Sydney Parks is super excited to be chosen for the jury for the biggest celebrity trial of the year. Margot Kitsch star of "Authentic Moms of Malibu" is charged w/ murdering her husband, Joe, and Sydney is determined that she get a fair trial. However, Sydney soon discovers that she is to serve jury duty with Damon, her old neighbor/best friend that she hasn't seen in ten years. And they hadn't parted on the best of circumstances.
But being sequestered is definitely not what Sydney envisioned; especially since she's been concentrating more on Damon than the actual trial.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for this digital e-arc.*

DNF at 28% - 2 stars because I do want to know how the case ends

I was instantly put off when the FMC mentioned missing the MMC's "bare teenage skin" after seeing his tattoos. That was such a weird statement but I pushed through because I was interested in the reason the MCs haven't seen each other since 16 and also about the court case. We find out the MMC's family moved away after his parents had a cheating situation and the resentment the FMC holds for a literal child not staying in touch after a fairly traumatic event is absurd and childish in her 26 years of age. Also the MMC has at least one incredibly cringe tattoo.

I continued to push through for the court case but the FMC's attitude to the defendant is so concerning. She is completely obsessed with her and wants to stay on the jury to basically push for innocence probably despite anything they hear in court. Obsessed to a point where I worry she somehow got on this jury to stalk her. Yet, the FMC (sorry I had really no desire to remember her name) is easily breaking juror rules just to talk hang out with this guy when really they could just be normal and say "hey, after this is all over I'd like to talk". If you were really that concerned about staying on the jury, you could keep it in your pants for a couple weeks.

The case was somewhat interesting and I would like someone to spoil the ending of that for me because the romance is so cringey and boring that I cannot continue this book unfortunately. The nail in the coffin causing me to DNF was just very odd and old references that made no sense. Like the FMC said the defendant reminded her of "the crown at the end of Mean Girls that Cady breaks and gives out to people" because she is guarded...huh?? And the MMC said the 21 year old male juror probably writes reviews for sugar free gummy bears which also is SUCH an old reference and he said this because the kid wanted to do ice breakers? IDK how that translates to writes about how gummy bears gave him stomach problems but okay.

I should not have gotten this eARC to be honest, I rated another book by this author 1 star. But I believe I got it as a widget and didn't pay enough attention.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

Sydney has scored jury duty on a high profile case. An Authentic Moms of Malibu star, Margot, is accused of murdering her husband. This is perfect for Sydney, as she is a super fan and looks forward to helping clear Margot’s name. Once the case starts she realizes there’s more to it than she thought, including a blast from her past on the jury.

This was a cute romance story that had some serious and tragic backstories. Overall it still made for a light read. I loved that the entire story took place during a high profile court sequester. I loved the courtroom action and especially the deliberations. While many liberties were taken, as the author admits to in the author’s note, it was still fun and interesting. I never watch the Real Housewives franchise but if you do, you’ll especially love this one.

Courtroom Drama comes out 5/20.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I read "In a Not So Perfect World," by this author previously, and it was an enjoyable contemporary rom-com, so I requested the ARC of her new title, because it seemed like an interesting premise.

Sydney serves on a jury for the trial of "Real Housewives"-style reality star accused of killing her husband. When she shows up at the beginning of the trial, she discovers that her childhood best friend, Damon, who she has not spoken to in ten years is also on the jury. Because of the forced proximity of the sequestered jury, they spend a lot of time together to reconnect.

There were some interesting bits and pieces that just didn't gel to a satisfying whole. There wasn't enough to show the connection that the two main characters had through their childhood and why they have not communicated in ten years, I had a hard time understanding the attraction and why they couldn't wait until the case was over before beginning to explore a future relationship or reunion. And it was very hard to swallow the idea that someone who was as big a fan of the defendant and the tv franchise that Sydney was, that she would be on the jury, let alone all the shenanigans that ensued. I think I would have preferred reading more about the alleged murder than this silly romance

