I’ve loved Will Henderson from the first day I laid eyes on him. But I made a solemn promise that same day. I would never, ever date Will Henderson. For almost a decade,Charlotte Dubois has loved Will Henderson from afar, squelching her heart’s silent yearnings. But no way could she date her best friend Kelsey’s brother.Their whole friendship is based on one rule: No friend of Kelsey can ever … friend of Kelsey can ever date Will.Instead, Charlotte has watched him date and break more hearts than should be legal.
Will Henderson never got over that stolen kiss he shared with Charlotte years ago–though he’s tried valiantly to rid his system of his sister’s best friend.
When circumstances bring the two into each other’s arms again, Will wants to convince Charlotte to break the rules and take a chance on him. But to do so, they will have to hide their relationship from the ones they love most. Can true love triumph, or will they both end up losing?
READ THE SERIES
– Heart Thief by Taylor Dean (Book 1)
– Rules are Made to be Broken by Mylissa Demeyere (Book 2)
– A Wrinkle in Time by Charissa Stastny (Book 3)
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Don’t you love it when days after you’ve finished a book the characters still visit your thoughts?
Charlotte and Will are a memorable pair and I enjoyed their story. The chemistry had me swooning and the dual POVs kept me entranced. Their growing emotions created a steady build of tension throughout the story.
It was easy to sympathize with Charlotte, although there were times I wanted to “shake some sense” into her. Out of love, of course. I rooted for her as she tried desperately to protect her heart and the relationship with her best friend. I understood why she didn’t want to jeopardize her friendship with Kels and tried desperately to avoid the attraction to Will. If only she hadn’t made that high school promise!
Now Will…I didn’t want to shake him. I adored him just the way he was. He had me swooning after that night on the bleachers when he comforted Charlotte. And even the nickname he gave her – Charles – made him even sweeter and more endearing.
Perhaps the dearest character of all was Charlotte’s grandmother, Mamie. She brought about a sense of nostalgia, making me think of my own grandmother. I love how Charlotte respected her, even with a bit of teasing.
Mylissa Demeyere makes her stories come to life with believable characters and life situations. Charlotte, Will & Kelsey’s relationships are dear, but their lack of communication kept me frustrated. And I mean frustrated in a good way. (I don’t want things to progress too easily in a story.) Ultimately, the story tugged at my heart and made it smile.
Source: I received a complimentary copy of this book.
Charlotte fell for Will the first time she met him, but she promises his sister, her new best friend that they won’t ever date. They are able to keep that promise for ten years until Will decides he’s sick of all the women he dated who never measured up to Charles and he wants to pursue her. Charlotte pushes him away many times over fear of how Kelsey will react, but she finally agrees to date in secret. They really connect and it’s clear that Will is head over heels, but Charlotte still holds back, thinking he will eventually move on, and she could lose her friendship with Kelsey if she found out. Kelsey was extremely difficult, had an attitude in this book, and kept pushing silly women on Will. Yes, he was a player, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the capacity to change and become a one woman guy for the right girl. I loved Charlotte’s spunky matchmaking grandmother Mamie. I don’t know that I’d ever have the courage to take a risk and open my own business like Charlotte did and think I would put on a lot of weight working in a bakery with all the sampling I’d do of the recipes.
This was such a fun and endearing read! I loved the depth of the characters and the realistic back and forth of trying to navigate a friends-to-lovers type of relationship. There’s also fallout in this type of relationship, and I appreciated the struggle the characters had to go through while attempting to balance their needs and desires with those around them. There was a lot of emotion packed into every page!
This is one of those sweet stories that is written so well you forget it’s fiction.
Will and Charlotte have secretly crushed on each other for years. Nothing has ever come of it as Will’s sister, Kelsey, has insisted over the years that they stay away from each other. The real irony here is that Kelsey is marrying Will’s best friend….mmmmm.
Fortunately the wedding is the start if them taking the blinkers off and slowly moving in the direction of their own HEA.
This novel was a very sweet and heart-wrenching story at times. Two people meet, the attraction is there but they can only be friends. Charlotte becomes friends with Will’s sister first, therefore, she can’t be anything more to him. Kelsey makes Charlotte promise that she’ll never date her brother. Ten years later the attraction between them is still there but Charlotte still feels she needs to keep her promise to her best friend. I was so sad for Charlotte and Will that they both were so afraid that Kelsey would never forgive them if they dated, that they almost didn’t give their relationship a chance.
Mylissa has a wonderful way of writing these two main characters. You could feel the attraction they have for each other jump right off the page. Swoon-worthy romance anyone? Yes, the sparks were flying in this novel and I loved every flicker that was produced.
I have to add that I loved Charlotte’s grandmother, Mamie. She is sweet, witty, and gives great advice. She’s one of the best-supporting characters that I’ve read in a book in a long while. I loved every chapter she was in.
If you love a sweet, contemporary romance, with just a little angst, Rules are Made to be Broken, will be a delightful read for you just as it was for me.
I had mixed feelings about this one! The story was compelling- I love a good long-time unknown love trope, but there were some aspects that bothered me and prevented me from connecting to the characters. First, the good stuff. Charlotte and Will are both likeable yet flawed, making them realistic rather than perfect. They have great chemistry, and I enjoyed their banter for the most part. I loved the secondary characters of Charlotte’s grandmother Mamie and Will’s parent Kate and Robert. I thought they brought a much-needed maturity to the scenes. Now for the things that took me out of the story- there was so much ogling! I don’t mind when they appreciate each other’s physical beauty, but it was overdone and I missed seeing how they were friends besides their secret attraction. I think their relationship would have felt stronger if that foundation had been more established. I was irritated with Kelsey’s selfishness- or perceived selfishness- that made her friendship with Charlotte more important than Will and Charlotte’s potential happiness. Really, they didn’t give her a chance by keeping it secret. But I think I would have liked her more if her closeness with Charlotte had been shown on a deeper level. It seemed more convenient and shallow, but I sensed it could have been written as more. Overall, this is a story about vulnerable people with fears, secrets, miscommunication, and trust issues. I was interested enough to keep reading to the end to see how the happily-ever-after would come about.
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)