This is an interesting read inasmuch it is much like a John Grisham kind of legal novel with gay leads. It is not Grisham at his best but neither is it Grisham at his worst – it is somewhere in the middle with quite a solid legal case around the death of a Saudi Arabian student.

Monica Spade is a young, promising lawyer working in a seriously regressive law firm, Smart, Daniels & Whitworth. She is the only woman lawyer in the firm and has had to return into the closet so that she can work in the firm. Her biggest client is a large hospital which keeps her engaged in issues from a loose monkey to embezzlement by a partner company to the death of a Saudi Arabian student hurt during a fracas with an entitled Caucasian male. Monica has trouble saying no to goodies and joins a crossfit programme to battle the effects. She meets Shelby, an art teacher in the crossfit class and has mad attraction.

The books flows at a good pace. Monica is likeable enough. Shelby rocks! Wish there was more of Shelby and much more of the developing romance – since the attraction and chemistry is super, but way too little. Some amount of editing and tightening would’ve helped in creating a better pace.

This is a good change of pace for anyone who is OD-ing on any particular genre (be it romance or sci-fi) and wants something different for a coffee-bean-smell-between-perfumes.

Monica is a lawyer who works hard however she works in a homophobic environment and must keep her sexual identity deep undercover. At the gym she meets Shelby who is an art teacher. The two women seem drawn to one another, but Monica is afraid to flirt with her. She’s working on a significant case at the hospital, who is one of her biggest clients in a murder case, also she’s working with of all things a loose monkey in the hospital that is evading capture.
The part of the book the deals with the murder case is very interesting especially when one of the partners does everything in his power to persuade her to have the case come out more to his liking. There’s a significant conflict between these two people but thankfully Monica has the support of one of the partners who backs are up and confronts the other partner for his inappropriate interventions. What is a little frustrating in this story is the part that deals with the pending love interest between Monica and Shelby. I would have liked to have learned more about these two women and I would have liked to of seen their relationship develop quicker.
The mystery in this story about both of the cases Monica is working on at the hospital are very well done, there’s some levity with the monkey case and quite a lot of drama in the murder case. This book is a good read that keep me fascinated.

This book was fine, but I definitely didn't like it as much as everyone else seems to.
It is super timely for today's news, with a "Go back where you came from" legal drama.
It's a bit of a fluff book, which is fine when you want one, but... I guess it's that the fluff levels didn't match up in all the plots and sub-plots.

First we have a really serious court case involving murder and racism set in the middle of Trump country with a victim from the Middle East. That is not fluff, and it is treated pretty seriously.

Second we have a monkey lost in a hospital, and this is the part that gave me the most problems. Let me rant for a minute. The monkey is lost for days and we hear about all the monkey feces that have been strewn around the hospital, but no serious efforts are made to catch him. And by serious, I mean bringing in animal control to retrieve the monkey by whatever means necessary as quickly as possible because there are SICK PEOPLE THERE. But no one wants to do that because it might upset animal lovers (????). This isn't a monkey lost in a mall, or lost in a fire station, it's lost IN A HOSPITAL. But for some reason the hospital believes it would be better to just sort of wander around calling the monkey's name. For days. We know the monkey has been eating out of the cafeteria but we are to believe no one has actually seen him. They can't even manage to find him using security cameras. But still they won't call in any group that could actually catch him. Let me remind you, this is a HOSPITAL and there is a monkey messing around in the food supply and leaving FECES all over. The lawsuits over a sick patient getting sicker or dying from the exposure would be WAY worse than the lawsuit over tranquilizing a pet monkey for the good of the patients. And finally, the author has collected every monkey-related phrase and joke available in the English language so they can be used every other page. In this book about murder and racism and homophobia, I didn't need the monkey or the monkey jokes.

Sorry for the rant, but the monkey made me insane. I was so glad when the monkey parts were finally over.

