Neely's work is incisive, humorous, and oh-so sexy! Loved this tale of forced proximity; Neely's creativity with the reality tv subplot really shines!!

DNFed around 30%

I am not a romcom reader usually, so take my opinion with a grain of salt; if this is your type of book you may love it. I was in it purely for the trial story, because I, too, have always wanted to be on a jury for a murder trial. Unfortunately, I couldn't get past some of the inaccuracies of how jury selection and rules work, and that paired with typical quirky clumsy not like other girls tropes annoyed me enough to DNF.

Neely Tubati Alexander has written and interesting and heartfelt story. Sydney is a huge fan of a reality TV show and one of the stars is on trial for murdering her husband. Sydney is on a mission to make sure the star is innocent. What she doesn't expect is one of the other jury members is her childhood best friend who she hasn't spoken to in 10 years - Damon. This is a force proximity, second chances story.

But it is not your typical second chances story. There are no flashback chapters, they are woven into the narrative. Also, you find out why they are estranged in the first third of the book, something that is normally drawn out till the end. But, that doesn't mean there aren't more twists and turns along the way.

The trail, the current character evolution, and the past are woven together beautifully. It requires careful reading to follow all of the story lines. It was a little slow to get into, but in the end I enjoyed the book, even without being a realty TV watcher. I imagine if you like those shows you would enjoy this book even more. While I read many spicy books, I don't think the spice was necessary in this story, especially not toward the end.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

I was lucky to receive an advance digital copy of Courtroom Drama by Neely Tubati Alexander — a smart, genre-blending novel that surprised and delighted me. While it's categorized as contemporary/rom-com, the story skillfully weaves in elements of courtroom drama (true to its title) and emotional depth.

The plot centres around the high-profile trial of a famous reality star accused of murdering her husband. There is also the compelling subplot involving two jurors who share a complicated past - one of them, a die-hard reality TV fan - and the the story follows the pair as they reconnect a decade later and serve on the same jury.

This was my first time reading the rom-com genre, having discovered Neely's writing last year — and I’m so glad this was my introduction. Neely's book is excellently written. Neely does a fantastic job with character development, creating relatable characters while also maintaining a level of intrigue about 'what lies beneath.'

Courtroom Drama offered a much-needed escape from reality and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who loves the genre, as well as those (like myself prior to reading it) who haven't previously dived in.

P.S. Thank you to NetGalley and Neely Tubati Alexander for the opportunity to read an advance copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

I just never really felt for the romance. I was more invested in the case than the couple. For somebody who was super invested in this case for the first chapter she pretty quickly abandoned the goals she set for herself and seemed to be zoning out pretty consistently during the case. For it being a murder case that was just hard to see.

Overall cute but just fine.

Sydney Parks has been trying hard to get on a jury. But it’s not just any jury. It’s the jury for the Margot Kitsch trial. Margot is one of the original Authentic Moms of Malibu, and Sydney is a huge fan. This is her reality show go-to, and she needs to get on this jury to make sure Margot isn’t convicted of killing her husband. She made it through several rounds of voir dire and has made it through. And then she gets the call to pack a suitcase because she is being called to serve on a jury that will be sequestered.

Sydney is so excited to show up at the courtroom, ready to turn over her phone and laptop and make the trial her whole life for the foreseeable future. And that’s when she runs into Damon.

Damon has been a childhood friend and then her first love, until a family secret ruined everything between them. She hadn’t seen him in ten years. And now here he is, and those years melt away.

But Sydney isn’t here for the romance. She’s here for the trial. It’s up to her to make sure Margot doesn’t get railroaded by the so-called justice system. She has to stay focused. Even when Damon writes notes and slides them under her hotel room door. Even when his closeness gives her goosebumps. Even when the witnesses explain how a divorce meant that Margot would lose most of her money and the business she worked so hard to build. Or when they offered up a possible murder weapon.

Even when the stress of the trial mixed with the loneliness of being sequestered means that she sneaks up to the roof with Damon and they make out.

But as more of the secrets come out, Sydney is torn. In the courtroom, the prosecution makes a strong case, one that makes Sydney question her belief in Margot’s innocence. Outside the courtroom, the secrets that she and Damon are sharing about what happened to them in the years they were apart is affecting her too. And at the end of the day, Sydney will have to judge who she wants to be and what she wants to stand for.

