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Rule  By  cover art

Rule

By: Jay Crownover
Narrated by: Sophie Eastlake,Michael Rahhal
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Publisher's summary

Opposites in every way...except the one that matters.

Shaw Landon loved Rule Archer from the moment she laid eyes on him. Rule is everything a straight-A pre-med student like Shaw shouldn't want - and the only person she's never tried to please. She isn't afraid of his scary piercings and tattoos or his wild attitude. Though she knows that Rule is wrong for her, her heart just won't listen.

To a rebel like Rule Archer, Shaw Landon is a stuck-up, perfect princess - and his dead twin brother's girl. She lives by other people's rules; he makes his own. He doesn't have time for a good girl like Shaw - even if she's the only one who can see the person he truly is.

But a short skirt, too many birthday cocktails, and spilled secrets lead to a night neither can forget. Now, Shaw and Rule have to figure out how a girl like her and a guy like him are supposed to be together without destroying their love...or each other.

The first Marked Men novel in Jay Crownover's combustible New Adult series.

©2012 Jennifer M. Voorhees (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Rule

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An opposites attract love story......

The story grabbed my interest right away because I'm a real sucker for all misunderstood tattooed bad boys. 4.5 Stars! Shaw has been in love with Rule since she was fourteen. Shaw has been a big part of the Archer family since the day Remy (Rule's twin brother) basically took her under his wing, but it’s always been Rule she’s secretly been in love with. When Remy’s tragic death deals the family a blow, Shaw is determined to keep them together. She picks Rule up every Sunday for brunch with the family to make sure he goes. Each time she does, her heart breaks a little more having to witness the string of one night stands paraded in front of her every time. Rule has no idea that Shaw has loved him so long. He always assumed that Remy and Shaw were a couple, so he never paid much attention to her. Plus, she is the polar opposite to Rule. He’s all tatted & pierced up and does what he wants, she’s the rich perfect princess always striving to live up to everyone’s expectations. Rules feels tortured through every Sunday brunch with his family that blames him for his brother’s death. He’s always been the black sheep of the family but Remy’s death has strained their relationship to the breaking point. Things get interesting when Rule finally wakes up and really notices Shaw. (I refuse to give spoilers away so I will keep things vague) Rule knows if he pursues anything with her, it would be different than his typical one night stands, even though its probably not a good idea, he just can’t stay away. Shaw can’t resist Rule even realizing there’s a strong possibility their relationship will end in disaster but she is still determined to take the chance. She’s tired of living safe and doing what her parents expect when they’ve never paid no mind to her. Their relationship has rocky moments because it was all new territory for Rule. Regardless, it was sizzlin hot! This book has delicious sex scenes, major Alpha tendencies, wild crazy colored mohawks, extreme tattooed bad boys, family drama, and psycho path ex boyfriends , etc, etc... Knowing Shaw had feelings for Rule for so long made my heart break for her. I always want unrequited love to get noticed and returned, so it was very satisfying to see this come about. I loved the passion and intensity both Rule and Shaw showed to each other, and I liked seeing Rule figure out what he was missing all these years. There were lots of smoking hot scenes and sizzling chemistry. Plus, there was suspense thanks to Shaw's crazy ex boyfriend!  I’m eagerly waiting for Audible to release Jet and Ayden’s story next.

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45 people found this helpful

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

Not Good

Any additional comments?

I made it about a third of the way into “Rule” before I noticed my near constant eye-rolling. Having read a lot of YA fiction (high school and college-aged), and considering this book portrays college age youth I could not believe how sophomoric it was. Yes, it had very adult sex scenes, but anything outside the bedroom was too childish to endure. The author made them use phrases like “Go hang with your boys”, “Dude, seriously!”, “Checking out my girl!” “I thought you loved my hawk” (Rule is referring to Shaw liking his Mohawk). Also, the nickname Rule’s brother Rome called Shaw was just cringe worthy… “How are you, Little Girl?” “Take care Little Girl”. Thankfully this is a standalone book with a complete story, so if you wanted to stop at one (which I definitely will) there is no need to read the other two as you know how Rule and Shaw end-up. The author did a fair job of setting up the other characters for her next books, but no one character sparked my interest enough to use a precious credit on.

