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Ryan's Rules
Breaking all the rules Since Ryan Talbot had become Kirrily's self-appointed guardian, he'd been determined to make her live life by his rules:
Rule 1: Never date any man Ryan wouldn't approve of.
Rule 2: Find a respectable job and don't wear too much makeup - or dresses above the knee!
Kerrily had always rebelled and enjoyed shocking him. Until she had to share his home. Suddenly she was in danger of wanting to seduce a man Ryan definitely wouldn't approve of - himself!
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1996
3 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Alison Kelly
109 books9 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 26, 2012
"In luv w/ sibling's BFF" is 1 of my favs, so to have May-Dec (12 year gap) & reluctant guardian-ward thrown in too, was like getting triple treats, but in the end the book was not quite up there.
The heroine, Kirrily, was only 9 y/o when a tragic car accident prematurely moved up the expiration date of her beloved bro, hero's BFF. Hero's sista was engaged to heroine's expired bro & when the book opens, is finally ready to move on w/ her life, 15 yrs after the accident. She drops the bombshell on bro, Ryan, that K.C is flying over to take over her job in his construction comp. Ryan feels a bit panicky cuz since his BFF's death, he's tried to fulfill his friend's dying wish to peel an eye open on his Li'l sista, K.C. But somehow, somewhere in time, the Li'l gal has grown up into an attractive specimen & his eyes & nether regions take notice too. K.C is resentful of Ryan's seemingly over-protectiveness, bossiness & condescending attitude. She's a soap actress whose contract was not renewed so she's willing to step into her friend's shoes in the interim. Slowly, having Ryan as her boss & living w/ him off work, starts to gnaw away @ her heart. She's always had a crush on Ryan & now, after her platonic date mentions to her that Ryan's obviously smitten w/ her, she starts to think her crush may evolve into somefink more serious. There are 2 tiny mysteries. 1st is that there's a deranged stalker who's been trying the snuff the life outta K.C., 2nd is wot really happened during the car accident 15 yrs ago. When the stalkerazzi burned down her home in Melbourne & Ryan is informed by the police @ some Gawd 4saken hour, he is infuriated & hurt that K.C has been keeping the death threats under the lid instead of confiding in him. She dismisses his concerns & after checking out the damage done to her home, he takes her away to a hideaway house that he's built himself. When the stalker culprit is flushed out, he goes back to his day job & abandons her.
So there's really not much to complain about. The tone was playful, w/ a cloud of sadness. It had some condom jokes, quite snappy banter, but not quite as humorous as Kelly Hunter's. Ryan was acting like a snob & a jerk @ times, but the main problem for me was I prefer my heroes to do the stalking, so the stalkerific Unabomber was like a filler, just to drive the H/h closer. He blew hawt & cold, see-sawing between wanting her & pushing her away. He went bananas on her right after popping her Cheerios w/ his slippery, steely, glazed, nutty banana, accusing her of being a (cock)tease when all along her hymen was still intact. Right, blame the gal for being a stunning goddess whose boat has nevah been hijacked. Then he made some cheap ass jokes about her acting gig & waiters going ga-ga over her during dinner. K.C flew into theatrical hysterics when provoked, but not too OTT. Wot kinda bothersome was that how easily she dismissed all the stalker's increasingly alarming threats as non consequential. Really dudette ? Car bomb, house fire, threatening letters, what clearer signs would alert her to the fact that her life's in danger & the total fruitcake's really after her delectable ass ? When buried 6 feet under ? The dwama was almost non-existent, unless U count the final self-inflicted, dubious conflict @ the end when Ryan revealed the 15 y/o secret that he was the reason his BFF died in his arms. Overall, it was rather cute that he tried all kinds of ways to douse the flame, cold showers & late-nite jogging, sticking to his big-bro routine, keeping his feelings & growing hard-ons under wraps but it was an exercise in futility. I kinda wished the story didn't include the lame stalker & focused more on the H/h's uncomfortable relationship. If we're gonna have deranged loon, make it more dwamatic. It just fizzled out in the end when we're told who's the real cweep, it was like, that's.... All she wrote ? The hero was just in the middle, not beta but not loopy asscracky alpha either. More like a wasp who just wouldn't go away. @ least he wrapped it up w/ rubber everytime so U can't say he's not prepared for bang sessions.
