This was a super fun read that I really, really enjoyed! It's such a unique concept, which drew me in and delivered. I found that the romance side of the story wrapped up nicely, but I found myself disappointed in the actual case/legal storyline.

The characters were fantastic in this one, and everyone held their weight, from the fellow jurors to the courtroom staff. I loved Sydney as a narrator. She was really funny, insightful, and relatable. Her backstory was so interesting, especially in the context of the Kitsch trial, which I really appreciated. Damon was an equally interesting character, and I occasionally found myself wishing we had his perspective on things, but that would have taken away from the tension of the trial.

Overall, this is a really fun, interesting read that combines romance with the legal system. I would definitely recommend!

I've read one other book by this author so was interested in checking out her newest book. The concept of former best friends reunited when both serving jury duty for the same high profile case was executed flawlessly. With each stage of the trial, you get an appropriate amount of details that are happening with the trial case while also getting snippets of their relationship either past or present. I found their relationship to be really believable: authentic in the way that you could see how and why they connected and were so close plus how they are really torn up in present day. This trial put me through all the feels with it's twists and turns. The author's use of altered versions of famous lines and digital billboard ads were absolute gold!

Enjoyable read. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Courtroom Drama by Neely Tubati Alexander is definitely for you if you're into crime and reality TV!

Courtroom Drama releases on May 20, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the cover and loved the chapter titles with the word and then the definitions. I thought that was super cute and unique. This is definitely not super true to life as far as trials go, but Alexander notes that she took creative liberties in the process for purposes of the story and we'll go with that!

Sydney Parks gets put on a jury - and it just so happens to the be the trial of the cast member of the hit reality show Authentic Moms of Malibu for the murder of her husband. Sydney is psyched, as she was obsessed with the show, and her reality becomes even crazier when Damon, her childhood best friend, is a member of the jury as well.

There's drama in and out of the courtroom - and this book hit on all of it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book! Below are my thoughts:

This book was such a fun surprise. I went into Courtroom Drama expecting a light, reality-TV-meets-courtroom-rom-com kind of story, and while it delivers on that, it also has a lot more heart than I expected. Sydney Parks is one of those characters you instantly click with. She's sharp, a little awkward, and fully aware that being picked for a jury in a case involving a Real Housewives-type star is wild. But things get even more interesting when she finds out that her old best friend, Damon, is also on the jury. They haven’t spoken in ten years, and there’s some unfinished business between them. The tension between Sydney and Damon felt real and earned. I loved how their history was slowly revealed, and the mix of unresolved feelings and new chemistry made it hard to put the book down. Their banter was charming without being over the top, and the emotional moments landed. The reality TV trial plot added a fun layer of chaos, and the courtroom scenes were more engaging than I expected. I thought Margot, the reality star on trial, was going to be one-note, but she ended up being more complicated and even a little tragic, which gave the story some nice depth. This is a great pick if you’re into second-chance romance with a twist, or if you enjoy stories that balance humor, heart, and a little bit of chaos. It made me laugh, swoon, and think a bit, too.

Rating: 4/5

I was so excited to read this book after living In A Perfect World, and the concept of following these jury members during a Real Housewives murder trial is just too fun to pass up. This book ended up being a lot sadder than I anticipated, and the main characters traumatic pasts were a core focus of the story. That said, I did very much enjoy the setting and the love story, even if there wasn’t the whimsy I was expecting.

3.5 stars

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge fan of Alexander’s writing style and realistic characters, so I was excited to read her newest release featuring a second chance romance between childhood neighbors/friends set within the context of a sensationalist murder trial. Have both the FMC and MMC on the jury added a nice bit of ‘forbidden’ angst as well. While I enjoyed the courtroom witness stand drama, I wanted more focus on Sydney and Damon’s prior separation and romance plotline than I got. This was still an enjoyable read, and the courtroom drama definitely held my attention, it just reads a bit more women’s fiction with a smaller romance subplot than Alexanders previous romance reads! As always, the on-page spice was tastefully done, and there is some great tension and banter! Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for my early e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sydney, a corporate arbitrator by day, reality TV junkie by night, gets the opportunity of a lifetime to be a juror for a high profile celebrity case. What she doesn't expect is to arrive at the courthouse and get hit with her past in the form of her childhood best friend, Damon. As the case starts, Sydney finds herself evaluating her past and everything she thought she knew about the defendant.

This was a great look into how the actions of our parents can affect our relationships and who we become as people. We get a look into Damon and Sydney's lives, presently and their past together. I liked the court terms definitions as well as chapter previews in terms of a statement in the beginning of each chapter. The story reminded me of 12 Angry Men impassioned monologue included. The book had times of levity but overall, it was an interesting reflection of how we romanticize reality tv stars as well as how we take on our parents' baggage.

I did struggle with the pacing of the book, specifically Sydney and Damn's relationship. I felt more invested in the case and wish we had gotten more answers there. The ending makes me think there may be a sequel.

Overall, it was an interesting story and I enjoyed what brought Damon and Sydney back together.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @harperperennial for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

So I originally signed up for this ARC because I work in the judicial system and I thought this would be a fun read.

