Rule #1: Don’t fall in love.As a single dad, my life revolves around my daughter. No complaints…until my ex-wife forces my hand over custody.I needed a cover story. In steps Katharine Morello. My best friend’s sister is ready and willing to be my fake fiancée.Overnight we’re engaged. A temporary arrangement.No sex.No strings attached.No complications.Easy, right?Not quite. The last few months, … complications.
Easy, right?
Not quite. The last few months, I’ve been doing dirty things to her in my imagination. But that’s all they’ll ever be. Fantasies.
Rule #2: Don’t give in to temptation.
Neither of us is looking for a relationship. Been there. Done that. Even drank the Kool-Aid.
So, you see, I can resist beautiful, sexy Katharine. It doesn’t matter she’s hot as f*ck with an amazing personality to boot. All I have to do is NOT touch her.
I’ve got this.
Spoiler Alert…One night make-believe merges with reality. Sparks fly—and burn.
Now I want her. All of her.
Rule #3: See rule #1—don’t fall in love.
Man. Hindsight’s a bitch.
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Rules of Engagement: A Single Dad Romance (Platonically Complicated Book 3)
By: Mika Jolie
5 out of 5 stars
The story Rules of Engagement: A Single Dad Romance (Platonically Complicated Book 3) by Mika Jolie is a contemporary romance book. It is a story that I loved reading. It had me hooked from the very beginning. I loved reading about the character of Katharine Morello and the single dad that she is helping. Katharine is a woman who owns and runs her own business. She is smart, independent, supportive, loyal, and beautiful. She doesn’t hesitate to step in when help is needed and is now a fake fiancée. He is a single father whose daughter is his whole world. He finds himself needing help when custody of his daughter becomes an issue. He finds himself in a fake engagement with Katharine. It is temporary. No strings attached, no complications. There is an attraction between these two that is getting harder for them to ignore. Both feel the chemistry and desire. What does the future hold for him and Katherine? After the agreement is over will things go back to normal? Is there any chance for these two to find happiness together? Read this book to find out. This story has romance and some steamy scenes that make the temperature in the room rise. There is plenty of bantering and flirting between the two main characters. I found myself not wanting to put it down until I had read the final page. Don’t miss out on a book that is a joy to read and has wonderful characters. Highly recommended.
I really enjoyed this book with its great characters and a wonderful story line of friends to lovers. This book pulls you in, gives the buildup to the story that I love and of course the ending we all crave, a HEA. Mika did a wonderful job and I’m looking forward to her next book.
I enjoyed everything about this book. It’s a Friends to Lovers story with a twist. One of the best that I’ve read. Kate and Lucas have been friends since childhood, by way of Kate’s brother Dean. Who is Lucas best friend. As the H/h grew older an attraction developed. Dean said no dating his sister, it’s a Bro-code. Lucas got married and divorce. He had a little girl. The ex-wife decided to sue for full custody. Lucas needs help and Kate agrees to a fake engagement. Kate loves the little girl and would do anything to ensure her happiness. I love Kate and Lucas’s friendship and their love for each other. Lucas is an awesome dad who puts his child’s needs first. Check out this book by Mika Jolie, you’ll love it.
I remember the first time I read a book written by Mika Jolie and I thought to myself damn this woman can write. Since then no book of hers, I have read disappointed.
After reading The Boyfriend, I wanted the supporting characters to get their story. Well, I received what I hoped for in Rules of Engagement. This is Katherine and Lucas’ story and it was all I hoped for and more.
I became completely invested in them and their relationship from the beginning. Here we have Lucas a divorced, single dad who fears commitment based on prior experience and Katherine who, despite being cheated on by her fiancé, believes in finding true love. These two have been friends for twenty years, but it was not until lately they discovered their attraction to each other. Lucas‘s fantasies regarding Kate intensified, but as far as he is concerned it will stay that way as being the sister of his best friend she was off limits. However, when his ex- wife’s shenanigans threatens his custody of their daughter, Katherine offered him a solution, which involved a fake engagement.
The chemistry between these two scorched the pages, which blurred the lines between fake and reality. Their engagement may have been a fake, but their feelings were the real thing.
I had fun spending time with Lucas and Kate. Kate is not afraid to go after what she wants and Lucas is whom she wants. Despite his fear of relationships, he could not fight his attraction to Kate and pretending to be engaged did not help the situation.
Told primarily from Lucas’s POV, I experienced his insecurities regarding his past relationship. These insecurities formed the basis of his conflicted feelings towards Katherine. One of the things I admired about him was his complete devotion to his daughter.
