The Rule Book by Jennifer Blackwood
May 2, 2016
With this new year I am trying to revert to a good habit I used to have pre-2016: Never start a series in the middle. So far, I accomplishing that little goal (Yay, me!) I am scheduled to do a review on Book 2 of the Rule Breakers Series on Monday, 1/16, so first, I read Book 1 and I’m glad as the heroine in Book 2 is the roommate of the heroine in Book 1. Woot!
Lainey has just started her first job working as a 2nd assistant for a publicity firm and is reading what seems to be an endless set of rules regarding the company. The inner monologue at this point is lots of fun. Immediately Lainey comes across as a smartass and more than a tad irreverent with the interesting ability to walk and put her foot in her mouth at the same time.
Brogan Starr is the tattooed CEO of the company he built from scratch without the aid of his father’s vast fortune. The company is his baby and he will do most anything to ensure its success, but he didn’t count on Lainey.
So the subject matter is a bit cliché: workplace romance that is forbidden by the rule book. What makes this original is Jennifer Blackwood’s voice. Lainey’s character is fun and quirky. She says what’s on her mind and most of it’s amusing. However, a reader should only have to endure just so many dog farting jokes, seriously (somebody should look into that dog’s diet, just sayin’). While I couldn’t quite identify with Lainey, this was a book that proved I didn’t need to. (Should I be embarrassed to admit I have never seen a single episode of The Bachelor? Nah. Not embarrassed. At all.) For all intents and purposes, this is a New Adult novel minus the typical NA focus on lots of descriptive sexual encounters. All of the encounters here are behind closed doors and that, too, didn’t ruin this book for me.
It was funny and well-written and a good diversion; just what you need sometimes. What stops this from getting a 5 rating is that I wanted to know more about Brogan. He seems like a nice guy, but remained pretty shuttered throughout. I realize that that was one of Lainey’s issues with him, but this might be one of the cases where I’d argue for alternating viewpoints. I don’t always. The alternating viewpoints has never been a gamechanger for me.
Watch for my review of The Rule Maker on January 16, 2017!
From Amazon: The Rule Book
rating: 
(4 out of 5 butterflies)
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