One of my first college sports romance books. It was long but I did finish it in 5 days. I was in a roller coaster of emotions through reading. I got to really enjoy and care about the characters. They grew up so much throughout the book. Definitely recommend. Also had a quite bit of spice so if you’re into that awesome read.

This is my first book by Bree and I have to say I am quite impressed with her story telling and writing skills. I loved the chemistry between King and Willow and I loved how it grew throughout. I also loved the forbidden aspect to the story. One thing that I had an issue with was pacing of the book. It felt abrupt at quite a few places it I enjoyed the book regardless.

This was so stinking cute! I absolutely LOVED King & Willow’s story.

Willow is our FMC who is an aspiring musician with a hidden double identity (think: Hannah Montana). Her stepdad is a coach for her college football team, and she’s trying to rebuild her relationship with him & her mom. Along the way, she makes friends, takes boring comm classes, and, of course, falls in love ;)

King is our MMC and he is a baddie with a PAST. The “bad boy” on the team, take-no-💩 turns total golden retriever for our beautiful Willow. He had me literally kicking my feet and giggling during this story.

This is one of my favorite sports romance books, and I’m going back to reread the entire series now bc the found family makes my heart so 🥹

Highly recommend everyone read this book!!

So thankful to have been given an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 💙

Bree, THANK YOU for writing their story 🤩

I love a sports romance novels and I was super excited to receive an ARC of this football star/coach's stepdaughter story!

While the novel did start with insta-lust, I did feel that the characters were given realistic backstories and were well thought out. I think it is important for authors to discuss real-life issues in their novels and the topic of vaginismus did allow space for the reader to be educated and the MCs to be well-formed.

I did struggle at points while reading, as the book felt 100-150 pages longer than it needed to be and there were scenes that felt unnecessary to the overall plot. Overall I did enjoy the novel because of how strong King & Willow's relationship was.

After a famous football coach caused her parents' divorce, Willow has a firm rule against athletes. She meets a cute guy at a bar and asks if he's an athlete, he says no.
Willow moves in with her mother and step father and she's introduced to her stepdad's star defense player. Him, Travis King.
Tattooed, scarred, so gorgeous, King was exactly who she wanted, until she found out he's a football player.
This was a great read! The chemistry between Willow and King was 🔥 They way they are so drawn to each other even though they know they shouldn't be together. They both had a lot of issues they needed to work through and watching them work through them together was beautiful!

I highly suggest picking up the first three books in this series before starting this one. I didn’t, so I felt disconnected from the friend group at the beginning not knowing enough about them. You do get more backstory on them as the story progresses just not enough in my opinion to read Against the Rules as a stand alone. This was a pretty long book which I didn’t realize going into it but it has very nice pacing that kept me wanting to read. This book is very dialogue heavy which I enjoy! The two main characters, king and Willow, were super cute and I loved reading their story. I will most likely pick up the previous books and any future books in this series. I want to thank NetGalley and Bree Hayden for providing me with this Arc! It will be available for everyone to enjoy on February 25th, 2025!

found out very quickly this book was not for me which I was very sad to find out. I love the cover and I loved the description, but for me the writing was not for me.

Bree Hayden’s Against the Rules attempts to deliver a compelling romance but falls short in execution. While the premise, a forbidden love trope set against a backdrop of workplace dynamics has potential, the novel suffers from weak character development, predictable plot twists, and inconsistent pacing.

I stopped reading as soon as I got to Chapter 3 because I was just really confused on what was going on. They were kissing and wanting to get in bed and we are like 30 pages in. There is no plot in this. The dialogue often feels forced and corny.

Overall, Against the Rules is a frustrating read that fails to deliver on its romantic promise. If you're looking for a book with genuine chemistry and engaging storytelling, this one is best skipped.

Amazing romance, i was literally hooked from the start.

An amazing love story, overall I loved it even thought I wish more for the ending.

A Must for 2025

So going into this I had no idea it was like number 4,5? in the series but I was committed so I read anyway! It can be read as a standalone you just meet a couple of the other couples all throughout the book. ANYWAY! This book was so good like seriously just such a cozy read I couldn’t put it down. I adored King and I adored Willow I think they were perfect for each other. I will be going back to read the others because this book was so beautifully written and id love to meet the others! Thank you so much for the ARC such a good read!

I loved this book. It was so cute. I'm kind of annoyed with the ending, though, To be honest, I wanted more before the ending but Overall I really enjoyed the book.

I’d like to thank NetGalley for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review!

I could not put this book down! I was truly upset when I had to pause to attend to real life. Willow and King are great characters on their own, and their ARC is just too good to walk away from.

My number one appreciation for this book is the real life scenarios that each MC battled and how the other showed up and supported them. Willow’s medical condition and King’s patience and demeanor with it? SWOON!

I wish the last 10% of the book was a little more developed, but I enjoyed the mention of “a new introduction” prior to the epilogue!

The spice factor is definitely there so if open door romance is not your thing, I’d wait until someone creates a guide on which pages to skip ;)

Thank you, Bree Hayden and NetGalley for the Against The Rules ARC! This was my first ever ARC!

Overall, I think I'm going to give this book 3 stars.

It started off a little rough for me with King and Willow's meet cute, but by about 40% in I was enjoying it more. It is a much longer book than I'm used to in a college sports romance, but I don't know if there is much I would take out to make it shorter - all the little conflicts throughout made the story a little more realistic. I liked their relationship, and I thought the way they worked through Willow's condition was thoughtful. King was intense, both in his feelings and his actions, but his support of Willow was so deep, and likewise her support of him.

Normally I don't dive into a series midway, so trying to figure out which side characters were paired up with each other already was a struggle, especially because the summaries for the other books don't include names. I might go back a read at least the second and third book to get a better understanding of the friend group.

