Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Review - - Breaking All The Rules

Breaking All The Rules
by Amy Andrews
Publisher: Entangled Amara
Release Date: January 24, 2023
Reviewed by PJ


Sometimes you gotta toss your whole life into a burning dumpster to find what’s most important...


Beatrice Archer has always done everything she’s supposed to —worked her ass off, ignored her non-existent personal life, and kept her mouth shut. Now she’s over it. The rat race, respectability…the underwire bras. She’s taking her life back. Starting with moving to Nowhere, Colorado to live life on her own terms.

Now Bea gives exactly zero forks. Beer for breakfast. Sugar for everything else. Baggy sweats and soft cotton undies FTW. Then a much younger and delightfully attractive cop is called to deal with her flagrant disregard for appropriate clothing outside the local diner (some folks just don’t appreciate bunny slippers) and Bea realizes there’s something missing from her little decathlon of decadence…and he might be the guy to help her out.

When it comes to breaking rules, Officer Austin Cooper is surprisingly eager to assist. He’s charming, a little bit cowboy, and a whole lot sexy. But Bea’s about to discover that breaking the rules has consequences. And all of the cherry pies in Colorado can’t save her from what’s coming…

PJ's Thoughts:

Do you have a special shelf for comfort reads? I do. It doesn't have a lot of books on it but I know that the stories that reside there are guaranteed to lift me out of the doldrums, make me laugh, make me sigh, generate a little steam, remind me why I love to read, warm my heart and, basically, chase all my blues away. Which is exactly what happened while reading Breaking All The Rules, the newest member of my comfort reads collection. 

Bea and Austin hit the ground running with snarky banter, unexpected sizzle, and a whole lot of laughter...not to mention orgasm-inducing ice cream and the best pie west of the Mississippi. By the end of chapter one I was completely hooked, buckled in and ready for a rollicking ride. Which I got. But, there was also much, much more. Andrews combined laugh-out-loud humor with sweetness, sizzle, and a depth of emotion I wasn't expecting then wrapped it all up with romance, uncertainty, emotional growth, and a well-deserved grovel (I do love a good grovel) to create a feel-good happy ending that had me sighing with delight. 

The cast of characters in this book were so well developed it felt like they were going to leap from the pages right into reality, with Bea and Austin leading the way. Andrews took her time with these two, slowly peeling away their layers and giving us necessary insight into their feelings, fears, frustrations, and hopes. At the same time she allowed Bea to rebel against past injustices in the best possible ways with Austin as the more-than-willing partner and safe landing place she had no idea she needed...or wanted. I loved them both. Okay, I loved Austin more but, come on. He's such a good hero! I understood Bea though and fully supported her rule-breaking rebellion. Any woman who has worked in a male-dominated environment is going to be right there with her. Mostly, I loved these two together. They balanced one another, were hot for each other (so hot), had fun together, and were sweet together. This was one couple that had me cheering for them from start to finish.

After reading the book, I discovered that this is the fourth book in Andrews' Credence, Colorado series. I didn't feel like I was missing anything by reading Breaking all The Rules first. However, after meeting some of the characters from the earlier books, I will definitely be reading their stories too. And, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a romance between a certain grumpy, by-the-book chief of police and a local erotic romance writer! 


Have you read any Amy Andrews books? Do you have a favorite?

How do you feel about younger men? Does a younger man influence your enjoyment of a romance? (In this book, Bea is 35 and Austin is 25 but, honestly, much of the time it feels like he's the more mature of the two.)


7 comments:

  1. Sounds good; I like the younger man trope. Patoct

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  2. I have never read Amy Andrews before, but this book is going to the top of my TBR. Thank you!

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  3. I was married to a younger man - he was a rat - but that was not because of his age - it was his lack of character and integrity. This book sounds lovely and I am gonna have to check into it quickly. I have never read anything by Ms Andrews....I will fix that ASAP

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  4. Hi PJ, I recently read the first book in this series, Nothing But Trouble, which was really good. I read a few of her older books awhile ago. I'm usually not a fan of the older woman/younger man trope, but I would give this a shot.

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  5. She is a new to me author.
    I do not have an issue with the man being younger than the woman if the age difference isn't too great. (For instance our 82+ year old neighbor is currently all giddy over a 50 year old man. He is living in a camper on his sister's property and has no real job. We are concerned.). Anyway, the older you are the less the age difference makes, up to a point. Depending on the maturity of the individuals, 25 and 35 isn't too bad.

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  6. I've definitely enjoyed some of Amy Andrews' books, and this sounds like one I need to add to my TBR! As for age difference, I don't have strong feelings either way, but I think it ultimately depends on the two individuals involved--sometimes a decade might not make much of a difference while for some people, even a year or two of life can seem a vast expanse to bridge.
    --flchen1

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  7. I have not read any of her books. I’m surprised. Not sure how I’ve missed her as I hear hood things about her writing.
    Older woman/ younger man not my favorite. I guess if the gap is less than 8 years. Not a fan of 10-20 May/December romances.

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