I got insight into Kate’s feelings through her blog posts. The posts were few, but they along with her actions were enough to give clarity as to her true feelings. Her thoughtfulness is admirable. To offer help a friend in such the fashion, opening herself for heartbreak knowing the pain of betrayal she experienced in the past demonstrated her selflessness.
A well-written story, with few conflicts and angst made for an easy and enjoyable read. Jolie did a remarkable job with pacing, character development.
Conclusion/Recommendation
Rules of Engagement was a treat from start to finish and one I recommend to fans of the friends to lovers and fake engagement trope.
Rules are definitely made to be broken
Rules Are Made to be Broken!
Rules of Engagement is a sexy, single dad and bestfriend’s sister romance. What more could you possibly want? I’ll tell you what….friends to lovers, diverse characters, witty banter, slow burn, sexual tension, unique dialogue, and a HEA! All told from the uniquely male point of view. Lucas and Kate will make you laugh, swoon, and yearn in the best way.
Lucas is loyal, logical, and focused on his daughter. He lost himself in love once and it ended in a bitter divorce. Now he leads with his head, not his heart. That belongs to his daughter Emma and she is his priority. Yet, he finds himself thinking lustful thoughts for the one woman he shouldn’t want, Kate. She is his best friend’s sister, but more importantly she is genuinely a great friend to Emma and him.
Kate is optimistic, independent, out spoken, and a bit of a bad a**! She is confident and kind. She has been burned by love, but she didn’t let it harden her heart. She’s actually open to the possibility of love and finding her “Lloyd Dobler.” She is attracted to Lucas, but unsure of pursuing a relationship with him. After all, he never wants to fall in love again.
Fate steps in and unexpectedly brings Lucas and Kate together. When Lucas’s ex-wife, Lucille pursues full physical custody of their daughter. She plans to cite his serial dating against him, but Kate steps in as his “fiancee.” They agree to a fake engagement to help Lucas maintain custody of his daughter. They put rules in place to make sure that their relationship remains platonic. How hard could it be to remain friends and not complicate things? As it turns out, quite difficult. The authentic connection they feel for one another is intensified by attraction and sexual tension. These two don’t stand a chance of not falling in love. It is magnificent watching them flirt and fall. The push and pull creates exceptional friction that ignites and spreads like wildfire.
Ms. Jolie gives this love story a unique perspective, as it is told mainly from Lucas’s point of view. I loved his inner dialogue and the insight into his emotions. It was refreshing to hear how a hero’s mind works. I was intrigued, engaged, and invested in Lucas’s HEA. Rules of Engagement reminds us that life and especially love rarely follows a plan. Love is usually the exception to the rules!
Wow! Lucas is so hot! He is the total package: sweet, romantic, funny, a single dad, and did I mention, Hot?! Where can I find a Lucas? Kate is the perfect female best friend who would do anything for her best friend, including pretend to be his fiance. Their plan seemed simple, temporary friends with benefits, and pretend to be engaged so Lucas can keep custody of his daughter. But aren’t rules made to be broken? What happens when feelings start to get in the way? Will they realize they belong together, or will one of them get their heart broken? Another amazing book from Mika Jolie!
I won an arc of this book and am so thankful I did. I typically prefer books that have points of view from both main characters so I worried I wouldn’t like this but I was so wrong. I love Kate’s blog posts because it gives us an on insight to her mind. I love the connection of Lucas and Kate and their playfulness in the opening scene. It takes a true strong friendship to be willing to go to any limits to be there for someone like she was to be with him. Anything for his daughter. I was sad when I got to the last page because I just want more plus say anything is one of my favorites so I love all the references.
Sexy single dad of an adorable little girl falls in love with his friend, Kate in this friends-to-lovers/fake engagement romance. This is written in first person from Lucas’ POV. There are intermittent blog posts written by Kate as chapters that also give the reader some insight into Kate’s feelings. Lucas starts off totally committed to never having a relationship again and it is so fun to read through his feelings as he changes his mind when he falls hard for Kate. The ex-wife is troublesome, but is a good mom overall, which is a nice change of pace. It is lovely to see characters from other books pop up from time to time. Lucas and Kate have some serious chemistry and are very hot together, but what makes them great is their friendship. There are some very romantic moments and two swoon-worthy epilogues that that complete this fun, enjoyable, feel-good read.
I love, love, love this series! I don’t want it to end. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the dynamics of the friends, relationships and how everyone ticks.
“She’s whiskey in a teacup. Proper and dignified on the outside, strong and intoxicating on the inside.”
This book will have you smiling, frustrated, laughing, crying, feeling butterflies and fanning yourself. It has all the feels!
“…while I might “wear” the pants when it comes to dating, the women control the zipper.”
