Jake Campbell hates rules. Undercover to stop a drug ring at a posh Cape Cod resort, he can’t resist the fiery head chef, Abbie Duncan. She may be on the suspect list, but he can’t keep his hands to himself. With a rising body count, he must keep Abbie safe…but can he trust her with his jaded heart?
Jake Campbell takes one look at sexy chef Abbie Duncan and is smitten. She’s completely hands-off as he’s working undercover in a sting operation to bring down a drug ring inside a posh Cape Cod resort. Everyone is a suspect to Jake but he can’t stop the attraction he feels for Abbie. The more he gets to know her, the more he wants to confess his real identity. When tragedy strikes, the walls around his heart crumble. He’s breaking all of Abbie’s rules and he doesn’t care. He’ll do anything to protect her, even if it means walking away.
Breaking the Rules is such an incredible romance, I have to gush for a moment. First off, kudos to Katie O’Sullivan on her research on the ins and outs of a fine dining restaurant. Her detailed description on chefs. managers and the rampant abuse of drugs in the culinary world is 100% accurate. Well done. The romance between Jake and Abbie is hot stuff and I enjoyed every minute of it. There’s plenty of suspense, too, which had me whipping through the pages. There’s a bit of angst in this romance but it’s really well done. If you’re looking for a romance you can’t put down and read in one or two sittings, pick up Breaking the Rules. Highly recommend!
Disclaimer: I read this on Kindle Unlimited.
My Rating: 5+ stars
This is the first time I’ve read anything by this author and what a story to start with.
This centres around Jake and abby. This is a quick contemporary steamy romance.
The writing is descriptive and easy to follow
I highly recommend this if you want a quick read
This contemporary romance hit just the right blend of angst, danger, and irresistible attraction.
In the touristy Cape Cod town of Chatham, chef Katie O’Sullivan is working one more year at the posh Atlantic Coastal Inn in order to save up money for her own restaurant. When the Inn’s obnoxious new executive chef fires her friend and pastry chef, she turns to the owner for help. Not only has the position already been filled, but the owner’s hired Jake, a hunky blond playboy hiding out from bad-guy pursuers. Though he lights up her tingly bits, she insists on the rules that keep her kitchen running smoothly: no fooling around with the staff or customers.
Turns out Jake Campbell is indeed hiding out—but not from the mafia. He’s an undercover cop, working with his partner Detective Garcia to root out the source of TKO, a deadly new club drug that’s already killed several people on the Cape. Jake was to remain in the background for this op, but when a family emergency calls his partner away, Jake takes on Garcia’s playboy persona and becomes the Inn’ newest cook. Their investigation suggests the drug’s source works at the Inn. Among their main suspects, the lovely blonde chef de cuisine.
Meanwhile, Katie’s foreign exchange workers from Slovenia are acting funny. She can’t believe they’d resort to dealing drugs, but when one goes missing, and another chef shows up with a bruised face and knuckles, Jake’s focus shifts. Having blown a previous undercover op when he caught his then-girlfriend with her yoga instructor, Jake can’t afford to blow this one. Katie’ Uncle Charlie, a high-ranking Chatham cop, suspects a mole in the Chatham P.D.
It all crashes together with a satisfying “BOOM” as Katie and Jake’s long-simmering attraction ignites, the bad guys’ identity is revealed, and the extent of the drug scheme is unearthed. O’Sullivan creates a satisfying sense of Cape Cod’s charm without lapsing into that cutesy tone you find in many small-town romances. The forces keeping the hero and heroine apart make sense, as do their reasons for coming together. A tasty slow burn romance with yummy love scenes worth waiting for.
This is a very quick read. It’s fun, sexy and dangerous. Well written and easy to follow the action. It would be fun to see Abbie and Jake in more adventures. This is the first time I’ve read anything from Katie O’Sullivan. I’m definitely going to check out what else she has to offer. This story could make a fun movie.
A page turner story with angst and humor along with romance (lots of chemistry and emotions involved). I loved the smart, strong female main character, Abbie, and Jake, woah, steam worthy and intriguing. Interesting twists & turns kept me totally immersed. The well written plot with amazing characters make this an awesome tale I totally recommend reading.
