Feminist and all around world’s greatest best friend, Lily Philips-Thomas has a rule for everything. Rule OneNo matter how many proposals you receive (seventeen to be exact) don’t ever get married. Marriage is a tool of the patriarchy.Rule Two Speaking of the patriarchy, don’t fall in love with an alpha a-hole rock star that believes the sun rises and sets with him. This will only lead to … him. This will only lead to heartache.
Rule Three
Let’s say the alpha a-hole does break your heart. Do not ever forgive him. God could be a woman, but the devil is most certainly a man.
Rule Four
Chicks before d*cks. Never let your best friend down even if it means coming face to face with the alpha a-hole who broke your heart and wants you back.
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The thing that saved this for me was Asher. Bless him, he tried so very hard to find ways to connect with Lily and give her what he thought she wanted. This is told in alternating time frames – the past and the present.
Well edited.
We first met Asher and Lily in Good Lies. Asher and Warren are twins. Lily and Addy are best friends. Asher and Lily were together, Warren and Addy got married, and then everything imploded at the same time. Throughout the book, we slowly get to a place where we understand what happened in the past as we also see Asher and Lily moving towards a place of understanding. Wild Minds is touring, Addy is pregnant, and Lily has been asked to accompany her. It is quite apparent in the present that Asher is nowhere near over Lily. She, however, tries to put on the facade that she doesn’t care about Asher at all. So very far from the truth. Will they ever be able to lay the past to rest? Will they find a way to move forward? Will there be forgiveness? Will there ever be love?
Honestly, I got through this for Asher. I felt for him – trying to be what he thought Lily wanted. He listened, he paid attention, he learned, and he tried to love. I just wanted to hug him. Lily? Lily I wanted to smack. I am all for being your own person, being independent, and standing up for yourself. But, that doesn’t mean you should totally ignore and/or belittle another person’s perspective, opinions, and feelings. Talking to her was a minefield. It seemed like she was just looking for a fight, seeking discord where none needed to exist. It was apparent that she had issues from having such sorry parents, but she was so self-absorbed that it was hard to feel for her. I know the heart wants who the heart wants, but surely Asher’s could want a better person. Hopefully, Lily will grow as a person and leave all the anger and hostility behind. One can only hope – especially for Asher’s sake. Enjoy.
4.5 Stars
This is the story of Lily and Asher; Lily is Addison’s best friend and Asher is Warren’s twin brother.
Asher is arrogant, possesive and dominant and when he sets his eyes on Lily he wants to make her his. Lily is a fierce feminist, with not the best opinion about marriage. We saw some glimpses of their summer together at the first book. However, their time together didn’t end well and left both of them broken.
Now, some time later, Lily is going on tour with the band to spend some time with Addy. She’s determined to avoid Ash but he has another idea! Through the chapters we get flashbacks and find more of what really went down that summer.
What makes this book funnier and made me laugh hard, is Lix’s antics; the ways he tries to rile up Ash are hilarious :-p I can’t wait to read his story next!!
While reading the book, I realized that I’ve read book 1 back in February :-p I think that a reread of War and Addy’s story is in order!!
Charlotte West has been a unicorn author for me as the Wild Minds series has been an exceptional ride! It was sexy, intense, compelling and filled with characters that feel like family. I have been waiting for Lily and Ash’s book since day one as there has always been a sense of mystery surrounding them and their relationship and the consequent break up. And after reading it, it was definitely a great addition to the series!
I devoured this book and while it wasn’t my favorite of the series, it was amazing being able to revisit the Wild Minds characters. I felt like Ash and Lily were sexy and intense and yet so volatile. It almost felt like they were two chemicals which almost always caused some type of chemical reaction upon impact. I think that was the source of my issue. They almost always seemed to be at each other’s throats. Don’t get me wrong, I am kind of infamous for loving the enemies to lovers trope. The meaner (the hero) the better. But there is always that softening on the couple’s part that hits me in the feels. I didn’t see that much in this case. Or even worse, Lily and Ash would show their vulnerabilities and then go back to lashing out at one another. It was borderline exhausting.