Courtroom Drama is a fun mix of reality television, a courtroom drama, and romance. It blends a satire of popular reality shows with a second-chance romance, with lots of secrets and humor mixed in along the way. Each chapter starts with a definition of a legal term, and then goes to twist the meaning a little, adding foreshadowing for each chapter as the story unfolds.

I enjoyed Courtroom Drama. I loved the reality television angle and thought that brought a lot of funny moments to a serious trial. The romance is very sweet and healing, their relationship hiding childhood trauma that both Sydney and Damon carried. As they talked, falling some into old inside jokes, their bond felt genuine and strong, like it was inevitable that they would find each other again, which I loved. I thought Courtroom Drama was something special, and I’m so glad I got called to serve on this jury.

Egalleys for Courtroom Drama were provided by Harper Perennial through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.

i absolutely loved this book!

neely is a new to me author and i was so happy i ended up loving it as much as i did!

this book truly felt like i was watching a reality television show! the drama of the court case, the out of the blue reunion of two childhood best friends and the tension of wanting to get to know each other as adults but being forbidden to intertwine with each other due to the case made for SUCH an entertaining time.

while i feel like the balance of sydney and damon throughout the week of the court case and the flashbacks of the two were fabulous i wish they had a bit more depth to them as a duo!

thank you to netgalley and harper perennial for this arc!!

Okay. This definitely didn't work for me because of the main character. There's nothing that bothers me more than a MC that feels like she was created just to be obsessed with a man. I love a woman who can do her job AND get a man without jeopardizing her job or someone's life. It just felt tonally all over the place and I'm not sure exactly what we were supposed to get out of this. I'm just super conflicted with this one so I'm going to give it a 3 star. I think a lot of people will enjoy it, but a lot of people will find it just as frustrating as me.

good romance and that it was a 2nd chance romance and they found love while on jury duty. I think that the murder trial overshadowed the romance between the couple . Loved that she was able to move past the past. loved that she made friends.

DNF at 14%. I seriously can not get passed how she is simping for a reality tv star that she doesn't know. There is no way this girl would be on a jury and allowed to have such a bias with the person standing trial. This is supposed to be a romcom but we've barely even met the dude she has history with and yet.... I don't care about him or her. She absolutely has the maturity of a 16 year old kid and I don't believe in anyway that shes 29.

I wanted to love this book. So much. I hated it.

I really felt hoodwinked reading this...

I also didn't expect to be as annoyed as I wound up reading this.

Most of this book deals with the prosecution presenting their case against the Real Mom of Malibu star that our main character, Sydney, is a super fan of. This trial is of course complicated by the fact that she knew fellow Juror, Damon, as a child. This book is more romance than I anticipated, and not a particularly good one. With most of the runtime being dedicated to Sydney ignoring the case so she can remain a fan the other half of the book is setting up what could only be the easiest grounds for a mistrial in the form of a romance.

At times I wish the charges weren't murder, because it just felt so tonally out of place for Sydney to be jeopardizing someone's life for a romance that was feeling this lackluster.

Even if I was on board with the romance.... the way this book ends? The twists and turns that are the final moments of this story? Alexander should never be published again. It is foolishness on a scale I cannot comprehend and my mouth hung agape in horror as I listened to the ending of this book. Any enjoyment I initially had at the beginning of the narrative was completely ripped away with how this book chose to conclude.

What a fun second chance romance with a little bit of mystery, romance, and reality tv action.

I am impressed by Neely's writing and I love how unique the story is around jury duty!!

The chemistry between Sydney and Damon is sizzling!! The emotions were raw, real, and relatable. Neely does a phenomenal job of balancing the trial, romantic chemistry, and the emotional wounds of the past. It's all woven together perfectly!!

I definitely will be reading more from Alexander!! Thank you so much to the author for my copy and the publisher for my finished copy.

4/5 stars

Courtroom Drama is the story of a woman picked for jury duty who finds out its maybe not all its cracked up to be. Initially, Sydney was excited to serve on the jury for the trial of a realty show start accused of murder. But, also on the jury? Damon, a former childhood friend.