Jake Campbell goes undercover in the kitchen of a posh Cape Cod resort to stop the distrubution of a dangerous new drug. He didn’t count on the sizzling connection he has with Chef de Cuisine, Abbie Duncan. Abbie has a rule of no fooling around in the kitchen. Everyone in the restaurant kitchen was a suspect inluding Abbie. When two employees turn up dead, Abbie and Jake are thrown together to solve the mystery and the chemistry explodes. The fun of Jake working is a kitchen with little experience and the excitement of the mystery of the drugs and death make this a great read.
Jake Campbell is an undercover cop who is looking for a drug ring at a Cape Cod resort. The cover? His partner had a job as a pastry chef in the restaurant while he manned everything behind the scenes. The problem? Garcia’s mama has to have emergency surgery and now Jake has to be the undercover agent in the restaurant and he doesn’t have any experience. Now he has to figure out how he can pass himself off as someone who knows his way around the kitchen. To top it off the woman that he caught the eye of in the bar happens to be the head chef of the restaurant and the person that he will be working under, not to mention that he wouldn’t mind getting to know her better.
I happen to be part of the Winter Games Challenge on Facebook. The challenge is a place where authors and readers come together so that the books can be read and reviewed. Katie O’Sullivan happens to be one of the authors involved with her wonderful book. I happen to be able to read this book first and I just fell in love with it. The story on a whole was wonderfully written with well rounded characters. It was easy to read, I was able to read it in a few hours and trust me when I say that I’m a super slow reader. I was pretty impressed with this book and how well the mystery was done, from start to finish it filled and caught my attention. Now it isn’t filled with a crazy amount of imagery but that was part of what kept me enraptured in the mystery that was happening. I didn’t have to think about anything outside the world of the story itself. It involved other supporting characters (those that will be involved in the next books) that help to move the story forward so that it never stalls or gets boring. I really enjoyed this book, even gave the end of it a big “AWW”.
This is the first book in the Cape Cod Rules series. They are each stand alones while still being intertwined. They each offer a close up of different couples starting with Abbie and Jake. The second one deals with Abbie’s friend Bella (a local) and her former flame Dylan (a former local). The third in the series deals with Abbie’s other friend Caroline (a wash ashore) and the bartender Brian (a local). I haven’t read the next two books in the series yet but I am excited about reading them next.
This book is exciting action packed suspense filled with romance too.Jake Campbell and his partner Anthony Garcia came to Cape Cod on an undercover assignment.Jake has anger issues.He’s being watched by IA. He caught his girlfriend at the time in bed with her fitness coach he broke the guys jaw. The judge let him go but when the same guy shows up ready to blow a six month undercover investigation he broke the guys jaw again this time got in trouble so being loaned out to work undercover in Cape Cod when Garcia gets a call him moms in the hospital he has to leave then Jake gets thrown in the deep end he doesn’t know how to be a pastry chef He sees Abigail at the local sports bar he hasn’t ever felt the draw to a woman including his ex as strong as the pull to Abby is.There are so many twists and turns to this story will keep you riveted until the very last page and leave you begging for more.I love the way this amazing author brings the characters to life before your eyes and you can feel their emotions and their pain.I can hardly wait to see what’s next by this multi talented author.
I really enjoyed this story and look forward to reading more of her work.
this was a really great book! he is undercover to catch a drug ring. everyone is a suspect including her. feelings start but how far will they let it go? read to find out what happens.
I love grabbing a novella to read in a sitting or two (or three…I can be a slower reader). And this sexy, flirty, and fast-paced story did not disappoint! I lean toward sweeter romances, so this was just a bit spicier for me, but very well done (the love scenes tied in perfectly to the story line). The plot was fully layered in there and I like a good action twist (in this case, an undercover cop working on cracking a rising drug ring on Cape Cod). I enjoyed the author’s voice (this is the first book I’ve read of hers), the witty characters, and plot. I’ve become a picker reader these days but her voice shined perfectly! Her style captured my attention and I was sucked right in. I especially enjoyed that it took place on the Cape, a place near to my own home. I found myself nodding in agreement. 🙂 Well-developed characters, a believable plot, and strong hero and heroine: highly recommend. I look forward to reading other work by this author.