Customer Reviews

No Rules of Engagement

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I loved this book! I read, on average over 250 books a year, on all different genre's,
but Tracey Richardson's "No Rules of Engagement" is, by far, the best book I have read
this year. Richardson, in both "The Candidate" and "No Rules of Engagement" does a excellent
job of pushing her novels from the standpoint of being not just another love story, as she takes
on such hard hitting topics, as women in combat in the war in Afghanistan, as well as a would be
woman president. No rules is a fast paced, page turner. I stayed up until 2 am just to finish
reading it in one setting as I could not put it down. There is a little bit in this book for
everyone, military women, medical professionals, journalists and photo journalist, hopeless
romantics, tear jerker scenes, mom's and yes, even women hockey players! Enter Major Logan Sharp,
serious, committed and hot as hell, but a total devoted to her career professional.
In comes Jillian Knight who rocks Logan's world, who is everything Logan Sharp is not. Logan
meets the perfect Yang to her Yin, but is she willing to take a chance finally in letting in her
true soul mate ? Who comes along with all the baggage that we do at this stage of our lives?
A must read!

Tracey Richardson is one of those writers who has a knack for taking an item from the front page of the newspaper and turning into a personal, dramatic story. No Rules of Engagement falls squarely in that category.

Jillian Knight is an award winning photographer who has been hired by National Geographic Magazine to do a photo spread showing what happens at a medical unit stationed in Afghanistan. Major Logan Sharp's assignment, when she's not functioning as a doctor, is to provide Jillian with whatever help she needs and to keep her safe. War can confuse or clarify many things, especially in an area where every square inch of soil is a battlefield and death can strike from anywhere. Jillian is forced to confront the problems of the relationship she left in Detroit and Logan has to figure out what to do with her life when her tour is over. The intensity of the danger they face causes the women to drop walls faster than they usually would and they discover an attraction. Jillian's commitment to her relationship and Logan's sense of honor won't allow either of them to pursue their feelings, but destiny conspires to bring them together over a year later and much has changed. Now the obstruction is an emotional wound that Logan carries from years before. Jillian isn't sure she can break through Logan's defenses in a battle where there are no rules of engagement, but she's willing to try.

It could be dangerous to set a book in the midst of the situation in Iraq/Afghanistan because of the dissension over what is happening there, but Richardson manages to avoid those problems. There are no politics in this book, just a straightforward story about the difficulties for anyone functioning within a war zone, plus a romance. The book is actually in two parts that have different points of focus. In the first half the reader deals with the charged atmosphere in the daily life of war-torn Afghanistan. There is a scene where Jillian goes on a mission to an outer base and the tension can be felt by the reader as the events unfold. The second half of the book involves a totally different scenario. Now that the women have returned to their homes they have to deal with their emotions, their pasts and their potential future. Richardson provides for a break in the action that covers a number of months and that allows the reader to deal separately with the two situations, yet understand the overlap that ties them together.

No Rules of Engagement is a well-written book that is entertaining. While it's basically a romance, it's also extremely pertinent to what is going on in the world today. Richardson continues to deliver interesting books that cause the readers to look forward to her next one.

I liked this book. I enjoy Tracey Richardson and her style of writing.
The war is tough to write about, but Tracey seemed to capture the current events well. I like the characters Logan and Jillian and how their love for each other evolved. I think that the story line could have explored more into how Logan adjusted once she returned home,but overall I enjoyed the book.

This book starts off with a photojournalist, Jillian, going to Afghanistan (AF) for a 2 week assignment where she meets Dr Logan Sharp who's in the Canadian Army and they form this strong bond. After Jill leaves they don't speak to each other again until they accidentally run into one another 15 months later. The problem I have with this is while she's in AF they apparently have all this free time where they're sitting down having iced coffee or playing/watching a rugby match. Speaking as someone who's been deployed, you work long hours and the last thing you want to do is be walking around in that damn heat. The rare times you do have a little free time, you're either doing laundry, watching a movie, talking on the phone, or taking a nap. Also, the vehicle she's riding in gets hit by an IED when she was out taking pics of some medics. She wasn't hurt but Logan says its the scariest moment of her life when she first hears the news. They barely even know each other and Logan is acting like Jill is her soulmate. The next day Jill just leaves without even saying bye. Than, when they meet up again, Jill is single after dumping Steph, her wife of 7 years, so her and Logan hook up. By the end, they've been dating like 6 months and Logan asks Jill to marry her and live in Canada so she can adopt Jill's 3 yr old daughter. Even though Steph had no legal rights to the daughter, that's kinda crappy that Logan is bothered by Jill wanting to let Steph still see their daughter. The whole thing just felt rushed and unrealistic. Maybe if Jill had been in AF like 2 months and she was already going through a separation, that would have been a better scenario.

This book goes bravely where no other lesbian romance novel has gone, a war zone, and it does it with hard hitting yet sensitive writing.
The bogus, mean-spirited review from above aside, this one is anything but a trashy romance. Good for Richardson for tackling this subject.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book set on an Army base in Afghanistan.

Then it enters cliched romance land, where issues are glossed over and character motivation is kept in the dark, only to hint at *something* before the big reveal and HEA.

Still, likeable characters, quick read on a train ride.

The novel opens when thirty-four year old Major Logan Sharp, a Canadian doctor serving at the military hospital, meets Pulitzer award winning photographer thirty-six year old Michigan native and Columbia graduate Jillian Knight on a crushingly hot landing strip of Kandahar Afghanistan. Over a two week period the two are inseparable. Their friends, Captain and nurse Meg Atwood and fellow photographer & BFF Mark Kennedy observe the chemistry between the two.

But a romance doesn't seem possible. Jillian is in a committed relationship with her partner of seven years and they have a two year old daughter they both love.

This was a fun read and a great look at the day to day life on the military base, the description of the places and events were so realistically presented I have to wonder if the author had been on location.

The events that unfold 15 months later were a huge surprise. But I can't say more or I would give the story away.

This was a great book, well written, a timely topic as well. I loved the characters in this book, not sure if the other reviewer even read the same book I did based on their comments! I bought this book since its been on the Amazon top 5 list for over a month now, cant ignore the numbers! I dont often look for sequels in a book, but
this is one that I think that screams out for it. I have always enjoyed Richardson's book, but think this
is the most outstanding one so far. I rate this a solid 5!

A satisfying read with interesting characters in an interesting setting. The two characters establish a connection that goes deeper than just lust/love at first sight.

This was the first Tracey Richardson book that I have read. (I will definitely read more after this one!) The characters were very likeable and believable. Her writing about the military and Afghanistan also seemed very realistic, and I liked the way she used the Canadian rules so that it wasn't a forbidden romance because of the American rules.

My only complaint about this book is that it wasn't long enough! I liked the characters and story so much, that I wanted more. I literally had to pace myself to keep from reading it all in one or two days. Richardson definitely drew me in and held my attention to the very last page. I won't ruin it for anyone... but I loved the ending!

*FYI...if you're looking for a trashy romance novel, this really isn't the book. This story focuses much more on two characters falling in love over a long period of time. I like that Richardson developed the characters and their feelings for each other in an honorable way before moving to the sexual part of their relationship.