When it comes down to acclaim in the yearbook, my class rank would probably earn me my only entry, but probably very little else. I don’t wear cosmetics, do my hair or really give a damn about my appearance in general. I don’t need to be cool, and I’ve managed my high school career navigating all the different groups from the nerds to the jocks to the theatre kids and the band geeks. Kicking off …
Kicking off senior year, my only focus is to make every AP class count and keep my grades up. Shouldn’t be hard, particularly with my so-called untouchable status. Oh yeah, imagine that—I had a reputation. Hadn’t been a blip on my radar until the end of junior year when one of the girls’ dropped that little nugget on me. Apparently, the guys at school considered me the best girl to hang out with for fun or homework, but nothing else.
While I’m not looking for a date, it’s a little hard to swallow that I ranked as the best bud and tutor, but would definitely never fall into the Girl Most Likely To Get Asked Out.
Pfft. What did I care? One more year and I was off to college, so what if the numbers of female friends I used to have drifted off and I’d scored a permanent seat in the friend zone. I had subjects to study, grades to maintain, and colleges to get into. Fine, I didn’t care about the rules or status before, and I wouldn’t now.
181 class days to go, and I’ll graduate. No problem, right?
*Please note this is a reverse harem and the author suggests you always read the forward in her books. This is the first in a series and the story will continue through future books.
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The ending really surprised me. I knew it would be a cliffhanger just not that. Just as Archie begins to really trust and open up again she is slammed with something knew to make her question her friends. The guys are really just trying to be protective of her but don’t see how they are hurting her. I look forward to finding out who the mystery person is. I enjoyed this book and definitely want to read more
Frankie is starting her senior year. She is driven, focus, smart, a bit oblivious, and altogether just awesome! Over the summer she had distanced herself from her four best friends, who also happen to be hot guys, after she found out they had made her untouchable and chased away guys who may have been interested in her. I liked how she begins to stand up for herself, and take control. The guys are interesting, and although they do have their idiot moments, I liked how each one is there for Frankie too. The story does end with a bit of a shocker, but thankfully book 2 is out in about a month 🙂
Rules and Roses (Untouchable Book 1) Kindle Edition
by Heather Long
I received an eARC from the author and choosing to leave a fair and honest review.
Please note the Kindle version of this book will be published on November 25, 2019
Wow! What a complex story with a gut punch of an ending.
Frankie is starting her final year of high school. She is a deeply driven person, and knows what she wants to do. She wants to save up the money to go to college somewhere there are seasons! She lives in the heart of Texas with her mother and her four best friends – Cooper, Jake, Bubba and Archie. But this past summer, she had been avoiding the boys because, in their infinite wisdom, they had made it clear to other boys that she is untouchable and undateable. This year, she wants to experience what all girls in high school do and she tells the four that. They decide that they will date her, setting rules up between them on how it will go. When someone begins leaving her roses, they do not handle it well.
These characters are deeply complex, something you don’t usually see in High School romances, even the RH kind. All of them are the edge o new adulthood, and they have the most interesting relationships with their parents.
This is, thankfully, not a bully romance, but a real high school romance with smexy time. Please note, this is not a YA romance with PG-13 or off-screen sex scenes. These teenagers behave the way teenagers have always behaved. The scenes are touching and what every woman dreamt their various first times would be like – sweet, gentle and completely consensual.
I, personally, adore all the boys, but Bubba is my favorite. He is a gentle soul, even though he is a great football player, who has the idyllic family we all want.
Frankie is a deeply driven person, who has spent a great deal of time on her own because her mother is a tad flaky. She reminds me of my friends and me way back when.
The plot is a bit o a slog, there aren’t really any villains running about and the action is all about dating. But the characters are worth it, including the side characters.
I think I know who is giving Frankie roses… I can’t wait to find out in the next book.
Warning: This does not have an HEA ending. It is very much a cliffhanger.
4 ½ stars out of 5 rounded up.
https://www.amazon.com/Rules-Roses-Untouchable-Book-1-ebook/dp/B07Z6NDMFL
Heather Long, you have a true gift for writing!
I love Frankie and these guys. Frankie, the FMC, self-reliant, and the intelligence to back her up. Which to me equals bada&&! I loved this book, it’s to me everything a highschool RH contemporary romance should be. Some of the hard lessons Frankie faces are things I can remember and sadly experienced in my own life. Maybe that is why it is such an amazing book to me because to me it’s real!