The "romance" part just bothered me a little. It didn't seem like much of a romance since the two barely spoke to each other for most of the book, but we hear all about how much they wanted to have sex with each other. I just couldn't relate to a woman who did not know the other woman AT ALL but couldn't stop thinking about having sex with her, and that is ALL she thinks about her because, again, she doesn't know a thing about her. Where is the romance? If you want to make this a sex story, fine, but then... where is the sex?? There is not even a sex scene reward at the end unless I blinked and missed it.

And finally the last couple pages really confused me. I don't know if the author is implying that people from Saudi Arabia are all murderers, or if we're to believe this other character just turns out to be super biased. But the difference is kind of important, and I don't like being confused about the very last message we're left with.

I give it three stars because it's basically easy fluff, and I do appreciate when we have a lesbian main character in a book not only focused on romance. It just didn't rise to any level beyond for me though - if the monkey had been nixed completely it might have gone up to 4 stars.

I did receive an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review, but not every book is going to be liked by everyone.

This was almost 3 stars for me. Somehow the story managed to keep my interest even though I skimmed a lot of this book. My main issue was that it was too disjointed. Does this book want to be a f/f romance novels? A legal thriller? A story of bias and its consequences? It attempted all three and as a result it didn’t do any of them that well. To top it off there was a lot of unnecessary commentary about how the main character needed to loose weight and tone up. CrossFit tried to be central to the story and failed. It seemed like healthy living bullshit that served no purpose in the plot. And yet I finished it. So it wasn’t all bad, it just wasn’t that good...

This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of the book.

Legal drama.

Monica Spade is a closeted lawyer in Wisconsin. She represents the local hospital. They have some crazy issues that require her legal expertise and representation. To relieve stress and try to shed some extra pounds, she starts a cross fit class and meets, Shelby, a hot woman also taking the class.

I liked the story. I enjoyed all of the characters. Especially the way Monica could not find the will power to pass up a single cookie or pastry regardless of how much she tried. It had unique scenarios. There is a lot of monkey business going on.

This wasn't primarily a romance. It was more legal drama with a side story of Monica meeting Shelby and trying to get the nerve up to ask her out. It was well balanced. They had a lot of chemistry. I hope book two goes a bit deeper with them. Monica mentions some cosmic force pulling them together. As if they knew each other in another life. But thinking that and showing us are two different things. I'd like to see a deeper connection happen within the pages.

The only thing I didn't care for (and it was a big one) was the repetitiveness of details surrounding the trial. Monica interviews all of the players. But then we have to see it all over again almost word for word during the trial. There definitely needed to be some editing there. Generalizing what we had already heard and then actually seeing new dialogue that tells us something different. It was honestly tough for me to get through the trial. I had to skip through a lot of it. And then I feared I would miss something new.

Anyhow, I would recommend this to those who like to read about romance, legal drama, court room trials, homophobic employers, cross fit, and monkeys.

<i>I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review.</i>

Conscious Bias left me with mixed feelings. The book had great potential but I felt like it never quite got there. In the acknowledgements, the author calls this one a legal thriller with strong female leads. I did appreciate the strong women in the story, but I didn't find anything even remotely thriller-like. There is some action, but the story reads more like a cozy mystery except there really isn't much in the way of mystery here either. We know who the bad guys are pretty quickly. That said, I did enjoy the legal side of this one. The courtroom scenes are interesting and fast-paced.
The rest of the book is more comedy with a touch of romance than anything else. Speaking of comedy, I think reporter Tiffany was supposed to be comic relief, but the bubble-headed dialogue was so over the top that she quickly became caricature-like and the more I read of her, the less I wanted of those parts. The first time she said something completely ridiculous was amusing, the rest were just eye-roll inducing.
Now, for our main character, Monica, the star of the show. I like that the author hit on some prevalent issues with Monica working in a so-called man's world and being afraid to come out professionally. However, things seem to come a little too easily for our protagonist. Oh, she has her share of troubles, but once she addresses them, it's like good things start pouring down - she tells her boss about a particular problem, and bam! problem solved. And what is up with this woman? Sexy is one thing, but Monica gets hit on by everybody. It's just a little over the top.
In the end, I did have some problems with this one, but there were also things I liked, so I'm left right in the middle. I think with a bit of tightening up, Monica Spade could be a solid series. It doesn't all have to be drama, in fact, I like comedy mixed in. But sometimes less is more, and in this case, I would've much preferred a few good laughs over the groans that a certain reporter pulled out of me. I will add that I liked the monkey. He was unrealistic but did create some funny situations. From the way things were left, I would assume that this is just the introduction to Monica Spade, so I'll be interested to see how things go from here.

