Brandon Enterprises has been mixed up in its fair share of shady dealings. Derek Brandon has his hands in many illegal ventures, thinking about nothing but financial gain and running the company when his father is no longer able. Shane Brandon has other ideas; it's time Brandon Enterprises walked the straight and narrow. He returns to Denver from New York to straighten up the mess his father and brother have made with the company. Shane may walk the line between darkness and the light but he does what he must to stabilize his family's legacy, keeping it from falling further into the pit of corruption. The intriguing woman he encounters in a coffee shop is only supposed to take the edge off, not leave him desperate for more.

Emily has just settled down in Denver. She's been on the run from her past, present, and most likely, her future. Harboring secrets that she's unwilling to divulge to anyone, she also has a past that she could get dragged back into it at any time. She just needs to get a job and keep a low profile for now, but a chance meeting in a coffee shop puts a twist in her plans.

Shane's character is strong, ruthless when necessary, yet tender and affectionate. His feelings for Emily are evident from their first encounter. After they meet again, their one night of passion proves to no be enough for either of them - not by a long shot. Emily is also a strong character; she has to be in order to survive whatever secrets are threatening to eat her up inside. She truly cares for Shane on almost every level - except the one that tells her to trust him with her secrets. Emily and Shane compliment each other. Emily illuminates the darkness Shane must maneuver through.

Hard Rules is a wonderful blend of suspense, intrigue, and romance ~ at some moments - very steamy romance! I was enraptured by Emily and Shane's story from the beginning prologue and could not put the book down. I was pulled into the drama and romantic suspense elements of the book. Every element of Hard Rules was enjoyable, from Shane and Emily's first meeting all the way to the cliffhanger ending.

I voluntarily read a review copy provided by the author through NetGalley.

Good read! From the start up to the last, I was hooked on this book. I love Shane and Emily. I love Shane's strong and dominant personality. **swoon** The story, my gawd..
The suspense and everything is amazing. I can't wait to see what will happen next! Love love loved it!!!

I wish publishers or authors or NetGalley would be up front and tell us this is NOT a standalone and this is part of a series. Difficult to jump in the middle of a series and get the cliffhanger that I never wanted to be a part of.

The best I have read so far this year. Loved Shane and Emily Their love is fierce and deep

Holy cow wow!

Hard Rules is an AMAZING start to what I'm sure will be an AMAZING series! Know up front, this ends in a cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers but it's such an awesome buildup!

The Brandon family is like Shane says repeatedly, Eff'd up. Royally. You don't know who you can or can't trust. I was constantly revising "whodunit" in my head because each time I had it figured out, something changed.

I'm not going to tell you too much about the relationship that Shane and Emily have other than it being pretty all-consuming, which is hard when Shane is trying to fix his family empire.

I can't wait for more!!!

3.5 stars, but bumping it up, cuz I can't in good conscience bump it down to a 3. It was better than that - even with several editing/proofreading issues.

I had a bit of a struggle with this book because of the behind the scenes power plays and understanding of what was truly happening within the family business. It was a bit much for my pea brain which doesn't necessarily want to "think" when I'm reading a steamy romance, but it lays the groundwork for some interesting drama, push/pull, secrets.

I loved the dynamics and the passion between our two main characters. Their chemistry is hot. Our hero's family is one f'd up mess. And I found myself very anxious, butterflies in the tummy anxious, as the story built. At the end of book 1, there is still a lot of story and secrets to uncover, and I will definitely be reading book 2.

ARC generously provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Shane Brandon cannot stand his family while still loving them at the same time. He has broken away, become a very successful lawyer and made a name for himself. Now he is back in the clutches of his family trying to save the company they have built and turn it into a "legal" business.

Brandon doesn't have time for anything but work and trying to keeps his brother Derek from sinking the business so far into the crime world there will be no hope. However his run in with a beautiful girl in the coffee shop is a lovely distraction, one Shane would love to work a little frustration off with. However fate has other plans.

Emily Stevens is a woman on the run, hiding a whole closet full of secrets. She is living a life of solitude because her past could hurt anyone she gets involved with. Then she meets a handsome stranger in the coffee shop who she ends up running into again later that day. One night won't hurt, Right? What is one night to pretend her past isn't chasing her down and this man seems like a perfect way to escape for a night, only one night.

Shane wakes disappointed to find Emily gone from his bed, however it is for the best, he doesn't need any distractions. Then once he walks into the office he runs right into that distraction who is now his fathers newest assistant. She has walked right into the lions den and doesn't even know it. Now Shane knows one night with her won't be enough, he wants more but how much can he give while trying to save the company from his father and brother. There is no one Shane can trust so why does he want to trust Emily.

I really loved this book but I only gave it four stars because it completely left me hanging. Emily's secrets are about to be revealed and Shane is learning who has his back and who is ready to stab a knife in it. Shane and Emily are so good together and I cannot wait to find out what happens next.

I had never read anything of this writer and when I saw this cover with this intriguing and powerful man and  after read the synopsis, I made a point of getting the book, but I did not like it very much. What was a shame because the writer knew how to handle the suspense of the plot very well, only lost in the development of somethings.

