Changing The Rules [Mass Market Paperback]

Niqui Stanhope (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 2003

Marcel Templeton is determined never to fall for Mr. Wrong again. And no man is going to sweep her off her feet without meeting a few requirements first...Even if that means changing the rules of the dating game. Then the oh-so-fine Ian Michaels saunters into her life and threatens to ruin all her carefully laid plans...

Owner of a wildly successful multi media corporation, Ian Michaels has met a lot of ladies-- but none have gotten under his skin quite like Marcel. The minute she comes crashing into his life, she starts firing away the "rules" that any man she dates must follow. But Ian thinks he knows what Marcel really needs-- someone to rock her world. And he's just the man to do it!

It's obvious to Marcel that the man has "player" written all over him, but the feelings he evokes in her are oh-so-sweet and she can't quite remember why she's fighting so hard. And it's not long before she may have to admit that the passion that flares between them, may just be the reason they belong together...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Marcel Templeton's boyfriend breaks up with her instead of proposing marriage, she and her friend Tracy sit down to reassess her dating game plan. The new "rules" they devise, which include "must not be a player" and "no good-looking men," aren't exactly ambitious, yet the first new man Marcel meets violates both of the above. Or, so she thinks. Hunky Ian Michaels meets Marcel in a fender bender and immediately asks her out, making her assume that he is exactly the kind of "player" her rules demand she avoid. In truth, Ian is a stable and highly successful businessman, and he's a dad looking for a permanent woman in his life. His thoughtful courting of Marcel, from bringing flowers to mowing her lawn, begins to thaw her distrust, but their relationship hits a snag when it turns out that his conglomerate is the hostile buyer trying to take over the magazine she inherited from her dad. Driven largely by conflicts arising from misconceptions and hapless snafus, Stanhope's latest (after Hopelessly Devoted) is old-fashioned pulp romance with a hip urban attitude. Though the plot is filled with inconsistencies, the story's steamy sexual tension and exuberant energy help distract from such details.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Ms. Stanhope has built strong, graceful, and believable female characters."--Romantic Times

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (October 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312986238
• ISBN-13: 978-0312986230
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,095,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This chick lit tale is a bit inane but fun, October 1, 2003

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Changing The Rules (Mass Market Paperback)

In San Diego La Beau Monde magazine editor, Marcel Templeton rushes to meet her best friend Tracy for lunch. She uses the shoulder to get around someone waiting for a light to change. He turns right legally and crashes into her car. No one is hurt and the damage minor. Ian Michaels asks Macel out, but she refuses.

Unable to resist, Ian follows Marcel to the Versailles Restaurant. She joins Tracy while he sits hidden by a plant at the next table with his seven-year-old niece Dani who he is raising. Ian overhears Tracy and Marcel drawing up a list of rules a man must possess to date the latter. Rule 1 and 11/2 involve his "equipment". Rule 2 is he must not be a player. Rule 3 is he must have a job, a car, and money. Finally he must not be mean or live with his mom.

Using the rules, Ian eventually persuades Marcel to take a chance on him. Eventually, they make love, but she learns that he is the CEO of a multimedia company trying to buy her independent publication. Marcel thinks Ian used sex to seal the deal, but he knows that was coincidence and he loves her.

This chick lit tale is a bit inane but fun especially when the two ladies draw up a requirement list. Ian's niece adds some somber notes as she struggles with her feeling of being unwanted in spite of his efforts to prove otherwise, but that subplot seems off-kilter for this tale. The romance is appealing, as fans will like the antics of the lead duo particularly Marcel.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars That's it??? That's the end???, April 4, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Changing The Rules (Mass Market Paperback)

This book managed to keep my attention at the beginning. After Marcel and Ian spent their time together, the author made a huge mistake with the details of the story, which just ruined the book for me. I just lost interest. I didn't feel that she concluded the storyline of the attempted buyout of Marcel's magazine. Will there be a sequel? Just too many loose ends.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!!! And Very FUNNY!, October 8, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Changing The Rules (Mass Market Paperback)

Vintage Niqui Stanhope. This one is well worth the price. If you liked Made For Each Other and Sweet Temptastion, you're going to LOVE Changing the Rules! RUN out and buy this one. You're going to enjoy it!