This is book #3, in the Platonically Complicated series. This book can be read as a standalone novel. To avoid spoilers, and to fully understand the series, I recommend reading these in order.
Lucas finds himself attracted to his best friend’s sister. He tries to hold out, since she is also his friend, but the thoughts just get more frequent and more dangerous. When a mutual friend to them both suggests they get together, even fake, he has no idea what he is in for.
Kate is wishing she could go back in time. To a place when she had no feelings for her brother’s best friend. Lucas intrigues her. He also heats her up when he touches her anywhere.
Such a great series and this is a great addition! The characters banter literally makes me laugh out loud. I loved the friends and families and how close they are. I also loved what a great father the leading man in this story is. Such a joy to read!
Rules of Engagement
By Mika Jolie
Rules of Engagement is another great read by Mika Jolie. I don’t think there is a book I have read by Mika that I haven’t enjoyed and this one is no different. I love her writing style and the way she can bring her characters to life. In this book we have a storyline that is centered around Lucas and Kate. After a horrible divorce Lucas’s heart, now only belongs to his daughter. But then he starts having thoughts about his best friend’s sister Kate. He knows he shouldn’t be having these feelings but does so now, will Lucas act upon them?
As for Kate she too has been hurt by love but has not closed her heart to finding love again. So now what will Lucas and Kate do? Will they cross the line and get together? Biggest question is if they get together will that ruin the friendship between Lucas and Kates brother? Grab yourself a copy of this book and enjoy the read.
Love love loved this book! I have read a few books by this author already and this is for sure one of my favorites. It was sweet and cute and who doesn’t love a good friends to lovers romance.. I can’t get enough of them.
Lucas… oh sweet sexy Lucas! (Can i keep him? okay? Glad that’s settled!) He is a single dad who is going through a NASTY custody dispute with his horrid ex-wife. His lovely daughter currently lives with him but if the EX gets her way that all will change. That’s where Kate comes in. She is Lucas’s best friends sister and they’ve come up with a plan to help Lucas keep custody of his daughter.
Such a good story line with a few twists and of course a whole lot of chemistry! The authors writing is fantastic and i am looking forward to reading more by her! I would recommend this one to a friend!
HAPPY READING <3
Rules of Engagement by Mika Jolie
Stars: 4
This is a friends turned in something more story, and the third book in the Platonically Complicated series. In this book, Kate’s and Lucas’ chemistry is fantastic. I also loved the humor that Mika Jolie was able to put into this story. I feel that this story was well done! The characters were awesome, and the story grabbed my interest at the very beginning.
Rules of Engagement by Mika Jolie was the perfect mix of a single dad, friends to lovers, best friend’s sister fake relationship romance. Boy, that a lot of troupes in one book but I have been looking forward to this story since I read The Boy Friend.
Lucas and Kate have been friends for decades but when Lucas’s ex is trying to take his daughter to France full time; Kate decides to play his fiancée to try and keep his daughter. We all know this plan will backfire on them but it was sexy hot reading about them trying to just keep thing as friends.
It was great to see a little Dean and Cori mixed in this book. Now we just need to find Cam a girl – can’t wait for that book.
Rules of Engagement: A Single Dad Romance is the third book in the Platonically Complicated series by Mika Jolie. I have a bit of a crush on Lucas. He is so many of the things I like in a man. He is sweet, has dark and eyes and a beard and his daughter is the center of his universe. One of those qualities makes a guy attractive but put them all together and whew.
Lucas and Kate just work so well together and his daughter Emma loves Kate too which is so important when you’re a package deal.
Kate is a great friend to do what she does to help Lucas out. I don’t know if I could have done the same thing considering the circumstances. She risks her heart just to make sure Lucas is happy.
Very enjoyable read. I wish there had been a little more interaction with Emma, she could have easily been my favorite scene stealer with the way she seemed larger than life in the scenes she was in. I can’t wait to see Cam fall! He is so self assured and confident and I think he’s going to fall the hardest.
Rules of Engagement: A Single Dad Romance by Mika Jolie
Four Stars
Rules of Engagement: A Single Dad Romance is the third book in the Platonically Complicated series by Mika Jolie. This book can be read as a standalone, as this is the first book in this series that I have read and had no trouble following the story line. I have read a bunch of stories by Ms. Jolie, and am definitely going back to read the first two books in this series. Lucas and Kate’s story is full of humor, and some extremely hot chemistry. This story is written in Lucas’s point of view, and had me laughing out loud throughout. It is fast paced and engaging and kept me reading long into the night. It is totally worth the lack of sleep. If you are looking fun, sexy romance, this is the book for you.
