Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - The Dixon Rule

So I love this series and I love a the characters in this universe but Diana took me awhile to like. Maybe it’s just me but I can’t stand someone who is just mean to be mean. Because they don’t approve of someone’s lifestyle… yeah no. She had no reason to treat Shane the way she did. I didn’t find d it cute. She did redeem herself to where I was rooting for them but it took me awhile to like her. She is the reason why the book wasn’t a 5 for me. Otherwise I LOVED this book.

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akilahlouise's review

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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booksbroadwaybubbly's review

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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laura_clarinets's review

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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rachrreads's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.5

This felt so long… nonetheless I still really enjoyed this one.

Read if you enjoy:
• fake dating
• hockey romance
• dancing
• great banter
• enemies to lovers

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bookstosoothethesoul's review against another edition

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3.5

I enjoy a good amount of banter but this book felt like it had too much hatred from Diana's side initially for no good reason. She went too far in how she treated him when she didn't like him and that made me lose respect for her. I genuinely don't understand why Shane still wanted to talk to her at the beginning of the book but once the initial misunderstanding was cleared up I enjoyed their dynamic better. After the 20% mark or so I was able to get into the story and actually really enjoyed all their bickering. It was really sweet to see them supporting each other in ways that they hadn't experienced in previous relationships. Their deal meant that they spent a lot of time together developing a really sweet friendship that quickly escalated into more. The narrators both did a fantastic job bringing the banter to life and I tried to listen to the audiobook as much as I could because the narrator's performances really added to their chemistry for me. I did feel like we didn't need the three separate 3rd act conflicts that pushed the book's length to almost 500 pages. We could have just done with one or two. However despite the long ending I had a good time with this book and I'm so excited to see more from Will and Beckett!

I would check trigger warnings for this one because there are a couple difficult topics that are addressed that might be worth having a heads up about.

More information about the potentially triggering bits here:

There was one scene where the Shane encouraged Diana to go to the police over an issue of domestic violence. As someone who has had experience with going to the police over a similar issue, I really didn't appreciate when he tried to pressure her by pointing out that her inaction could allow the abuser to act again. Not an untrue statement, but people who have survived SA/IPV often feel a lot of guilt and shame and rather than adding to that it's way more helpful to put all the choices in their hands (since the reason you're in this position is that they had a moment where choices were taken out of their hands in a traumatizing way). It wasn't the worst scene in the world and Shane did say some of the right things (like saying he'd do whatever she wanted) but then he pushed again to go to the police after she expressed how afraid she was to do that. He also said she'd feel differently when she could think more rationally about the situation which just felt like a crappy thing to say to someone who is dealing with a traumatic experience. Idk man the more I think about it the more frustrated I get. I had a good time with the book overall though (this one scene aside).

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vanillefire's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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bookedatnight's review

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emotional funny lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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