The heroine, Kirrily, was only 9 y/o when a tragic car accident prematurely moved up the expiration date of her beloved bro, hero's BFF. Hero's sista was engaged to heroine's expired bro & when the book opens, is finally ready to move on w/ her life, 15 yrs after the accident. She drops the bombshell on bro, Ryan, that K.C is flying over to take over her job in his construction comp. Ryan feels a bit panicky cuz since his BFF's death, he's tried to fulfill his friend's dying wish to peel an eye open on his Li'l sista, K.C. But somehow, somewhere in time, the Li'l gal has grown up into an attractive specimen & his eyes & nether regions take notice too. K.C is resentful of Ryan's seemingly over-protectiveness, bossiness & condescending attitude. She's a soap actress whose contract was not renewed so she's willing to step into her friend's shoes in the interim. Slowly, having Ryan as her boss & living w/ him off work, starts to gnaw away @ her heart. She's always had a crush on Ryan & now, after her platonic date mentions to her that Ryan's obviously smitten w/ her, she starts to think her crush may evolve into somefink more serious. There are 2 tiny mysteries. 1st is that there's a deranged stalker who's been trying the snuff the life outta K.C., 2nd is wot really happened during the car accident 15 yrs ago. When the stalkerazzi burned down her home in Melbourne & Ryan is informed by the police @ some Gawd 4saken hour, he is infuriated & hurt that K.C has been keeping the death threats under the lid instead of confiding in him. She dismisses his concerns & after checking out the damage done to her home, he takes her away to a hideaway house that he's built himself. When the stalker culprit is flushed out, he goes back to his day job & abandons her.
So there's really not much to complain about. The tone was playful, w/ a cloud of sadness. It had some condom jokes, quite snappy banter, but not quite as humorous as Kelly Hunter's. Ryan was acting like a snob & a jerk @ times, but the main problem for me was I prefer my heroes to do the stalking, so the stalkerific Unabomber was like a filler, just to drive the H/h closer. He blew hawt & cold, see-sawing between wanting her & pushing her away. He went bananas on her right after popping her Cheerios w/ his slippery, steely, glazed, nutty banana, accusing her of being a (cock)tease when all along her hymen was still intact. Right, blame the gal for being a stunning goddess whose boat has nevah been hijacked. Then he made some cheap ass jokes about her acting gig & waiters going ga-ga over her during dinner. K.C flew into theatrical hysterics when provoked, but not too OTT. Wot kinda bothersome was that how easily she dismissed all the stalker's increasingly alarming threats as non consequential. Really dudette ? Car bomb, house fire, threatening letters, what clearer signs would alert her to the fact that her life's in danger & the total fruitcake's really after her delectable ass ? When buried 6 feet under ? The dwama was almost non-existent, unless U count the final self-inflicted, dubious conflict @ the end when Ryan revealed the 15 y/o secret that he was the reason his BFF died in his arms. Overall, it was rather cute that he tried all kinds of ways to douse the flame, cold showers & late-nite jogging, sticking to his big-bro routine, keeping his feelings & growing hard-ons under wraps but it was an exercise in futility. I kinda wished the story didn't include the lame stalker & focused more on the H/h's uncomfortable relationship. If we're gonna have deranged loon, make it more dwamatic. It just fizzled out in the end when we're told who's the real cweep, it was like, that's.... All she wrote ? The hero was just in the middle, not beta but not loopy asscracky alpha either. More like a wasp who just wouldn't go away. @ least he wrapped it up w/ rubber everytime so U can't say he's not prepared for bang sessions.
December 29, 2021
2,5 stars!