Please don’t get me wrong. This author and her writing chops can outshine alot of veteran writers in my opinion as I am always lost in her passion and words. But in this case, I didn’t love Ash and Lily as much as I loved Warren and Addy and Daisy and Billy. All in all, this was a great read and I look forward to more from this author in the future. 4 stars! ~Ratula
Bad Rules is another 5 star addition to the Wild Minds series, and is just as addictive as the first two. Charlotte West pulls you in right from the start and you won’t be able to stop reading. Asher and Lily take a very difficult journey together and you’ll be there with them every step of the way. There’s some laugh out loud moments when this couple take swipes at each other, but there’s also moments that have you feeling for them both and unsure of what’s going to happen. For me, chapter 22 onwards was the part that really moved me and I could see how much this couple had grown together, but also individually. There’s nothing I didn’t like about this book, and I loved how the author showed us ‘then’ and ‘now’ as this allows us to better understand Asher and Lily who are my favourite couple so far.
“From the first time we met, you were familiar to me. I wasn’t sure if I was getting to know you or remembering you from a past life. I’ve loved you before and I’ll love you again in the next life (if you believe that cosmic bull***t).” – Asher
I know some readers have struggled with Lily’s character due to how opinionated she is, especially when it comes to her beliefs about women’s rights, but I could see that this was her way of keeping safe and not allowing herself to rely on others after being let down so much by her parents. She may appear tough on the outside, but really, deep under that outer shell, she’s hurting and trying to protect herself. Asher slowly worked his way inside, but having never felt love like that before, he’s unsure about what to do and makes a mistake in his attempt to give Lily everything he thinks she wants so she’ll stay with him forever. Asher then finds a way to deal with the pain he’s feeling, but it becomes his crutch and could derail the future this couple hope to have.
Bad Rules is a book not it be missed. It could be read as a standalone, but I would recommend reading all three books. This amazing series will have you hooked, and, like me, you’ll be left eagerly awaiting the next book!
*I voluntarily reviewed an advance complimentary copy of this book and all opinions are my own
The Wild Minds series has been a positively addictive reading experience for me, and Bad Rules was no exception. Ms. West hits hard with intensity, sexiness, and some emotional punches that I did not see coming, and I just gobbled this book up like the addict I am.
Lily and Asher are enemies with benefits. Their relationship is volatile, passionate, and hot as sin. It was also a little hard for me to connect with sometimes, especially in the flashbacks. Here we have two emotionally closed off people trying to learn to love each other, but I couldn’t always get past their tough outer shells. I definitely connected with them more in the “present” parts of their story, but I feel like I’m missing that rich extra layer of loving who they were before they became who they are.
That said, who they are turned out to be pretty darn special. There were moments I felt it like a punch to the gut. There were moments that had me sitting with my jaw dropping hoping Ms. West didn’t really write those words I’d just read (internally screaming Fix this! Fix. it. now!). Then there were moments that completely filled my heart up. The soft underbellies on these two aren’t very soft, but the way they adjusted them to let each other in was a treat to read. Lily and Asher are perfectly unique and perfect for each other.
In all, this was perhaps not my favorite of the series so far, but there was still a lot of amazingness tucked into these pages, and I was glued to it from start to finish. And Lord, but if I don’t get a Lix book – or dear God, a Kelly the Scot book – I’m going to be inconsolable. That is, the secondary characters were sometimes scene-stealers and this whole rough and rowdy group still rules over my heart.
If you’re no stranger to the Wild Minds series, you will not be disappointed by the newest sexy and emotional offering. And if it’s your first rodeo? Hang on to your feels, cuz Charlotte West is gunning for them.
Everything-From the very first book in this Series, I have had a love affair with Ms West’s writing style, characters and wit and this one sure delivers. Lily joins the ranks of my very few book girl friends, from the first paragraph her snark is on full display, with some hilarious one-liners throughout. Asher is a mess, brooding Guitar God with a serious problem. I would have liked more insight as to why Ash had issues, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that his is another great addition to the Wild Minds Series and really hope there will be more down the line.