Rules and Roses is the first book in the Untouchable Series. I love Rules and Roses. The name of the series comes from Bubba, Coop, Archer, and Jake declared that Frankie was untouchable but because They didn’t tell Frankie it caused misunderstandings and hurt feelings. Frankie found out the ending of Jr year from a girl who used to be friends with her when they were younger. The beginning of senior year when Frankie finally found someone who the guys didn’t know and he showed interest she kept it to herself. When the guys found out you they finally dealt with the misunderstandings and Frankie explained how she felt. Frankie just wanted to be like everyone else and date and experience her firsts that most other teens do in high school like attend school dances, go on dates, and maybe even get her first kiss. I will leave it there. If you want to find out what happened next and what the outcome was you will have to read the book. I don’t want to spoil the book for any future readers. Let’s just say that things turned around in a big way. I want to say more but I won’t. Rules and Roses is filled with lots of angst, drama, emotions, secrets, revelations, and lots of heat . This is the first book I have read from Heather Long and I have to say that it will not be my last. I am so glad that the Untouchable series has so many books that are released and I can binge them before Book 9, Defiance and Dedication, comes out. Besides the bully romances Heather writes PNR, RH, and Military romances. All of which are my fave route tropes and if Rules and Roses is any indication I am really going to enjoy reading more of Heather’s books. Heather developed characters that were well rounded, with depth and characteristics that make them likable, easy to relate to, and empathize with. Heather created worlds for her characters that are fantastic backdrops to the story and enhances the characters and helps shape them. Heather is an author that I can see fast becoming a favorite. Highly recommend reading Rules and Roses , Untouchable series, and Heather Long as an author. Enjoy your reading!!
This book was so good. I have never really enjoyed friends to lovers books but this one is amazing. This is definitely geared towards young adults/ new adults since there is a lot of talk about classes and drama. I do mean A LOT of talking about classes and assignments but it works because all of the main characters are in high school and their priorities are different then someone in college or in their mid to late 20’s. The being said the love interests kind of irk me but I see potential. They all just have an annoying listening problem.
Well, this book was adorable. It’s a cute, contemporary romance that centers around Frankie, a very driven, motivated high school senior and her group of best friends. She found out in the spring that they told the school that she was untouchable – no one was allowed to date her. Frankie spent the summer avoiding them because she was so upset and hurt. She just wants to be a normal teen and experience things that all teens do – dating, adventures, butterflies, and first kisses.
Surprise Frankie – your best friends have all wanted to date you! She was just too clueless to notice them flirting or making their move. But once it becomes known that she wants to date – and a certain dreamy French TA asks her out – things change at a fast clip. As you can imagine, things get messy and complicated, but oh so much fun.
This book was well-paced, with a lot of build-up and angst. It’s pretty obvious to us that Frankie ISN’T undesirable and that the guys are all falling over themselves for her. But it is really cute watching her figure it all out and the guys all clamor for her attentions. I usually read dark romance but this was a really fun read. A little bit of a cliffhanger ending, but overall the series is supposed to have a HEA.
This was a great first book in a series, with lots going on and plenty of sweet moments.
I could be biased because I beta’d this series, but so good. Everyone should read it. Not to mention book 2 is even better!
Rules and Roses is a book by new to me author Heather Long. It is a great RH Romance about a group of friends in high school and what happens when things begin to evolve within that group. It has all the feels, romance, and steam that a great New Adult Romance should have along with just a tiny bit of teen angst. It does have a cliffhanger at the end, but hopefully the next book will be out soon. 4 Stars!
A really great story with facinating characters. I actually went into this book completely blind, I had absolutely no idea what it was going to be about. I was so glad when I learned that it was an RH because I really do enjoy a good RH! I have enjoyed a few other books by this author and I’m looking forward to reading many more.
Heather Long has long been a favorite author of mine. It doesn’t matter what she writes, I am pulled into the story and not let go until I finish.
Welcome back to high school, it’s been a long time since I was there and I found myself delighted in the pursuits of Frankie’s Senior Year.
At the end of Frankie’s junior year she made the discovery that her best friends, Cooper, Bubba, Jake and Archie had labeled her untouchable. Now while she’s been totally focused on her goals, she still wanted to experience things, like dances and dates. Unfortunately those four had stopped all of that before it even began, even while they enjoyed those pursuits themselves.
