RULES OF ENTANGLEMENT (Fighting for Love #2) by GINA L MAXWELL

Gitte:  I loved Seducing Cinderella with Lucie and Reid so couldn’t wait for Vanessa and Jackson’s story in Rules, and I was not disappointed. It was addictive, well written hot and funny with a bit of emotional angst too. Oh and it had one of the most beautiful settings so vividly described that I felt I was there. What did you think Jenny?

Jenny: Having just read Seducing (I know Gitte!! How did I miss THAT book) I was more than ready to get stuck into this one and spend time with Vanessa and Jax. Loved Reid in Seduced but LOVED Jax in Rules. Gitte, I really enjoyed this one too.  Having recently been to Hawaii I related to everywhere they went and so that was an added bonus for me and the setting was perfect and I felt like I was revisiting it all over again. The story hot, funny and yeah, it had that bit of emotional angst too.

Gitte: Jackson, Lucie’s brother, is as laid back as they come, quite the contradiction, what with being a highly trained and focused MMA fighter yet also a completely chilled surfer dude. The intensity is not overwhelming. He is not arrogant but endearingly cocky. He has a huge romantic heart and loves with passion. What we learn about him is heart-warming and admirable and seriously if you couldn’t have him as the man in your life (which you really really would!!) you’d want him in your life any way you could, he is lush! Right, Jenny? I mean that speech at the end (won’t spoil it) just wow….big sigh…..

Jenny:  Too right you would G! Who wouldn’t want Jax in your life.  Loved this guy.  So laid back, charming and yes, he’s one cocky man and an MMA fighter, surfer, AND hottie thrown in the mix…oh and he’s a bit of a naughty talker, so yep, I pretty much loved Jax!  He has the right amount of intensity and is in tune to a woman’s “needs”.  Big sigh indeed….Jax lives in Hawaii as it suits his lifestyle and he feels at home near the ocean it’s a place he can relax, train and try and work out issues he has from his past and he’s pretty happy with his lot.

Gitte: Now as for Vanessa, I really felt for her. So uptight and living with her set of rules based on her upbringing and childhood. So stern and severe, so emotionally withdrawn and closed up. She was just an explosion waiting to happen once someone cracked through her walls of armour! She is so fierce and independent, so in control, because she feels she has to; unable to let anyone else take the reins. She is so soft centred and achingly sweet and beautiful but oh so scared of love.

I wanted to shake her a few times, for sure, because she was her own worst enemy. It was obvious it was going to take someone pretty amazing, strong and patient to take her on and show her what she was missing out on. Someone to take over the control of the one aspect of her life which she needed to relinquish.

Jenny:  As anyone knows, rules are meant to be broken and I was willing Vanessa to break every single one for Jax because he definitely came under “worth breaking the rules for” category.

This woman controls her life to the letter. In work and play, her life is dedicated by rules. Everything has to be on her terms.  Enter Jax, who is the complete opposite. Although having to be focused on his MMA training etc, this man cruises through life and a rule? What’s that?  He breaks down her defences, breaks through her walls, and has her open up to him in a  way she didn’t think possible. But Jax also has something weighing on his mind and V becomes the person he feels most comfortable opening up to as well.

Oh, agree Gitte. I definitely wanted to shake Vanessa a time or two because she really was a bit single-minded in her views and there was this man standing right in front of her, who, if she only opened her eyes, would see how wonderful he was.  But, if anyone could, Jax was the man and hey, we’ve got to have that bit of angst to keep our adrenaline going haven’t we!

Gitte: So overall I really enjoyed this sequel; it was pure sexy indulgence with a bad arse hero and an emotionally flawed heroine.  A comfort read if you like, that makes you finish reading the last page with a contented sigh and a smile on your face!

Jenny:  Absolutely! I was ready for this book after coming off a pretty emotional read and this one was just the tonic and pure indulgence it certainly was. The steam factor was high, I loved catching up with Reid and Luce again, and yep, overall I did enjoy this one and I too finished it with a big smile on my face.  That ending. Jax. Oh my!