The Rule Breaker

By: Crystal Kaswell

Narrated by: Kai Kennicott, Wen Ross

Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Rule number one: Hands off my kid sister's best friend.

Rule number two: See rule number one.

Rule number three: Seriously, don’t even think about touching Luna.

Luna is my new roommate. My very off-limits roommate. My gorgeous, feisty, painfully tempting roommate.

I try to keep my distance. To ignore her soft laugh, her intense eyes, her sweet smile. And that groan, the one she makes over her morning coffee.

All right, the sassy college student is driving me out of my mind.

I can still keep my hands off her. I double down on my rules. Draw that line between friends and lovers. Then, she kisses me. And, suddenly, it’s obvious. There's no way in hell I can resist her.

The Rule Breaker is a stand-alone best friend's brother romance with a feisty college student heroine, a brooding tattoo artist hero, and enough heat to melt your earphones. Come see why fans say "no one writes broken bad boys like Crystal Kaswell".

©2020 Primrose Press LLC (P)2020 Primrose Press LLC

Worth the Listen!

I loved this book when I read it and listening to it just brought it to LIFE! It made me fall in love Oliver and Luna's story even more. Their story isn't the norm, but I love how they both had to overcome and figure out something in both their lives. I love how Daisy and Holden play a part in this book since they both are the best friends of Oliver and Luna. I would love to have a novella or a bonus scene of the four of them in the future to see where they all end up. Maybe when Gabe's book comes out or another Inked Love artist's book, fingers crossed! I can't wait to see what Crystal comes up with for Gabe, his hotness, and what lucky lady gets to tie him down. This was my first time listening to Wen Ross and Kai Kennicott and they did an amazing job at portraying Oliver and Luna. I will definitely be looking for more audiobooks with them as the narrators now. I definitely recommend this audiobook especially if you loved the book! SO WORTH IT!

Hot chemistry. Medium-ish burn

I enjoyed this story. Oliver and Luna were clearly meant to be. Their banter, their heat. All super hot. And they were borderline obsessed with each other. I would say this is medium-ish burn. I kept saying, “C’mon. Just hook up already.” And when they finally did, hot. I love a siblings best friend to lover romance. It’s a little taboo, a little forbidden. And I respect Oliver’s sobriety journey. Fighting your demons is not easy.

Love the Bad Boys!

After following Oliver through Daisy and Holden’s story in the previous book, you can sink your teeth into his brooding and drinking ways. There is just something so hot about a tattooed bad boy who finds himself needing to find his way through sobriety while trying to side step the land mines of falling in love with someone off limits. As you’ve come to love from Crystal Kaswell, you get plenty of steam and off the charts chemistry that keeps you turning page after page and having that sexy voice telling you the amazing story, you find yourself melting as the chapters fly by.

A great listen!

I’ve been looking forward to Luna and Oliver’s story and loved every moment of it. I love the best friends brother romance trope, and really enjoyed this one! I loved how the relationship between Luna and Oliver progressed and they were able to talk and be honest with the events happening in their lives. The narration was great in duet and I love the way that Kai and Wen capture the emotion of the characters. A great story with amazing narration.

Oliver & Luna’s Tender And Heartbreaking Story!

Oliver & Luna’s Tender And Heartbreaking Story Captivates As They Lean On One Another For Support! Oliver Is A Real Surprise – Once He Puts Down The Bottle He Becomes A Pillar Of Strength.


This book reads perfectly as a standalone. It is, however, the third book in the Inked Love series, which is a spin-off of the Inked Hearts series.

About the series:

This series picks up where The Baby Bargain, book eight of Inked Hearts series, leaves off. There Chase agreed to help Ariel, his best friend's sister, get pregnant. In book one of this series, Chase is now the manager of the new sister shop about a twenty minute walk away. Chase works at Inked Love tattoo parlor with his best friend and brother-in-law Forest, as well as Forest and Ariel’s younger brother Holden, Holden’s best friend Oliver, Patrick (a.k.a. Trick), and Darren (a.k.a. Dare).

In book one, Faking It (formerly called The Best Friend Bargain), Ariel's brother Forest gets his own book with his best friend next door and social media influencer Skye. They find love after years of skirting their feelings for one another. As the first book opens, Ariel is roughly six months pregnant and has moved into Chase's apartment.

Book two, The First Taste, is Holden’s story. It takes place a few months later. Holden’s best friend Oliver and Oliver’s little sister Daisy have struggled after their parents’ marriage collapsed due to their mother’s addiction. As Daisy turns eighteen and is about to leave for UC Berkley, she looks to Holden, her long-time crush, to help her bridge the gap from adolescence to adulthood.

In this book:

Oliver Flynn, twenty-one, is a disappointment to everyone. The most important person in his life is his little sister Daisy, and after everything that happened with her a year ago he never wants to disappoint her again. He still can’t forgive his best friend Holden for sleeping with her at the end of the summer, before she left for UC Berkley. It was a betrayal, regardless of the fact that they claim to be in love. Holden broke his trust. But Oliver has his own problems to deal with now, and the pressure on him is intense. His father is riding him – the state of California has its say as well now. Everyone has told him he has a drinking problem, but they don’t understand. The booze and the hookups are just a way to forget, to get a release, and he can quit whenever he wants. If only the cost of living weren’t so expensive he would move out of his father’s house in a heartbeat, but he promised Daisy he would stay at home at least a year.

Luna Locke, eighteen, has just started her freshman year at UCLA. She is single, having been told months ago by her ex-boyfriend of eighteen months that she is too much. That hadn’t exactly helped her self-esteem. Still, she has a busy class schedule and swim practice in the afternoons. She is lucky that she gets to live at home with her parents because rent in L.A. is outrageous. Her mother Allison is a successful CEO, driven by ambition and serious in nature. Divya, her other mother, is full of love and warmth. Divya is the fun mother. Luna may be biologically related Allison, and share some of her tough attitude, but she also shares some of Divya’s colorful traits. Luna thought they were madly in love, so when they sat her down and told her they are divorcing, it felt like a betrayal. She saw no signs of it coming and now feels like she has been living a lie. She spent half her childhood in her best friend Daisy’s home, and with no other obvious place to turn, so goes to the Locke home for refuge.

As this book opens, it is October and Ariel’s baby is two months old. Holden has agreed to be sober and is four weeks into a ten week commitment. He has kept this fact to himself, though. Gabe Locke worries that Luna’s presence may be a problem for Oliver, but he also knows that Oliver really needs a friend in Daisy’s absence. Luna’s parents understand she needs some space, so Luna temporarily moves into the Locke guest room.

Oliver and Luna’s story is tender and heartbreaking. In Daisy’s absence, Oliver and Luna lean on one another for support. They bond over coffee and cooking, and Oliver more than most understands the feelings that Luna is sorting through as she watches her family fall apart. Finding purpose in being there for her helps him get outside of his own head as well. And seeing it happen to Luna in real-time helps give him a new perspective on his own family’s destruction. They are both in crisis mode as their relationship strengthens and they contemplate crossing the line. Together they try to mend their broken hearts. The couple earns a beautiful ending.

Oliver and Luna have long been attracted to one another when she moves into the Locke home, so their chemistry is off that charts from the beginning. Their playful banter is fabulous, and I love that they bond over coffee. But Oliver is a real surprise here. There is so much more to the drunken fool that appeared in previous books. Underneath he is all silent but deeply—feeling, and devoted to the people that he loves. Once he puts down the bottle, he is a pillar of strength.

Oliver and Luna’s heartwarming story deals with alcoholism, divorce, trust, and betrayal. It is beautifully written. The plot is fairly simple. The characters are carefully crafted and three-dimensional. The story is written in first person. The POV alternates between Oliver and Luna. I rate this book five stars.

As for the Audio: it is well-performed and consistent with the book.

I received an advance copy of this book and audiobook and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Broken Like Me

I love Crystal Kaswell because she knows how to capture the readers attention and keep it there to the very end. Oliver and Luna's love story chronicles two broken souls as they navigate life through self-discovery, real life emotions and the angst of life as young adults. Their chemistry is sexy and engaging. The writing, plot and dialogue is sobering and inspiring.

What brought the magic and made it creditworthy was the narration. Wen and Kai are outstanding!!! I was blessed to receive an Advance Listener Copy (ALC) of this and WOW!! I loved it.

Sibling's Best Friend Romance with Depth

3.5 stars! I enjoyed this slow burn, new adult sibling’s best friend romance! Oliver and Luna had great chemistry and banter, and clearly were meant for each other. I liked that the story had depth to it, including Oliver’s alcohol addiction recovery/sobriety journey and Luna dealing with her parents’ divorce. At times, though, the story seemed a bit slow to me. I did not read/listen to the other books in the series prior to this one and did not feel lost, so I think this book could easily be listened to as a standalone. As for the narration, I was happily surprised that this was narrated in duet! This was my first time listening to Kai Kennicott and Wen Ross, and I thought the duet narration flowed smoothly. I especially liked Kai’s narration for Luna.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

loved it

I really enjoyed reading this author.  I look forward to reading more books by this author in the near future.

love can help you get though any

Ovlier was struggling with staying sober and not numbing his self to the world his head was in a dark place he didn't even know what to do he was counting dow the weeks till he could drink again because all he had was work and the gym he thought he was a screw up and he disappointed everyone in his life and he was going to turn out to be like his mom he didn't think he deserved to be loved by anyone but at the sametime he couldn't get his sister's best friend out of his head he thought it was his messed up brain and how he destroyed everything and everyone around him and if he didn't destroy it then he disappointed them that was in till Luna became his new roommate that he started to see the light at the end of the dark tunnel.
Luna just found out some news about her parents and she couldn't handle it so she ran to the only place she ever felt welcome at and like a second home to her her best friends house even though she was at College on the other side of the state ahe still felt like it was her second home and she didn't want to be at home right now and face her parents so she became Oliver's roommate and he helped her with what she was going through with her parents she always had a crush on him just never thought he did on her then he told her his seacret about his sobriety and they where becoming friends more than just her best friends brother and from there there friend ship turned to more and that's when she found out he liked her just as much as she liked him. Love Kia kenicott and Wen Ross they are amazing narrator

👍🏻

This book receives a thumbs up from me.
I enjoyed this book overall. I did find myself speeding up the narration to push through some parts but nothing that I would consider painful. I felt the narrators did a great job.