January 9, 2012
Rating 3.5
I enjoyed this not as much as this author's other books but to a different degree. The hero took on all responsibilties after his best friend and sister's fiancee died and he has just learnt that after fifteen years his sister is willing to move on and as a replacement in their construction firm, KC is coming.
KC is the bane of his existence, the little sister of his best friend, they grew up together and after his friend died he tried to pick up the slack, but ever since she grew older his feelings have been uncomfortable so he likes her to boss her around, call her kiddo to make sure his brain doesn't cross the line and then the cyclone that is Kirrily comes and she is beautiful and disruptive as well as willful.
The heroine doesn't like how the hero tries to run her life and a comment from a friend makes her realize that he loves her, an idea that she warms up to slowly and she herself adores him even if he irritates her with his attempts to control her.
When her acting seems to have gotten her a stalker, they go away for a few days where they come closer.
I enjoyed the book and how the heroine woke the hero up to who he truly was instead of trying to fill in for her brother.
I enjoyed this not as much as this author's other books but to a different degree. The hero took on all responsibilties after his best friend and sister's fiancee died and he has just learnt that after fifteen years his sister is willing to move on and as a replacement in their construction firm, KC is coming.
KC is the bane of his existence, the little sister of his best friend, they grew up together and after his friend died he tried to pick up the slack, but ever since she grew older his feelings have been uncomfortable so he likes her to boss her around, call her kiddo to make sure his brain doesn't cross the line and then the cyclone that is Kirrily comes and she is beautiful and disruptive as well as willful.
The heroine doesn't like how the hero tries to run her life and a comment from a friend makes her realize that he loves her, an idea that she warms up to slowly and she herself adores him even if he irritates her with his attempts to control her.
When her acting seems to have gotten her a stalker, they go away for a few days where they come closer.
I enjoyed the book and how the heroine woke the hero up to who he truly was instead of trying to fill in for her brother.
February 21, 2017
When she was 9, Kirrily's older brother died and his best friend Ryan more or less took responsibility for looking after her. She resents his protective nature since she's had a crush on him since she was 16. Equally, he's starting to resent his role since a pesky little attraction reared its head for him several years ago. They've done well avoiding each other, but circumstances put them in the same house and workplace for several weeks. Kirrily is determined to earn Ryan's respect, but also his love and desire. Ryan doesn't really want to go there because of all his guilt and confused feelings.
I totally understand why Ryan was hesitant about a relationship and the way he was fighting to keep his feelings in a little box marked "brotherly feelings for KC." He was a bit of an ass, but he wasn't deliberately mean about it. He came across as very confused and conflicted. I get the reasons and this is probably why I didn't dislike him. Kirrily was also likeable - feisty and with backbone - but damn this girl was a masochist. Ryan actually does treat her like a child; he patronizes her, he makes her feel like an irresponsible teenager...worse, he puts her down a lot too. He says and does things that suggest he doesn't expect much from her, that he views her as childish and dependent and that she will never really amount to much. He is truly a blow to Kirrily's self-esteem. But she falls in love with him anyway. And no matter how angry she gets, she keeps going back for more. Ryan also blows seriously hot and cold. They kiss and he proceeds to insult her quite rudely. She gets angry, but comes back for more. They have sex and he ups the ante, REALLY insulting her. Again, she gets angry, but she comes back for more. They get into a relationship, they fall in love and Kirrily's all happy thinking about their future. And he kicks her out of his life. And yes, she gets angry, but she comes back for more. We presumably end here, but I should think that all of this would have affected her ability to trust him. But strangely it didn't, so that's where I struggled.