I've read romance books with a reality TV setting before, and enjoyed them, so I thought that Courtroom Drama × reality TV sounded great.
However, the more I read, the more I remembered how much I hate these Housewives of Whatever reality shows, especially with the way the FMC feels like she knew the reality show actress. I couldn't get around how it's all TV, so naturally not truthful, and yet, the FMC felt like she knew the situations/TV show characters, and seemed to take them at face value.
The way this story is written had me engrossed for a while though. But it was also more courtroom and case than romance at that point. I think I would have loved more interactions between the MCs, and not for them to come across as afterthoughts.
This was a dnf unfortunately.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I fell in love with Courtroom Drama. I'm always going to be a sucker for childhood best friend - *cough* crushes - every time. Courtroom Drama balances mystery, mixed with a hint of unreliability, and love story. I loved the tone of the narration as Sydney questions the distance between who we were before and now. What happens to us with time, love, and ambition? Throughout Courtroom Drama, Sydney explores the veneer of fame and what it means to who we are. Everyone has a different opinion and are seen in a different perspective, but who we are.

(4.5 Stars) Thank you, @harperperennial (digital) and @libro.fm (audio) for the #gifted advanced copies of this incredibly entertaining and inventive novel that is a lot of romance and a little bit of mystery wrapped in Jury Duty and Real Housewives. I couldn’t put it down!

Sydney Parks lives for two things: punny freeway signs and the reality show Authentic Moms. So when she’s selected for jury duty on a murder trial involving one of the show’s stars, she’s thrilled - until she shows up and realizes that one of the other jurors is her childhood best friend and first love Damon Braeburn. They haven’t spoken since they were sixteen when events tore them apart. Now, they are going to be sequestered together for the duration of the trial. As testimony unfolds and jurors bond, Sydney and Damon rekindle their old rapport, complete with inside jokes and shared memories. But they’re not kids anymore - and the stakes are higher than ever. Can they deliver justice and get a second chance at love?

This book was WILDLY ENTERTAINING on several levels! First, we hear all of the testimony unfold in the case and puzzle through if this reality star is guilty of killing her husband, which feels like a kind of whodunnit. Second, this is a really touching, deeply emotional, charming, and funny second-chance romance that includes all of the inside jokes and shorthand communication that comes from years of friendship. Finally, I had the “opportunity” to serve on a sequestered jury for a murder trial once. I can attest to the surreal experience, the friendships formed, and the nerves tested by the experience. Alexander did an excellent job depicting it!

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts 🎧 The audio is a wonderful solo narration by Cindy Kay (she voiced the Twisted series). She brings both the depth and humor of this story to life. (12h 19m)

I am both a fan of the Real Housewives and a lawyer, so I am very appreciative of Harper Perennial for giving me an advanced copy of this book. Sydney is a big fan of the Real Housewives (sorry, Authentic Moms) and is delighted to be given a chance to be a juror in the murder trial of one of the heroines of the franchise....especially once she realises that one of the other jurors is her childhood best friend Damon.

This is a book that covers a lot of heavy topics - divorce, murder, child death - and yet the book never manages to feel too heavy. Maybe because one of the high points of the story is jurors being granted a trip to Outback Steakhouse (which, in fairness, not a bad outing). Sydney and Damon both use the trial to reconnect in a very sweet way - I adored Damon's notes and origami.

The book has something to say about the complexities of who people are, with both their good and their bad traits and actions existing together. I found the book to be really thoughtful about the idea that people are better than their worst moment. I'd recommend this one to fans of Katherine Center and anyone who has binged Legally Blonde on repeat.

In Courtroom Drama, Sydney and her estranged childhood best friend Damon get selected to be on the jury of a murder trial of a Real Housewives-esque reality tv star Margot accused of killing her philandering husband. Sydney somehow got through jury selection despite being a big fan of the show, and the defendant in particular. Sydney (hereinafter “Captain Delulu”) goes into this absolutely certain that Margot is innocent because she *knows* Margot… from the reality tv show.

So here’s where I admit that I made a mistake in even requesting an arc of this book. I shouldn’t have done it, because I am a lawyer. I haven’t so much as entered a courtroom in the last 9 years but I could not switch off the lawyer brain and I spent the whole book going “seriously?!?” and “are you kidding me?!” I have seen other reviewers say that this book is informative about trials, and sorry but no. This trial is not realistic at all on a wide variety of things, like how the jurors are not nearly bored enough (even interesting trials are 90% excruciatingly boring) and the witnesses were not in the right order. These are things that would not bother a layperson, but frustrated me so much.