I really enjoyed the chapter format where it would start with a court term and have it defined, and then there would be a second definition relating to the story itself. It was a fun way to transition between chapters.

The chemistry between Sydney and Damon is tangible and I’m not one for a cozy or light romance, but I definitely enjoyed their relationship and growth as individuals and also as love interests.

The court aspect of the book was also a familiar, and fun way to drive the plot while including the romance as well. I like a good legal thriller, and now I know that I enjoy a legal cozy romance too! The court room details weren’t super serious or anything but it for with the story and I liked the perspective of the main characters being on the jury and seeing how the characters would navigate a friends to lovers vibe and handle being on a murder trial jury.

Definitely check it out if you need a lighter read with some courtroom drama and romance!

A lighthearted forced proximity, forbidden, second chance romance involving two former summer camp friends who find themselves serving as jurors on the same LA celebrity murder trial. I liked the courtroom drama premise - there was lots of great Elle Woods moments that I enjoyed but to be honest I could have done with more relationship/romance moments and a little less court case moments. An okay read for me - lots of feel-good fun with a slightly predictable ending. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

The book is really intriguing and the plot has two stories. Sydney has been selected as a jury for the high profile case. Margot has been arrested after the death of Joe, her husband. So expect the insightful courtroom procedurals and then Sydney also meets Damon, another jury member and whom she hasn’t seen in ten years. Their friendship ended abruptly in the past but now they meet, there is so much to catch up on and so much to talk about. They rebuild their bond. And so much happens between them. As Margot’s trials are going on, she must draw a line between her growing fondness for Damon and the case.

If you like character driven books with slow burn romance and courtroom drama, read this book

Thanks to the Publisher.

📖 Title: Courtroom Drama-a standalone

✍🏾 Author: Neely Tubati Alexander- Read Love Buzz and gave it 4*

📅Publication date: 5/20/25 | Read 5/17/25

📃 Format: e-Book 352 pgs.

Genre:
*Adult Fic
*Contemporary Romance
*Mystery

Tropes:
*family drama
*estranged friends to lovers
*2nd chance romance
*slow burn
*forced proximity
*reality tv fandom-Think any of The Real Housewives shows
*childhood BFFs/neighbors
*court room/sequestered jury
*divorce/separation

👆🏾POV: 1st person single

⚠️TW: child abuse, cheating (not H/h), drug use, child's death, miscarriage

🌎 Setting: LA-Superior Court

Summary: Sydney is called for jury duty in a high-profile case of The Malibu Menace AKA Margot Kitsch. She starred in Authentic Moms of Malibu (AMOM)- a reality TV show that Syd and her roommate Mel are superfans. Damon was Syd's neighbor and childhood BFF but lost contact for ten years. When Syd arrives at court Damon is a juror too. They can't communicate during court, so they leave notes for each other and rekindle their crushes.

👩🏾 Heroine: Sydney "Syd" Parks-26, a corporate mediator

👨🏾 Hero: Damon Bradburn-26, a transportation engineer

🎭 Other Characters:

* Margot Kitsch-OG reality TV star on Authentic Moms of Malibu (AMOM). Accused of killing her husband Joe Kitsch
* Mel-Syd's roommate, a watercolorist
*Mallory Bradburn-Damon's mother
*Kara-Damon's sister
*Ken Frankel-Margot's estranged father
*Emblem + Dover-Margot and Joe's children
*Gen-Syd's half-sister, 5 mos. old.

🤔 My Thoughts: It was a little too long and the courtroom witnesses weren't shocking me with gossip. I would rather they stuck to what caused their separation and how they moved on for ten years apart. Both Syd and Damon had issues to work through, but together they just made sense.

Rating: 3/5 ✨
Spice level 3/5 🌶️open door, nothing too graphic

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Perennial, and Neely Tubati Alexander for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

I have to say I really enjoyed this book - just NOT as a romance. It felt more like a legal drama with romance on the side. I enjoyed the story and the characters and the friendship and the drama. The characters are quirky and I found myself laughing along at some of the Bravo references and shenanigans.

Sydney was so excited to get picked to be on a high profile jury…but she soon found out being sequestered isn’t so great and Damon, her childhood friend is on the jury too…

I did enjoy the forbidden element between Sydney and Damon, but I felt their chemistry was a little flat. The trial itself was interesting and I was definitely hooked on the legal scenes!

If you go into this expecting a traditional romcom/romance you might be a little disappointed - but don’t let that stop you from giving this a read!!

I really enjoyed the trial aspect of this book. It was a super unique to me position for the main characters to be in while exploring a second chance connection. The trial itself was interesting, though I had a hard time understanding how something with little evidence and no actual sign of murder could make it to a trial in the first place. Definitely some suspense of belief for me there! Sydney and Damon’s backstory was super tragic, and it was interesting seeing them be forced together again. Some of their interactions felt dragged on and repetitive, but pieces of the plot saved that from ruining the story for me. The ending was great and honestly a perfect wrap to the trial. Thanks to Harper Perennial for an early copy!

I enjoy reality tv, true crime, and romance which made Courtroom Drama very appealing to me. Sydney loves to watch Authentic Moms of Malibu so when she gets the chance to serve as a juror on one of the AMOMs trial for the death of her husband she is understandably excited. I found this to be a bit long in places and was frustrated by some of Syd’s thought processes and decisions. I wasn’t a fan of the ending. Overall, not bad but not my favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved Neely’s first 2 books and will continue to read anything she writes. This novel is a bit of a deviation in that it reads like romantic women’s fiction rather than rom com or contemporary romance. I enjoyed the reunited childhood friends love story much more than the courtroom scenes and trial. And I definitely had to suspend reality with the trial part - the fact that a reality star’s super fan made it onto the jury probably would not happen in real life. I don’t watch those types of reality shows, so I didn’t connect with the plot and characters like I wanted. However, I’m sure others will love this unique love story. I appreciate unusual books like this in the romance genre, and can’t wait to see what Neely writes next.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

I applaud the author for coming up with this original story. This is definitely a unique story that readers will either find quirky or dislike entirely.

I landed in the "dislike" zone for this book. Despite its original material, it falls short in the romance. If anything this is more "courtroom drama" if anything.

The court aspect had its appeal but at times I had to step back and remind myself that it was fictional because the FMC realistically shouldn't have been on the jury. She had so much bias, and it def showed.

This is either a hit or miss and for me, it was a miss.

I was intrigued and excited by the premise and the Legally Blonde comparison, but unfortunately the execution just did not quite hit the mark for me.

Sydney Parks is an 'Authentic Moms of Malibu' super-fan, having been following the series and its stars for years. So when one of the 'Moms' is arrested for the alleged murder of her husband, Sydney cannot quite believe it when she's chosen as a member of the jury for the high-profile case. Determined to make the most of what is surely to be the highlight of her year - if not life - Sydney is prepared to focus on nothing but the case while they're sequestered. That is, until one of her fellow jurors is revealed to be the boy who broke her heart ten years ago, her childhood best friend, Damon.

This novel was not at all what I expected for a romance, and while I usually love that, something about this story fell flat. Sydney and Damon had chemistry for sure, but I spent so much of the novel wanting to yell at them for their terrible choices as jurors that I couldn't really get into the romance. Similarly, I would have loved to have seen more details concerning the actual trial and deliberation. If this had been framed more as a mystery I think it would have held my interest a bit better. Neely Tubati Alexander's writing is lovely - descriptive and a bit choppy, which I think worked very well with the story's drama - but I just couldn't fall into the book the way I needed to to really care about the characters.

Although this wasn't my favorite read, it was definitely enough to make me want to read more by Alexander. I really do love unconventional romances for one, and the writing style just called to me in the way that novels like Nora Dahlia's PICK UP or HUMOR ME by Cat Shook have done in the past. Well written and almost overflowing with messy characters, I could definitely see this appealing to those who love court and/or reality TV and all the drama that goes along with those genres.

Thank you to Harper Perennial and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would have liked this a lot more if I were ignorant to alternative dispute resolution and jury trials. That part of it was no accurately portrayed let alone Sydney's career. However, the romance won out for me and I do love this author. I don't think you will be disappointed in this book if you just want a straightforward romance and/or are looking for a unique confined spaces romance and/or love Bravo. I enjoyed this a lot despite the inaccuracies and not loving Bravo.

Courtroom Drama comes out next week on May 20, 2025 and you can purchase HERE.

Most kisses I've had in my life have felt like a means to an end. The way Damon kisses, though, is deliberate. His lips move with intention and purpose, as though the kiss itself is an exploration of sense. A kiss with him is like sitting side by side, placing the pieces of an elaborate puzzle, each slow movement another found piece. I just don't yet know what the finished picture is.

Courthouse Drama by Neely Tubati Alexander ⭐️⭐️

Another contemporary romance I wanted to love but just didn’t. This could really be considered two books: the trial and the romance, and both were problematic for me.

The trial has so much potential to be a commentary on how people believe they know celebrities based on how they’ve seen them on tv. But instead, our FMC had already decided that the defendant was innocent and saw everything through that lens. She wouldn’t have made the jury at all in real life. For me, a law school grad, all the creative liberties cheapened the justice system, and I just couldn’t look past it.

The romance. It didn’t work for me. I was expecting a second-chance romance, and I literally did not understand the “first chance.” I was underwhelmed with their history, found that it made no sense for Sydney to harbor all these things against Damon from when they were 16 and his family moved - like one has any control over family decisions at 16. The forbidden / forced proximity tropes were weak. There wasn’t any banter, no build up, no connection. I didn’t buy it.

While I didn’t love it, fans of reality tv shows, courtroom drama, and books that blend genres may enjoy this one.

This story was intriguing. It has a little bit of legal, suspense, and romance wrapped up in one book.

Sydney is obsessed with a reality star who happens to be in trial for killing her husband. Sydney ends up being in the jury.. alongside with an old childhood best friend. They didn’t end on good terms and haven’t seen each other in ten years!

It was a super fast read and it was laid out really well! Def give it a read!!