CONSCIOUS BIAS is a fast, solid read with good writing and fun characters. It was quickly evident the author certainly did her research with the legal aspect of the plot. The protagonist, Monica, is well-developed and I appreciated her struggles of being out in some arenas of her life but not others and the internal friction that can cause. It was very realistic! The romance was sweet and fiery hot, building nicely in pieces that gave good relief from the intensity of the legal side of the plot. Shelby, the love interest, is adorable, if a little bit of a flat character. She and Monica complement each other nicely, though I would have liked to see some development from Shelby in some way. There is a wonderful cast of LGBT+ characters and problems they run into living in a small, somewhat conservative town. I’ll admit I didn’t feel as invested in the murder trial as much as I did the romance side! My biggest critique is honestly that there is a consistent building of the sexual tension between the two women, which is abruptly cut into a fade-out at what feels like an important point. It was quite frustrating to feel that we’d been led to this point and then dropped. But overall this is a well-researched, tight book with fleshed out characters and a good plot.

This ARC was courtesy of netgalley - the thoughts and opinions are mine and unbiased

A great read - really enjoyed this - lots of threads of stories throughout made for an entertaining read

I've not read any of Alexi Venice's work before but am keen to read more

A great, engrossing summer read

Highly recommend

I have no idea why I was a bit reluctant to read this book. It’s an entertaining legal mystery, with the right amount of romance thrown in.

There’s always something special about novels written by authors who use their professional knowledge for their stories, such as Radclyffe with medical romances or, in this case, Venice’s legal knowledge.
Monica Spade is a lawyer working for a very conservative firm. She was an out lesbian before working there and after three years back in the closet is feeling the strain of having to hide. But she loves her job, especially working for the local hospital, whether it’s dealing with a monkey on the loose (I loved that part!) or preparing physicians who have been subpoenaed in a felony murder case: the son of a very powerful family is accused of having killed an exchange student from Saudi Arabia in a bar brawl. Caught in the middle, Monica has to deal with death threats while at the firm one of the partners’ son is making her life hell after one of her friends and coworkers has come out as gay. The good news is, she’s met the woman of her dreams in her CrossFit class, an art teacher called Shelby.

Well-paced, intriguing and well-written, with delicious banter between Monica and Shelby, Conscious Bias would be a perfect read on the beach.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

What a great read! Not the usual one note romance. It had many stories going on simultaneously. There is a murder, a trial, bigotry, coming out, hot romance, friendship, etc. And there is humor to break things up. I was thoroughly captivated and entertained. This is the first book I have read by Alexi Venice and if this story is an example of her writing, I will soon start her San Francisco mystery series.
The only negative I have is the book cover. I dont think it projects the content of the story and misleads a potential reader.

Conscious Bias, A Monica Spade Novel
A legal thriller that explores visceral bias, cultural alliances, and the power of love in Apple Grove, Wisconsin.

You can read the entire blurb about the book elsewhere. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for my review.

It's not a BAD book. But I don't understand the rave reviews. I enjoyed the story. I was drawn to the book because of the "one punch homicide" legal plot. The characters are good, the pacing was good, the plot was good, the romance was fine. If you've never read a gay romance before, perhaps it will seem unique to you. The book is just overly simplistic in style. There's no subtlety. It was an enjoyable easy read, but it won't be anywhere near the top of my list of suggested reads for others.

