Blog Tour: Beautiful Broken Rules by Kimberly Lauren!

Title: Beautiful Broken Rules
Author: Kimberly Lauren
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Published: May 14th 2013
 
Synopsis:
 
What happens when you create rules to keep others out?

One thing Emerson Moore has come to terms with is that she is the school slut. She knows her way around a frat house and how to get what she wants. She doesn’t make any excuses for her actions and she doesn’t pretend to be anything different. She is who she is and with that she knows how to have a good time. She’s made rules to keep relationships at bay and avoid the demons of her past.

When her best friend, Cole has his two friends from back home move in with him she begins to think she has met her match with Jaxon Riley. Jax is the perfect mixture of tattooed muscle and a sweet-talking mouth. With “hand” written notes, a voice that exudes sex and knowing just how to get under her skin, Jaxon learns how to break all the rules. But will he just end up breaking her heart anyway?

New Adult/Adult Contemporary Romance - recommended for ages 18 and up.
 

 

My Review

 

I have to say that I have been in a bit of a contemporary rut lately... I went on a paranormal kick recently because it seemed as if all of the stories I was reading were just running together and I just needed something different for a bit. So after reading a few good paranormal series, I was ready to knock out some of the ARCs I had lined up, and Beautiful Broken Rules was next on my list. First of all, just look at that cover. That guy is HOT! I'm (sometimes) sad to admit that I am a judge-a-book-by-its-cover girl most of the time and this one I loved. From reading the blurb, I was intrigued and looking forward to this story. What I didn't expect was to fall completely in love with it and the characters in it! This was just the book I needed to get me out of my contemporary funk and I am so very happy that I was able to read it! I won't go into too much about the plot, it was a super quick read for me-- or maybe that's just because I couldn't seem to put it down-- and I wouldn't want to spoil anything, but here are my thoughts...

 

One thing I know for sure and have come to terms with-- I'm the school slut.

 

This is coming from our MC, Emerson (or Em, Emmy, Ems). This is the opening line. And I thought "Oh, here we go..." I'm not a fan, at all, of the heroines who are self-proclaimed sluts. I get it, some guys sleep around, some girls sleep around, to each their own. But they just bug me. I even get the psychological aspect of it. Something happened and this girl is insecure and in self-preservation mode; she has issues, I understand. But I still couldn't help groaning out loud when I read that. And then what happened? I fell in love with this character. I expected her to be more...blatant...about it. She wasn't. Don't get me wrong, she made no excuses for her behavior, but she had her "rules" and she wasn't completely selfish in her actions. She was completely likable and relatable, and I loved her.

 

Emerson's Rules:

• Never sleep with someone that a friend has feelings for.
• Never sleep with someone who is in a known relationship.
• Never sleep with someone more than three times.

Enter our leading man, Jaxon (or Jax), determined to worm his way into Emerson's heart and make her break every single one of her rules. Now let me swoon and carry on for a bit about our Jaxon... I loved him, I loved him, I loved him. According to everyone, he was the "male version of Em," which made it seem like she had met her match, but we didn't really see that side of him. Long legs, amazing body, hair you can run your fingers through, and he rides a motorcycle. And, oh yeah, he has a twin brother. Yes, there are two of these gorgeous men in this book! *drool* And they were both wonderful. They were both funny, sweet, protective, but Em only had eyes for Jax and eventually he broke down her walls.

 

“Tell me that you want me.” He whispered.

“I want you.” Always.

“Only me?”

“Only you.” Had there ever been anyone else?”

 

I loved the two main characters, and fell just as much in love with the supporting characters as well! We had Quinn, Em's best friend and step-sister, Cole, the girls' best friend and neighbor, and Jace, Jax's twin brother. I love how close they all were, how protective and understanding they all were of each other. The story was about them as much as it was about Emerson and Jaxon and it was great.

 

"You have to stop worrying that you'll lose me. There's nowhere else in this world that I want to be. I love you, beautiful girl."

 

"Relax, I won't say it again for a while. I just want you to get used to the fact that one day, when you're comfortable with it, I'll tell you every day, multiple times a day. I want you to know how much I love you every single damn day, but for now, I'll just let you soak it in."

 

After a few chapters, I knew I would enjoy this book. It was faced paced and well written. It held my interest from the first few pages and I knew that it would be a fun read. What I didn't expect was to start bawling my eyes out over these two. No spoilers from me, but it got pretty emotional and I was a puffy, snotty mess. This book made me cry ugly tears and I absolutely love it. I was expecting this book to be a get in, get to the point, have some fun, get out kind of read, and it was to some extent-- there was never a dull moment and it was impossible to put down-- but it was so, so much more than that. There was also something special in this book that was super sweet and really made an impression. Think quarters in The Perfect Game, pennies in The Sea of Tranquility, the hidden love notes in Effortless-- but in this, we have Jax writing on Emerson's palm. *sigh* Something so simple, but, I think, a big part of who they are together.

 

“He finished quickly, closed my fingers into my palm and kissed them. I slowly uncurled them to read his message, which was written boldly across the expanse of my palm. One word that screamed a whole lot more. MINE.”

 

I really loved this one, I definitely recommend it. I'm looking forward to reading many more books from this author!

 

 

 

Purchase Beautiful Broken Rules NOW!

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

 

 

About the Author:

 

(From the author's Goodreads page...)

 

I'm a wanderer, an adventurer, a traveler.

 

I want to see it all. I haven't been everywhere but it's on my list.

 

"She travels the world & home is always in her heart."

 

Lately if I'm not traveling or chasing a toddler, I'm writing. Which is weird because I hated writing in college. Oh wait, that's because that was boring. Who really wants to sit there and cite all your sources into APA format? Not this girl. Writing for yourself is enjoyable and cathartic. Please try it. Then tell me about because I love indie authors.

 

When I was 19, I packed up and followed my high school sweetheart from Texas to California. We had a blast living it up in San Diego. Four years later we made a crazy decision and packed up again and moved to Germany. What? Yep, you read that right. Guess what? Best decision ever! We OWNED Europe. For three years we saw as much as we possibly could. It was the most amazing time of my life. Please go out there and see the world, you won't regret it. After Europe we moved back to California, and for now we're just debating our next adventure.

 

I earned a degree in Child Development. And now I write novels. Makes perfect sense! I write because I walk around all day with these stories in my head. It's nice to be able to get them out of my head in an organized fashion. I hope that someone out there enjoys them, because I have enjoyed so many others'.

 

Connect with Kimberly:

Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Website

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