Reviews – Breaking All the Rules & What You Wish For

Posted January 24, 2023 by Carole in Reviews / 8 Comments

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Reviews – Breaking All the Rules & What You Wish ForBreaking All the Rules by Amy Andrews
Published by Entangled Publishing on January 24, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 368
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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five-stars

A fun, sexy romp through the trials of starting over, and finding what you didn't know you needed in the last place you expected, perfect for fans of Susan Elizabeth Phillips.
Sick and tired of being passed over for promotion after promotion, thirty-five year old Beatrice Archer is done with the corporate hamster wheel and all the "rules" women have to play by if they want to ride. Instead, she's moving to the middle of nowhere, where no one knows her name, and she's going to break every damn rule there is.

Drinking beer for breakfast—check.

Trading in skirts and stilettos for yoga pants and bunny slippers—check.

Saying all the things she’s thinking but didn’t say before—double check.

She’s finally living her best life, and the last thing she needs is the attention of a straitlaced, small-town junior cop.

Before long, though, twenty-five-year-old Austin Cooper is aiding and abetting Bea's rule-breaking ways...which leads to the biggest rule break of all. Embracing her inner wanton and having nonstop monkey sex with said junior cop? Big, fat check.

It’s all fun and games until the corporate world comes back a’knockin’...

Oh my gosh, I loved this book! Bea was amazing and I just couldn’t get enough of her rule-breaking, unfiltered ways. Austin was perfection. He seemed to know just what to say and do at every moment. Together, these two were simply wonderful. This was one of those books that was almost impossible to put down once I started reading because I just had to know what Bea and Austin might do next.

Bea has basically run away to Credence, Colorado. She left her all-consuming job in advertising after being passed over for a promotion once again. She has barely left the small apartment she rented until a quest for sugar brings her out. And she runs right into Austin, a local police officer. These two were great together from the start. Bea is older than Austin so she resists getting involved but it really just is meant to be and the chemistry between them is off the charts.

I found this to be a fantastic book with a wonderful sense of humor. I found myself laughing more than once and I may have swooned a time or two as well. This book had everything that I hoped it would and a whole lot more. I will definitely be recommending this one to others. I cannot wait to read more from Amy Andrews.

I received an advanced review copy of this book from Entangled: Amara.

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Reviews – Breaking All the Rules & What You Wish ForWhat You Wish For by Katherine Center
Narrator: Therese Plummer
Published by Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press on July 14, 2020
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Length: 11 hours 13 minutes
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: Publisher, Purchased
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Amazon | Audible | B&N | Kobo | Libro.fm
four-stars

Samantha Casey is a school librarian who loves her job, the kids, and her school family with passion and joy for living. But she wasn’t always that way.

Duncan Carpenter is the new school principal who lives by rules and regulations, guided by the knowledge that bad things can happen. But he wasn’t always that way.

And Sam knows it. Because she knew him before—at another school, in a different life. Back then, she loved him—but she was invisible. To him. To everyone. Even to herself. She escaped to a new school, a new job, a new chance at living. But when Duncan, of all people, gets hired as the new principal there, it feels like the the best thing that could possibly happen to the school—and the worst thing that could possibly happen to Sam. Until the opposite turns out to be true. The lovable Duncan she’d known is now a suit-and-tie wearing, rule-enforcing tough guy so hell-bent on protecting the school that he’s willing to destroy it.

As the school community spirals into chaos, and danger from all corners looms large, Sam and Duncan must find their way to who they really are, what it means to be brave, and how to take a chance on love—which is the riskiest move of all.

I really enjoyed this book! I am the first to admit that waiting so long to read this book was a huge mistake, but it is okay since I have now corrected my error. Once I started listening to this audiobook, I was hooked. I love the fact that this book was able to make me laugh while telling a story that touched my heart.

I thought that the characters in this story were absolutely fantastic. Sam works as a librarian at a local school and does her best to find joy each day. When they lose her friend and principal, she finds herself face-to-face with someone from her past who has been hired as the new principal. Duncan is a changed man and Sam cannot believe how the fun guy she knew has turned into the uptight man he is now. I really liked Duncan and Sam and learning about the things from their past that helped to shape them.

Thérèse Plummer did an amazing job with this story. She is one of my favorite narrators and her performance on this audiobook is a perfect example of why that is. I liked the voices that she used for the various characters and I thought that she did a great job of bringing emotion into her reading. I do believe that her narration added to my overall enjoyment of this book.

I would definitely recommend this book to others. I thought that this was a well-done story combining great characters, emotional situations, some humor, and a lot of heart. I cannot wait to read more of this talented author’s work.

I received an advanced review of this book from St. Martin’s Press and purchased a copy of the audiobook.

8 responses to “Reviews – Breaking All the Rules & What You Wish For

  1. I have only read sports romances by Andrews and was already excited for Rules, but you have me giddy now. Sounds fantastic!

  2. I’ve got the Katherine Center book on my list for eventually. Breaking All the Rules wasn’t on my radar, but it does sound fun.

  3. What You Wish For is one I’ve been curious about but I hadn’t heard of Breaking All the Rules before. You make it sound so good, Carole! I will have to check it out.

  4. Katherine Center is on my TBR so I’m so glad to see how much you enjoyed this book! I’m adding the Andrews book to my TBR. I used to love Susan Elizabeth Phillips so this one definitely caught my attention with that comparison.