Alexa is a woman done wrong, she was dumped by her fiance mere minutes before they were supposed to say "I do," and now she is doing all she can to move on and ease the sting in her heart. Her friends decide what she needs is a night on the town, so they hit up a club, with the intention of having a few drinks, doing a little dancing, and take in the male entertainment. Their hoping it will help Alexa get her groove back... and she does alright, with a sexy dancer named Raph!

The First Rule of Hook-Ups is a sultry little tale that will squeeze your heart and weaken your knees!! This was a fun one to watch unfold, a jilted ex bride-to-be on a quest to get her mojo back and put her cheating ex behind her in the rear view mirror. Alexa found a lot more than her mojo that night at the club, she met a man that set her world on fire, and awakened her hibernating heart. Watching her finding her way back was inspiring, her and Raph brought life to the pages, as well as lots of smoldering heat!! Highly recommend this one, these two will keep you captivated from start to finish!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from NetGalley, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.

Rage and Alexa feel sparks fly on their first encounter. On the second they take it to the next level as she tries to get over being jilted. This sets up the start of a steamily charged relationship. As things continue to heat up in the bedroom they realize that they have a lot more in common. With help from some well meaning friends they finally realize that they are meant for a lifetime together.

What a wonderful story of heartbreak and love by Nina Crespo. The story of Alexa Cayne and Rafe Dumond takes them through the pain of relationships past and the joy and pain of a new relationship. Alexa was dumped and the alter and Rafe was dumped because he wasn't good enough - getting through that baggage to make it work between the is the joy in story itself.

I loved this book! Alexa and Rafe and both extremely likeable characters, the story was good, the writing was good, and everything unfolded perfectly. Quick, fun and super sexy.

3.5 stars

The First Rule of Hook-Ups is a hot fling with a heaping side of second chance romance. Steamy club scenes and a body that should have a religion to worship it makes it real easy to understand Alexa's decision to chase after Rafe. Who wouldn't!?!

Steamy, mind blowing sex maybe how this "fling" started but there's a whole lot of rule breaking in this book.

I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favorite things about NG's ARC program is that I have found so many authors who are new to me. No disappointment here! Not only did I love this author, but loved this book, the writing style, the quick "to the point" backstory and meeting, of course the HEA!

I enjoy that the main characters seemed realistic, the story wasn't too over the top sweet or unrealistic. The hot scenes were HOT and plentiful!

I look forward to reading more books by Ms. Crespo.

I give this book 5 stars. The storyline between Rafe and Alexa was well written. They met for the first time at Alexa's bachelorette party, where Rafe danced for her on the stage. I whole heartedly recommend this book. They meet again at the break up bash. Will they fall in love? Will they have a Happily Ever After ending? I voluntarily reviewed this Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

Rating 5/5

Yeah. That title says it all - so you know that rule was meant to be broken. Nina's unique take on the "no strings attached" couple was very entertaining and lovable. Story was very easy to enjoy and a perfect romance for a cozy read.

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough sweet, sexy romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

The First Rule of Hook-Ups is my first read by Nina Crespo and loved every bit of it! An interesting plot, engaging characters, and chemistry that was off the charts; Rafe and Alexa were simply fabulous together. Ms Crespo has successfully written a well-developed story with steam, emotion and romance, in what’s essentially just a long novella. A must read that will definitely have you anxiously waiting for the next exciting instalment in this series.

The First Rule of Hook-Ups by Nina Crespo
This first installment of Nina Crespo’s Breakup Bash series is escapism at its best. It is a fun romance that lets the reader forget about everyday problems and spend some fun, relaxing time with these sexy characters.
Alexa is getting her life back together after her fiancé left her at the altar. Her besties suggest they head to the Breakup Bash at Club Escape, which features the sexy Hot Body Hunks. Alexa isn’t eager to return to the site of her bachelorette party, but is secretly hoping to see Rafe, the hottie she met that night. Rafe, the owner of the club, is retired from stripping, but still dances on occasion. The Breakup Bash is one of those nights, and when the two spot each other across the room, sparks fly.
Alexa and Rafe each have baggage from previous relationships, and both agree that things between them will be only physical. It’s a lot of fun to watch this adorable couple stumble around their growing relationship while enjoying their steamy moments together. They are engaging, and the reader can’t help but root for them. I wish it was still summer because this book is the perfect beach read!

