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Breaking the Rules  By  cover art

Breaking the Rules

By: Suzanne Brockmann
Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor,Renee Raudman
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Publisher's summary

Izzy Zanella wasn’t looking for another reason to butt heads with his Navy SEAL teammate, and nemesis, Danny Gillman. But then he met Danny’s beautiful younger sister, Eden. When she needed it most, he offered her a place to stay, a shoulder to cry on - and more. And when she got pregnant with another man’s child, he offered her marriage. But Eden’s devastating miscarriage shattered their life together - and made the intense bad blood between Izzy and Danny even worse.

Now Eden’s back, and she’s on a mission to rescue her teen brother, Ben, from their abusive stepfather. Even if she and Izzy can prove that their broken marriage is still in one piece, winning legal custody of Ben is a long shot. But they’re not alone: Danny and his girlfriend, Jenn, offer to help, and he and Izzy agree to bury the past and fight for Ben’s future.

As they plan their strategy, Izzy and Eden grapple with the raw passion that still crackles between them - while Danny and Jenn confront new depths in their own rocky relationship. But events take a terrifying turn after Ben befriends a girl fleeing a child prostitution ring. When the young runaway seeks refuge with Eden and Izzy, her pursuers kidnap Ben - and a deadly standoff begins. Now they must all pull together like never before and strike back, swift and hard, to protect their unconventional little family and everything they hold most precious.

©2011 Suzanne Brockmann (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about Breaking the Rules

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Love her stories. That said, I'm getting tired of

her preaching. I'm a Christian. I'm not finished with the book yet. So, as a Christian, maybe I shouldn't judge her book yet. Since Suzanne has judged, I shall too. I'm on part 2 of 3 about midway through part 2. I'm a Christian, I am not anti-gay. I am not anti-domestic partnerships. I am not a religious fanatic. I am not a drunk. I am not abusive. Listening to this story according to Suzanne Brockmann, you would think that I am most definitely homophobic, Christian, abusive, and a drunk.

Suzanne, please revise your own stereotypes. You are way off and alienating a large portion of your audience.

Your books will still be an automatic buy because you are a very talented author. Contrary to your belief in the last few of your books, America isn't bigoted like you think. The missive is becoming tiresome.

The narration was grand as are all of the Troubleshooter books. The story is engrossing as usual, just cut out the preaching. We get it. Even us Christians.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Another excellent adventure!

As always, Brockmann's book is awesome and so is the narration by Lawlor and Raudman. Yes there are topics that are uncomfortable; child abuse in many situatations both in the present of the book and in the characters past, alcoholism, etc... But the book is also about communication and miscommunication, trust and not trusting. I don't believe that Brockmann is portraying and anti-christianity message. I think her characters usually either believe in God (in the Christian sense) or come to some kind of understanding with a "God"-like power. There is only one minor character in the book that seems to use Christianity as an excuse for evil. The religious beliefs or lack of belief of most of the other characters (including the main characters) is a mystery to the reader/listener.

Each character has a very clear voice in the writing and in the narration of the audio version. The story flows and is exciting. And sometimes the characters are annoying, which is one of the reasons why I love them so much. Like real people they make sometimes dumb decisions and sometimes great ones. And like all of us they struggle with themselves and getting to an understanding their place in life and who they are.

The narrators are superb. They create a world where it is very easy to understand each point of view and when that point of view shifts. The format of having a male and female narrator works so well for all of Brockmann???s books. Her stories are more interesting due to the shifts in points of view and the way that each characters ???voice??? shows through. I really like the domestic tensions in this book. It puts a different spin on the thrilling romance part of the story. They story is excellent and different than the other books in the series. I find it amazing that after 16 books, I will be first in line for book #17 when Brockmann returns to writing about this incredible group of people.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Izzy's book Finally!

For those just joining the TS world, this book is the 16th in a series and you may be better served first listening to both Into the Fire and Hot Pursuit prior to listening to this one because the story is built starting with those novels. But this book seems to stand alone as Brockmann fills the listener in on the back story though the thoughts of the characters. For those who have enjoyed the prior Brockmann TS books, this book delivers on the promise of giving you a story from Izzy's POV. A long time favorite character we learn more of his past, while seeing his character and those of Eden, Dan and Jen grow through the truths and events of this book. Harsh topic such as the sex trade, addiction, intolerance, are dealt with in this book, so it is not an 'easy listen' at times. The Narrators bring the characters to life.

For the reviewer who thought Brockmann was 'anti-christian' I disagree. There is intolerance and narrow mindedness hiding in every community. I don't think Brockmann is blaming Christians, I do think she is pointing out that intolerance and ignorance combined can cause great harm. I hope you look past your own assumptions and see her 'narrow minded' character does not reflect true Christianity any more than a character who is a 'bad cop' or an 'abusive parent' reflect what law enforcement, or parenting are truly about.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

I love it and love the narraters of these books.

