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The Law of Attraction
"Well, it's fair to say your background isn't conventional in terms of the average barrister…" Dolus points out. "Well that depends on your definition of conventional and who wants to be average anyway?"
Northern girl Amanda Bentley isn’t your average lawyer.
She spent her teenage years in the Working Men’s club and hanging out in the park to avoid going home. Fresh out of law school she lands pupillage at a top set of Chambers and is catapulted into a world completely alien to her own, fighting prejudice and snobbery at every turn.
Piling on the pressure, this year it is announced two candidates have been accepted but there’s only one job at the end of it. And her competition? Marty, her smarmy law school nemesis.
Throw into the mix an ill-advised romance with the staggeringly sexy Sid Ryder and Amanda quickly realises winning pupillage isn’t just about how good a lawyer you are.
But even if she does come out on top, all of it could be for nothing if her colleagues ever discover who she really is and one very dark secret.
Northern girl Amanda Bentley isn’t your average lawyer.
She spent her teenage years in the Working Men’s club and hanging out in the park to avoid going home. Fresh out of law school she lands pupillage at a top set of Chambers and is catapulted into a world completely alien to her own, fighting prejudice and snobbery at every turn.
Piling on the pressure, this year it is announced two candidates have been accepted but there’s only one job at the end of it. And her competition? Marty, her smarmy law school nemesis.
Throw into the mix an ill-advised romance with the staggeringly sexy Sid Ryder and Amanda quickly realises winning pupillage isn’t just about how good a lawyer you are.
But even if she does come out on top, all of it could be for nothing if her colleagues ever discover who she really is and one very dark secret.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 27, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 71 reviews
July 6, 2017
5☆ Fun, exciting,feisty read
One of the first things that attracted me to The law of attraction was the funky, fun cover.
Secondly it reminds me of my favourite film legally blonde.
Ok so is it anything like legally blonde you ask.... well Amanda for sure is a strong, kick Ass women who most Definetly gets stereotyped due to her appearance. So in that sense yes! But overall The law of attraction is a fresh, fun story that has it's own twist.
Amanda has finally secured her pupilage at a very good Chambers. However she is on a years internship in which she is competing with a rival from her law school for a permanent place. It's not going to be easy for Amanda, she has some tough battles ahead of her, and some life decisions to make
See Amanda isn't your typical barrister. She is a sexy blonde bombshell.
But she also didn't have a privalaged upbringing as the others had. So she had to work even harder to get through Law school. Plus she is harbouring a secret!!
You see for others appearance is everything and unfortunately Amanda doesn't fit into their professional category so too speak.
So she has to work harder than anyone!
When Amanda first meets her mentor he tells her NOT to get involved with anyone romantically as it won't help her.
However when the sexy Barrister Sid Ryder comes on the scene. She finds it very difficult to resist he's charms, going against all what she knows is wrong.
I mean how bad can it be!
I loved Amanda, she was fun, a bit of a party girl at times, strong, confident, passionate and fiesty when it came to her cases. She had more to prove than anyone.
I didn't like Marty, Amanda's rival.
He was very arrogant and clearly had it in for Amanda. I wanted to shake him for he's behaviour towards Amanda. I was rooting for Amanda the whole way through as I really didn't want to see Marty win!
I loved watching Amanda grow as a person. She might not always get things right, and she often made choices based on her emotions rather than listening to her brain but one thing that definitely shines through is her passion and determination to succeed.
Although this book has a romance element, I believe there is more to the story. It's about the struggles women face in a law environment and the determination to overcome the obstacles.
I think this book would be suited to readers who enjoy feisty female leads, chick lit, law and romance.
This is Roxie's very first book, I want to applaud her for taking her own experiences and turning them into an exciting fresh new story.
I can't wait to read more from Roxie. I have a feeling the best is yet to come!
I received this book from the Publisher in exchange for a honest and fair review via Netgalley.
One of the first things that attracted me to The law of attraction was the funky, fun cover.
Secondly it reminds me of my favourite film legally blonde.
Ok so is it anything like legally blonde you ask.... well Amanda for sure is a strong, kick Ass women who most Definetly gets stereotyped due to her appearance. So in that sense yes! But overall The law of attraction is a fresh, fun story that has it's own twist.
Amanda has finally secured her pupilage at a very good Chambers. However she is on a years internship in which she is competing with a rival from her law school for a permanent place. It's not going to be easy for Amanda, she has some tough battles ahead of her, and some life decisions to make
See Amanda isn't your typical barrister. She is a sexy blonde bombshell.
But she also didn't have a privalaged upbringing as the others had. So she had to work even harder to get through Law school. Plus she is harbouring a secret!!
You see for others appearance is everything and unfortunately Amanda doesn't fit into their professional category so too speak.
So she has to work harder than anyone!
When Amanda first meets her mentor he tells her NOT to get involved with anyone romantically as it won't help her.
However when the sexy Barrister Sid Ryder comes on the scene. She finds it very difficult to resist he's charms, going against all what she knows is wrong.
I mean how bad can it be!
I loved Amanda, she was fun, a bit of a party girl at times, strong, confident, passionate and fiesty when it came to her cases. She had more to prove than anyone.
I didn't like Marty, Amanda's rival.
He was very arrogant and clearly had it in for Amanda. I wanted to shake him for he's behaviour towards Amanda. I was rooting for Amanda the whole way through as I really didn't want to see Marty win!
I loved watching Amanda grow as a person. She might not always get things right, and she often made choices based on her emotions rather than listening to her brain but one thing that definitely shines through is her passion and determination to succeed.
Although this book has a romance element, I believe there is more to the story. It's about the struggles women face in a law environment and the determination to overcome the obstacles.
I think this book would be suited to readers who enjoy feisty female leads, chick lit, law and romance.
This is Roxie's very first book, I want to applaud her for taking her own experiences and turning them into an exciting fresh new story.
I can't wait to read more from Roxie. I have a feeling the best is yet to come!
I received this book from the Publisher in exchange for a honest and fair review via Netgalley.
May 6, 2017
Fun and feisty!
June 23, 2017
So, fans of Legally Blonde will find some similarities, as the heroine in this story is fighting against stereotypes: a northern girl with the wrong accent, family background and platinum blonde hair fighting the ‘dumb blonde’ tag and playing with or fighting against the bombshell expectations. As a blonde myself – I completely get the juxtaposition and surprised looks when “boop boop be-doop’ is not in your conversational repertoire… but that is where Amanda and I part ways. Brilliant and driven, Amanda has overcome a rough childhood and finished law school against all odds – there should be no reason that she doesn’t succeed if the promise she showed that earned her the internship in a prestigious Chamber can be polished, focused and directed.
For me the story felt more Silk-like: Amanda feels very Martha-like with her brains, her commitment and her determination to do her best – even down to the occasional niggles she has from her conscience. And there the comparisons end – as Amanda feels very immature out of the courtroom, and a bit adrift as to the ‘proper path’ for conducting her life. Everyone knows (even the baggers at Tessco) that involvement with co-workers is never a good thing – and sadly, Amanda never got that memo – or applied common sense to her choices. Particularly for someone with a secret to hide. That was my major frustration with her – the blatant lack of common sense outside of the courtroom, and her struggle and railing against stereotypes, when she is just as guilty of believing and using them in her decisions – a choice she never really grows out of and I had hoped to see more there as well.
But, the story as it sat kept demanding I read on – insets of courtroom dramas were gripping, the struggles that Amanda faced in her efforts to outshine and outperform the other newly graduated student up for the one position available, her best friend Heidi falling for the oldest line in the universe with her married boyfriend, and the overall growth that does come for Amanda, if not always in ways I would have hoped for, helped to complete her character and give readers a reason to cheer her on. I’m curious to see what’s next from Cooper – this was a fun debut with plenty to enjoy and appreciate – and I think many will just adore her layered characters who are fighting the odds and one another for supremacy.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Review first appeared at I am, Indeed
For me the story felt more Silk-like: Amanda feels very Martha-like with her brains, her commitment and her determination to do her best – even down to the occasional niggles she has from her conscience. And there the comparisons end – as Amanda feels very immature out of the courtroom, and a bit adrift as to the ‘proper path’ for conducting her life. Everyone knows (even the baggers at Tessco) that involvement with co-workers is never a good thing – and sadly, Amanda never got that memo – or applied common sense to her choices. Particularly for someone with a secret to hide. That was my major frustration with her – the blatant lack of common sense outside of the courtroom, and her struggle and railing against stereotypes, when she is just as guilty of believing and using them in her decisions – a choice she never really grows out of and I had hoped to see more there as well.
