Well, lacking is a good word in this case. I wish there had been a little more closure in the end. I needed more. Izzy, Jack and Nick- what a tangled web. I just felt as though Izzy was moving way too fast with both men. I wish there was more Nick background, more info about him. I felt like I had a good understanding of Izzy and even Jack.

I am just not a fan of cliffhangeresque books and I really struggle with those. I feel like those books should come with a warning.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read and review.

Lovely feel good summer read. What’s not to love sun sea and sadly ur reading about it instead of living it. Easy to read and flowed well. Perfect summer book

Ugh, what a great way to end the story, and by great I mean, an open ending question of “what's next?” I don’t know if the author did it on purpose, maybe trying to see if we’re looking for a sequel or will ask her to do an epilogue.

The ending well, it might not go as planned or what we expect but I think the most important lesson here is to learn how to forgive yourself. Sometimes we are too caught in our own drama and problems that we thought we don’t deserve to be loved, and we try to shut down people who show us, love.

I started thinking that it was going to be a quick train ride read but it made me stop and think. The story involving suicide while the protagonist is in college and how she deals with her decisions after being released to her parents care made me sit up and give more mindful thought to the story line. I wanted Izzy to make it..
Much heavier read than I thought it would be but wonderful nevertheless.

Overall, I enjoyed this book! Izzy's journey to figuring out herself and her past was fun to follow. There were a few things that were a little unbelievable, though. Izzy and Nick's relationship seemed to move very quickly, as did her relationship with Jack, and it seemed like they didn't even know each other's last names in those first few days they were hanging out constantly. I wish we could have learned more about Nick as a character and seen him develop a little more. How old is he? What does he do for work? We didn't ever learn that stuff which was odd to me. He also exhibited some stalkerish behavior in the beginning if you ask me. Then, I couldn't get over how slow Izzy was to realize how the pieces fit together when she was figuring out her family history. Also, her not realizing until the end of the book that she could use social media to look Jack up was a little unbelievable. She's a 25 year old girl! C'mon now. The first thing I would have done was facebook stalk him. I understand the author deciding to leave the ending kind of open for interpretation, but I would have liked to know how things ended for Izzy, Jack and Nick. Again, I enjoyed it overall. It was a quick, easy read.

Emma Leigh Reed is a brilliant writer and has a knack of making you feel every deep raw emotion along with her characters.
the pain of the lows and the joy of the highs were felt in every page. i really couldn't put it down.

When i finish a book i like to mull it over for a while after but i found myself constantly think "well, what happened next" i think i would have enjoyed it more had there been a epilogue or the promise of another book to continue this journey.
it does not take away however from the brilliant read that it is and the author should be praised for that

Wow, talk about a hard book to review... Yes, I liked it, but damn the ending...

Isabelle (Izzy) attempts suicide at 18 and it is swept under the rug and not discussed by her parents. At a time where she feels no hope or happiness, she meets Jack and suddenly feels alive again. But her guilt about feeling happy leads to her pushing him away, and she moves on with her life.

Seven years later, she has moved to Virginia and is a junior editor at a publishing house. Her job is her life, but then she meets Nick. Nick is wonderful, fabulous, and as close to perfect as a man can get. But Izzy is still holding onto the idea of Jack. She is still paralyzed by her suicide attempt and how it was never dealt with. Seeking help from a counselor, Izzy begins to make progress, she learns incredible things about her family, and she tries to feel o.k. again.

After finishing this novel tonight, I looked at some other reviews, none of which mentioned the ending. I hate to start with that, however, being true to the typical reviews that I write, this is not a novel that wraps everything up into a perfect little package. I am sitting here now, hours after reading, wondering what happened next. The author eludes to a sense of inner-peace for Izzy, which, it's about time, but I need more closure in what I read unless it's a clear-cut cliffhanger and I will get more if I read the next in the series. But I don't even know if this is a series.

Despite my discontent with the ending, Emma Leigh Reid has written such a raw and honest novel that I'm not sure I can find the words to convey the beauty of it all. Izzy is real, broken, has issues, etc. Whether she's being a workaholic, drinking too much, not sleeping, or trying to use Nick for sex - Reid has written a brutally honest character that I found amazing, addictive, and compelling. Unfortunately, I was able to identify with several of her issues regarding her mother, as well as, issues surrounding her feelings of not being deserving of happiness in her life. Bad mothers can do a number on you, trust me, I know.

But what I loved was how things weren't sugar-coated. As a reader, I knew when Izzy was trying to be evasive, when she was down-playing her emotions, and when she straight-up just refused to deal with and/or think about any of it. I commend the author for writing something so honest, regardless of whether it became uncomfortable or awkward. Which again, brings me back to some other reviews I've read, especially one describing this as a quick and easy read. I did not in any way find this a quick or easy read because of the emotion and depth of the writing. And until the ending, I had decided this was one of the best books I've read in quite awhile. 

I remember during my undergrad and graduate years reading novels, most of them considered the "classics," and I've always struggled with ambiguous endings. One of the big ones that comes to mind is Kate Chopin's The Awakening. I had to re-read the ending several times before I understood what she had done. I kept thinking that I was just left hanging and it frustrated me to death. For me personally, I either need closure or some distinct direction about their being a follow-up novel. This is the only thing I disliked about Breaking the Rules. Besides that, I think that Reid has written something with incredible depth, enormous life lessons, and appealing to a variety of readers.