I have been waiting for Izzy's story and I love these books. Maybe a bit to long. But I wish she would have more of these type of books and the naraters do such a great job on the book that it makes me cry and laugh and even get excited. This is my first review and I just had to let everyone know that the Suzanne Brockmann does a great job on just about all her romance books. But I really love the narraters in these Navy Seal books They make the book even better. I hope Audible gets more of her books like this one. but are Narrated by Patrick Lawlor , Renee Raudman They make the book even better

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Her best one yet!

Having read or listened to every single title that Suzanne Brockmann has ever published, I finished this book with the thought that this was the best one I have ever read. It delves into the sex trafficing trade, 'making teens change thier sexual orientation' camps, childhood diabetes issues, and the relationships between Izzy and Eden, Danny and Jenny, Izzy and Danny, and all of them with Ben--Eden and Danny's little brother. The relationships are complex, intense, and filled with misunderstandings, and finally redemption. Friends from prior books drop in for a little while, but most of the story revolves around the Gilman siblings and their significant others.

I found the story so compelling that I ended up only sleeping 3 hours each night for 2 nights in order to finish it. I couldn't stop listening to it. The narrators do an excellent job, as usual; however, since I recently listened to Dark of Night (by the same author and narrators), I had to remind myself that those same voices belonged to different people now...

The action builds and builds throughout the entire story, and it breaks my heart to think that the sex trade can be that invasive in our country, as well as in many other countries. It was a wake-up call to me. I am aware that it is a fictional story, but based on current news reports and articles, there is a very real factual basis for the plight of these lost and stolen children.

This was an amazing story, and I was so glad to see Danny and Izzy get past their antagonism toward each other and mature a bit. All in all, it was a very satisfying story.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Finally

This series has been the mustby since I got hooked on the first book published in Japanese waaay back when. It has since then grown into a wonderful world where sexy, hunky and smart SEAL/FBI men meet attractive women/men. My favorites are Sam&Alyessa and Jules&Robin. I also miss Max but he seemed be totally lost in the back ground now.

What I like about her books is that the people don't quit meet, fall in love, have sex, get married and live happily ever after in a single book, instead sometime it takes more than two to three books (or more) for them to find closure. For Jules, Max and Alyssa, I think this worked really well. The two couples in this book, especially izzy's has been running through several books now. It was sort of frustrating since I really couldn't get into the main characters like the other books. As far as action romance goes, it is fun as usual and a lot better than other books out there. I am glad that they finally got their affairs settled down. I felt, however, this book was just too long and had too much; slave trade, gay teenage boy in trouble, abused girl, family secrets, Las Vegas wedding and oh my... Anyway I still love the series and looking forward to reading more from this.

As usual I love Renee Raudman although she is a bit too mature for Eden. I didn't know why they needed a male reader, too. I would have been fine with just Renee reading the whole thing.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Just a porn novel

I did not like the people and I did not like all the graphic sex. I could not finish this novel. This is the first book I have ever stopped to write a review about because it was so bad.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good Story but terrible narration.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

How it was narrated. With both a man and a women narrating and both doing all the parts the story became a bit disjointed. One narrator would have made it easier to listen to.

Was Breaking the Rules worth the listening time?

It was OK. I would recommend the author as long as there was only one narrator.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Silly But Didn't Know it.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The comings and goings of these characters was ridiculous. I did want to see what happened next so followed to the end. A young man might enjoy this. Maybe I'm just the wrong audience.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It was appropriate to the rest of the story.

What does Patrick Lawlor and Renee Raudman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

They are professional performers and I always enjoy readers who really know what they are doing. It was good choice to have a man and a woman working on this project. I wish more books were read this way.

Did Breaking the Rules inspire you to do anything?

If someone looks like they need help, as opposed to a handout, I step up and do what I can.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Exceptional Book!

YES!! I loved this story. We got a two fer here. Izzy's story and Danny's. We have an abusive adopted parent,and an emotionally detached mother, who is interested only in milking money from her oldest son. Danny's misunderstood sister, Eden has done what she needed to, to survive on her own, now she is worried about their younger brother, who is a diabetic, and gay. Ben's lifestyle choice does not sit well with his abusive step father, who intends to give him to a religious organization that promises to change his sexual orientation. The story only gets better, because Izzy finds Eden pole dancing in a club in Las Vegas. The heat is on!!
Now to tackle those who are incensed because of what they perceive as Suze's political/religious views and biasis, this is a story folks, and what she has written about goes on every single day in America. We have sexual slavery happening to young women both in this country and out of this country. We have people believing if you can just find god (notice I used a small g because the big guy said to love everyone) you can be saved from homosexuality and they can help you not be gay. (rollseyes) I am not liberal nor conservative, I am a GDI ( god damn independant)...people take these stories for what they are.....pure entertainment. Stop reading for what is not there. Enjoy!

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1 person found this helpful