Oh wow. I thought I liked the first Nan Campbell book I read, No Kiss Contract, but The Rules of Forever just grabbed my heart and squeezed. It was so good, that I immediately wanted to go back and read it again.
Cara is an underappreciated NYC school teacher in the Bronx. She lives like a nun who took a vow of poverty because she has this quirky idea of not dying with student loans. Her step-by-step plan has her paying them off by her 35th birthday. Said plan does not include dating in any way. And then she goes to her 10th high school reunion and runs into her high school crush, Lauren.
Lauren carries around a heavily scarred heart from two previous disastrous relationships with women who only saw dollar signs when they looked at her. She decides to safeguard her heart. No relationships. When she sees Cara, though, she wonders if a no strings attached sexual encounter could really hurt. Romance ensues.
The number one thing I loved about this book was that as a New Yorker (born and raised in Queens), there were so many little things that many authors try to imitate, even people from upstate, that are just normally lacking or not correct. There were so many times that I was like "Campbell has got to live in the city", which I then confirmed by reading the author bio. (Although no one would take a cab from the Upper West Side to East 118th during rush hour. You'd never get there.) Second, the characters leap off the page. There was enough exposition and dialogue, both internal and external, that I got a real sense of who Cara and Lauren were and I liked them. I wanted to hang out with them. Third, the problems that both women have, Cara's rigid rules and Lauren's fears, did not make them unlikeable. There are so many times in romance novels when you wonder why exactly one is willing to take the other back after what caused them to break up. That's not what happens here and it takes realistic time for them to reconcile.
Go grab a copy and enjoy.
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Reviews with images
Hard to believe its a debut novel
This did not seem like a debut novel. The story was solid, the characters strong and the editing well done, all the things needed for an enjoyable read. Congratulations Nan Campbell, you hit a home run your first time up to the plate!
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HappyJoLucky
Brilliant rollercoaster ride
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2023