Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Family Rules
SERIES: Breaking the Rules #1
AUTHOR: Jacki James
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 223 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 19, 2018
BLURB:
Justin had three simple rules for dating: No co-workers, no repeats, and absolutely no men with kids. He was happy with those rules. And no one had ever tempted him to break them. Until a night on the prowl had him crossing paths with an adorably geeky accountant.
Mark spent the last year being the best dad possible to his little girl while enjoying life as an openly gay man for the first time. Clubs and hook-ups had been fun, but after months of that, he was ready for something more serious. During a night out with friends, Mark meets Justin, the first man he’s felt any real connection with. Too bad he and Justin don’t want the same things. But the two can’t seem to stay away from each other.
The plan? Just friends. That should be easy, right? Except it turns out to be much harder than either expected.
Can a man with a daughter at the center of his world find happiness with a man who doesn’t date men with children? Will Justin break his rules for Mark, or is this relationship destined to fail before it even starts?
REVIEW:
I hope this don’t sound bad, because it’s not a bad thing, but I hard time rating and writing the review for this book. I couldn’t get my thoughts together right. I went and looked to see some of the other reviews and I have to say I was kind of shocked at a few. When I first finished this book, my mind said ‘fairy tale. This makes me feel like a fairy tale.’ But in truth, not all of it is. Some people claimed certain things were weird, but I found it comforting. Overall, it was a good book. And even though a lot of it was sweet, there were still some rough truths to overcome that made it seem more real.
Mark has been divorced for about a year. He’s been close with his ex for a long time, until their marriage fell apart. As they worked on mending their relationship, Mark had to face some harsh truths as well as his ex on why their marriage didn’t work. Mark is very much gay. But they have their daughter and that makes it worthwhile for them. So when they all uproot to move to Austin, life can begin again for Mark, finally being able to be who he really is. But no one seems to want a man with a kid. And after playing around for a bit, Mark is ready to settle back down. When he meets Justin at a club, after the great conversation they had, Mark thinks maybe, finally. Until Justin found out he was a dad. That’s one of Justin’s don’t do rules. But Justin can’t stay away from Mark and they strike up a friends with benefits arrangement, until Justin realizes he wants more after all. Can he get over his past and break one of his own rules is what he has to decide or lose the best thing that ever happened to him.
I have to say first of all, when you read this book, if you decide to, quite a few found the relationship with Mark and his ex and her husband, strange. I’m not going to go into detail, because I don’t want to give it away, (and no it’s not a sex thing) but I really found it a good thing. I know my own history with ‘steps’ was horrendous and a lot of them are. So to see both parents, great friends and comfortable with each other and their separate lives as well as together, I loved it. Their main goal was being the best they could be for their daughter, and they realized they were better off apart and not together, especially since Mark is gay lol. I don’t mean to ramble on, but I just had to throw that out there. Justin, I think, was the one that touched me more than anyone because I understood where he was coming from. He had a good ‘step’ but a lousy mom and it made his outlook on it warped. So when he laid down the law about not dating men with kids, I so got it. But like anyone, we all have to let go and grow up sometime. And Justin got smacked in the face with a sassy like girl who melted him and a dad who was all he wanted in a man.
Sometimes letting go is not so easy. It’s scary but most often the results are rewarding. I recommend this book. Yeah, parts of it seemed fairy tale to me, but overall, it something that makes you feel good.
RATING: 
BUY LINK: