Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Rules of Survival - Jus Accardo
Published by: Entangled Publishing, on 2 June 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult,Romance, Suspense
Pages: 290, Format: eARC
Source: ARC Netgalley
 

If you want to survive, you have to follow the rules…

Mikayla Morgan is wanted for her mother's murder. She's been on the run for almost a year now, avoiding not only the police but the real killer. Tired of running and desperate to clear her name, she breaks one of the most sacred rules: never return to the scene of the crime.

Every bounty hunter on the Eastern Seaboard is after the Morgan girl—but Shaun Denver and his partner snagged her. She's a piece of work, and Shaun can't decide if he wants to kiss her or kill her. When things take a sharp turn south, Shaun does the only thing he can think of to keep her close—he handcuffs them together.

As the danger mounts and the killer closes in, the chemistry between them threatens to explode. Shaun and Kayla will need to break all the rules if they hope to get out of this alive.

*I received a free ARC of Rules of Survival from Entangled Publishing via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*

Rules of Survival is an action-packed read, where Mikayla needs to follow her mom’s rules, just to survive another day. And she can never know whom to trust.

My Rules of Survival review:

Fast-paced, full of action, some romance and Kayla’s rules, Rules of Survival is a very addictive read. From the very beginning, it was clear to me that Kayla was in big trouble, and when two bounty hunters came upon her, that was quickly confirmed. Only, that wasn’t the end of it, suddenly a car came up to the cabin in the woods, and someone started shooting at Kayla and her two captors.

Kayla’s life went from bad to worse once her captors got a hold of her, Patrick Tanner had a grudge against her deceased mother, and Shaun Denver seemed to be so cocky even his good looks couldn’t make up for it. Kayla’s rules of survival were the only thing she had to hold on to, even the letter her mother had left her at the cabin was lost, now, and Kayla had no idea what she was supposed to do – other than escaping Tanner and Shaun, that is.

I loved how fast-paced Rules of Survival was, even if that made for a hurried romance between Shaun and Kayla. It did make a strange kind of sense that she would fall for him, since she had never really had any friends growing up, moving far too often to stay in touch with anyone anywhere. Being hand-cuffed to Shaun wasn’t her idea of romantic, though, but she couldn’t help but somehow admire his quick thinking – even if that’s what put her in this iffy situation in the first place.

Rules of Survival is well written, in first person past tense, where I saw the world through Kayla’s eyes all along. And underneath her extremely tough exterior, there was a young woman craving normalcy, love and friendship. As the story unfolds, I learned some things about Kayla’s mom, and man, she could never get a mom-of-the year title. She did keep Kayla mostly safe while on the run, but she never showed her much love or compassion, needing to know Kayla would be as self-sufficient as was possible.

If you’re looking for a fast-paced action story, with some hot romance on the side, Rules of Survival is just what you need! Both Shaun and Kayla have lived a hard life, and they both feel like there should be something more to the journey than running or being hit around.

Some of my favorite Rules of Survival quotes:

 The older one laughed. “Don’t let her appearance fool you. I bet she’s plenty dangerous. Just like her mamma.”

“Watch the hand.” He gave another good shove. “Are you serious? I think we’ve got more important things to worry about than me accidentally copping a feel. Besides, there’s nothing there to cop. You’ve got, like, no ass.”

Without waiting for me to follow, he started forward and nearly ripped my arm from its socket. If we didn’t get these cuffs off soon, one of us was going to lose a limb. And possible other appendages we’d need down the line. And by one of us, I was thinking Shaun…