He had three rules … he just broke all of them.
Rules is NOW LIVE!!!
This is a complete standalone story.
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ISBN: 9780369513977
ASIN: B0GQNWKYLC
Blurb
Axel Rules lives by three rules:
He never kisses a woman on the lips.
He never sleeps over, and they’re not allowed to sleep at his place.
And the final rule, he never dates single mothers.
Joey Sinclair is a single mother, and she owns the coffee shop in town. He knows she has a history. She stood up against her abusive ex-husband. The ex left town, and wanted nothing to do with his daughter. Axel doesn’t want to get involved with Joey, but he can’t get her out of his mind.
When her parents take her daughter away for the weekend, they order her to have some fun. To relax.
It had been so long since she enjoyed some time to herself. Going to the bar, all she intends to do was drink a beer, and dance.
That first night, Axel breaks all of his rules. He couldn’t resist kissing Joey. Her lips were too damn good to ignore. One kiss led to a sleep over, and when he woke up, Joey had snuck off. And now, he had broken his third and final rule, he was falling for a single mother. His father had taught him these rules, so he didn’t get his heart broken. What he didn’t truly realize, his father had loved before.
Now, it was Axel’s turn to fall in love. But will Joey fall in love with him? Will she give herself to him? He has a terrible reputation. But, Axel’s ready to settle down. He wants to be a father to Joey’s daughter, and he wants to have children of his own. But will she be willing to take the risk?
Excerpt:
“So, you’re all alone?”
“That’s right. Wait, you’re not some kind of axe-wielding murderer on the weekends, are you?”
“Only at Halloween.”
Joey threw her head back and laughed. “I like it.”
He winked at her, mainly because he had torn a couple of shorts, painted red on the hems, and held a blunt axe, to go to a few Halloween parties. He wasn’t exactly inventive.
“What do you dress up as for Halloween?”
“The busy mom,” she said. “Trying to make it home in time to take her kid out trick-or-treating.”
“Sounds like hard work.”
“It is, but Adeline is worth it.”
The music seemed to pick up a notch.
“Do you want to dance?”
The last time he asked, she had declined, but she frowned and then put her hand in his. “Sure, why not?”
Now he was surprised, but he wasn’t about to take it back. Gripping her hand firmly but not hard, he led her onto the dance floor. There were already several couples there, and he pulled Joey in close, and as he stared into her blue eyes, he was completely entranced by her. She was stunning.
“Do you do this often?” she asked.
“No, I don’t do a whole lot of dancing.”
“You should. You’re good.”
He had both hands at her waist, and he couldn’t bring himself to look anywhere else. It was like they were the only two people to exist.
The music sped up, he grabbed her hand and suddenly gave her a twirl, spinning her away from him, then pulling her back toward him. He gyrated his hips and felt as Joey followed his lead. For a good hour they danced, and when it came to a slow song, he expected her to go back to the bar, only she took hold of his hand and then placed his other at her waist.
“This is nice, thank you,” she said.
“You’re not too bad a dancer at all.”
“It has been a long time since I danced with anyone but my daughter.”
He knew there hadn’t been anyone since George. It was common town knowledge that Joey was completely devoted to her daughter. Staring into her eyes, he couldn’t help but drop his gaze to her lips. They looked so plump, so inviting. He wanted to kiss her.
Rule one. He had to keep remembering rule number one. He refused to break it. Only, he was already breaking rule number three. Joey was a single mother.
And then, he didn’t know what made him change his mind. Just one moment he was looking at her, and in the next second, he pulled her in close and broke his first and third rule by kissing Joey.
He expected everything to just make him stop. The reality of what he was doing. Feeling her lips against his. Something had to stop him.
Only, it didn’t.
Nothing stopped him, as he kept kissing her, and it felt so damn good.
Reviews
5 out of 5 stars
Amazing Chemistry!
Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2026
Sam has done it again! This a great, well written fun read that pulls you in with interesting characters. As the saying goes, “Rules were meant to be broken “. Never was this truer than with Axel and Joey. Each have rules in place to protect themselves, but what happens when they break their own rules will change their lives. This is another Must Read!
*****
5 out of 5 stars
Rules Made to be Broken
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2026
This story was wonderful–I loved loved it. This book is wonderful and I am so amazed that each book this author writes seems to get better and better. I couldn’t stop reading and just like so many more book by author it will be reread ALOT!.
I received a free copy of this book via Evernight and am voluntarily leaving a review.
*****
Fran
Rules – Sam Crescent
Rules is a standalone story by Sam Crescent featuring around a small town, a strong single mom and a good hearted, woman loving, bad boy. Axel Rules is the local town handyman following in his fathers footsteps. Before his father sadly passed away he lived by a strict set of rules that he passed along to Axel. However, Axel didn’t realise until his chat with his Uncle Rick that his father only made these rules after loosing the love of his life. Axel values the rules and abides by them strictly, they are made clear to all women he shows an interest in. They are as follows:
Rule 1 – No kissing on the lips.
Rule 2 – He never sleeps over.
Rule 3 – Never ever dates single mothers.
He successfully stays to these rules until he is gifted a smile from Joey Sinclair, the curvy beauty that is the owner of Adeline’s Coffee Shop and single mother to her nine year old daughter Adeline. After an abusive marriage Joey has dedicated her life to her daughter and getting her coffee shop up and running to support them both. She lives for her daughter and has no real life of her own. When her parents Alice and Marshall offer to have Adeline for a weekend to give Joey a chance to relax and enjoy her life. All it takes is her to step into Uncle Rick’s Bar and Axel breaks every single one of his rules, dancing with a single mother, he kisses her so deeply their toes both curl and then they spend a night together unlike they have ever experienced before. One night is not enough and Axel is becoming addicted to Joey and spending time with her and her daughter. He is experiencing what being part of a family is like and he soon realises that it is a feeling he doesn’t want to lose. He just hopes Joey feels the same once he realises and understands the strength of his true feelings. This is a such a heartwarming story that is written so well. You cannot help but root for Axel to realise what he could share with Joey and for her to have a love she truly deserves. The characters are both strong and likeable and both develop in different ways as the story progresses. The story is really engaging from beginning to end and pulls you in and takes you on a spicy ride as these characters find their way together. I really loved it and Axel is one amazing book boyfriend. I also enjoyed the relationship between Joey and her sister Ashley, she is a great additional character. Happy Reading. Please note that I was given an arc of this book for my honest review which is exactly what I have given.
5 out of 5 stars.
*****
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One reply on “New Release: Rules”
Have pre-ordered this book and looking for to reading it, currently reading Saved by the Monster and love the story line, great book.