I had loved Rule Archer since the first moment I ever laid eyes on him. He was everything I shouldn't want and the only person I went out of my way to not try and please. He only saw me as a brat, and an entitled, stuck up princess but worse than that all he saw when he looked at me was his deceased twin's girl. It broke my heart because as much as I had loved Remy Archer there was never anything romantic between us and no matter how hard I tried to convince myself that loving Rule was a terrible idea, my poor heart just wouldn't listen. We tolerated each other, barely and had forged an uneasy alliance until one night I had too much to drink and changed the way we were forever. Suddenly life long secrets were no longer hidden and the one thing I always wanted for myself seemed obtainable as long as I was willing to go through hell to hold onto it.
Shaw Landon was a class act and I had no idea what to do with her. She was tied to my family, tied to the person that was my other half so I tolerated her and her haughty attitude when I didn't have any other choice. What I didn't know was that a short skirt and too many cocktails on her birthday was going to change my outlook on her for the rest of my life. Some people thought I hid behind all my tattoos and piercings, that I tried to distance myself from my dead twin, Shaw saw through it all and wasn't scared of what was underneath. We weren't supposed to be together, weren't supposed to be anything but uncomfortable acquaintances but that all changed in the blink of an eye. Now I had to figure out just how a girl like her and a guy like me were supposed to be in love without destroying each other. Add in her custom made ex and two disapproving sets of parents and the whole situation sounded like it was more trouble then it was worth.
Recommended for mature readers due to sexual content, language and drinking
Rule was the wild card, the one that lived life to the fullest and made no apologies for those he might offend or hurt along the way.I found the premise of this book intriguing and decided to give it a try.
Shaw had known the Archer brothers since she was 13 years old. Everyone thought she and Remy were an item because they were so close. But in reality Shaw only had eyes for his wild twin brother, Rule. Fast forward and they are in their early 20's and Shaw and Rule are like oil and water.
Rule was complicated, he was brash, mouthy , careless, thoughtless, and often cranky and generally an insufferable pain in the ass but when he chose to be he was also charming and funny, artistically brilliant and more often than not the most interesting person in the room and I had been head over heels in love with both sides of him since I was thirteen years old.
Rule is a tattooed, pierced, mohawked, bad boy tattoo artist who flaunts his manwhore status and has never had a serious relationship. Rule has a great older brother, but a very dysfunctional relationship with his parents especially since his twin Remy's tragic death. He always felt like he was the bad Twin. Shaw acts as a buffer between Rule and his parents so they are exposed to each other at Sunday visits.
"The only difference between you and Remy was that he let people love him and you...You have always been determined to make everyone that cares about you prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt. You've never wanted to be easy to love Rule and you make damn sure that nobody can ever forget it."
Remy was my other other half, both figuratively and literally. He was my identical twin, the light to my dark, the easy to my hard, the joy to my angst, the perfect to my oh so totally fucked up and without him I was only half the person I would ever be."
Shaw is the good girl who comes from a rich family but has no real love or support from them. They want her to be the perfect Princess and date the perfect socially acceptable man. She has been subjected to all of Rule's bad behavior and has been hurt by him for all of these years.
One night Shaw blindsides Rule and changes everything. It was interesting seeing Rule start to gradually really "see" Shaw as more than just his deceased twin's girlfriend. He has no clue what he is doing. Shaw wants to believe him, but it is a scary prospect.
"I don't know, all I know is other girls aren't you and that isn't cutting it for me so I think we need to figure out what's going on between us."
"Rule if this goes bad it's gonna be so, so bad."
"True, but if it's good it's going to be so very, very good."
They go through good times and bad times. They have to deal with family issues, a stalkery Ex, Rule's bimbo fan club, and face the past. They both have defense mechanisms, trust issues, and have to figure out if they are worth the effort. I loved them as a couple and seeing the change in them.
I deserved love but I also deserved him and whatever form that his love came in. Rule wasn't a normal guy, there was never going to be hearts and flowers or pretty flowing with words, that made me blush, what there was always going to be was give and take, ups and downs and a passion that burned both of us to the core.
"Here's my heart Shaw. You have it in your hands and I promise you're the first and last person to ever touch it. You need to be careful with it because it's far more fragile than I ever though and if you try and give it back I'm not taking it...Shaw, I'm not scared of us anymore."
I really loved the characters and the story. It was funny, sweet, emotional, passionate, and dealt with some difficult issues. I am anxious to read the next book Jet featuring Shaw's roommate Ayden and Jet, and I hope that Rule's sweet older brother Rome gets his own book.
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