Shane is the typical alpha male, powerful who gets everything he wants. He finds himself in the midst of a complicated puzzle of influence, intrigue, betrayal, and power . He took over the damage control of his father's company after his older brother involved them all in extra-legal and out-of-the-way schemes. His brother Derek who was once an idol to him became a stranger and a great enemy.
It is in this moment of crisis and pressure that Shane meets Emily, mysterious and sweet girl for whom he feels strongly attracted since the first encounter. She is always under the impression that someone is watching her and she keeps a great secret.
On account of a detail I even imagine what must be the secret that haunts her life  and devoured the book to find out if I was right or not ....

The big problem for me here was that I found the question of her secret a bit repetitive and I could not connect with the couple, finding the passion between them a bit forced. They spend a good deal of the book thinking they're going to hurt each other. He wants to protect her from the confusion in the company and she's afraid he'll walk away from her once he finds out her secret. Other than that I do not like book with cliffhanger . When I was beginning to like the book, it ends with a supposed betrayal and I was frustrated to find out that it will be four books .

So most likely I don't know if  I will  have the patience to wait until the last book to know how everything will work out and if I am right about the famous secret. I think everything could fit in just one book, but anyway, it's the style of the writer and I respect .....
3/5 stars

Emily and Shane have a hot one night stand that doesn’t really feel like a one-time only kind of thing. The connection between these two was powerful and I could literally feel their emotional bonding, not to mention the hot and lusty connection they made. The scene on the balcony is definitely one you won’t want to miss.
As is often seen in romance books, both the main characters are keeping secrets. With a dual point of view, Shane’s secrets are pretty quickly revealed. Emily’s however are simply peeked at. I was craving to know what she was hiding.

While I felt somewhat bogged down by all the information that came pouring out at one time regarding Shane’s family’s business, I kept telling myself it would clear itself up the further I read. Nope. I’m still not really sure what exactly all the problems are. I know the brother is up to no good with help from the father. The cartel is involved and there’s some shenanigans with the FDA. The FBI are involved…I think. If they’re not, they will be. So yeah, I messed up by not paying closer attention to that landslide of details.

There is a brief moment or two of other woman drama which is quickly handled and I’m assuming she will come into play in the next book. Yep. That’s right. This is a cliffhanger. And not just a nice little happy for now cliffhanger. Oh no. This is a huge honking cliffy and my nails were being ripped off because I didn’t see it coming so I scrambled to hold on. You know the feeling.

I will definitely be reading the following book.

ARC provided by NetGalley

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review. I have to say the normal books with a cliffhanger ending are short and annoying, because they leave all the depth for the next book(s). However, Hard Rules broke my self imposed stereotype and was a very sexy suspenseful read. Shane is a billionaire lawyer trying to legitimize his father's company and his father is using this as his personal entertainment watching the brothers battle it out as he battles cancer. Shane meets Emily during a very sexy encounter in a coffee shop and is intrigued with her from there, even as she slips from his grasp.
Eventually they meet again and agree to one night togehther. Emily is fine with this because she has secrets of her own that she wants to keep that way. But, one night is not enough for Shane or Emily and the romance roller-coaster begins. With very sexy love scenes and a lot of wondering how this will end and who IS Emily really? What does she have to do with Shane's family business. How with this story come back around? This was a great beginning to a series. Not sure how many books are in the series but this is a great start.

I should have been doing a number of different things, but I dropped it all to read this because I started this book on a whim... and got completely sucked in. Money, power, drugs, sex, family drama... this series promises to have it all. Oh, and clandestine operations, wheeling and dealing, manipulation, backstabbing, the works! I love empire drama. It doesn't hurt that this is set in Denver, and I can picture the settings described oh-so-vividly. This first one ended on a doozy of a cliffhanger, and I will definitely be looking for the next one!

Hard Rules is the first in Lisa Renee Jones Dirty Money series and it’s full of mystery, suspense, romance and drama.

I started reading Hard Rules last weekend and knew I was going to have a hard time putting it down. The first chapter alone in the book had me questioning what the heck is going to happen in this book.

What are some items that I enjoyed about Hard Rules:

-Shane Brandon (one sexy billionaire lawyer who has family/business drama)

-Emily Stevens (one strong-willed secretive woman who is determined to run away a lot)

-Storyline (family drama, secrets, betrayals, etc.)

-Romance (Shane + Emily = hotness on the balcony, bedroom, etc.)

Those are just some of the items that I enjoyed about the book. I won’t go into much detail because I don’t want to give anything away.

First thing’s first though, Shane Brandon won me over immediately, even when he was being over-protective and a jerk sometimes to Emily. He reminded me of Gideon Cross from Sylvia Day’s Crossfire series because he had the qualities of Gideon and believe me I loved me some Gideon Cross. 🙂 Shane Brandon may have won me over a little more though in Hard Rules.

Emily is not an easily scared heroine. In fact, she’s one tough woman. I adored her in the story. She’s very secretive though and I was anxious to find out about her story. She keeps to herself though, but she’s determined to find out the truth on what is going on in Brandon Enterprises and determined to either run away from Shane or run toward him.