But, the story as it sat kept demanding I read on – insets of courtroom dramas were gripping, the struggles that Amanda faced in her efforts to outshine and outperform the other newly graduated student up for the one position available, her best friend Heidi falling for the oldest line in the universe with her married boyfriend, and the overall growth that does come for Amanda, if not always in ways I would have hoped for, helped to complete her character and give readers a reason to cheer her on. I’m curious to see what’s next from Cooper – this was a fun debut with plenty to enjoy and appreciate – and I think many will just adore her layered characters who are fighting the odds and one another for supremacy.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Review first appeared at I am, Indeed
June 18, 2017
**I received a free eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
Had me at Legally Blonde, to be honest. One of my favorite movies for sure.
Even though that's what caught my attention in the beginning, once I started reading this, I realized that these two stories are still very different, and that The Law of Attraction is much more original than I thought at first.
I found the main character, Amanda, to be very likable, and I could relate to her in some situations. It seems like some people judge her too easily, so she has to prove herself and work harder, but hey, she has time to do so in this case.
There's another guy that Amanda has to compete with to get the job, and oh my God is he annoying! I felt so sorry for her, having to put up with him... But you know what? I bet most of us have had at least one Marty in our lives at some point, that one phony guy that most people seem to like and we just sit there like "how??"
Something I did not like about her was that, even though she was very much against stereotypes, and hated it when people catalogued her as the hot blonde and things like that... She did that to others as well, and seemed to believe in stereotypes herself as well, especially when it came to genders. A bit contradictory, Amanda.
But seriously, why are such bad things said about women? Why are women sly, why do women stab you in the back, and why are women bitches?... I've gotten so much drama from men in my life, I sometimes feel like people only interact with women. Men can be sly. Men can stab you in the back. Men can be bitches. People need to give this ridiculousness a rest. Gender does not make a difference there. And for the record, the most manipulative person here is Marty, and he's a guy.
To make the story more interesting, there's also this other guy who seems to fall for Amanda. But, to be honest, I didn't really care too much about Sid, and Amanda trusted him so easily! I think she should've been more careful, especially since she was trying to get that job and he was her senior... I know it's not right to believe in rumors, but if you hear all those things about a guy, you could at least be more careful, until you get to know him better and prove those rumors wrong... But no, little Amanda here had no patience at all. She should listen to her pupilmaster, Skylar, more, he may not be right all the time, but you kinda know when he is...
And Skylar is pretty adorable. I liked how he took care of Amanda and wanted her to succeed.
It was very interesting to read about her job and everything that went on around her, which I know nothing about, really. Seeing her in court kicking ass was amazing, I loved every part of it.
Oh and there's another couple in the story that we read about, although just for a little while, the one including Amanda's best friend, Heidi. Now, Heidi sounds nice and fun... but date a married guy??? Honey, even if the guy says things are not working for him and his ACTUAL partner, he's still a cheater. What are you thinking anyway?? Also, he would do it to you, you know that, right? You're only special now...
"The heart wants what the heart wants"... Obviously what an older cheating man, with kids, would say when what "his heart" wants is a young woman in her twenties. The nerve. Dude, even if things were bad at home, at least break things off before. I don't know...
Well now, back to Amanda...
As the story progresses, we get to know more about Amanda's past, and I really enjoyed that, she had a very complicated childhood because of her father, I felt incredibly bad for her, but I'm glad she works things out and learns to be happy and doesn't let her past bring her down. She just went and got things on her own.
The ending is also very touching, and it didn't feel lacking at all. I really enjoyed this book, and oh the drama haha, as you can see from all my ranting (I'm so sorry). I would recommend this to anyone who wants to have a nice, light read with some substance :)
More reviews on my blog: Lipstick and Mocha
Had me at Legally Blonde, to be honest. One of my favorite movies for sure.
Even though that's what caught my attention in the beginning, once I started reading this, I realized that these two stories are still very different, and that The Law of Attraction is much more original than I thought at first.
I found the main character, Amanda, to be very likable, and I could relate to her in some situations. It seems like some people judge her too easily, so she has to prove herself and work harder, but hey, she has time to do so in this case.
There's another guy that Amanda has to compete with to get the job, and oh my God is he annoying! I felt so sorry for her, having to put up with him... But you know what? I bet most of us have had at least one Marty in our lives at some point, that one phony guy that most people seem to like and we just sit there like "how??"
Something I did not like about her was that, even though she was very much against stereotypes, and hated it when people catalogued her as the hot blonde and things like that... She did that to others as well, and seemed to believe in stereotypes herself as well, especially when it came to genders. A bit contradictory, Amanda.
But seriously, why are such bad things said about women? Why are women sly, why do women stab you in the back, and why are women bitches?... I've gotten so much drama from men in my life, I sometimes feel like people only interact with women. Men can be sly. Men can stab you in the back. Men can be bitches. People need to give this ridiculousness a rest. Gender does not make a difference there. And for the record, the most manipulative person here is Marty, and he's a guy.
To make the story more interesting, there's also this other guy who seems to fall for Amanda. But, to be honest, I didn't really care too much about Sid, and Amanda trusted him so easily! I think she should've been more careful, especially since she was trying to get that job and he was her senior... I know it's not right to believe in rumors, but if you hear all those things about a guy, you could at least be more careful, until you get to know him better and prove those rumors wrong... But no, little Amanda here had no patience at all. She should listen to her pupilmaster, Skylar, more, he may not be right all the time, but you kinda know when he is...
And Skylar is pretty adorable. I liked how he took care of Amanda and wanted her to succeed.
It was very interesting to read about her job and everything that went on around her, which I know nothing about, really. Seeing her in court kicking ass was amazing, I loved every part of it.
Oh and there's another couple in the story that we read about, although just for a little while, the one including Amanda's best friend, Heidi. Now, Heidi sounds nice and fun... but date a married guy??? Honey, even if the guy says things are not working for him and his ACTUAL partner, he's still a cheater. What are you thinking anyway?? Also, he would do it to you, you know that, right? You're only special now...
"The heart wants what the heart wants"... Obviously what an older cheating man, with kids, would say when what "his heart" wants is a young woman in her twenties. The nerve. Dude, even if things were bad at home, at least break things off before. I don't know...
Well now, back to Amanda...
As the story progresses, we get to know more about Amanda's past, and I really enjoyed that, she had a very complicated childhood because of her father, I felt incredibly bad for her, but I'm glad she works things out and learns to be happy and doesn't let her past bring her down. She just went and got things on her own.
The ending is also very touching, and it didn't feel lacking at all. I really enjoyed this book, and oh the drama haha, as you can see from all my ranting (I'm so sorry). I would recommend this to anyone who wants to have a nice, light read with some substance :)
More reviews on my blog: Lipstick and Mocha
August 19, 2017
I struggled with this book. It sounded fun and feisty but I had a really hard time getting into it. Amanda is obviously very smart but I got bored of hearing about her platinum blonde hair and how people would judge her on her looks and not realise how good a lawyer she was. She has recently graduated and the book opens with her interview to gain pupillage (this book is set in London, I’m not British so I don’t really know what that is so I had to google it. It’s like being an apprentice with the end goal practicing independently at the Bar) at a prestigious firm. There are so many candidates and in the end they can’t decide between two so they award it to two people on a sort of probation for twelve months where there’s only one job at the end. So basically they make it a big competition and of course the other person that gets the probation apart from Amanda is her university nemesis!
I did admire a lot about Amanda, she had obviously worked very hard to get where she was and she was very ambitious. She didn’t have the most supportive or privileged background and there’s something in her past that haunts her but I honestly didn’t feel like it was as big a deal as she made it out to be, when it was finally revealed. It seemed like a lot of angst over nothing really, something that she was worried about being held against her but really, why on earth would anyone? It was just ammunition for Marty and his accomplice to wield but it read quite weak, in terms of what a deep dark secret could be.
I expected more romance in this – I’m not sure why, it just gave me more of a romance vibe from the blurb and cover but I definitely thought it would be a bigger part of the story. I was quite disappointed with the fact that there’s really not much (if any?) romance at all. What there was I didn’t really find all that great and I couldn’t decide if it was inappropriate or not. There seemed to be some comments that it might be but no one really cared anyway? I found it quite lacklustre and the story of the jilted uhinged ex a bit overdone. Sid was kind of boring and I didn’t really feel as though there was any chemistry between him and Amanda and there’s a few attempts at drama but it felt a bit high school. I couldn’t get into that aspect of the story line and really didn’t care if they ended up together or not.