Conscious Bias is about two women who bond over crossfit. Monica Spade, the lawyer, is embroiled in a murder trial of a Saudi student; Shelby, her love interest, is an art teacher. The story takes the reader through the trial process including discrimination against Muslims as well as the chauvinism Monica confronts in her law firm and then anti-gay bias. I found the story too heavy on describing the trial process and procedures.

I stumbled upon this book and honestly jumped on it before really reading the synopsis of it. I actually glad I did. Now, I usually read romance novels where everything is pretty predictable, a happily ever after better be in store for the mains, and there is the usual drama/angst and so on and so forth. I don't usually read books where the romance is second and the legal/political issues are first. In essence this is what this book is...not really a romance but a high profile murder for a small town in Wisconsin. The topic may get some people turned off to the book but try not to. Though the case is between a white elitist and a Saudi Arabian student, a political topic that may have many up in arms, it doesn't take that hard road, if that makes sense.

That being said, I rather enjoyed my first reading of an Alexi Vence novel and am very tempted to read her previous ones. This one is about young lawyer Monica (28) who is is vying for a partner position at her good ol' boys club firm, which means she has not one but two strikes against her in that quest (she's a woman and she's gay). What I really liked about the novel was that though the main case was a serious one, there was lots of subtle comic relieves that made me smile and laugh a little bit. The monkey was really fun and the messed up idioms throughout made me laugh "from the gecko" (hahaha).

There was a lot in the book that was not fully addressed, little threads that were not fully explored or finished. I wonder if there will be more novels about Monica. I would really like more about her relationship with Shelby and the law firm. It seems the relationship moved really fast but didnt really go anywhere...kinda like running in place and then was all of a sudden at the finish line.

Anyway, I enjoyed the book. If more come out and this becomes a series, I will more than happily read them.

This book deals with the trial and the main characters experience with her law firm then it does with the romance. I did find it entertaining but I felt that the romance part was an afterthought and I really just skipped through those portions. All in all, I thought that the pacing was fine, it kept me intrigued and I would read this author again.

I wasn't sure if I'd like this book or not, but I do tend to like courtroom novels and the blurb/summary made it sound like a very interesting one, and so I gave it a try.

It's mainly about Monica and Shelby. They don't actually meet anywhere near Monica's lawyer life/courthouse, which was great in my mind. There was tension in their romantic subplot, but, it wasn't 'am I going against you in court or do I have to charge you/defend you from criminal stuff' tension. Instead they meet at a Crossfit studio.

They're not the main story through. That's a court case where Monica's job is to prepare the local physicians to testify (she's the lawyer for the hospital).

Some fo the plot points and where the story went was a little too pat and easy (even the ending didn't totally surprise me), but, on the other hand, there's something to be said for familiarity in a story and it was definitely a fun read.

It's also titled on the front sorta like a series, and if it does become a series I'd definitely try to read more about Monica, Jim, Shelby, Nathan, Matt, and everyone.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to eBookIt and AuthorBuzz.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review. Monica Spade is a well developed and beleiveable.

I hope there will be a sequel to continue exploring and developing the characters.

The topic of bias influences everyone differently - ethnicity, sexual identical, religion, privilege. The author deftly handled the pleasant AND unpleasant aspects of bias while building an enjoyable, suspenseful story line.

Monica Spade is keeping a secret. To protect her chances of someday making partner at the prestigious law firm controlled by men whose attitudes are trapped in the homophobic hysteria of earlier centuries, she’s not “out” in her professional life. Conscious Bias mixes workplace drama, personal crossroads, small-town politics and quirky humor into serious social commentary about identity and power. Recurring minor comedic threads add lighthearted elements to this tale of many flawed aspects in the pursuit of justice in the United States. Some missing connective tissue in transitions and sudden swings in tone will likely smooth out in the second entry in this series that shows potential for greatness.