The writing was a little confusing for me at times. At one point they are at a face painting event with decorations, but there isn't an explanation as to what it's for, and then it's King's sister's birthday party, and I thought the birthday party was at the training centre and that's why there was a face painting event, but then they were at King's mom's house for the party. There were a few other instances like this that had me going back and forth trying to see if I misread something.

Thank you again for the ARC!

Wow - where do I start. I've been waiting for King's book since I DEVOURED the first three books in the series. Bree somehow manages to write with the perfect about of spicy and romance that I just can't put these books down.

I loved how King would do anything for Willow, but she was still a strong female character in her own right. I also loved loved loved the epilogue chapters - what a treat to see into the future.

This is my favourite book series ever and I think this might have just stolen the favourite book crown from Out of Bounds ❤️. Please tell me there's more books coming!!!

So cute! So sweet! I loved this! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I was a little intimidated with how many kindle pages this book is. BUT!!! I devoured this. It did not feel as long as it is! The dialogue was perfect. The banter was there. And these MCs were not afraid of the deep conversations to grow their relationship! There was tension build up. The chemistry was there. There was spice. So much spice. Welcome home has a new meaning.

One thing I appreciated was I really felt like I got to know not just the MCs and the friend group, but I got to know the MCs families which I normally feel like I miss out on! I think it really added to the character development and this story would not be the same without it!

Onto the MCs!

King - I really loved how hard he was trying to break away from his past and create a version of himself he could be proud of for his future. His patience with Willow was amazing, especially once they stopped going back and forth about their feelings. I love love loved that he never pushed her in the bedroom or made her feel less than and was only supportive. Although I’m still salty about that closet scene. But dude redeemed himself. While King is the star football player on campus and has a rough edge to him, he is soft and gooey on the inside. Like a brownie. Hard on the outside, sweet and soft on the inside.
I love that we got to see his relationship with his mom and sister, and how hard he worked to build a relationship with Willows dad.

Willow - I love how strong this FMC is. She is fierce. She is understanding. Forever in pursuit of the things in life that bring her joy. Ain’t nobody stopping her from an open mic night! She took King for who he is and didn’t judge him for past actions. And she wasn’t afraid to stick up for herself and stand her ground. I also loved that we got to see her relationship with her mom and step dad grow.

Again. I really enjoyed this book. Character development, dialogue, dual pov, all helped bring these characters to life! I did read this as a standalone, and I did NOT feel like I was missing anything.

I have mixed feeling about this book. While I really liked the main characters and the chemistry between them, the actual plot of this story made little to no sense. And a lot of the drama, like the affair, seemed like it was only there for appearance sake because it wasn't needed at all. But this book was a quick read, and the writing was good. This is the type of book you read on the beach or after a long day when you just need to relax.

Against the Rules starts with King and willow meeting at an open mic night. Willow and King have an insant connection but willow is only town for a limited time until she has to move. King and Willow keep in touch during their time apart by messaging each other. Unknown to the both of them that they will share a common thread, Willow's stepdad. Willow's stepdad is King's football coach and is very protective of Willow. Coach basically assigns King with the task of looking out for King. King at this point does not know who the coach's stepdaughter is. Once king and willow realize what is going, they try to avoid each other at all costs but keep getting pulled back to each other. I enjoyed the story and loved the extra epilogues at the end.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Oh. Boy, was this fun.
I think there's a certain excellence in getting me to finish a book in two days. This is yet another one that hooked me throughout and didn't let me put the book down.

PLOT:
Willow and King have their meet cute at a bar, where Willow secretly performs her songs under a pseudonym. They hit it off right away, keeping in touch with each other not knowing the drama that's about to unfold. Ah, you see... Willow is King's football coach's step daughter. While our boy is obsessed, and I MEAN, Obsessed with a capital O, he's forced to maintain his distance because his future depends on not pissing his coach off (King might've hurt Willow's feelings once or twice)
As fate and attraction would have it, they can't stay away from each other, which can only be problematic.

LIKED:
I absolutely loved Willow and King's characters. They were generous, interesting and totally in love with each other. Reading their separate POVs kept things intriguing throughout, and their character motivations are well laid out. Willow's journey as a musician and King's journey as an athlete are well incorporated and I found myself very much invested in their journey.
The tension in this story is absolutely chef's kiss. I spent my time holding onto dear life, because there are multiple moments where I was like, OH NO, IT'S GOING TO END! It's like having jumpscares for their relationship that kept me wanting more and more.

THE LOST ONE STAR:
So, for me, there are a few issues with how their romance developed. In this very first chapter, we see Willow and King hit it off, and unfortunately, while Willow's feelings for King develop slowly, King's are almost instantaneous. While I did love seeing the man pine, it felt just a little bit unrealistic and I hoped there was some more emphasis on the growth in some places.

Sometimes, I found it hard to tell whose POV I was reading from their character voices. I think this was most evident in the sex scenes and the dramatic scenes where the POV jumps quickly. But, these were only issues that popped up in small places and didn't take away too much from the reading experience.

Bottomline: A very fun, spicy, sports romance that is super enjoyable!

When you miss the whole “don’t read this book while at work” memo and end up doing just that. Thankfully working from home you can react to all the spice and ALL the banter. I love me some good banter between love interests which truly made me want to keep reading this book all in one sitting. The minor characters (mostly the friends group) truly give readers the ability to connect with at least one person. This book is given a solid 4/5 stars. I enjoyed the characters as a whole and the plot of the book. The comedic relief through the book actually made me chuckle out loud. The start of hearing the main character Willow’s song choices and how she spoke vs how she truly is as a person threw me off a little bit. Then as I read I gained a better understanding. This book was an easy read based on the writing style of the author. While I’ve never read from this author I look forward to more books she writes in the future.