"Rule" by Jay Crownover (Interview + Giveaway!)

Genre: New Adult

Series: Rule #1

Publication: December 30, 2012

Format: Kindle (327 pages)

Cover Rating: 4/5 Stars    

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.

Review:

           Jay Crownover totally just earned herself a semi-stalker. Seriously, I freaking loved this book. My life has been crazy busy lately, but I managed to down this baby in practically one day. Told in alternating POV, Rule, tells the story of Shaw Landon and her deceased best-friends twin brother, Rule Archer- whom she just happens to be completely in love with (since she was 14). The problem? Rule thinks of Shaw as an uptight, spoiled brat that use to date his dead brother. But one night changes everything, leaving Shaw and Rule on a path that they can never come back from.

           Everything about this book just screamed five stars for me- from the plot, to the character developments, to the AWESOME music that is incorporated in the story- really, it was all fantastic. If you enjoy the New Adult craze, then you will not want to miss out on Rule!

p.s. I've done called dibs on Rule, so don't even think about claiming him as your next book boyfriend! 

Author Interview:

So, I picked up "Rule" on a whim. Like so many others before, I've been rapidly sucked into this New Adult genre, and when I read the descript I just knew I couldn't wait to read it. Did you give any forethought to writing for this specific age group? And if so, why New Adult?

-I wrote in New Adult because when you're in your twenties you're just trying to figure life out and figure out who and what you want to be. I look back on my twenties and realize the choices I made good and not so good landed me where I am today and I wonder how things would be different if maybe I had focused on different things back then. Plus it's a fun time, you can start to drink, you left home, you're just starting to earn really money...all that stuff lends itself to great story telling.

Rule is a hot mess. Seriously. I think every girl out there will have him as their number 1 book boyfriend once they read this. Is he based off someone in particular in your life?

-Physically Rule is based off of a mix and match of real people, emotionally and temperamentally no, he is all fiction. He's just a compilation of a lot of young guys that think they have it all figured out and don't have a care in the world beyond themselves only to get blindsided by something big.


I think you did a freaking fantastic job of switching points of view. Not to sound creepy, but you had that whole guy vibe down pat (which is awesome, because sometimes the character can come off as more feminine then the author intends). Which character did you prefer to write in: Shaw or Rule?

-I work in a bar, have for a long time so I work around men and have a lot of male customers so I think I have a good grasp on the inner workings of the male mind and how they talk and interact with each other. It depends on the scene who I preferred to write the point of view in, they each had a distinct voice so it just depended on who was telling the story that I liked to write in better.

Obviously, your a fan of tattoos, do you have any yourself? What's the most memorable story behind one that you wouldn't mind sharing?

-I have a lot....A LOT!! My favorite is a portrait of my Italian Greyhound Duce because I love him to bits, he's just my best little furry buddy and people think it's weird to have something so permanent of a dog that's still alive!!! But I love it and I love him so whatever!!

For the love of all things holy, when can us book fiends expect "Jet" to be available?

-Jet should be out in May for sure...I have secret hopes to have him finish sooner because he's amazing and won't leave me alone so his story is just cooking right along...but May absolutely.

In the back of "Rule" you have a note saying that you're trying to figure out what to do in life- I think most of us can relate (for example: there's no way in hell I plan on being a secretary for the rest of my life, it's my in-between growing up job). What finally made you decide to tackle writing? What were the biggest hurdles you faced and how did you get past them?

-I wrote to put some really bad stuff I was dealing with in perspective. When my mom read it Rule she could tell exactly at which point in the story was correlating with what I was trying to process in real life. It was a creative outlet that just turned out to be something more important than that. I promised myself I would publish a book before I died and I did that if nothing else.
The hardest part was how angry people got about the editing initially. I didn't anticipate the response to the book so yes the editing sucked at first. I took steps to fix it, but still people were PISSED. That was weird to have a bunch of strangers mad at e about something like that. I just had to be accountable and learn from the mistake going forward. Editors exist for a reason and now they are my new best friend.

And finally, we all know you have awesome music taste from reading "Rule", but what's one your favorite books?

-My favorite book of all time is Catcher in the Rye..Holden Caulfield is the original bad boy of literature. Salinger had a way with words that built the story in a way you couldn't help but live it...I read a lot, I like most of the new adult authors that have been big lately, just give me a good story and a memorable cast and chances are you're on my fav's list.

Giveaway!

Now here's the really fun part! You have a chance to win one KINDLE copy of "Rule" by Jay Crownover! Just fill out the Rafflecopter below!

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