Reviews

The Dixon Rule by Elle Kennedy

sunny_momster's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

4.0

eviessreading's review

3.0

3.5⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I feel as though this book went from 0-100 really quick. For the first half I was pretty bored and then EVERYTHING happened I couldn't put it down! It was spicy, funny and completely heart breaking. I'm quite a new Elle Kennedy reader but this book is confirmation that I NEED to read more of her stuff!

The slow first half is the reason for the 3.5 stars.

At first I did find Diana to be slightly insufferable but as I continued reading, I really did learn to love her.

This book does deal with sensitive topics so please check TWs.

Tropes:
Fake dating
Forced proximity
Hockey romance
Frenemies with benefits

anna_ari311's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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

4.0

rhenareads's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad tense medium-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

4.75

helene792's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

4.75

breeannee's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

krisniclavamama's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense

4.0

rebecca953's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

4.0

bookstosoothethesoul's review against another edition

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).

ellyfrancesca's review against another edition

WHY IS THIS SO LONG THEY ARE ALREADY IN LOVE JUST NOR ADMITTING IT STOP WITH THE UNNECESSARY COMPLICATIONS (also I don’t like the writing and the sex is meh and the conversations seem stilted. It was fun up to a certain point but just no).