As a true crime fan, I loved the premise: serve on a jury for a murder trial. But there are really 2 stories going on. The trial has some unexpected complexity and it is pretty interesting. Then there is the story of the relationship between Sydney and Damon, which is against the rules for jury members, plus there is history there. Listen, Sydney breaks about every rule for a juror. You get a bit of forbidden relationship because, well, its forbidden. Then a bit of friends to lovers. Honestly, the relationship just didn't work for me at all. I never felt any real connection between Sydney and Damon. And then there was the ending...I'm not even sure what happened but it was twisted and rushed and off.

Courtroom Drama had a lot of potential, but it was a big miss for me. This book had some great elements but it fell flat.

So I had high expectations for this book and they delivered! I have loved all of Neely’s books but this one has a special place in my heart for the combination of true crime and the Real Housewives. I mean what housewives fan wouldn’t try to get on the jury for one of their trials?? Just like all of Neely’s books, it also has a great combination of heart, romance and humor. I think comparing it to Legally Blonde & Jury Duty meets the Real Housewives is so perfect. Sometimes the romance was a little bit of a stretch for me, but I’m also not the biggest fan of second-chance romance/friends to lovers. I received an advance review copy for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

As a Bravo fan and a lawyer (and a Jury Duty lover), this brought me a lot of joy, lol. Sydney is a reality show super-fan, particularly of a Housewives-like franchise called Authentic Moms. When one of the stars of the Malibu franchise, Margot Kitsch, is charged with murdering her husband and Sydney is selected for the jury, she is excited to help clear Margot's name. But something gets in the way: her high school sweetheart Damon, who she hasn't seen in ten years, is also on the jury. Sydney wants desperately to follow the rules and not jeopardize Margot's chance of freedom by "fraternizing" with Damon, but they have a lot of unfinished business.

This was just fun and light and lovely. The trial provides a nice narrative structure to the book, and it's well-paced and written. Sydney and Damon are both charming and interesting, and the way the details of their falling-out emerge was engaging and made sense. I liked Sydney's ruminations about the Margot she knew on TV versus the Margot the prosecution made her out to be versus the real Margot, and overall it was a really enjoyable read.

This book definitely plays a bit fast and loose with jury ethics - although jurors are allowed to fraternize, Sydney would probably get in trouble for lying / omitting that she is a Margot super fan, especially considering she was determined to avoid Margot being convicted - and some of the legal proceedings don't make any sense. But that doesn't matter a ton, of course, because this isn't a legal book, and really I was just along for the ride :)
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

I adored her debut Love Buzz and In a Not So Perfect World by Neely Tubati Alexander.
This was a fast read because the story grabbed me from the very beginning.
I loved Neely Tubati Alexander’s writing style. Her descriptions were so vivid that I felt as though I were in the scenes with her characters.
This book was well written and the characters were well developed. I absolutely devoured this book in one day and cannot wait to read more by this author!!


Thank You NetGalley and Harper Perennial for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I love this book so much! Perfect for anyone who is obsessed with Real Housewives and/or true crime (and/or where the two intersect!). I've never wanted to do jury duty before but I kind of do now after reading this book!

Neely is one of my fave romcom author. Her two previous books were beyond amazing and this read was up there with them. Literally felt like I was watching reality tv! I loved the characters and how real there banter and relationship was. It was such a treat to read!

Courtroom Drama" by Neely Tubati Alexander is a captivating romance novel that combines courtroom drama, reality TV, and second-chance romance. Sydney Parks, a devoted fan of "Authentic Moms of Malibu," gets selected for jury duty in a high-profile murder trial involving one of the show's stars, Margot Kitsch. As she navigates the trial, she reconnects with her childhood best friend and former crush, Damon, who's also on the jury. With a unique blend of witty banter, forbidden romance, and courtroom suspense, this novel delivers an engaging read. Alexander's writing shines in the trial scenes, making this romance a compelling page-turner, perfect for fans of "Legally Blonde" and reality TV drama

A really fresh concept and a really fun book. It was well written, flowed great, and had great character development. It was entertaining, endearing, albeit a bit racy for me. I really enjoyed it!