Definitely struggled to maintain interest in this one unfortunately.
I did admire a lot about Amanda, she had obviously worked very hard to get where she was and she was very ambitious. She didn’t have the most supportive or privileged background and there’s something in her past that haunts her but I honestly didn’t feel like it was as big a deal as she made it out to be, when it was finally revealed. It seemed like a lot of angst over nothing really, something that she was worried about being held against her but really, why on earth would anyone? It was just ammunition for Marty and his accomplice to wield but it read quite weak, in terms of what a deep dark secret could be.
I expected more romance in this – I’m not sure why, it just gave me more of a romance vibe from the blurb and cover but I definitely thought it would be a bigger part of the story. I was quite disappointed with the fact that there’s really not much (if any?) romance at all. What there was I didn’t really find all that great and I couldn’t decide if it was inappropriate or not. There seemed to be some comments that it might be but no one really cared anyway? I found it quite lacklustre and the story of the jilted uhinged ex a bit overdone. Sid was kind of boring and I didn’t really feel as though there was any chemistry between him and Amanda and there’s a few attempts at drama but it felt a bit high school. I couldn’t get into that aspect of the story line and really didn’t care if they ended up together or not.
Definitely struggled to maintain interest in this one unfortunately.
August 4, 2017
DNF at 20%
I didn't think the portrayal of an English barrister was very realistic which is odd because the author was a barrister for seven years according to the blurb, maybe it's different oop North.
Amanda is supposed to be a platinum blonde bombshell from the wrong side of town but her first person POV is peppered with "whom", it felt like either a posh person pretending to be lower class or vice versa. Suffered from comparison to the TV series Silk.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I didn't think the portrayal of an English barrister was very realistic which is odd because the author was a barrister for seven years according to the blurb, maybe it's different oop North.
Amanda is supposed to be a platinum blonde bombshell from the wrong side of town but her first person POV is peppered with "whom", it felt like either a posh person pretending to be lower class or vice versa. Suffered from comparison to the TV series Silk.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
April 23, 2017
Last updated on 23 Apr 2017
Fun and original. I loved every moment of this. Made me feel happy and made me dream of the summer. Wondeful read. Loved it
Fun and original. I loved every moment of this. Made me feel happy and made me dream of the summer. Wondeful read. Loved it
March 31, 2020
3 stars!
This book was all over the place. It didn't want to know if it wanted to be a 'Guide to Surviving being a Pupil' or workplace romance and ends up half heartedly navigating both
The relationship with Skylar was clearly the best part of the book for me as was the satisfaction of overcoming her nemesis. But all other aspects including the romance with Sid fell inadequate
There was a lot of focus on the blondeness of the main character and how looks are not as it seems but instead of being empowering the women in this book were collectively poorly typecast including her best friend and catty ex and rivals in the office. That was a big miss for me. But overall the legal aspects were authentic even if the boorish parties got boring really fast.
This book was all over the place. It didn't want to know if it wanted to be a 'Guide to Surviving being a Pupil' or workplace romance and ends up half heartedly navigating both
The relationship with Skylar was clearly the best part of the book for me as was the satisfaction of overcoming her nemesis. But all other aspects including the romance with Sid fell inadequate
There was a lot of focus on the blondeness of the main character and how looks are not as it seems but instead of being empowering the women in this book were collectively poorly typecast including her best friend and catty ex and rivals in the office. That was a big miss for me. But overall the legal aspects were authentic even if the boorish parties got boring really fast.
August 31, 2017
I don't know much about barristers, so I really liked all the descriptions in "The Law of Attraction" by Roxie Cooper, a fresh and already distinguished voice in the women's literature, starting with the interview, the pupillage and accompanying our main character Amanda on her way to become a real barrister. It was great to get an insight into all the "traditions", the dinners, the initiations - those were the most hilarious parts of the story probably.
But you know, I don't know about this book. Sure, yes, I got the message but on the other hand I am not sure why did Amanda tried so hard to prove she can be a barrister with a long and blonde hair. I mean, I have long blonde hair myself and I really never felt such a need to prove that I can do something. I don't know, I can't put my finger on what it was, but this story just didn't feel so real for me and too predictable. It just didn't wow me as much as I think it's going to, judging on so many other raving reviews. So probably the problem might be me. For sure it was not a story about a "girl powers", as Amanda wasn't afraid to go to wars with her female colleagues from work - yes, I did spotted they were all bitches from hell, no worries, and it's a pity that there was not one single girl being sympathetic to Amanda. Oh no, sorry. I forgot Heidi.
There were plenty of characters and while mostly they were really well portrayed, there was a thing that bothered me, and it was the fact that they were so very much stereotyped. The "bad" guy was odious, laughable and everything came to him so easily because of his rich father. Of course then Amanda was a witness to all of his shenanigans. I don't mean I liked him or something, oh god, no, Marty was very annoying but also not to believable. The main character was the poor, smart as hell girl from the wrong class, proving that yes she can and pulling out of her old life. However, as much as she herself hated those that were stereotyping, I had a feeling that this is what she does all the time, starting with looking at herself through a prism of stereotype. What now, Amanda? All the characters, they were all made so that from the beginning we either like them and keep our fingers for them or dislike them.
The romance aspect... was there. For my liking also too predictable, and I thought Amanda is a little more cautious, especially knowing what's at stake, but no, she trusted him so easily. I really wasn't sure what I think about this whole affair, is it appropriate? And if not, then actually why not?
What I really liked were the parts that focused on Amanda at work. She did really feel like a kid in a candy store in the courtroom and she had a great passion for her job. Also, as the story progressed, we got to know more about Amanda's past, about her childhood and probably it was created for us to understand Amanda better, her and her life choices. It was nice she got a conclusion and eventually learnt that the past can't bring her down. But let's be honest, when she revealed what has really happened in her past, well... it left me lukewarm, it didn't feel worth the fuss - my opinion only. However, Amanda was this kind of character that learnt from her own mistakes. She didn't stay in one place but she grew as a person. So I think it's a thing that we should really appreciate, that she was like a real person who more often followed her heart than her head when making decisions as it only made her feel like a real, breathing person. And even though all of my reservations, I still admired her determination and I truly wanted her to succeed in everything she set her eyes on.
Altogether, it was a little different story about following your dream and not letting other people to patronize you and your choices, showing that hard work wins at the end. It touched upon the struggle that women still need to face in some environments. It was light and funny, if a tad predictable, but still I think there was so much potential to the writing and I would love to see more from Roxie Cooper - she can for sure create feisty, quirky heroines that have a lot to show to the world.
Copy provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.
But you know, I don't know about this book. Sure, yes, I got the message but on the other hand I am not sure why did Amanda tried so hard to prove she can be a barrister with a long and blonde hair. I mean, I have long blonde hair myself and I really never felt such a need to prove that I can do something. I don't know, I can't put my finger on what it was, but this story just didn't feel so real for me and too predictable. It just didn't wow me as much as I think it's going to, judging on so many other raving reviews. So probably the problem might be me. For sure it was not a story about a "girl powers", as Amanda wasn't afraid to go to wars with her female colleagues from work - yes, I did spotted they were all bitches from hell, no worries, and it's a pity that there was not one single girl being sympathetic to Amanda. Oh no, sorry. I forgot Heidi.
There were plenty of characters and while mostly they were really well portrayed, there was a thing that bothered me, and it was the fact that they were so very much stereotyped. The "bad" guy was odious, laughable and everything came to him so easily because of his rich father. Of course then Amanda was a witness to all of his shenanigans. I don't mean I liked him or something, oh god, no, Marty was very annoying but also not to believable. The main character was the poor, smart as hell girl from the wrong class, proving that yes she can and pulling out of her old life. However, as much as she herself hated those that were stereotyping, I had a feeling that this is what she does all the time, starting with looking at herself through a prism of stereotype. What now, Amanda? All the characters, they were all made so that from the beginning we either like them and keep our fingers for them or dislike them.
The romance aspect... was there. For my liking also too predictable, and I thought Amanda is a little more cautious, especially knowing what's at stake, but no, she trusted him so easily. I really wasn't sure what I think about this whole affair, is it appropriate? And if not, then actually why not?
What I really liked were the parts that focused on Amanda at work. She did really feel like a kid in a candy store in the courtroom and she had a great passion for her job. Also, as the story progressed, we got to know more about Amanda's past, about her childhood and probably it was created for us to understand Amanda better, her and her life choices. It was nice she got a conclusion and eventually learnt that the past can't bring her down. But let's be honest, when she revealed what has really happened in her past, well... it left me lukewarm, it didn't feel worth the fuss - my opinion only. However, Amanda was this kind of character that learnt from her own mistakes. She didn't stay in one place but she grew as a person. So I think it's a thing that we should really appreciate, that she was like a real person who more often followed her heart than her head when making decisions as it only made her feel like a real, breathing person. And even though all of my reservations, I still admired her determination and I truly wanted her to succeed in everything she set her eyes on.
Altogether, it was a little different story about following your dream and not letting other people to patronize you and your choices, showing that hard work wins at the end. It touched upon the struggle that women still need to face in some environments. It was light and funny, if a tad predictable, but still I think there was so much potential to the writing and I would love to see more from Roxie Cooper - she can for sure create feisty, quirky heroines that have a lot to show to the world.
Copy provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.
August 30, 2017
The Law Of Attraction was fabulous!
From the start I felt completely engrossed, it has a brilliant pace, I could have easily read it in one sitting because I didn’t want to put it down.
I really enjoyed reading about chambers and getting the behind the scenes look at what goes on. I would like to think that since Roxie was a barrister a lot of the goings on are not exaggerated because it was really funny to read about and I can imagine it being that cliquey in real life.
I’ll be honest and say that I wasn’t 100% sure on Amanda at the start of the book but the further into the story I got the more I loved her. She made me laugh with her thoughts and attitude and the situations she finds herself in. But I also found her really relatable, I was really rooting for her because despite her bravado she was definitely the underdog. She doesn’t really fit in at chambers through no fault of her own and that does give her a disadvantage in the race to win tenancy.
Apart from going head to head with Marty and the lawyers that he manages to get on side and falling foul of the group of female lawyers there is, of course, drama in the form of the delectable Sid Ryder, who is set to put a bit of a dent in her professional reputation, if she gives in to her desires.
Surprisingly what I liked a lot about this book was that whilst the romance was an aspect it was the pupillage and Amanda’s secret that were really the focus. Don’t get me wrong I liked Sid and Amanda’s back and forth and some of the issues it causes but it was nice to see that someone who worked so hard to get where she was wasn’t just going to throw it all away for a charming smile.
Another character that definitely deserves a mention is Skylar, from his Jazz hands and show tunes to carving out uninterrupted Dr Who time. The relationship between him and Amanda was great and I liked that it felt like he was sticking up for her not just because he was her mentor but because he really believes in her. They made a great team, even when he was being hard on her, you knew it was to make her a better lawyer.
Whilst this book is maybe a little predictable in some ways, it certainly caught my attention, with some great characters and a very interesting setting I would be surprised if it didn’t catch yours too. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and I am very much looking forward to seeing what Ms. Cooper comes up with next.
Originally posted on everywhere and nowhere
From the start I felt completely engrossed, it has a brilliant pace, I could have easily read it in one sitting because I didn’t want to put it down.
I really enjoyed reading about chambers and getting the behind the scenes look at what goes on. I would like to think that since Roxie was a barrister a lot of the goings on are not exaggerated because it was really funny to read about and I can imagine it being that cliquey in real life.
I’ll be honest and say that I wasn’t 100% sure on Amanda at the start of the book but the further into the story I got the more I loved her. She made me laugh with her thoughts and attitude and the situations she finds herself in. But I also found her really relatable, I was really rooting for her because despite her bravado she was definitely the underdog. She doesn’t really fit in at chambers through no fault of her own and that does give her a disadvantage in the race to win tenancy.
Apart from going head to head with Marty and the lawyers that he manages to get on side and falling foul of the group of female lawyers there is, of course, drama in the form of the delectable Sid Ryder, who is set to put a bit of a dent in her professional reputation, if she gives in to her desires.
Surprisingly what I liked a lot about this book was that whilst the romance was an aspect it was the pupillage and Amanda’s secret that were really the focus. Don’t get me wrong I liked Sid and Amanda’s back and forth and some of the issues it causes but it was nice to see that someone who worked so hard to get where she was wasn’t just going to throw it all away for a charming smile.
Another character that definitely deserves a mention is Skylar, from his Jazz hands and show tunes to carving out uninterrupted Dr Who time. The relationship between him and Amanda was great and I liked that it felt like he was sticking up for her not just because he was her mentor but because he really believes in her. They made a great team, even when he was being hard on her, you knew it was to make her a better lawyer.
Whilst this book is maybe a little predictable in some ways, it certainly caught my attention, with some great characters and a very interesting setting I would be surprised if it didn’t catch yours too. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and I am very much looking forward to seeing what Ms. Cooper comes up with next.
Originally posted on everywhere and nowhere
June 26, 2017
*Book provided by the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
So, the first thing that came to mind after starting this book: Legally Blonde! And yes there are similarities, but this a totally different story.
It follows Amanda Bentley, who lands a pupillage at one of the top Chambers. They actually took two candidates, the other one being Marty, her law school nemesis. The fact that she is a pretty woman doesn’t make her status easier.
The year of pupillage gives her a chance to fight for what she wants, show that she is great at her job and let go of her past.
There is sexy Sid Ryder to take her mind off things, her direct boss and then some people who don’t want the best for her, getting out things from her past and about her family.
I love following Amanda’s journey, especially seeing her work as a lawyer. It’s fun, feisty, exciting, entertaining, lively and engaging! I enjoyed getting more insight to the law and see how a great story was created around it.
The characters are vivid and fun, I struggled a bit with the pace of the story, but all in all it’s a fab debut novel! Can’t wait for more!
So, the first thing that came to mind after starting this book: Legally Blonde! And yes there are similarities, but this a totally different story.
It follows Amanda Bentley, who lands a pupillage at one of the top Chambers. They actually took two candidates, the other one being Marty, her law school nemesis. The fact that she is a pretty woman doesn’t make her status easier.
The year of pupillage gives her a chance to fight for what she wants, show that she is great at her job and let go of her past.
There is sexy Sid Ryder to take her mind off things, her direct boss and then some people who don’t want the best for her, getting out things from her past and about her family.
I love following Amanda’s journey, especially seeing her work as a lawyer. It’s fun, feisty, exciting, entertaining, lively and engaging! I enjoyed getting more insight to the law and see how a great story was created around it.
The characters are vivid and fun, I struggled a bit with the pace of the story, but all in all it’s a fab debut novel! Can’t wait for more!
May 9, 2017
What a fun, feisty read that provides a fascinating insight into how a law school works! Roxie Cooper is definitely one to watch. The writing is tight, sparkly and compels you to read on. The author created vivid characters and I'd love to go out for a night on the town with Amanda and her housemate Heidi - although I'm not sure I could keep up the pace! Perhaps an evening in with barrister sexy Sid would be more my style. With a plot and plenty of dramas along the way to keep you hooked, you won't want to put this book down. An unforgettable debut!
March 26, 2019
**3.5**
June 23, 2017
For years I have been saying the Chick Lit genre needs more books set up north. Authors seem to think that the world revolves around London, when it really doesn’t. The North East is a fantastic place. Beautiful sights, our charming accents (that sound nothing like that ridiculous Castle episode - if you haven’t seen it, look it up because it’s RIDICULOUS) and we are the proud people who gave you ANT AND DEC. So howay, give us a bit more credit, would you?! So when I started chatting to Roxie Cooper on Twitter, I was chuffed as pieces to hear she was a fellow girl from up the North East, she’s a Boro girl living in Yarm and I live in County Durham. I was even MORE excited that she’d written a book The Law of Attraction so as soon as it appeared on Netgalley, I HAD to read it.
I absolutely loved The Law of Attraction and not just because of all the charming North East bits and pieces that made me feel so loved. (I can kinda see what people are saying when they see someone in a book that’s like them, this is legitimately the first time that’s happened to me as a Geordie girl.) The Newcastle setting, which is a bit alien to me because I don’t know Newcastle well, but that’s FINE. Because I know the landmarks and stuff. The fact that Amanda calls her mam mam like I can my mam mam. The fact the characters had GEORDIE ACCENTS AND SAID HOWAY AND ALREET AND STUFF. I will get onto the actual book in a minute, but please allow me to bask in the glory of having a book set in my area. IT WAS FREAKING AMAZING.
