Customer Reviews

Rules of Engagement

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This novella by Ann Bruce was quite an enjoyable read. The characters were well-developed & I enjoyed the story line & the concept of the plot. Katarzyna & Jake meets for the first time in a cabin, not knowing the other would be there. These two avoid relationships like the plague since Jake was betrayed by a former lover & almost died as a result. As for Katarzyna, she has been jilted 3 times at the altar & is in no hurry to rush into another relationship. Except when she meets Jake, he becomes the perfect candidate for fixing one problem of hers which you'll have to read to find out! One thing's for sure though, Jake & Katarzyna definitely has an explosive sexual chemistry!

Ann Bruce always knows how to turn up the steam factor in her novellas. This one was no exception. This story moved at a fast-pace with suspense & action. However, I felt this story was more focused on erotica. The plot was a little weak for my liking & I would have liked more relationship development between Jake & Katarzyna. Other novellas that I highly recommend by this author are A Naughty Noelle & Before Dawn. These two novellas are great reads with strong & well-developed characters as well as strong plots & storylines.

Overall, I rate Rules of Engagement 3.5 stars.

Waking in the middle of the night to the sound of a prowler outside, Jake Duquesne slips out the back door of his cousin Ella's out-of-the-way cabin. Stealthily making his way around the front of the cabin, he sees a shadowy figure on his front porch.

After a brief tussle with the intruder, Jake realizes he's just cold-cocked a female...and a cop. At least, she's carrying a gun and a badge. But Jake's made many enemies over the years, so he can't be too careful. After all, that's why he's in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He's recovering from multiple gunshot wounds, inflicted by his former lover.

When Katarzyna Delaney wakes, she's handcuffed to a bed, still in pain from the recent struggle with the stranger squatting at her friend's cabin. Could the night get any worse? Engaged and jilted three times, most recently two days ago, virgin Katarzyna was ready for some solitude. Once they cleared things up and realize they've been set up by Ella, however, a plan forms in Katarzyna's head: seduce her friend's sexy cousin and remedy the problem of her virginity with a no-commitment fling for the next two weeks while she's on vacation.

Jake agrees to the two week affair, with some rules of his own and for the next several days, they experience unbridled passion. But when Jake's past catches up to him, unwittingly pulling Katarzyna into the danger as well, both realize their feelings have progressed beyond a mere fling. They may be thinking about a future together, but first they'll have to survive the present.

Scorching hot doesn't begin to describe Rules of Engagement! Action packed from the first moment, this story pulled me into its grip and didn't let go. Alpha Jake is magnetically sexy, always knowing what to do to set Katarzyna, and the reader, on fire. His sensual demands of Katarzyna are so heated they could melt butter and Katarzyna's reactions to Jake are so visceral, it was fairly palpable. Ann Bruce has written a fast-paced story, full of breathless, intense, mind-melting sex and suspense that'll have you gasping and begging for more long after this brief story's over.

Courtesy of Fallen Angel Reviews

Very well written story. To the point on everything and intense. It held all things I look for in a book.

Nausty, Nausty, Nausty!!! This is a fairly well written short tale with a mostly unbelievable premise; i.e., beautiful girl shows up at tough guy's cabin unannounced, tough guy cold cocks her (unfortunate choice of words there), she wakes up and decides to have sex with him even though she is a virgin and has been engaged 3 times (perhaps because she never booped those three guys). Belivable or not, the story gets down to the nitty gritty very quickly and I must say, this author writes a fairly convincing sex scene, although her use of some of "those words" seems to be unusual at times. Not great...but lots better than others, and worthy of 3 1/2 stars.

3.5 stars

After being shot and nearly dying during his last mission, Jake Duquesne is done with women and his job. Hiding out in his cousin's cabin up in the mountains seems like a good idea, until someone tries to sneak up on him, gun drawn. Jake tackles the intruder and is surprised to find a woman beneath him.

Katarzyna Delaney is 28, a cop, has been jilted three times and she's still a virgin. She regains consciousness handcuffed to a bed with a gorgeous male standing over her. A phone call clears up that the man before her is the cousin of her superior's wife, Ella. Apparently she thought it was a good idea to set the two up. Remembering a conversation Kat had with Ella, she knows that Jake's lifestyle isn't conducive to relationships. Would it be wrong to soothe her broken heart and maybe lose her virginity to this man who is looking at her with need and desire burning in his eyes?

Fourteen days of no strings attached, hot and wild sex is how they decide to spend their "vacation", until someone from Jake's past shows up with the intent to finish him off once and for all. Unfortunately Kat gets caught in the crossfire.

This was my first read by this author, thanks to the free ebook offered by Amazon. Since this was a novella, I expected the hero and heroine to get down to brass tacks pretty quickly - and they certainly did. Ms Bruce sure knows how to write some very steamy scenes and they were surprisingly and thankfully not all the same. I wish this had been a longer story, mainly to develop the h/h further. Also, I never quite figured out what Jake actually did for a living - was he a mercenary? Spec Ops? I would have loved to find out what happened next for them. The suspense aspect of this story wasn't bad either, but I would have also liked more of that. She seems to have quite a few books out, so I will definitely be checking those out. Perhaps some of them will be full length novels that I can get lost in.

I don't usually go for these modern days stories but after checking out some reviews, thought Id give this one a try. Do not regreat! Very wel written and interesting concept, very STEAMY!! Also has a little action and intrigue, very interesting mix.

I really liked the chemistry between the characters. A 28 year-old virgin? Hard to believe. And that she would fall into bed with stranger being a 28 year-old virgin? hmmmm... However, it was still steamy reading.

I got this book from the freebie bestsellers on Amazon and I have to say I enjoyed reading it! This book was very, very hot so be warned.... LOL. Jake and Katarzyna meet by "accident" in a cabin that belongs to Jake's cousin. He is taking some time off and recovering from his injuries inflicted by his ex. She is there to enjoy some alone time after being jilted 2 days before the wedding. Their meeting was less than ideal, Jake thinks she is an intruder and she thinks someone is illegally squatting at her friend's cabin; she ends us with a concussion, a bruised jaw and handcuffed to a bed. When she awakes, they begin to sort things out. One thing they both couldn't deny, attraction. He was completely mesmerized by her even though he was wary of women and she was a frustrated 28-year old virgin who needed someone just like Jake to introduce her to passion. They agree to a 2 week no strings attached fling, with Jake dictating "wherever, whenever"!

In a book with this type of plot, you can't expect a lot of character development. Their relationship was based on sex and there was plenty of it to go around! There was a bit of drama in the background as Jake's past comes back to haunt him and she happens to be a bystander. I think you can all imagine the end, but getting there was really sweet and super steamy! :) Enjoyable, for a freebie!

I didn't even finish. Who gets hit on the head, handcuffed and decides they want to bang the same dude who did this to her? There was no story background. Oh wait,yeah he had gotten shot and she was a cop. Wow. This was just another wanna be romance that fell pretty flat and A typical.

I really thought this was a lame storyline. She's supposed to be this strong, independent cop who is a virgin and agrees to succumb to the rough advances of this mysterious person with a past. The sex is supposedly to be hot, but to me he seemed to come across as a rude jerk.