I had hopes that this book would address parasocial relationships and how people think they really know celebrities that they have never spoken to. But alas, it does not. Instead, we see Capt. Delulu interpreting testifying witnesses as betrayers of Margot (as if they were not subpoenaed by the district attorney), as well as also being hurt when other jurors think Margot is guilty. She is literally so dumb.

I did not enjoy reading this book, I only finished it because I feel obliged to do my best to finish books I get advanced copies of. The ending was not satisfying, the main character is a moron, the trial was bad, and then we get writing like this:

Damon beside me looks over, and we make eye contact. It’s charged, a plug smashing into a wall socket.

What did I do to deserve having to read that?

📣 a Real Housewives style court case reunites two estranged BFFs

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

📖 would you ever go on a reality show? If so, what kind? Gosh, I don’t know if I would. But maybe if someone wanted to fix up my house 🤣.

Imagine you walk into a court trial for a Real Housewives-style case & one of the first people you see is your estranged BFF who broke your heart when you were teens & had no one else.

Courtroom Drama by Neely Tubati Alexander has a fantastic premise & it leans into it, offering legal definitions at the start of every chapter & courtroom testimony that interests on its own but also reveals more about our two leads.

Sydney & Damon were once besties who kissed once before something ripped them apart. Jury duty gives them the chance to examine the past & the ways in which they were innocent & guilty. Both characters are thoughtfully developed & watching how they interact with each other is by turns soft, sad, chemistry-driven, & hot.

This book was such a great surprise. Read it, whether you’re a Real Housewives fan or not 💋.

4.5 ⭐️, out 05/20.

CWs: former loss of sister, cheating parents, murder.

[ID: Jess wears a brown floral dress & stands in a meadow holding the ebook.]

I liked this book, I didn’t love it. I LOVED the courtroom/trial setting. Felt like something I hadn’t read before. But I did not love the MMC. And the backstory of the characters. The MMCs mom cheating with the FMCs dad feels like a huge hurdle to get over when talking about a relationship.

DNF at 41%.

There isn't anything wrong with the writing here, and there isn't anything noteworthy or exciting about it either. Coupled with significant plot points that make this story entirely unrealistic and gross, I lost interest because the pacing wasn't quick enough, there wasn't any snappy banter, or anything fun happening.

I work in the legal field, so maybe the ovearching premise of this novel won't bother most people, but I couldn't get over the fact that the FMC is a stealth juror for the murder trial of her favorite reality TV star. The FMC has been obsessed with the plaintiff and following her life story on TV for years. In order to gloss over the ridiculous notion that the prosecution and the defense wouldn't bother to rule out fans of the plaintiff's show during the preliminary selection process, it was implied that the FMC lied about how much she watched and was invested in the show so that she would be selected. This is a felony.

Then, we learn before the trial even begins that the FMC has manipulated her way onto the jury so that she can exonerate the plaintiff, without having any actual knowledge of the crime, or knowing about any evidence for or against the plaintiff's innocence. This isn't called out in the narrative, which is especially egregious given the political climate, and the fact that the right to due process is under attack in the US. Our system of due process relies on impartial jurors and judges in order to work.

The ICK is real.

I didn’t love this, but I also didn’t mind it? The case was interesting, but was more of the main plot then I expected.

I’ll read anything Neely writes, and this is no exception. I love a romance that plays in the women’s fiction genre as well, and I absolutely loved the balance she struck between the two here. Her main characters feel alive and fully fleshed out and, yes, a little messy and broken. And I love them even more for it! A unique, hooky premise with the emotional complexity to see it through, I have to stan

The case is way more central than romance and I don’t really feel like they resolved much after 10 years.

They didn’t talk much or anything during the actual proceedings like he was writing notes and bumping his knee against her. Outside of the courtroom like it was not very emotional or had much depth.

Forbidden aspect was juicy but they didn’t really let it stop them.

Didn’t love the outcome of the case or the actual ending of it!!