The book itself was really good. I know very little about barristers - they seem to preside in court like a lawyer does in American TV shows??? They wear wigs?!?!??! AND ROBES LIKE HARRY POTTER?!??! But my knowledge is limited and seeing what Amanda had to go through was awe-inspiring and infuriating. It was amazing because it seems to take dedication to become a barrister, and before you can do that you have to something called pupillage which is like being a baby barrister and you kinda have to pay your dues and be voted in to become a real barrister. It was great to peek behind that curtain. HOWEVER, the bitchiness, the backstabbing, the general feeling that because Amanda is blonde, has big boobs and likes to dress nicely is somehow a deterrent?! LOL WHAT. ARE WE LIVING IN THE 1950s? It made me so angry. It was like Legally Blonde all over again and I couldn’t wait for Amanda to Reese Witherspoon them into submission. Honestly, it was like being back at school again! But I admired Amanda for keeping her cool, for picking her battles, and I assume that a lot of what was written was actually true as Roxie herself is a barrister so has first hand knowledge of all that goes on (it sounds exhausting !)
I loved that Amanda was a working class girl, who had pulled herself off her estate to make something of her life. Why should it just be the rich people who can become barristers? Why does where we come from dictate what jobs we should do? Honestly, I wanted to smack half the people in the face for being such idiots to Amanda. Except for her pupil-master Richard who was my favourite and the delectable Sid! I loved the girl power Amanda inspired within me, I mean I’m not about to go out and become a barrister but I liked the message that you can make your dreams come true, that hard work always wins in the end, that cream always rises to the top. And I loved even more that Amanda did it with massive peroxide blonde hair, as if that somehow tells you of her intelligence/ability to do her job. *Eye roll*
This book had everything I wanted. The Northern setting I crave, a feisty main character who I loved and wanted to be best friends with so she could teach me a master cat eye flick for starters, fantastic writing, and I loved seeing behind the curtain on what it is to be a lawyer. A lot of authors don’t give their characters such demanding jobs because it gets in the way of romance so it was nice to see Amanda’s job and what it entails and how much hard work it is. It was funny, witty, warm and Roxie Cooper has blasted onto the scene with a fantastic debut novel. I want more of her Northern charm and honest storytelling and girl power enthusiasm in my life IMMEDIATELY.
December 12, 2017
The Law of Attraction to put it frankly was absolutely amazing - I loved it! Roxie Cooper has created a funny and relatable character in Amanda and I would love to read more about her law adventures in the future. Reading the blurb I was reminded of one of my favourite movies - Legally Blonde but this is a fresh take on the story that is completely different. If you love Legally Blonde you will definitely love The Law of Attraction.
Amanda Bentley is a blonde, pretty girl who is finishing her studies to become a barrister. This book follows her as she tries to get pupillage in a Newcastle law firm. I didn't know much about the law world but this book was fabulous with the detail and I understand more of what the trainees have to go through. Roxie has drawn on her own experiences as a barrister which really shows throughout.
I loved the setting of Newcastle - it makes a change from the more common book locations that are seen.
Amanda is smart, funny and she works damn well hard - she's really trying to make something of herself while trying to hide her past from her colleagues. At times I found her to be a little naive but that may be due to entering a whole new world that does seem a little bizarre and alien.
Marty, like all the other reviewers, got on my nerves. He was a horrible person and I really wanted to smack him around the head to get some sense into him! Sid, I liked reading about. Amanda didn't really think with her head regarding Sid but that only made her more likeable as a character. The other character I loved was Skylar, he was really rooting for Amanda for the word go and he was pushing her to become the amazing barrister he knew she could be.
I found The Law of Attraction to be more than your average chick lit - it proves that if you really put your mind to something you can achieve it. I loved reading about the law world and I really hope Roxie will revive Amanda in future books as we follow her law career.
I was surprised to discover halfway through this book that this is Roxie's debut - I am so excited to read more from her, Roxie who have a new found fan for life!
Amanda Bentley is a blonde, pretty girl who is finishing her studies to become a barrister. This book follows her as she tries to get pupillage in a Newcastle law firm. I didn't know much about the law world but this book was fabulous with the detail and I understand more of what the trainees have to go through. Roxie has drawn on her own experiences as a barrister which really shows throughout.
I loved the setting of Newcastle - it makes a change from the more common book locations that are seen.
Amanda is smart, funny and she works damn well hard - she's really trying to make something of herself while trying to hide her past from her colleagues. At times I found her to be a little naive but that may be due to entering a whole new world that does seem a little bizarre and alien.
Marty, like all the other reviewers, got on my nerves. He was a horrible person and I really wanted to smack him around the head to get some sense into him! Sid, I liked reading about. Amanda didn't really think with her head regarding Sid but that only made her more likeable as a character. The other character I loved was Skylar, he was really rooting for Amanda for the word go and he was pushing her to become the amazing barrister he knew she could be.
I found The Law of Attraction to be more than your average chick lit - it proves that if you really put your mind to something you can achieve it. I loved reading about the law world and I really hope Roxie will revive Amanda in future books as we follow her law career.
I was surprised to discover halfway through this book that this is Roxie's debut - I am so excited to read more from her, Roxie who have a new found fan for life!
December 20, 2017
Really enjoyed this book, it’s not often I would give a book in this genre 5 stars as they all usually follow the same vein but this one had me hooked, it’s the type of book I was looking forward to reading when I got home from work. Highly recommended.
March 13, 2018
I was more than happy to give this an 8/10 or 4 stars. My thanks to the Author via TBConFB for the opportunity to read this story in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this debut novel and will look forward to reading more by this Author in due course.
Amanda Bentley isn't your typical lawyer. Coming from a working class background she has a lot to prove in order to proceed in her chosen career. As she takes on her probationary pupillage in one of the best Chambers in her area, she not only has to prove that she can do it and is good at what she does, she also has to beat another pupil to take the position in Chambers as there is only one place available. Marty is the other candidate that she is pitted against, he is her nemesis from law school. Marty appears to fit in well with his peers and she is often seen as a fish out of water.
Throw in a rather bad mistake on her part of falling for Sid Ryder a fellow member of the Chambers that she is in, despite having been warned that it's not good practise to get involved with one's acquaintances in Chambers. When has the heart ever listened to advice like this? Not very often.
Will Amanda succeed in winning the position or will Marty snatch it from under her nose or will her past stop her from getting on with her career?
I enjoyed this story and whilst I've read some reviews that have said that some of the events that occur in the probationary pupillage period in this story weren't strictly correct, this is not something that I can comment on from having no experience in Law as a career. However, as a story I think it worked well for me and I found it a believable enough scenario.
I found Amanda a likeable character and was championing her corner all the time. I wanted her and Sid to be a couple despite some of her misgivings, we can all get the wrong end of the stick at times and Amanda was no different than anyone else for doing this.
To find out how Amanda's life is affected during the pupillage and where she is once the year is up, then grab a copy and find yourself a comfy seat, so that you can immerse yourself in her adventures.
Amanda Bentley isn't your typical lawyer. Coming from a working class background she has a lot to prove in order to proceed in her chosen career. As she takes on her probationary pupillage in one of the best Chambers in her area, she not only has to prove that she can do it and is good at what she does, she also has to beat another pupil to take the position in Chambers as there is only one place available. Marty is the other candidate that she is pitted against, he is her nemesis from law school. Marty appears to fit in well with his peers and she is often seen as a fish out of water.
Throw in a rather bad mistake on her part of falling for Sid Ryder a fellow member of the Chambers that she is in, despite having been warned that it's not good practise to get involved with one's acquaintances in Chambers. When has the heart ever listened to advice like this? Not very often.
Will Amanda succeed in winning the position or will Marty snatch it from under her nose or will her past stop her from getting on with her career?
I enjoyed this story and whilst I've read some reviews that have said that some of the events that occur in the probationary pupillage period in this story weren't strictly correct, this is not something that I can comment on from having no experience in Law as a career. However, as a story I think it worked well for me and I found it a believable enough scenario.
I found Amanda a likeable character and was championing her corner all the time. I wanted her and Sid to be a couple despite some of her misgivings, we can all get the wrong end of the stick at times and Amanda was no different than anyone else for doing this.
To find out how Amanda's life is affected during the pupillage and where she is once the year is up, then grab a copy and find yourself a comfy seat, so that you can immerse yourself in her adventures.
November 26, 2017
Amanda takes you on her unconventional journey as she enlists on her pupillage with a point to prove. She is sassy, feisty and doesn't want to conform, I fell in love with her straight away as she is a girl after my own heart and she isn't afraid to say what she thinks regardless of whether her actions help achieve her end goal.
