I’ve got to say I really enjoyed the writing and overall story of this book. It was well-edited, polished, and impressively researched, which I hugely appreciate. The story surrounds the attempted defeat of DOMA by the presentation of a case to the Supreme Court, which holds Victoria (Tori) Willoughby as one of the newest Justices to take the high court. She is a closeted lesbian, although many have suspected her homosexuality for years. Things get a bit complicated with the introduction of the prosecution, a flame from Tori’s past named Genevieve (Vee) Fornier. They parted as they took two different courses in their lives. Genevieve chose to be open about her sexuality from the start, fighting for LGBT rights throughout her career. Tori chose to reject their relationship (and her feelings) in order to stay on course with her lofty career goals. Both women got the careers they wanted, but at the expense of something that “might have been.”

As I stated, the research on this book is top notch. So much attention to detail gave me quite an outlook on the judicial system in a believable way, and the author should be applauded for her ability to educate the reader without boring them with legal jargon. The characterizations were excellent, and I really cared about the protagonists, wanting them to be successful both in their careers and out of them. The last third of the book dragged a bit for me, but it wasn’t because it was uninteresting, I just found it to be a bit unbelievable. So much attention is paid to the two women’s feelings in the past, and their yearning for each other, that the resolution of their relationship (and any associated scandal) felt kind of hurried and under-developed. It didn’t make me dislike the book at all, it just left me a little bit disappointed.

However, the secondary characters (who are DELIGHTFULLY snarky and adorable) really made me fall in love with them. The humorous interactions gave me insight into Tori and Vee’s personalities and were a breath of fresh air.

So overall, if you’re looking for a romance that focuses primarily on the getting together of two women, you might be disappointed in this one. However, if you’re looking for a really interesting take on the judicial system with a little bit of love on the side and likable characters, you’d do well to pick this one up.