*Thanks to NetGalley and ELR Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a very thought provoking novel. Isabelle has a lot of inner chaos and after her suicide attempt has a hard time getting her life together. Thanks to BooksGoSocial and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book lured me by cover and the synopsis. Truth be told I probably wouldn’t have picked it up because it’s just not my type of read.
The story itself is deep and moving; it’s sensitive. The characters were real and the emotions were strong.
I’m glad I picked it. I cried some, I laughed and I also sat back and let it all play out. Grab some popcorn and tissues!

I found myself struggling at times because of what the main character was going through, and how she went through them. I was unable to feel sympathy for her, which in turn, left me annoyed with her.

I devoured this in a couple of days. This is an easy read, but also gets you empathising with the lead character. Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Breaking the Rules is a must read. I found myself feeling for the main character as well as rooting for her to make it past all her trials and pain. You will find yourself cheering her on, wanting her to allow love into her life. This is a deep and important story. However the proofreading part is horrible!

A heart wenching story of the life of Isabelle. After trying to take her own life she returns to her family home and meets Jack. From there self doubt and not having dealt with her issues sends her life in a completely different direction.
A very moving read.

**Was given an ARC by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

I don't where to begin. The proofreading and editing were terrible.

After a failed suicide attempt due to the lack of love her parents never gave her her entire life, she finally met Jack, the love of her life, when she was 18 and recovering. Her parents were in complete denial of what she did; her mother couldn't believe what she did and was more concerned about her social standing in the community rather than her daughter. Izzy knew that she had to tell Jack what she did, but after she gave him her virginity she didn't know how he felt about her. She was afraid that once he found out the truth, he would walk away and leave her; so she saved him the trouble. She hurt him by being distant and cold and he walked away, never looking back.

Izzy moved to Virginia, leaving Jack and her parents behind. She spent the next 7 years mourning her breakup with Jack. It was pathetic that she couldn't move on until she met Nick. They hit it off right away, but he told her that he wanted more from her; that he knew that she guarded her heart from being hurt. She started seeing a therapist to resolve her guilt for hurting Jack and getting to the root to why she was never loved by her parents. And she gets the shock of her life.

But the ending leaves you hanging; and not in a good way.

Overall not a bad read- its based around Isabelle who tried to end her life.
While reading this I went through many emotions that it made me think about my own mortality and how I feel about life.
Many thanks to both NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for my eARC of this book in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion

Izzy tried to commit suicide at a young age because of a lifetime of feeling unloved and unwanted. She had so much guilt for this and for years could not forgive herself. Because she felt unworthy she pushed her first love, Jack, away and was never able to forget the hurt she caused him.
This book was great but at times frustrating as Izzy put herself
through so much unhappiness before finally seeking help and moving on with her life. She did however, meet someone who supported her and helped her to realize counseling would help her sort out her issues.
I really enjoyed reading this and would love a sequel.

I really liked this book. It held my attention the entire time, and I found it hard to put down at night! I wasn't really sure what exactly was going to happen with the main character; she had so many issues. I felt bad for her and she really had a hard time in life. I could not stand her mother. She made me cringe! The ending was great. I wasn't expecting it, so it was like wow, what a turn of events.

In some parts of the story I felt like it went too fast and were too far fetched, like that wouldn't really happen in real life. I also felt like I didn't know a lot about the character herself besides she was very unhappy and didn't like her family. Some of the details about her, what she looked like, and descriptions of her town were missing for me and I like to be able to picture stuff in my mind while I read and I couldn't do that. Overall I liked the book and it was an enjoying read for me!

Isabelel, or Izzy to friends, has to overcome her issues which make life unbearable for her. She has to learn to break the rules imposed by her parents and the ones she makes up for herself. This story about a young women who has to undergo an incredible difficult emotional journey to become a more wholesome person who is able to love herself ,give and receive love. While it is an interesting read, Isabel actions at times seems childish and stubborn. Her story demonstrates that at times we can be our own worst enemy. I mostly enjoyed reading this book.

This book was not for me - I would say it is more YA than Women's Fiction. I will say though, it was brilliantly written and I would be interested in another Emma Leigh Reed book.

Izzy tried, and failed, to take her life which ends her back in her parent's house where unconditional love does live. Relenting to one of her parent's wish, she attends church with them every Sunday and meets Jack. They have a very fast instalove, where he seemingly saves her from her overbearing parents. But, of course, that doesn't last because Izzy can't seem to believe she deserves happiness. The ending of this relationship was overwhelmingly sad.

Izzy moves to a new state and starts over - finding some inner strength in the process. With the help of her new man, Nick.

I found Izzy to be unbearable for most of the book - she was just so tortured, I couldn't empathise with her.

This book has the range of emotions and deserves a sequel.

This book was provided to me by Netgalley for an honest review.

Breaking the Rules by Emma Leigh Reed is a wonderful book. The female lead character, Isabelle seems very weak at the very beginning of the novel. The reader will be surprised to see the transformation of Isabelle by the end of it. She attempts a suicide and fails in it. She feels out of place while with her parents. When she falls in love with Jack, she finds happiness in his company but pushes him away thinking that she doesn't deserve to be happy.

Isabelle finds a new job and moves to a different place after her heartbreak. She continues living in a shell afraid of causing herself yet, another heartbreak. The whole story changes when she meets Nick accidentally. Her walls start cracking around Nick and her fears kick in forcing her to push Nick away. Nick stands like a rock and helps her in fighting with her demons of past and fears about the future.

With the new found strength, Isabelle sets out to find out about her family secrets. The story is very engaging. I like how Isabelle finally forgives herself for her mistakes in the past and gives herself another chance at the future. The author did a great job. The story was very easy to read and in some parts, I could see myself in Isabelle. This is a very good read for young adults but I'm sure anyone would totally enjoy this book. I really hope the author is planning to write a sequel to this book sometime soon.

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