I love nothing more than being able to curl up with a book and being compelled to keep turning the pages to find out what happens to the characters that have been bought to life. Roxie Cooper accomplished all of this in her 1st novel, I really enjoyed this book for all of those reasons. It was a lovely refreshing read and I was drawn in and wanted to find out what would be thrown Amanda's way next and how she would deal with it.
I love nothing more than being able to curl up with a book and being compelled to keep turning the pages to find out what happens to the characters that have been bought to life. Roxie Cooper accomplished all of this in her 1st novel, I really enjoyed this book for all of those reasons. It was a lovely refreshing read and I was drawn in and wanted to find out what would be thrown Amanda's way next and how she would deal with it.
May 15, 2017
If Working Girl, Legally Blonde and Mean Girls got together and had a baby, The Law of Attraction would be the result. This book is funny, sexy, romantic and inspirational. If you have ever been told not to do anything, or laughed at when you discuss your dreams, read this book. Amanda Bentley is a part of all of us that we should all embrace. Everyone should pull out the big hair and high heels once in a while, and stomp over the haters.
Brilliant debut from Roxie Cooper - had me laughing off my sunlounger and wanting to take down a few slimeballs myself. Fantastic. And where can I get my own Sid Ryder?
Brilliant debut from Roxie Cooper - had me laughing off my sunlounger and wanting to take down a few slimeballs myself. Fantastic. And where can I get my own Sid Ryder?
December 13, 2017
For me this was something completely different - think Crown Court brought up to date. A feisty blonde bombshell on her way to being a barrister but coming from the wrong side of the tracks faces an uphill struggle. She doesn't always do things by the book but you are willing her on all the same. She is keeping a secret which isn't revealed until near the end of the book. Thought this was a romping good read. Thank you to the author and to TBC for the chance to read this title.
July 2, 2017
DNF at 20%.
I'm not going to be overly critical of this book because in fairness if you like reading chick-lit or YA type of books this may be for you. But they don't work for me.
I wanted to try this as it's the authors debut and as a barrister herself I thought perhaps it might win me over with characters that are past high school. Sadly not.
But if chick-lit is your preferred genre then it might be for you.
I'm not going to be overly critical of this book because in fairness if you like reading chick-lit or YA type of books this may be for you. But they don't work for me.
I wanted to try this as it's the authors debut and as a barrister herself I thought perhaps it might win me over with characters that are past high school. Sadly not.
But if chick-lit is your preferred genre then it might be for you.
July 28, 2019
This was an endearing story as was the main character Amanda. However, there was just too much exaggerated sexism in it for me to fully enjoy the read. I can understand what the author was trying to do but I feel the mark was missed as these issues weren't fully addressed in the book, just left open and condoned.
August 29, 2017
All reviews can be found on my blog at https://thewritinggarnet.wordpress.com
I spotted Roxie Cooper’s debut novel (well, the cover) circulating on social media a while before it was released into the wild, and boy was I excited to read it! I honestly felt like I was squealing at the author about wanting to read her book, week in week out via Instagram. Let’s face it, the chances of that actually being the case are extremely high!
Anyway, it took me less than a day to read ‘The Law of Attraction’ and my heart broke when the time came for the book to end. I mean, how dare the author put ‘the end’? Personally, I wasn’t emotionally ready for ‘The Law of Attraction’ to end.
Amanda Bentley has the rather prestigious nickname of ‘Barbie’ – platinum blonde hair, a figure to die for, and a wardrobe that could actually beat Barbie’s hands down. Don’t even get me started on the shoes! Everyone automatically assumes that if your hair is blonde and your boobs are large, then you’re either as thick as two short planks or you spend your Friday nights shaking your ass to ‘I’m Too Sexy’ by Right Said Fred. When Amanda Bentley wins a pupilage once out of law school, she believes that the only thing she would need to worry about was the task in hand – winning the tenancy and getting the long-awaited dream job of becoming a barrister. However, it didn’t take long for Amanda’s dream path to be littered with hurdles, as well as people she would much rather forget than spend every day with.
I need to get one thing out-of-the-way; my opinion of Marty Gregg. What an absolute cockerel!!!!! How Amanda managed to not stick her fist through his face, I have no idea! What a smarmy little twerp! As soon as his creepy, smirking, dirty little face appeared in the book, I disliked him straight away. Naively I thought to myself ‘can this boy GET any worse?!’, and what does he go and do? He gets even worse. I absolutely despised him.
Right, onto the good bits! I LOVED how Roxie Cooper’s debut incorporated experiences from her own personal life, although I did spend a lot of time wondering whether any situations in the book were based on real life events. The author has made no secret of the fact that she was a barrister before she was an author, and I found that quite endearing because the storyline came across as being written from her heart, as opposed to being written from Google’s heart.
Whilst all of Newcastle Crown Court seem to judge Amanda on how she looks, the storyline itself runs a lot deeper than the contents of her make-up bag. I felt so sorry for Amanda as it was made clear early on how her childhood wasn’t worth remembering due to horrific emotional and physical trauma. When I say made clear, the readers are told that about her childhood, yet the reasoning behind her trauma doesn’t become clear until much later in the book. If you’re anything like me, you’ll put two and two together and come up with five. It’s lucky that I never wanted to be a barrister, eh!
‘The Law of Attraction’ is filled with some rather lovely characters, as well as some rather horrible characters who seemed to have popped over from ‘The Mean Girls’ as extras in Roxie Cooper’s novels. I cannot STAND people like that! I’ll admit, I found myself getting angry about those particular characters far too often, but I realise that the storyline required those colourful characters in order to get the point across. Of course, just like other books, I did have my favourite characters but I’m not going to tell you who, just incase I end up influencing your choices indirectly!
As soon as I had finished reading ‘The Law of Attraction’, I messaged the author and let her know about a part of the book which made me cry. Now, because I don’t want to give anything away, I won’t state which part it was, but let’s just say that it caught me off guard big time. I wasn’t expecting my eyes to leak. If you’re reading this book and end up crying at a part, let me know which part that was! Who knows, it might be the same one!
I absolutely loved every single thing about this book. It was gutsy. It was addictive. It was hilarious. It was kickass. It was deep. It had ‘errrrr come again?’ moments. It was intriguing. It made me feel a lot more emotions than I care to admit, in such a short space of time. I could tell a mile off that the author wrote ‘The Law of Attraction’ with pride, integrity, realism and a truck load of love. Yes, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think of ‘Legally Blonde’ whilst I was reading this. But, in all honesty, ‘The Law of Attraction’ beats ‘Legally Blonde’ hands down and, seeing as I am a huge fan of that particular movie, that is definitely saying something.
Heart-warming, addictively written with oodles of beautiful and shocking moments, ‘The Law of Attraction’ really is one of my Top Reads of 2017. I could not have asked for anything else in one book, it truly had it all. If not more. I laughed. I cried. I smiled. I became angry. I was empathetic. But most importantly, I found ‘The Law of Attraction’ GUILTY for being such a phenomenal read from start to finish; an all-round, pleasurable read which I will be remembering for such a long, long time.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book.
Thank you HQDigitalUK and NeverlandBT.
I spotted Roxie Cooper’s debut novel (well, the cover) circulating on social media a while before it was released into the wild, and boy was I excited to read it! I honestly felt like I was squealing at the author about wanting to read her book, week in week out via Instagram. Let’s face it, the chances of that actually being the case are extremely high!
Anyway, it took me less than a day to read ‘The Law of Attraction’ and my heart broke when the time came for the book to end. I mean, how dare the author put ‘the end’? Personally, I wasn’t emotionally ready for ‘The Law of Attraction’ to end.
Amanda Bentley has the rather prestigious nickname of ‘Barbie’ – platinum blonde hair, a figure to die for, and a wardrobe that could actually beat Barbie’s hands down. Don’t even get me started on the shoes! Everyone automatically assumes that if your hair is blonde and your boobs are large, then you’re either as thick as two short planks or you spend your Friday nights shaking your ass to ‘I’m Too Sexy’ by Right Said Fred. When Amanda Bentley wins a pupilage once out of law school, she believes that the only thing she would need to worry about was the task in hand – winning the tenancy and getting the long-awaited dream job of becoming a barrister. However, it didn’t take long for Amanda’s dream path to be littered with hurdles, as well as people she would much rather forget than spend every day with.
