Book Review: Playing by the Rules (A Portwood Brothers Series, Book 1) by Emily Robertson
Synopsis:
Payton always had one rule she lived by, no boyfriends until after college. No one seemed to agree with her, even her own mother who had her at age sixteen. Returning to school after an accident that flipped Payton’s world upside down left her feeling out of control. Holding on to her rule seemed to be her only lifeline. Josh had been letting the past rule his life for too long. Finally being at school, he’d become his own man, and he’d been putting all that behind him. Just when he thought he had it all put together, life got crazy. Not only did his ex show back up, but Josh also found he couldn’t get Payton Whitmore out of his head. Once Josh convinces Payton to give him a shot, she’s so closed off that he wonders if it’s even worth it. Josh can tell there’s something special about Payton though, and as soon as he goes all in, he’s ready to show her that some rules are made to be broken.
My Rating: ★★★★★
My Thoughts:
This is a book that will pull at your heart strings. It is about love, trust, and overcoming life’s hardships. You can connect with the characters as they seemed to be real. You could feel their pain and happiness. The premise was unique and really drew me into wanting to know more. The book is full of laughter and a sweet love story with a lesson that when we don’t think we can go on that the strength is there within yourself and with your support team (friends and family).
I didn’t like that the epilogue was really just an introduction into the next book; it should have been used for tying up the loose ends in Payton and Josh’s story. I felt that there were some chapters thrown in to take up space rather than add to the story. This book should have been only focused on Payton and Josh with the other characters adding to their story. I feel that this book could be a 5-star book easily with some slight tweaking.
Overall this book was enjoyable and a good read. I really liked the story plot and would read the next book in the series to see how the other characters go through their journey and what happens with Payton and Josh.
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