The plot was fairly sound in regards to Rule’s familial strife, but Shaw’s “tragic” rejection by her parents was contrived. Shaw is rich, very pretty, and smart and had a best friend in Rule’s twin brother Remy and loving acceptance from the Archer family, but her parents were less than ideal when it came to showing her love…really? This does not lend to the tragic figure that the author wants the reader to buy into. There definitely was no reason to accept her weakness of spirit in taking Rule back each time he decided to shut her out. Rule’s internal reflections of how much Shaw was coming to mean to him were shown to be worthless as when he got some unexpected news (news which the reader figured out chapters before) he proceeded to shut her out knowing she had a psycho Ex waiting in the wings.

The theme of the tattoos and piercings got so old, so fast within the book. Rule is supposed to be this beautiful boy, yet all that anyone sees is his tattoos (which apparently cover most of his body) and his facial (and genital) piercings. This book worked so hard to make tattooing and piercing seem "cool" and acceptable that it just came off as pedestrian and silly. By the end of the book Shaw had tattoos and piercings and it was so cheesy my cholesterol went up several points. There is not one character that I actually rooted for in this book …Rule wasn’t a jerk as much as he was immature and self-absorbed and Shaw wasn’t entirely pathetic, mostly needy and spineless. My final (admittedly small) vexation with this book was that the vanilla straitlaced depiction of Rule’s parents does not fit with people who would name their sons Remy, Rule and Rome…Rule…really? I liked the dual narration and the narrators did a fine job; their voices were age appropriate to the characters they were portraying and each handled the opposite sex fairly well.

There are so many better YA fiction books out there and I’m not at all sure why this book was reviewed so highly. For YA fiction with great characters who have plausible reasons for their youthful angst check out “Easy” by Tammara Webber, “In the Band” by Jean Haus, “Pushing the Limits” by Katie McGarry and for the best of the best (if you can handle the intensity) “The Sea of Tranquility” by Katja Millay.

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23 people found this helpful

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

Tatoo and Lace

Enjoyed this story of a troubled young man with family dealing with many issues. The girl everyone loves seems to be the conductor of calm. But underneath that is a driven and a I don't want to be soooo nice girl. Claiming her man...dealing with all the issues, a crazy really crazy ex. This was not the run of the mill story and I enjoyed it a lot. I am too old to understand the fascination with piercings and tattoos but realize they are very popular. It was a good mix that I could enjoy and appreciate. Worth the credit.

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15 people found this helpful

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

AN INCREDIBLE & SENSATIONAL KIND OF LOVE

"Rule" had been on my radar for a while, but I hadn't taken the plunge because I was avoiding a cliché story. However, describing the love relationship between Rule and Shaw as simply "bad boy falls head over heals for good girl" doesn't even come close to the dimension in love, depth, and emotional healing that this book explores in both the leads and the supporting characters.

This book has layers of awesome just waiting to be experienced and unraveled by a listener. First, this is one awesome audiobook! The dual narration by Sophie Eastlake and Michael Rahhal was exceptional as they brought the pages of this book to life in both their performances. A talented team of narrators was just what was needed to fully perform the characters in the book who are colorful, and emotionally evocative in their journeys in life.

Shaw and Rule are certainly an unexpected couple. Yet, what might superficially come across as two individuals too different to mesh well together, by the end of the book, this couple showcases a love forged deeply with complementary traits that fit like matching puzzle pieces. Shaw is a beautiful, sweet, serious college student with luminescent green eyes and lovely blonde hair. Rule is raw, head-strong, moody, gorgeous with his arctic blue eyes, and rocking body decorated with colorful, intricate tattoos and piercings. Yet, Rule never took Shaw seriously because even though he noticed her, he put on the metaphorical shelf of "untouchables, too beautiful, too good, and breakable." Shaw was his twin brother, Remy's best friend as kids, and assumed lover later as adults. But, watch out because if Rule and Shaw kept their distance, subconsciously they had to feel the latent hum of sexual tension and attraction between the two. The connection between Rule and Shaw is like dynamite, once it's lit the explosion of intense love is inevitable. Their journey is not easy because both have to face their own demons, not to mention Shaw's lunatic ex-boyfriend & terrible family, but their HEA is a satisfying, beautiful one.