I need to get one thing out-of-the-way; my opinion of Marty Gregg. What an absolute cockerel!!!!! How Amanda managed to not stick her fist through his face, I have no idea! What a smarmy little twerp! As soon as his creepy, smirking, dirty little face appeared in the book, I disliked him straight away. Naively I thought to myself ‘can this boy GET any worse?!’, and what does he go and do? He gets even worse. I absolutely despised him.
Right, onto the good bits! I LOVED how Roxie Cooper’s debut incorporated experiences from her own personal life, although I did spend a lot of time wondering whether any situations in the book were based on real life events. The author has made no secret of the fact that she was a barrister before she was an author, and I found that quite endearing because the storyline came across as being written from her heart, as opposed to being written from Google’s heart.
Whilst all of Newcastle Crown Court seem to judge Amanda on how she looks, the storyline itself runs a lot deeper than the contents of her make-up bag. I felt so sorry for Amanda as it was made clear early on how her childhood wasn’t worth remembering due to horrific emotional and physical trauma. When I say made clear, the readers are told that about her childhood, yet the reasoning behind her trauma doesn’t become clear until much later in the book. If you’re anything like me, you’ll put two and two together and come up with five. It’s lucky that I never wanted to be a barrister, eh!
‘The Law of Attraction’ is filled with some rather lovely characters, as well as some rather horrible characters who seemed to have popped over from ‘The Mean Girls’ as extras in Roxie Cooper’s novels. I cannot STAND people like that! I’ll admit, I found myself getting angry about those particular characters far too often, but I realise that the storyline required those colourful characters in order to get the point across. Of course, just like other books, I did have my favourite characters but I’m not going to tell you who, just incase I end up influencing your choices indirectly!
As soon as I had finished reading ‘The Law of Attraction’, I messaged the author and let her know about a part of the book which made me cry. Now, because I don’t want to give anything away, I won’t state which part it was, but let’s just say that it caught me off guard big time. I wasn’t expecting my eyes to leak. If you’re reading this book and end up crying at a part, let me know which part that was! Who knows, it might be the same one!
I absolutely loved every single thing about this book. It was gutsy. It was addictive. It was hilarious. It was kickass. It was deep. It had ‘errrrr come again?’ moments. It was intriguing. It made me feel a lot more emotions than I care to admit, in such a short space of time. I could tell a mile off that the author wrote ‘The Law of Attraction’ with pride, integrity, realism and a truck load of love. Yes, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think of ‘Legally Blonde’ whilst I was reading this. But, in all honesty, ‘The Law of Attraction’ beats ‘Legally Blonde’ hands down and, seeing as I am a huge fan of that particular movie, that is definitely saying something.
Heart-warming, addictively written with oodles of beautiful and shocking moments, ‘The Law of Attraction’ really is one of my Top Reads of 2017. I could not have asked for anything else in one book, it truly had it all. If not more. I laughed. I cried. I smiled. I became angry. I was empathetic. But most importantly, I found ‘The Law of Attraction’ GUILTY for being such a phenomenal read from start to finish; an all-round, pleasurable read which I will be remembering for such a long, long time.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book.
Thank you HQDigitalUK and NeverlandBT.
May 15, 2017
I received this book via NetGalley.com via an advanced Readers Copy.
I saw the blurb on this book and jumped at the chance to read it. I enjoy a good legal brief story.
With this book, for me, I found that I was having a hard time being engaged during the first half of the book.
There were too many moving pieces. Amanda and Marty were former classmates who blow received an opportunity to join a prominent legal firm. Yet Amanda is the smart one and Marty is the social one. At the end of their first year, they will either be dismissed or asked to continue on. The first year of prestigious pupillage is difficult for many reasons. The learning of the traditions, the dynamics of the firms, the courts, and the players of the courts is intense.
Yet Marty is out for blood because Amanda turned him down. Amanda is hiding her past because she has guilt associated with it. Throw in a few other crazy characters and storylines I found it hard at times to keep up with who the scene was about.
I enjoyed the insight into a different legal system. But this story for me had me scratching my head as how the Law of Attraction fit the book. Amanda does have a romance but it is extremely brief, and highly frowned upon. Her flat mate seemed to get more action. Marty seemed to want something he couldn't have. But those story lines didn't seem to be in the forefront of the book. I found that Amanda's growth as a person and all of the key players helping her define herself are the main storyline. Also, I read where someone compared this to legally blonde. That is not at all. The only resemblance to that story would be the platinum blonde. Amanda isn't worried about her image, but she does have the same determination with out the persona of being ditsy.
I saw the blurb on this book and jumped at the chance to read it. I enjoy a good legal brief story.
With this book, for me, I found that I was having a hard time being engaged during the first half of the book.
There were too many moving pieces. Amanda and Marty were former classmates who blow received an opportunity to join a prominent legal firm. Yet Amanda is the smart one and Marty is the social one. At the end of their first year, they will either be dismissed or asked to continue on. The first year of prestigious pupillage is difficult for many reasons. The learning of the traditions, the dynamics of the firms, the courts, and the players of the courts is intense.
Yet Marty is out for blood because Amanda turned him down. Amanda is hiding her past because she has guilt associated with it. Throw in a few other crazy characters and storylines I found it hard at times to keep up with who the scene was about.
I enjoyed the insight into a different legal system. But this story for me had me scratching my head as how the Law of Attraction fit the book. Amanda does have a romance but it is extremely brief, and highly frowned upon. Her flat mate seemed to get more action. Marty seemed to want something he couldn't have. But those story lines didn't seem to be in the forefront of the book. I found that Amanda's growth as a person and all of the key players helping her define herself are the main storyline. Also, I read where someone compared this to legally blonde. That is not at all. The only resemblance to that story would be the platinum blonde. Amanda isn't worried about her image, but she does have the same determination with out the persona of being ditsy.
July 13, 2017
I wanted to read The Law of Attraction partly due to the whole Legally Blonde aspect but also as it was set in the local area where I live. Unfortunately I found this book to be somewhat predictable and didn't overly enthralling me. A pleasant enough read though.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the chance to review.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the chance to review.
December 3, 2017
"Well, it's fair to say your background isn't conventional in terms of the average barrister…" Dolus points out. "Well that depends on your definition of conventional and who wants to be average anyway?"
Northern girl Amanda Bentley isn’t your average lawyer.
She spent her teenage years in the Working Men’s club and hanging out in the park to avoid going home. Fresh out of law school she lands pupillage at a top set of Chambers and is catapulted into a world completely alien to her own, fighting prejudice and snobbery at every turn.
Piling on the pressure, this year it is announced two candidates have been accepted but there’s only one job at the end of it. And her competition? Marty, her smarmy law school nemesis.
Throw into the mix an ill-advised romance with the staggeringly sexy Sid Ryder and Amanda quickly realises winning pupillage isn’t just about how good a lawyer you are.
But even if she does come out on top, all of it could be for nothing if her colleagues ever discover who she really is and one very dark secret.
I loved this book. I could almost have been there in the Chambers with Amanda Bentley. I could say so much about the smarmy Marty, but that would give spoilers. I would highly recommend this book to everyone. 5*
Northern girl Amanda Bentley isn’t your average lawyer.
She spent her teenage years in the Working Men’s club and hanging out in the park to avoid going home. Fresh out of law school she lands pupillage at a top set of Chambers and is catapulted into a world completely alien to her own, fighting prejudice and snobbery at every turn.
Piling on the pressure, this year it is announced two candidates have been accepted but there’s only one job at the end of it. And her competition? Marty, her smarmy law school nemesis.
Throw into the mix an ill-advised romance with the staggeringly sexy Sid Ryder and Amanda quickly realises winning pupillage isn’t just about how good a lawyer you are.
But even if she does come out on top, all of it could be for nothing if her colleagues ever discover who she really is and one very dark secret.
I loved this book. I could almost have been there in the Chambers with Amanda Bentley. I could say so much about the smarmy Marty, but that would give spoilers. I would highly recommend this book to everyone. 5*
September 11, 2017
Review originally published here:
https://joyfulantidotes.com/2017/08/2...
The Law of Attraction focuses on Amanda Bentley, a Northern, working class girl, over the period of a year as she undertakes a pupilage at a top set of Chambers. Amanda soon realises she is the underdog at the Chambers not only due to her background and looks, but also an ill-advised romance with a senior member, Sid Ryder.
When you read that a book has Legally Blond vibes, you automatically know you are onto a winner. But what really sold it for me was the fact that the story was loosely based on author Roxie Cooper’s own life. I felt I could connect even more with the protagonist, also coming myself from a similar background and the feeling of having to continually prove myself while also refusing to play the “kiss ass” game. However, I can’t say I deal with office politics as well as Amanda did so this story also brought the motivation of becoming a stronger woman.