4 Stars
Rules of Engagement is the third book in the Platonically Complicated Series by Mika Jolie. This is a great single dad romance, with a best friends’ younger sister, and ‘friends to lovers ‘elements to it too. I have been loving this series, and it’s becoming harder to choose my favourite, as each book seems to slightly outdo the last.
You don’t need to have read the other two books before starting on this one, but I recommend doing so because you will get to know the other characters and stories, which in my opinion, will help give you a better reading experience of this book.
Lucas is a single dad focused on his daughter and his job as a hedge fund manager. Since his bitter divorce he’s earned a bit of a “playboy” reputation, and definitely isn’t interested in a relationship. But when his ex-wife decides to play dirty and seek full custody of their daughter, Lucas will have to do a bit of damage control, and whatever he can to project an image of a loving ‘family man’. And this is where his best friend’s beautiful younger sister comes into the picture.
Katherine Morello owns a high end lingerie business and is also a part-time blogger. She’s not looking for a relationship, especially after her last one ended when her boyfriend cheated on her. Kate has known Lucas all her life, and secretly thinks he’s a catch- he’s sexy and intriguing, if not a little guarded. She gets along well with him and his cute little daughter Emma- so when he needs some help, she’s happy to lend a hand.
The plan is to ‘fake’ their engagement long enough to thwart his ex. They devise a set of rules that will protect them, and their friendship. And so, the engagement begins. What happens makes for a really intriguing, funny, sexy and steamy read!
Ms. Jolie has a beautiful, witty and descriptive style that really showed throughout this funny, emotional and completely captivating story. I was entirely engrossed from beginning to end. As with the other books, the characters all had such well thought out and developed personalities- they really were very endearing and had me totally invested in them and their story. The funny banter, quips, innuendos, and antics had me laughing out loud. As always, I also love the close-knit, supportive group of friends in this series- they are just wonderful.
The story is told from Lucas’s point of view, which I loved- pulling off a male perspective isn’t such an easy thing to do, without it looking forced or fake- but Ms. Jolie has mastered the art and made it entirely realistic and believable. She also has a knack for infusing her stories with a large dose of Sizzle that never fails to fog up my reading glasses.
I can’t wait for more from Ms. Jolie!
Thank you, Ms. Jolie!
Rules of Engagement: A Single Dad Romance (Platonically Complicated Book 3) by Mika Jolie
4 out of 5 Stars
This book is a lot more than its synopsis. At first blush it seems that it is a basic, single dad, fights for custody of his young daughter from the evil, vindictive ex-wife, needs help to show that he is the better parental choice, and in steps the sister of his best friend to save the day.
I mean, yes, that is what this story is about. But there is so much more that just that.
First, this book is told from Lucas’ point of view, which a a bit of a refreshing turn in my oh so humble opinion. Lucas has loved and lost. Loss that only ends in a bitter divorce and an even bitter custody battle.
Kate is independent, loving and driven. When she learns that Lucas needs her help and it would benefit his daughter, she jumps at the chance to help. Only to fight to keep from falling under the spell of Lucas. Kate has also felt the sting of love gone sour, and she is not eager to jump back into the pool
There is tension between Lucas and Kate, some serious tension. This book is a deep, slow burn. Sexual tension practically crackles in the air with these two. Jolie is an amazing author and knows how to craft a hot and steamy story with some serious sassy and characters of incredible quality and depth. An amazing read for anyone!
Rules of Engagement is the third Platonically Complicated book. It can be read as a standalone.
I really liked the way the interactions between the main characters played out. It was well written and even though the story took its time, it kept you reading. I liked Katherine’s character a lot. She’s intelligent, witty, and extremely frank. I also loved the narration from Lucas’s point of view. It was engaging and humorous in many places.
Stellar reading experience!
Rules of Engagement: A Single Dad Romance is book three in the Platonically Complicated series by Mika Jolie. This series is mesmirising and told from our leading man’s POV. Not very often do I read a story from the male, and I loved stray from the norm.
The hero is taken by his best friends sister. It is a new thing, and one he cannot shake, or the feelings that go along with it. Kate is everything he needs and wants for himself and his daughter, and all of what he won’t allow himself to take. But kife has a way of handing out shocks, and feelings won’t go away just because they are not convenient or you want to hide behind them. It is a case of the more you protest, the deeper the emotional connection, and the harder it is to walk away. It had an emotional edge that was almost hidden, but there nonetheless. It was something that crept up on you, unawares. It was a welcome surprise. A story with heart, passion, friendship, love, denial, and intensity. A gripping and sweet tale that swept me away. 4 stars.