CLP Blog Tour: Breaking the Rules

Prepare yourselves. I am about to make a bold statement. Breaking the Rules by Cat Lavoie might be one of the best books I've read this year. I'm so happy I decided to take part in this CLP Blog Tour!

Here's the synopsis for this fabulous novel:

When twenty-seven year old Roxy Rule’s best friend and roommate accepts a glamorous new job overseas, she expects their relationship to continue as it’s always been—carefree and easy—until they share a heart-stopping kiss moments before his departure. Overcome with mixed emotions, she fights the urge to over analyze the situation and resumes back to her normal life in New York City, working for an intolerable boss at a dead end job, creeping further and further away from her own dreams of becoming a professional chef. 

While things become more complicated between her and Ollie, Roxy is sure that nothing can come between two lifelong best friends—not even mild jealousy over a thriving career or a silly little kiss that meant nothing. In fact, it was such a meaningless and forgettable kiss that she convinces herself that it’s not even worth mentioning to her fiancé, although it is all she can think about. 

Roxy’s already topsy-turvy life only gets more complicated when her sisters Steffi and Izzie suddenly become her roommates. Steffi is six months into a pregnancy she refuses to discuss and Izzie is in the throes of a premature midlife crisis. Roxy tries to take control of her career, her love life and her sisters – but can she really handle it all? And can the Rule family keep it together – or break under the pressure?

I did not want to put this novel down. I was sucked into Roxy's world and I loved reading about her life. Her life had hit an interesting rough patch and it was a lot of fun to read about what was happening and trying to figure out how she was going to handle everything.

I'm also a bit of a sucker for the "girl and boy are friends and suddenly one realizes they have feelings for the other" stories - as long as they're original in some way or another. Or at least fun and well written. I felt like this novel had both. There was also a crazy twist at the end that I was not at all expecting. Though I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. It's borderline too strange to wrap my head around but I realize that it's sort of a reflection on families these days and it's really not a deal breaker for me in any way. Yes. That is all very vague. Read the book and you'll understand :)

I loved all the characters that showed up in this book. Except maybe Roxy's boss. Oh, and Ollie's girlfriend. They're both kind of crazy but that just added to the fun! :) Steffy and Izzie, Roxy's sisters, were great and really helped Roxy through everything, just as she was helping them through their issues. She has some awesome friends and, I admit, I may have a little bit of a crush on Ollie!

I don't know if I can really put my finger on what I loved so much about this book. The writing was good, the story was great, the characters were fun. I guess the main thing is that everything worked well together. Sometimes I pay too much attention to the way things are worded, the writing style of the author, and so on. Usually I know a book is great when I don't necessarily pay attention to those things. It means I've gotten sucked into the story and that's what I love about reading. I want to be 100% involved in the story and the character's life. If I feel too disconnected or if I'm thinking too much about how I'd edit or change the book then I'm not loving it. I didn't find myself critiquing anything with this novel. I was able to become completely immersed in Roxy's life without worrying about anything else.

And can I just say how much I love the cover? So cute and fun and bright and wonderful! :)

Like I said earlier in this post, I'm so glad that I was able to take part in the blog tour for Cat Lavoie's debut novel Breaking the Rules. I think that any chick lit lover would love it just as much as I did and I can't recommend it enough. I can't wait to see what Cat comes out with next!

Stay tuned for a guest post and interview from Cat next week!