Because, for me, this was what this book was essentially about – a strong woman. Yes, it had all the usual laid-back elements of chic-lit thrown in, but the underlying theme was so much more. It focused on womanhood and how females are still suffering in the workplace, how they are almost immediately underestimated because of their sex, how they are not taken seriously because of their looks and, most importantly, how sexual relations, especially within the workplace, define women one way and men the other. But, Cooper is smart and although The Law of Attraction focuses mostly on the issues woman have to deal with, she also adds weight to the balance on how men can also be stereotyped. We see this through the character of Sid who has unfairly gained himself the title of womanizer from people who know little to none about his personal life.
Of course, this is also a really fun book to read. You will love Amanda and hate Marty. You will appreciate the support Amanda receives from pupil master Skylar and wish him to be your granddad. You will give your best friend a squeeze when Amanda and Heidi remind you just how important friendship is. And you will thank Roxie Cooper for writing this wonderful book when you finish.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
https://joyfulantidotes.com/2017/08/2...
The Law of Attraction focuses on Amanda Bentley, a Northern, working class girl, over the period of a year as she undertakes a pupilage at a top set of Chambers. Amanda soon realises she is the underdog at the Chambers not only due to her background and looks, but also an ill-advised romance with a senior member, Sid Ryder.
When you read that a book has Legally Blond vibes, you automatically know you are onto a winner. But what really sold it for me was the fact that the story was loosely based on author Roxie Cooper’s own life. I felt I could connect even more with the protagonist, also coming myself from a similar background and the feeling of having to continually prove myself while also refusing to play the “kiss ass” game. However, I can’t say I deal with office politics as well as Amanda did so this story also brought the motivation of becoming a stronger woman.
Because, for me, this was what this book was essentially about – a strong woman. Yes, it had all the usual laid-back elements of chic-lit thrown in, but the underlying theme was so much more. It focused on womanhood and how females are still suffering in the workplace, how they are almost immediately underestimated because of their sex, how they are not taken seriously because of their looks and, most importantly, how sexual relations, especially within the workplace, define women one way and men the other. But, Cooper is smart and although The Law of Attraction focuses mostly on the issues woman have to deal with, she also adds weight to the balance on how men can also be stereotyped. We see this through the character of Sid who has unfairly gained himself the title of womanizer from people who know little to none about his personal life.
Of course, this is also a really fun book to read. You will love Amanda and hate Marty. You will appreciate the support Amanda receives from pupil master Skylar and wish him to be your granddad. You will give your best friend a squeeze when Amanda and Heidi remind you just how important friendship is. And you will thank Roxie Cooper for writing this wonderful book when you finish.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 31, 2017
I so loved this book that I’m amazed that this is Roxie Cooper’s first novel. I am hoping that she’ll follow up with many more romances since this was such a fun and enjoyable read. I loved the Rumpole books by John Mortimer and the shows on PBS and this book has some of that same feel which the author explicitly pays credit to in the book.
The story is told through the eyes of Amanda Bentley, a peroxide blonde from a lower-middle class background who has worked hard to overcome all obstacles to become a barrister. Since the author has her own history as a barrister and blonde, she brings seems such an interesting insight into that life and system. It’s so different from how our legal system works that part of the fun is just seeing the differences in the British and American systems.
For Amanda, the first obstacle she must overcome is getting what is called a pupillage at a reputable Chambers. It sounds like this is a year-long internship after which she’ll either get a job offer or basically see her career stutter to a stop before it’s barely begun. Even though, as a busty blonde with the wrong accent, she doesn’t fit the image of the professional barrister, she gets the pupillage but then finds out that the other pupil is a smarmy weasel whom she’d despised in law school, but now must compete with for the job offer.
The romance in the story plays second fiddle to the story of Amanda’s trials (literal and metaphorical) as she goes through the year trying to stay true to who she is while fulfilling the demands of the job and her mentor, a marvelous character. She is warned not to get romantically involved with any of the lawyers in Chambers, but can’t resist the sexy barrister, Sid Ryder. He seems to be equally attracted to her, but hooking up with him lays Amanda open to the attacks of jealous bimbo barristers.
This novel was original and fun. I loved that it introduced me to a world I hadn’t known much about. Amanda is a very different sort of heroine and you can’t help pulling for her to overcome all the barriers she encounters.
Roxie Cooper is a bright new talent and I look forward to reading whatever she writes next.
I was given a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The story is told through the eyes of Amanda Bentley, a peroxide blonde from a lower-middle class background who has worked hard to overcome all obstacles to become a barrister. Since the author has her own history as a barrister and blonde, she brings seems such an interesting insight into that life and system. It’s so different from how our legal system works that part of the fun is just seeing the differences in the British and American systems.
For Amanda, the first obstacle she must overcome is getting what is called a pupillage at a reputable Chambers. It sounds like this is a year-long internship after which she’ll either get a job offer or basically see her career stutter to a stop before it’s barely begun. Even though, as a busty blonde with the wrong accent, she doesn’t fit the image of the professional barrister, she gets the pupillage but then finds out that the other pupil is a smarmy weasel whom she’d despised in law school, but now must compete with for the job offer.
The romance in the story plays second fiddle to the story of Amanda’s trials (literal and metaphorical) as she goes through the year trying to stay true to who she is while fulfilling the demands of the job and her mentor, a marvelous character. She is warned not to get romantically involved with any of the lawyers in Chambers, but can’t resist the sexy barrister, Sid Ryder. He seems to be equally attracted to her, but hooking up with him lays Amanda open to the attacks of jealous bimbo barristers.
This novel was original and fun. I loved that it introduced me to a world I hadn’t known much about. Amanda is a very different sort of heroine and you can’t help pulling for her to overcome all the barriers she encounters.
Roxie Cooper is a bright new talent and I look forward to reading whatever she writes next.
I was given a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 28, 2017
Due to the pretty, cute, flirty cover I was expecting your average chick-lit/chick-flick type of book. Dare I say the blonde cliche of having more fun etc. Now that would have been fine because I’m not adverse to a quick rom-com read, especially during the summer as a means of relaxation.
The Law of Attraction however has so much more to offer. I was fascinated to discover the dedication involved to gain a place in law. Amanda has got her pupillage at a law firm so she can complete her final year to become a barrister. This is where her background and the competitiveness of all the swish, classy, spoilt brats clash. Amanda has had a rough start in life but her determination to succeed is admirable. She has to compete with Marty her old high school foe, only one of them will nab the role at the end. Needless to say I wasn’t overly keen on Marty!
While there is a love interest it doesn’t dominate the book .. it’s the usual scenario of ‘don’t get involved with those you work with’ but lust often gets in the way of a sensible action. Sid oozes sexy charm which can surely only cause trouble!?
I quite liked Amanda, she is fun, down to earth and full of personality, not afraid to show her weaknesses and is certainly on a learning curve. Her friend Heidi adds a different side to Amanda and they would be a hard act to keep up with on a night out.
This book shows that no matter where you come from in life or how you are raised, determination is crucial if you want to be successful and accepted. Follow your dreams.
As a debut novel this is entertaining and I look forward to seeing more from Roxie.
Thanks to the author, publisher, netgalley and Jenny at Neverland Book Tours for my copy which I read and reviewed voluntarily.
The Law of Attraction however has so much more to offer. I was fascinated to discover the dedication involved to gain a place in law. Amanda has got her pupillage at a law firm so she can complete her final year to become a barrister. This is where her background and the competitiveness of all the swish, classy, spoilt brats clash. Amanda has had a rough start in life but her determination to succeed is admirable. She has to compete with Marty her old high school foe, only one of them will nab the role at the end. Needless to say I wasn’t overly keen on Marty!
While there is a love interest it doesn’t dominate the book .. it’s the usual scenario of ‘don’t get involved with those you work with’ but lust often gets in the way of a sensible action. Sid oozes sexy charm which can surely only cause trouble!?
I quite liked Amanda, she is fun, down to earth and full of personality, not afraid to show her weaknesses and is certainly on a learning curve. Her friend Heidi adds a different side to Amanda and they would be a hard act to keep up with on a night out.
This book shows that no matter where you come from in life or how you are raised, determination is crucial if you want to be successful and accepted. Follow your dreams.
As a debut novel this is entertaining and I look forward to seeing more from Roxie.
Thanks to the author, publisher, netgalley and Jenny at Neverland Book Tours for my copy which I read and reviewed voluntarily.
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