Senior year is going to change all that if it’s the last thing Frankie does. What she really didn’t expect was that the guys, all of them wanted to date her too. This revelation was I believe due to the attention of one French Exchange Student with interest in Frankie. One who helps with the making of a cake for her French class project.
I have many favorite scenes in this book, but I have to say the texts between the guys are my absolute favorites with laugh out loud enjoyment.
Frankie slowly accepts the fact she’s going to be dating all four of them. However as in everyone’s life nothing is as easy as it seems.
Between a mostly absent mother, the guys, and mysterious roses showing up on her car, I couldn’t put this book down.
This is a long book and we are only two weeks into senior year, it’s thoroughly enjoyable with a bit of heat and lots of simmer. I truly can’t wait for the next book in this series!
This is not my usual go-to genre but the author is on of my favourite PNR authors so I decided to give it a whirl. Wow I was not disappointed.
Apart from making my feel achingly old and very cougary, this is a great story. Strong plot with engaging characters. You can really feel the confusion Frankie has towards her “boys”. You really want to slap them sometimes though. The whole don’t-touch-her attitude just made her lonely situation worse! Instead of protecting her, they really hurt her!
Frankie is determined to dig herself out of her current situation. Her mother may as well be a room-mate, she is far too self-absorbed to care what happens to her daughter. Frankie is pretty much top of the class, driven and doggedly saving for college. She has the love and protection of her “Boys” Cooper, Jake, Bubba and Archie. They are a pretty disparate lot but all have an eadearing quality – they all love Frankie, even if they won’t admit to themselves never mind Frankie!
When she learns why she is such a social pariah the boys deecide that THEY will be her dates and they begin to pick dates with Frankie. But they may have competition ‘cos someone keeps leaving her roses on her car and it’s not any of them!
No bullying as such but the boys are definitely protective! They give some of my favouriate adult heroes a run for their money in the sexy stakes! I must admit that last scene – WOW I did not see that coming and it was just another layer of lies for Frankie to unravel!
Please note that there is no HEA – there is a humdinger of a cliffhanger!
First off that young girl I really could relate to now because that is how I am now. I have tons of make up but do not use it things like that. So with that being said it was very easy for me to fall into this one and really get in sync with it. The rep she had I did not think was a bad one but guys can be so dumb in that department when young though. The best girls are not usually the easy ones lol. Being also this one was the first in a series it gave a good bones to it. But then she does have the best of buds lol. I do not think though I have read a YA reverse before so this was refreshing to me. The characters are ones you become attached to just like Frankie does. As I said knowing this one was only the beginning I knew I had to be patient which is hard to do for this author’s books.
Clearly stated in the beginning of the book, Rules and Roses does not have a conclusive end in this first book of a series. It does have an engaging story that leads to (hopefully!) more in the series, and has all the pieces of a story that will grab you and hold on until you finish.
Frankie grew up with four friends – guy friends – who have sort of sabotaged her high school dating years. “The boys” have made it clear to all other males that she is not to be touched, and she does not date, but they don’t exactly fill Frankie in on their plan. Since the author tells you, right up front, that this is a reverse harem story, I really started looking for all the clues to how this relationship will come together. Whoa. Once it starts, it gets pretty hawt very quickly. And yet, these five never really figure out what it is they are creating, and that made it fun to read.
It is a YA story so there is teenage angst; each of these characters has a story of their own to tell. Frankie has the strangest relationship with her mother. Bubba, or Ian, has a pretty good family life. Coop lives in the same apartment complex, and has been Frankie’s friend for years, but has a strained relationship with his father (which reaches over into his relationship with his mother and sister.) Archie is a poor little rich kid. Jake is just strange. But lovable!
So many personalities for Frankie and her crew to blend when making the transition from best friends to so much more. Be warned: just when you think the book is winding up…it throws a huge monkey wrench into the picture! I finished this story with a complete look of shock on my face. Be aware that it is a reverse harem but I found it very enjoyable. The story itself seems like it will be the basis for whatever adventures come next for this group and I truly enjoyed.
HOLY MOLY! When I picked up this book I knew it was going to be a reverse harem. What I didn’t understand was that this is unlike any other RH I’ve read. First all the main characters are seniors in high school. Second there are so many questions. Third this book blew my mind. I can’t stop thinking about what’s happened and what could happen. I am really looking forward to the next installment.