I was captivated by the family relationships and theme of loss in this book. Rule's parents and older brother, Rome, are currently mourning the death of his twin brother Remy (Shaw's inseparable friend). The pain of loss emanates in Rule, Shaw, his parents and Rome. The way they deal with both the loss, and later shock of Remy's secret brought to light is incredible. The psychological layers of Rule's family is absolutely complex and projects such a feeling of entering the lives of a real family that, as a reader, you can't help but care and root for this family as they overcome the cycle of destruction and finally step toward healing.

This book not only delivers on the love story, interesting themes, but Crownover delivers with a crew of supporting characters that you can't wait to hear about their own personal stories in the following books. Jett and Aiden's story is next and I can't wait!!!

OVERALL, GREAT AUDIOBOOK!!!

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9 people found this helpful

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

Rule me all you want!

I have never been a big fan of bad boys but something about this book kept pulling me in. I finally caved, having nothing better to read and bought it from my mile long wish list. Oh boy well, was I pleasantly surprised. This bad boy was bad to the end but at least he tried; making him more real than a fantasy. I never thought piercings and body tattoo would be so sexy but this book made me think just maybe I should keep my mind open (don't judge a book by its cover). I loved the narration, the different voices worked for this book. I like this so much I was done in one day. In my opinion worth my credit.

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A really good read!!!

What did you like best about this story?

Just a good story line and likeable characters!

Any additional comments?

worth the credit!!- I ended up listening to the whole series and have like them all. I love that you can follow all the characters along in the next book!

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6 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

BOOK 1... GOOD GIRL SEEKS BAD BOY Mmmm DELISH

We all love a bad bad boy and they don't come much worse than Rule he's arrogant, a woman magnet, independent, tattooed and pierced (just about everywhere hint hint) the trouble is rich, straight-laced, good girl Shaw has been in love with him since she was 14 but unfortunately she's more like an annoying little sister to him.

However, when Rule sees her at a Club where she works part-time Shaw is dressed in a whole lotta nothing and he finally sees her in a whole new light then one drunken night she risks it all. There's a psycho ex boyfriend that becomes a stalker, secrets, dramas, interfering families from both sides, great friends, a heartbreaking story about his dead twin and, of course, the on and off touching romance that is destined to fail. But, as the H/H's personal growth finally enables them to shed their protective armour they can trust, forgive and truly let go of past demons, move on, find themselves, be together, discover happiness and love.

Worth a credit? A beautiful, intimate, well-written love story about two young adults trying to cope with all the sh*t life throws at them and desperately hanging on, not in the hope of a HEA but, for them, a more realistic HEA for most of the time. This story stays with you long after the listen has ended and YES creditworthy.

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5 people found this helpful

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

HOT! SEXY! & WILD

Would you consider the audio edition of Rule to be better than the print version?

Yes.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Rule was my favorite. Rule character remind me of my husband. Not sure how to deal with love.

What about Sophie Eastlake and Michael Rahhal ’s performance did you like?

Yes, they were perfect!

Any additional comments?

I hope there will be a 2nd book!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved this book can't wait for #2 to come on Audib

Listened to this on Audible. I just love it. I loved Shaw and Rule. And what girl doesn't want a bad boy. I can't wait to hear Aidan and Jet's story. I hope it comes on audible soon. Normally I don't read this kind of book i am more into the paranormal one but one of the gals I follow on Audible. Jordy I think she goes by gave a great review on this so thought I would give it a chance. It was well worth the money. Fabulous.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

Great light read for the beach. Hot love story if you're into that. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

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3 people found this helpful