simply_shannon 's review for:

The Bad Boy Rule by Maren Moore

5.0

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

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I absolutely LOVED this book. This was my first book by Maren and I am excited to read more from her. I am a sucker for a good hockey romance and they surpassed my expectations for one. I slipped, tripped, and fell all the way in love with Saint Devereaux. 

What to say about Saint Devereaux. Well, he is THE notorious bad boy player, who is cocky but can back it up, left winger for the Hellcats Hockey Club. This book is the love story of Saint and he "Golden Girl" Lennon Rousseau, who is an innocent, untouched, loyal daddy's girl with the wool pulled over her eyes. 

Saint has his walls built up high and his heart blackened by his home life. His father is no good. He is a drunk and a drug addict who not only abuses him but his mother. But Saint isn't that tiny twelve year old anymore and will do whatever it takes to protect what/who he loves. Saint finds quiet and solace on the ice. Hockey is his safe space and does whatever he can to be the best at it. 

Figure Skating was that for Lennon. It was the one place that was her own and she loved it. Until her father demanded that she give it up and be the good little "trophy wife" that was expected of her. She decides to take her life back, by secretly going to the ice rink and arranging an hour of skating to get back feeling like herself again. Unfortunately, there was an error in the scheduling and the rink just so happened to be double booked, and she now has to share the rink with Saint. 

The moment their eyes connect, sparks flicker. They both can't stand each other and are always insulting and taunting the other person. But they are also instantly drawn to the other even though they fight it tooth and nail. 

“What's your name? So I can be sure to tell Summer that I'd rather choke and die than ever share the ice with you again."

I don't know what it is about a guy that is a complete jerk because he is scared to be vulnerable, but I just eat it up every time. I was immediately hooked on their chemistry and their lust/hate for each other. How they reacted to their remarks just revved the other one up. The looks, the stolen touches, the dirty dirty mouth of Saint made me so giddy throughout the whole book. 

"Don't forget, Golden Girl, that you're mine to kiss... touch.. whatever I want. Even if it's just for show."

The turning point for both Lennon and Saint came from her father. He blind-sided her when he invited her cheating ex-boyfriend to a gala event and wants her to "forgive" him and start things up again. This is when she is starts to see that her life isn't what it looks like from the outside. So, she cooks up a plan with her bestie Maisie, to start a "just for fun/fake" relationship with the bad boy as a big "screw you" to her father. Well, Maisie suggests that she should ask Saint, since there was an obvious attraction from the start. 

Saint doesn't do relationships, he is a one and done kinda guy, but agrees to Lennon's proposal for two reasons. 

 - 1. To dirty up the "Golden Girl"

 -2. To take revenge on her father

(two birds one stone)

But that is easier said than done, when he slowly starts to realize that Lennon is the ONLY Girl that ever really made him feel anything. And she is the ONLY girl he want to devour more than just once. And that filthy mouth of his, well it ignite a fire inside Lennon.  

"There's a possessive place inside me that's preening with the fact that I'll be taking all of her firsts. That no one on this planet will have them. 

It's mine.

She's mine."

This book was all consuming in so many ways. They hate, they connect, they love. I was so thankful that Maren didn't have a third-act breakup with these two. She showed that if you truly love someone, you don't just leave with things get hard. You don't leave when the person you love makes a mistake. 

"When you love someone, you don't leave."

This will definitely be a book that I will come back to over and over again....85% for Saint's dirty mouth!! 

simply.shannon💜📚

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