Alexa is a woman who was done wrong, left at the altar, and saying to heck with love! Running into a man who made her question the ring on her finger is always a good sign of what is to come! Then after the ring is gone a chance encounter leads to a lot of romance and fun! One night stand?...You know this is a HEA...that's why we all love Brazen;)

Alexa was stood up on her wedding day by her cheating fiance Brian. She decides to go to a break up bash where six months ago while she was the bride to be at her bachelor party she met Rafael and it was instant lust, they had a hot kiss but kept it at that because she didn't want to cheat, come to find out that is exactly what her scum of a fiance was doing. Rafael could not forget that hot kiss he had gotten six months ago so when he is at this break up bash he couldn't believe it was Alexa and when he finds out that she is single and she wasn't cheating they have a hot one night stand which turns into many nights. Alexa's ex comes back and wants to get back together with her and she is getting pressured (rich people) do these instead of love. Alexa has fallen in love with Rafe, but even though he also loves her he is holding some baggage from his last girlfriend and he is comparing Alexa's situation to his ex and he almost almost loses her.Enjoy!

The first rule of hookups concerns Alexa who has been left at the altar by her fiancé who also works in the same company as her. Not wanting to be around when he returns to work she decides to relocate . As a farewell she attends a break-up bash with her friends.
Rafe a-former Chippendale type dancer now owns the club and manages his own dancers, that night one of them can’t perform so he has to stand in, here Alexa and Rafe meet when he performs a dance for her on stage, their attraction is off the scales and they start a relationship. Neither are looking for commitment and know their steamy affair will end when Alexa moves on.
The relationship develops at quickly and deeply and they both are fooling themselves it’s going no where.
A great story with two lovely characters that you only want the best for.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

This was an enjoyable, entertaining, sexy read. That drew me in from the start, due to the likable characters, plenty of chemistry, and an interesting storyline. That kept me engaged throughout; and I would happily recommend it to others.

What a fun and sexy book this was. Even if it started out where the female lead was a little bit in the dumps.

I felt I could really relate in some ways to Alexa. She was left at the alter and even though she was a strong and independent woman, she didn't want to be anywhere near her ex when he returned to work. So she took another job and decided to try out a new location. She loved her family and her friends and for the most part was an upbeat person. She wasn't totally on board going to the Breakup bash but she was hoping to get a glimpse of the hot dancer there.

Rafe now is the owner of Club Escapade and no longer takes off his clothes for a living. However there was one woman, months ago that he can't get off his mind. When she shows up at the Breakup Bash and Rafe is required to fill in for a sick dancer, these two are brought back together.

I loved these two together. There was spark, chemistry, laughter and just an easy understanding between them. I had to pump my fists in the air when after seeing Rafe again, she follows him back to his office and demands he kisses her. I was so jealous of her being able to do that.

I would highly recommend this book.

Wow what a great story this was! I loved these two together and the story line is the best. Nina is such a great writer and what you get compacted into this short period with Rafe and Alexa is phenomenal! The plot, the story, the characters- there wasn't one thing that could have been better.
The steam factor is off the charts and Nina does these scenes oh so well! You can't ask for more with this book! This is a must read. Yum!

arc from NetGalley and Entangled for an honest review.

I wasnt sure I would like this book at first because it just jumped right into the story without getting to truly know the characters separately but I think that added to it. I loved this book. You have a woman who's recovering from an unexpected break up and I guy who might have started out in a career that most put down but he made more of his life and owned who he was. It was easy to love both Alexa and Rafe. The book was a definite winner in my eyes. I'll definitely be looking for the authors other books.

Great book! This is Rafe and Alexa book, Rafe owns club escapades and he used to dance at the club years ago before he bought it with one of his friends, Alexa was marrying her supposedly soul mate and has her bachelorette party at the club and gets a special dance from Rafe, a while later after her idiot soul mate leaves her for another woman, she goes to a breakup party at the same club! She meets Rafe again who is now the owner but she doesn't know that! It was definitely a funny, really hot 🔥🔥🔥 interesting story! I highly recommend this book! I really enjoyed it! Definitely don't miss out on this one! Thank you Netgalley and the publishers and brazen for sharing this book with me!

Wow, The First Rule of Hook-ups, left me hot and bothered quite a bit. Sometimes just bothered. Men can be dense sometimes. I felt bad for Alexa, she seems to have bad luck with men. Good thing Rafe is HOT, if not I'm not sure Alexa should have forgiven him.