CrossFit, the irresistible allure of baked goods and alcoholic beverages, along with searching for love occupy Monica’s thoughts when she’s not negotiating through a minefield of sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia in her professional career. Treacherous office politics, questionable loyalties, all kinds of inappropriateness, and violent threats keep Monica scrambling from one crisis to another while exposure looms closer every day. Underlying all of the dynamic confrontations and snappy dialogue are these questions: Are non-hetero people obligated to disclose their sexual orientation to everyone? Why? That’s not an expectation imposed upon hetero people.

Monica’s internal brooding about “outing” herself in her professional life resonates as being authentic to present-day concerns. Her next case should lead to another engaging adventure for readers.

I don’t think I’ve read a book using this style for quite some time and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Monica Spade is a lawyer whose biggest client is the local hospital. When a foreign, Muslim student dies after being punched it falls to her to prepare the doctors who treated him for their testimony at the trial. Monica’s life is quite full with her new cross-fit class, some monkey business at the hospital and having to put up with the bigoted, self-important partners at the law firm she works at. But Shelby is a beautiful distraction.

The story follows pretty much every minute of Monica’s day to the point that if a period of time is skipped it is labelled as so with a header like, ‘The next morning’. It’s a style that makes me feel involved and privy to everything the main character is privy to. There were a couple of times though, where a person’s testimony was given in practice and then repeated in the trial and perhaps there is a better way to deal with that.

It’s Monica’s point of view that is followed and she’s a likeable character but all the information gained about her is through her actions. If this is the start of series I’m looking forward to and hoping for more of her backstory. There are some unexpected moments of humour and quirkiness like the journalist and her malapropisms. I enjoyed the realism of the courtroom scenes and the handling of bigotry.

And then there’s the romance. Even though it takes a backseat to the crime and trial it is still wonderfully sexy. Monica and Shelby have tangible, sizzling chemistry. It is an easy, well-paced read.

Book received from Netgalley for an honest review.

I really had no idea what to expect from this book, and if I had looked at it closer (though I did take a close book before pulling it off NetGalley), I might not have tried it (for a specific reason I’ll mention later). I knew the book involved a lawyer, and that she was somehow involved in a case that involved an individual connected to a ‘popular’ small town family (the father has a construction business and directly or indirectly employees a good many members of the town). Oh, and I knew three more things: 1) while those on my friend list who had read the book apparently liked it well enough: a) none had written a review; b) there were very few of them who had read it (3?; … heh. Oops. So, nine people have rated it and I was right about how few of my friends have read/rated it, I was just wrong to believe any had – I could have sworn at least three had rated it. mmphs); 2) two is connected to that 9 number – I knew very few people had read it at all; 3) the book cover involves legs and a hint of a not exactly appropriate for court room dress (more the color red than anything else; oddly enough, no one is described as wearing a red dress in the book (at least what I recall being mentioned were conservative court outfits, workout clothing, and the like); 3) I’ve never read this author before.

Bah, I got distracted by work related stuff for a longish time so now have to figure out how to get back into review.

This book here falls into the ‘legal thriller’ category, with a strong Romance subplot (though, unlike what might be implied by the book cover (maybe?) this is not an Erotic Romance (some touchy-feely stuff occurs, and much time is spent thinking about kissing and/or kissing/and or touching, but both dives around actual displays of a sexual nature, while also going deep into public displays of fondling.

The legal thriller part is where I’d, if I’d read closer, have stepped around this book. Not because I haven’t read and liked those types of books, but because I am quite reluctant to read for pleasure a book set in my own line of work. Add in the part where the main character works in the health care legal field, and I work . . . well, I do not wish to get into my personal life – for the last little bit of time I’ve worked healthcare fraud field. Prosecuting it. Soooo, not exactly a book I’d sit back, read, and relax with, eh?