Honestly think this is a HFN couple not a HEA couple hehe they barely overcame things together as a couple.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

Courtroom Drama by Neely Tubati Alexander is a first person-POV contemporary romance set during a high profile murder case. Sydney hasn’t had much luck with men ever since her childhood best friend, Damon, moved away when they were on the cusp of finally exploring their feelings. When the two meet on the jury of a murder case involving one of Sydney’s favorite cast members on a reality TV show, it’s their first, and maybe only, chance to learn if they were meant to be.

Everything is from Sydney’s POV so we are relying on her knowledge of Damon from when they were kids to reveal his inner thoughts or what is and isn’t normal for him. In a second chance childhood-friends-to-lovers, I think this is easier than in almost any other dynamic because there’s a history there that helps the POV character fill in the blanks. Even after ten years apart, Sydney still understands parts of Damon but there are also things that have changed in his life that she is completely oblivious about until he finally tells her.

The court case takes up a lot of the book and does a lot in terms of themes. I’ve never watched an episode of the Real Housewives series as I’m more into competition shows instead of slice-of-life reality shows, so I can’t really comment on whether or not it feels realistic on that end, but the absurdist movements of the cast members, the backstabbing, the affairs, and the secrets all feel par for the course from what I have gleaned from pop news. Sydney’s loyalty for Margot also feels very in-line with what I know of the fandom as having a favorite cast member is very normal in a lot of fandom spaces.

I think that anyone reading this needs to fully accept that this is ultimately a fantasy and isn’t going to follow all of the rules of how the American court system works. For one thing, not only is Sydney a fan of Margot, she is fully determined to make sure that Margot isn’t sent to prison if she can help it. While I feel that any jury member should adhere to the ideal of ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ and ‘innocent until proven guilty’, Sydney’s personal feelings towards Margot are, without a doubt, a conflict of interest that should have gotten her booted from the jury. Sydney and Damon also break the anti-fraternization rules often when they get caught, they kind of get off scot-free. For me, this is fine. When I pick up a romance, I’m expecting a fantasy. But if you feel very passionately about rules being followed by juries, consider if you can put those feelings aside to enjoy the romance for what it is.

Content warning for depictions of cheating and mentions of child death

I would recommend this to fans of romance who are also fans of reality TV and true crime and readers looking for a romance that is set in a court of law

I don’t really know what to do with this book. :/ this book was like selecting “neither agree nor disagree.” I felt like I was reading two completely separate stories and to be honest, I preferred the murder mystery story over the romance. It was just more interesting and kept me coming back. The romance story was depressing and so sad and also, I totally called it. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was a really fun read: it has romance, reality tv drama, and just a little bit of mystery.

The chemistry between Damon and Sydney was really good. The story is a friends-to-enemies (ish)-to-lovers and it was fun to see their history slowly unfurling. They had quite a dramatic backstory that was teased a bit until revealed.

I also really loved reading about the actual court case. I wish there’d been a little more resolution there because I was seriously reading for that plot line as much as the romantic one.

There are some heavy topics discussed including

⚠️⚠️spoilers

cheating parents, death of a sibling, death of a spouse⚠️⚠️

so proceed with caution.

Overall, this was a quick, enjoyable read that I highly recommend. It releases on 20 May 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for a free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

4 stars. Courtroom Drama is a must read for all Bravo fans, simply for the allusions alone. Apart from being pure catnip for any reality TV lover, Courtroom Drama is a sweet second chance romance, where two former (almost) flames rekindle their romance while serving as jurors on the trial of the decade. I will say, the book was not at all what I was expecting-- and that's 100% my fault. Given the title, and the courtroom setting, I thought this was going to be more about crime itself, with perhaps some mysteries and surprises divulged along the way. And A LOT of the book was about the crime and the courtroom setting, but it was done in a Legally Blonde/ humoresque type of way. Truly though, the star of the show was the relationship between Sydney and Damon. Yes, there was a ton of humor in this book, but there were also some serious moments as well, especially with both Sydney and Damon's backstories. All in all thought, this was a fun and enjoyable romance, made even more entertaining by all the Bravo and reality TV references.

Thank you so much to Harper Perennial, netgalley, and Alexander for the gifted copy!

First, I want to say how much I love the cover of this book. Whoever designed it, they need a raise. I really liked the genre blending in this book. it blender mystery, romance and drama seamlessly. As someone who isn’t really a huge fan of romance, I found it wasn’t too much and added to the story.