict has an anonymous tip that points to her guilt. And if he wants to make the move to national news anchor, he needs a sensational story.

But nothing is as it seems. Including the do-good lawyer. Underneath shapeless suits and oversize glasses hides an exceptional beauty. Now Griffin not only seeks an exclusive, he wants to uncover Raleigh's secrets for himself. When lies turn to attempted murder, they must hunt down the truth togetherto prove her innocence, protect an honest man and save both their lives.

And here is Elyssa's review:

I mainly picked this book to review because of two things. One: the blurb on the back referred to the heroine lawyer as being in Project Justice, and I thought that seemed different and interests. Second: the title. The title reminded me of Jack Nicholson's line in A FEW GOOD MEN where he shouts, “You can't handle the truth!” And I double-crossed my fingers that the author would have fun and throw this line in the book. Sadly this never happened, and I really did not have a good reaction to this book at all.

Raleigh Shinn is the heroine of this book. She's a lawyer who is part of a small law firm and also does work for Project Justice. She knows her client didn't murder a woman, and she's determined to get him a retrial and freed.

Her genius plan for this?

To approach the hero, Griffin Benedict, an investigative journalist to do an article because public opinion will get things to roll for her and her client's benefit. This is just me but this seems like a pretty stupid plan. Why not actually find new evidence and bring that to the court's attention?

During this first meeting between the hero and heroine, the hero thinks about the heroine's “dowdy” appearance. Rayleigh wears boxy men suits (I'm assuming this means blazer and pants), her hair is in a tight bun, and–horror of all horrors–she wears glasses.

Bring on the breathing salts!

I immediately think: uh oh, we're going to have a makeover in this book.

Anyway during this interchange Griffin asks Rayleigh why she has $20,000 in a Swiss bank account. (Hilarity ensued for me as I first read this as $20 million–you'll see why in a minute.) Rayleigh–our supposedly smart heroine–says something to the effect that she FORGOT she had $20,000 in the Swiss bank account.

SAY WHAT?!!! $20,000 or $20 million–I would not forget if I had that much in my Swiss bank account.

And then Rayleigh thinks that oh, she was sure that someone would've realized the mistake and taken care of it.

SAY WHAT?!

Rayleigh, Rayleigh, Rayleigh.

And then she threatens to sue Griffin for finding this supposedly private financial information out. I don't think this is possible and it makes me think even less of her as a lawyer but I guess we're supposed to think she's not going to take his crap and all that by issuing an empty threat.

So the meeting really doesn't go that well and they part ways. This is all Chapter One.

I'm going to fast forward because otherwise this review will be long…. Anyway Griffin and Rayleigh eventually start to work with each other in a push and pull type of relationship. Rayleigh, by the way, is widowed. Her husband was killed in a car crash that Rayleigh was also in. Griffin has issues with Rayleigh being a widow–mostly that she has a shrine in her apartment (which, really, it's some photos on a dresser) to her dead husband because how was he supposed to compete with a dead guy. He actually says at one point that it's been three years and shouldn't she be over the dead husband by now.

SAY WHAT?!!!

Alphahole, let's you and I have a sidebar convo for a second: be more sympathetic please!

Also, Rayleigh doesn't have a good relationship with her former in-laws at all but suspects they might be the ones to have deposited the $20,000 in the Swiss bank account. Yeah, because in-laws who hate you would do this. (But it turns out they did because they wanted to test her or something–I really didn't get that reasoning at all.) Oh! And less I forget . . . the accident was because Rayleigh was driving at night and her husband was in passenger seat (because he had too much to drink). You see, Rayleigh has night blindness and shouldn't be driving at night but she had to and her husband died and she has all this guilt. Wouldn't it have just been easier to call a cab that night?

Anyway, in a nutshell: Griffin and Rayleigh get together. Rayleigh learns to sex herself up by wearing her hair down, having sexy shoes, and better clothes. Griffin, though, still likes her sexy librarian look. Heh. I think they get her client off but honestly I didn't even care if they did or not.

I just found that the book had too many say what moments for me, and it just didn't work for me as a romance at all.

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