Monica Spade works as a lawyer for a particular law firm in a small town in Wisconsin named ‘Apple Grove’ (I actually forgot we were in Wisconsin until I looked at the book description, though I’d recalled we were in the Midwest). While aware that the place is very conservative (the law firm), she also has overlooked certain things you’d think she’d have noticed (like how she’s the only female in the firm – the token female), but let’s move on. Most of her work involves a hospital, and she tackles anything and everything they wish for her to tackle (like a joint-building project to build a sports stadium, loose monkeys in the hospital, and doctors testifying in murder trials). All three of my examples play roles in this book, though it’s the last one that plays the largest role (legal-wise). A good portion of the book involves Monica involved with a murder trial (as the lawyer for the hospital, not as a trial lawyer), mixed with the thing that distracts Monica greatly, and the thing I’ve not yet mentioned (well, I did mention a Romance subplot) – a woman. The woman causes deeply distracting thoughts in Monica’s brain.

How’d Monica fit in a romance into her ‘hiding her lesbian-nature from her conservative firm?’ while also dealing with a murder trial? Well, Monica notices that her pants appear to be shrinking on her, so she starts going to a gym (she immediately joined the gym she was touring when a very gorgeous woman happened to wander out of the women’s locker room). That would be Shelby St. Clair, ‘sexy art teacher’. The two spend most of the book flirting and sending lustful looks towards each other, and eventually take things to the next level. Takes a while. Again I note the lace of explicit sex (as some need to know that information) while also noting, for the first time, that everything is from one person’s point of view (though there were some odd drifting moments when Monica seemed to be out of a scene (having just walked out of a room, or the like), and the ‘POV lingered’ in the room she’d just left; that was rare though).

Hmm. This book might be more of a slice of life book than a Legal Thriller or a Romance. But, eh, whatever it was, it worked for me more than I expected. I liked the story, characters, and . . . um . . . the stuff I read.

Getting back to that ‘wasn’t sure what to expect’ part – labeling this as the first book in a series, and putting ‘Spade’ as the name of the character and series (Monica Spade), led me to believe that there’d be more ‘Spade-like’ stuff going on (you know, like Sam Spade, Dashiell Hammett’s private detective, made famous in the Maltese Falcon book and film). This Spade, Monica, is not like that Spade, Sam.

Rating: 4.96

June 20 2019

This was an enjoyable legal drama with a little romance on the side. Monica Spade is a lawyer at a conservative law firm in small-town Wisconsin; the first female lawyer employed at the firm. She is also a lesbian, a fact she has kept secret in order to keep her job. However, a potential love interest, Shelby, and the behavior of some of the attorneys in the firm towards Nathan, a male attorney, when he comes out as gay has caused Monica to question whether she needs to be true to herself and "out" herself, consequences be damned. The main legal drama revolves around a felony murder trial where the accused, Trevor McKnight, is the son of one of the most influential businessmen in town (David McKnight of McKnight Construction) and the deceased, Abdul Seif, is a Saudi foreign exchange student who died from injuries incurred in a bar fight. Monica Spade is the lawyer for the local hospital, and therefore has been asked by the DA to help prep the doctors for their testimony. This does not go over well with one of the named partners in the firm, who is good friends with the McKnight family, has done legal work for them, and does not want to risk losing McKnight Construction as a client.

As is evident from the title, bias is a major issue in the story -- racial/ethnic/religious bias toward Abdul Seif, the Saudi exchange student and homophobia towards Nathan (and his partner) and later against Monica. I thought the author handled the issues of bias well. Some of the characters say and do some pretty horrendous things, but the author avoids making the behavior over-the-top. Monica and Nathan's reactions to the prejudice they experience and witness feels realistic. The author does a good job of explaining the medical and legal aspects of the story -- not too technical, but also not dumbing it down too much. The romantic aspect of the story is well done and enjoyable. Monica is a character the reader will like. There is also a comedic element involving the hospital, but I don't want to spoil it by saying anything more.

The subtitle (A Monica Spade Novel) suggests that there might be further books involving Monica, Shelby, and other characters. I certainly hope so.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley.