Reviewed by chymerra on
I was excited to read Bending the Rules, even if I thought that Nathan was a jerk in The Woman He Knows. I wanted to know how the author was going to change my opinion of him for the better. Oh boy, did she change my opinion of him. But the book still fell flat for me. I will explain why in my review.
The plot of Bending the Rules was an interesting one. Nathan had a hard year and was glad when everything was finally beginning to settle. He had worked hard at raising Frankie, Patrick, and Marco and deserved some time to himself. Then Nathan gets a phone call that shakes him to his core. He finds out that a drunken one night stand he had in college had a surprising result — a 13-year-old daughter whose mother died a few weeks before. Nathan wants to forge a relationship with his daughter. He also wants to form a relationship with his daughter’s guardian, Emma. But the drama from the past year rears its ugly head and Nathan is forced to make a choice. Does he turn his back on Emma and his daughter, or does he tell them what is going on?
As I mentioned above, I wasn’t a huge fan of Nathan in The Woman He Knows. His surly demeanor in that book did impact how I viewed him in this book. The first couple of chapters didn’t help either. But, after those early chapters, my view of him started to change. He dealt with learning that he had a daughter well. Once the DNA test came back positive, he did his best to try and bond with Harley. By the end of the book, I admired him. He faced his past head-on when trying to find answers for Harley. He dealt with Emma’s trust and jealousy issues well.
Emma drove me up a flipping wall. I understand that she was surprised and a little wary of Nathan, but she acted like a jerk for most of the book. Instead of asking him what was going on, at first, Emma assumed that something criminal was going on. She blew hot and cold with him the duration of her relationship. Also, Emma refused to let Harley watch the CD that her mother made for her. I get where she was coming from but still. It was wrong. I will admit that her antics in the book did affect my rating. I couldn’t connect to her at all.
I loved Harley. She was a typical 13-year-old. I did think that she adjusted well to having a father, uncles, and an aunt. Her snarkiness cracked me up. I laughed my butt off at some of the one-liners that she pulled on Marco. Having a 13-year-old myself, I found myself sympathizing with Nathan and Emma on a few occasions.
As much as I didn’t like Emma, I won’t deny that she and Nathan had some serious sexual chemistry. I liked that the author kept them from jumping into bed right away. But, once they did, the sex was explosive.
The end of the book was intense. While I didn’t agree with the choice that Nathan made, I understood why he did it. But at the same time, I didn’t agree with the decision that Emma made either. I loved it when things got ironed out, though. It made a perfect ending for the book. I am wondering if Marco is going to get a book? Please say, yes!!
I would give Bending the Rules an Adult rating. There is sex. There is language. There is violence. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.
I would reread Bending the Rules I would recommend it to family and friends.
**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 16 July, 2019: Finished reading
- 16 July, 2019: Reviewed