I totally understand why Ryan was hesitant about a relationship and the way he was fighting to keep his feelings in a little box marked "brotherly feelings for KC." He was a bit of an ass, but he wasn't deliberately mean about it. He came across as very confused and conflicted. I get the reasons and this is probably why I didn't dislike him. Kirrily was also likeable - feisty and with backbone - but damn this girl was a masochist. Ryan actually does treat her like a child; he patronizes her, he makes her feel like an irresponsible teenager...worse, he puts her down a lot too. He says and does things that suggest he doesn't expect much from her, that he views her as childish and dependent and that she will never really amount to much. He is truly a blow to Kirrily's self-esteem. But she falls in love with him anyway. And no matter how angry she gets, she keeps going back for more. Ryan also blows seriously hot and cold. They kiss and he proceeds to insult her quite rudely. She gets angry, but comes back for more. They have sex and he ups the ante, REALLY insulting her. Again, she gets angry, but she comes back for more. They get into a relationship, they fall in love and Kirrily's all happy thinking about their future. And he kicks her out of his life. And yes, she gets angry, but she comes back for more. We presumably end here, but I should think that all of this would have affected her ability to trust him. But strangely it didn't, so that's where I struggled.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 25, 2025
I almost gave this book three stars for making me realize something that I couldn't put my finger on before. It had to do with a lot of HP books written in the 90's and what made them different than earlier ones. Reading this, it dawned on me what it was. While earlier novels are written like books, later ones tended to read more like TV romance movies, especially romcoms. The way the dialog is written sounds like TV movie lines. since those kinds of movies became pretty prolific in the 90's I'm guessing the writers were influenced by them and started writing their books as if they were writing a screenplay, without the directions.
And that's the trouble, too many of these books (like this one) would be better on screen. In this story, there's rapid fire dialog as well as the kind of witty repartee you'd find in old movies (like Cary Grant and Irene Dunne in "The Awful Truth" or Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda in "The Lady Eve"), and it's great on screen, but in a book, it can get tiring, and that's what happened here.
I also got sick of hearing the word" hormones" over and over AD NAUSEUM!!! Let's face it, the H and h had the major horndogs for each other, but we didn't have to hear about it 24/7, especially with a stalker as part of the plot, who couldn't be temporarily appeased with a cold shower or some hand manipulation!
And I have to laugh at when they finally hit the sheets, the dumb guy actually ha a hissy fit because she as a virgin!!! WHAT???? The H usually has a fit if he thinks she is and it turns out she isn't, but this guy went the opposite way and then made it worse by claiming she deliberately seduced him! So DUMB!!! Because she had been a soap actress who had to do some bed scenes, he assumed she did them in real life as well. He said he didn't want the responsibility of being her first, so I guess he would have preferred to have been her twenty-first??? COME ON!!!
And this author sure has a fascination with condoms! She must decorate her room with them!
This H got annoying and so did the h at times, but I think had this been a movie I would have liked it more.
And that's the trouble, too many of these books (like this one) would be better on screen. In this story, there's rapid fire dialog as well as the kind of witty repartee you'd find in old movies (like Cary Grant and Irene Dunne in "The Awful Truth" or Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda in "The Lady Eve"), and it's great on screen, but in a book, it can get tiring, and that's what happened here.
I also got sick of hearing the word" hormones" over and over AD NAUSEUM!!! Let's face it, the H and h had the major horndogs for each other, but we didn't have to hear about it 24/7, especially with a stalker as part of the plot, who couldn't be temporarily appeased with a cold shower or some hand manipulation!
And I have to laugh at when they finally hit the sheets, the dumb guy actually ha a hissy fit because she as a virgin!!! WHAT???? The H usually has a fit if he thinks she is and it turns out she isn't, but this guy went the opposite way and then made it worse by claiming she deliberately seduced him! So DUMB!!! Because she had been a soap actress who had to do some bed scenes, he assumed she did them in real life as well. He said he didn't want the responsibility of being her first, so I guess he would have preferred to have been her twenty-first??? COME ON!!!
And this author sure has a fascination with condoms! She must decorate her room with them!
This H got annoying and so did the h at times, but I think had this been a movie I would have liked it more.
September 22, 2015
readable but not half as much as interesting as it cud have been. it cud have been hot and scorching between ryan and KC but the author did not explore dat route. it was more funny than anything else.
June 22, 2012
Cute love story. Nice, light read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews