The Rules of Regret by Megan Squires
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
3.5 stars
So the cover of this book is what pulled me in… it’s gorgeous and after reading the story, fits perfectly.
I was pleasantly surprised by this story. I have been shying away from unknown authors in the self-published arena simply because the quality just hasn’t been there. This one, for me, was up to par. Other than a few editing errors I was quite happy with the final product.
Now, the story – nineteen year old Darby has spent the last six years of her life basically living for other people. When her boyfriend of 6 years goes to Washington for an internship for 6 weeks she suddenly comes to the realization that her whole life revolves around him and his decisions. She decides to check into a summer job working for a survival camp. A few pushy emails later she’s signed on as a counselor and prepared to make the most out of it.
Torin Westbrook was a wonderful surprise in this story. He’s not your typical book boyfriend for sure. Oh, he’s got the shaggy, disheveled hair, and the dimples and the perfect one-liners, but he’s different. He’s not a bad boy, he’s not a man whore, he’s just someone who’s pretty sure of what he wants in life and he’s prepared to make it happen. It may not be the popular route but it’s the right path for him. I was intrigued by his self-assuredness and maturity. But I did find that on occasion he seemed to talk down to Darby which immediately had my hackles up.
Despite that, Torin and Darby bond over shared losses in their lives and their friendship blooms. But beneath the surface there is an undeniable attraction between them, which confuses Darby because she loves her boyfriend. He’s been there for her through everything …
I will say this. I was slightly bored through this story. The tropes used were predictable and I saw certain things coming quite early on, which is probably why I was bored. I wasn’t surprised by anything and that definitely affected my enjoyment of the story.
Also… I felt like Darby was such a doormat. I’m all for making relationships work, but when everything comes out about her history with her boyfriend I was kind of like
Plus then there was this line that I couldn’t help but think of Twilight after reading because…
”Remember, you have my heart, okay? So I’m always sorta with you.”
BUT those things aside…
The writing is done well, and the story is entertaining. I really enjoyed Darby as a character… she is on a path of self-revelation and Torin is the one who seems to be giving her the shove she needed. He helps her realize that she never really has moved on from that 13 year old girl whose life changed in so many ways because of this one defining moment.
I also really enjoyed the build of the friendship between Torin and Darby. They were definitely cute together.
If you’re looking for a contemporary romance without all the overdone sex scenes … just a couple of nineteen year olds learning how to be friends and build a relationship, then definitely check this book out.
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