The Rule Maker

3 stars — I think I wanted to like this one more than I did, I’m bummed that books that are hits with others don’t seem to be working for me. Which is not to say I didn’t enjoy myself, but I did find myself avoiding reading, and at times having to read paragraphs over and over to keep my mind from wandering, which is just not a good sign for a book. I actually hate that the most, b/c it’s hard to pinpoint what didn’t work for me, other than I guess I just wasn’t captured. Characters tend to make or break a book, and neither Zoey nor Ryder made me fall in love. Which is not to say I didn’t like them, but it wasn’t over the top. I just read a few other reviews to see if I was alone, and it seems most people had a problem with Ryder…which is funny, b/c of the two of them, I liked him more! There was depth there I wasn’t expecting, and for the most part I appreciated how he struggled with his career. I liked seeing him help others on the hill, but it made it obvious to me what he should be doing, so the ending was no surprise. I LOVED how he cared about his brother and truly tried to help him, and I was pissed at his grandparents for the way they treated him and made him doubt himself. I wouldn’t have minded him growing a backbone with them earlier, but I get that it’s family. Zoey had her ups and downs for me. I think she’s just not my kind of girl. Something about her rubbed me the wrong way on occasion, like the whole hair incident…she felt kind of high maintenance there. I don’t know, I honestly don’t know how to quantify it other than to say I just didn’t connect with her. She definitely had her good qualities, I enjoyed her sass, and her determination to succeed at her work. I think the romance is where I was let down. You know those parts where I said I had a hard time not letting my mind wander? Those happened most in the steamy scenes. Like for real. I just didn’t feel their chemistry in that area. I also didn’t understand what made Ryder do a 180 on relationships…I just didn’t feel that change. HOWEVER, I ADORED their banter, they made me laugh so much at times!! They really connected on that level. And there were moments, more towards the end, where I felt like Ryder was really swoony with Zoey. Another area that just felt odd to me was the pacing and layout of the plot…there was something missing. It just didn’t feel like it followed a normal story arc. And I wasn’t as impressed with the comedy at times, it felt forced…like I wasn’t surprised, I could see the set up coming from a mile away. The banter was where the author hit comedy gold for me. Damnit, this is feeling like such a negative review. Sorry guys. Honestly, it’s not like it was a bad book, I swear. It just wasn’t the one for me unfortunately. Ah well.

The good, the bad and the crazy sum up Ryder and Zoey. Zoey is a force of nature. She has a talent for design and a penchant for ending up in embarrassing situations. Case in point: sleeping with a client is a definite no - no, sleeping with the client's brother, a maybe. The Rule Maker is an amusing blend of temptation and heart. All kinds of wrong, she never feel so right. Jennifer Blackwood does guilty pleasure and she got it right. I missed out on The Rule Book, but that's easily rectifiable. The Rules Breakers series is a winner.

•Conflict Zoey loved her job as an interior designer, and the firm she works for is ecstatic about having another job from the prestigious Covington Family. Zoey has already designed one building for Jason and is excited to work with/for him again. Only she's in for a complete shock when his brother Ryder is the one waiting in her office instead of Jason. How in the world I'd she going to pull off working with him on this project when they've slept together which is one of the company's cardinal rules "Don't sleep with client".... But he want a client then, so as long as it's not repeated it'll be ok. Although she'd the throat punch him than work with him since he left like a jerk in the middle of the night. It doesn't matter that it was just a one-night stand, it was the best night and now she can't stop thinking about him. How is she going to work with him, maybe she should just hand of this project to another designer. Ryder was torn on his feelings for Zoey. He hated leaving in the middle of the night during what was supposed to be their one-night stand, but he didn't have a choice. Should he have called her, yeah probably but he'd never been in that type of situation before. Now his brother Jason has asked him to step in and work with Zoey on this project since he's home recovering with a broken leg from a snowboarding accident. How can he work worth her on this when 1-he can't so thinking about her and 2-he's not on board with this project. He thinks the place should be torn down, and add much add it positions him to admit he she's with his grandparents that the place should just be sold. How do Zoey and Ryder decide to make working together on this protest work? You'll have to read THE RULE MAKER to find out. Oh but this romantic comedy was great! You'll be chuckling if not laughing out loud throughout their banter. Their banter is hilarious, from page one I refused to put this book down! The sexual tensions are OFF THE CHARTS from the get go between Ryder and Zoey. Another spectaculiar hit from Jennifer Blackwood. I haven't read the Rule Book (Rule breakers#1) yet, but I'll definitely have to go read what I missed out on. These are stand alone stories with characters that blend together. Due to sexual situations, this book is recommended for readers 17 and older! I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy of this book via IndieSagePR/Entangled Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Favorite Passages~ ~ “With the way my pulse races when I see you, I can safely say it’s accounted for.” ~ there was only one passenger on this train: me.