The story is what had me turning the pages though. Between the family drama of Shane and his family and the drama with Shane and Emily, I just couldn’t put this book down. It’s full of family betrayals. Shane and his brother Derek are fighting over Brandon Enterprises and their father who is ill is enjoying the bickering between the two. Shane knows the business is doing stuff illegally and he’s determined to keep the business from falling into the wrong hands.

Then there’s the hot romance between Shane and Emily. These two were just a one-night stand at first, but then it turns into something more. There are some really sexy scenes between the two.

Forewarning though the book leaves with a cliffhanger. You’ll be in shock like I was, but I’m so glad the next book is almost here. 🙂

If you are fan of Lisa Renee Jones Inside Out series, you will definitely be a fan of her new series. I give Hard Rules 4.5 stars and look forward to diving into the next book in the series very soon.

Title: Hard Rules
Author: Lisa Renee Jones

5 amazing stars

Once again, Lisa Renee Jones has managed to completely captivate my attention with another of her novels. Hard Rules tells the story of Theresa, a girl whose brother is the right hand to her father's drug ring. Unable to handle the oppression, she disappears. We then meet Shane - a lawyer brought back from New York to come and try to legalize his family business that has turned corrupt under his dying father and brother's 'reign'. Only, trying to turn the companies around is proving a whole lot more difficult than he ever expected and the only bright light is Emily, the woman hiding a dark past and trying to protect all those around her from her secrets.

4.5 sexy dreams

I love how Lisa Renee Jones brings her characters to life. They feel so realistic that you can't help but follow them in their adventure and feel their emotions as though it were your own. Neither can you help wonder if there's a link between Emily and Theresa, then hope that whatever Emily is hiding that Shane will prove himself to be a man and stay by her side. Knowing that Hard Rules is part of a series, I can't wait to read the next installment to find out what will happen to these characters!


*ARC provided by Author in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Kathleen, The Small Girl from A small girl, her man and her books

A chance meeting in a coffee shop when Emily takes the wrong coffee order which should be Shanes leads to a mind blowing explosion between the two.
Shane is a lawyer trying to clean up his father's company which is being corrupted by both his father and elder brother. His father is dying and Shane is on a time limit to clean up the company before his father's death and it falls into the hands of his brother who is in league with a corrupt cartel.
Shane suspects that they are distributing illegal drugs through the company's pharmaceutical division..
Emily has her secrets also having recently moved and created a false persona to hide both her secrets a who she is running from.
Shane knows that she is lying and tries to break through to her. He knows he should stay away from her but is inexplicably drawn to her.
A fantastic read much better than other stories in this genre can't wait for the next part. Five stars.

Hard Rules by Lisa Renee Jones is a hard hitting 5 star read.
When Shane wants to make the family business legitimate he has a fight on his hands,family are the toughest people to work with so Shane knows it won't be easy. When he meets Emily there's an instant attraction but sensing this Emily runs,not one to give up Shane sets out to see her again,when they decide on a one night stand it's not easy for either of them to just walk away. Emily is hiding something and I can't wait to find out what it is and how it will impact her relationship with Shane.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book through Netgalley.

Shane Brandon has his work cut out for him trying to make the Brandon Empire, reputable and corruption free. His father is dying, his brother is leading the charge into the land of illegal dealings his world is dark and for a man who believes in the law this is a hard place he doesn't want to be in.

Emily is running, hiding. She didn't count on Shane. His alpha male persona is just too tempting. What was supposed to one night, just to scratch that itch, has turned into so much more. More than either of them are ready for.

A seriously suspenseful, mystery filled ride. Angst, secrets, and a very corrupt family bring life to these pages. Plus there is one heck of a cliffy that leads you right to the next book. Heat, lust, intrigue, suspense, angst....this one has it all!

Lisa Renee has done it again with her new series Dirty Money. It's will suck you and then you will hit the last page and be in one of those zones like OMG for a few days. Make sure you dont have to use heavy machinery after reading this book.

This is the first book by Lisa Renee Jones that I have read. I will read the next book in the Dirty Money series. If I hadn’t received copies from the publisher, I’m not sure if I would continue though.

I know this book is setting up the others, and there would more than likely be a cliff hanger. There is, and I’m totally fine with it. I’m odd and love cliff hangers.

I am confused by this book. The prologue, to me doesn’t fit with the story yet. I’m guessing it does in the later books though.

I couldn’t really connect with the characters. It’s not that I didn’t like them, I did. I just didn’t feel them. I’m hoping that will change with the next book.

The story itself felt a little dry and was slow moving. I did catch myself skimming and had to go back. I almost stopped reading, but decided to continue.

The idea of this storyline is great. The writing was good.

I will say that after the ending, I’m curious about Emily and what she’s hiding.

I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley

WOW! Can I say that I adore author Lisa Renee Jones books? Hard Rules is the first in the Dirty Money series, and talk about explosive! I simply adore Emily, and Shane?? He’s a force to be reckoned with. I was hooked on this series from the very first page, and only pure exhaustion forced me to put it down. I am very eagerly anticipating book 3, Dirty Money, to finally answer a whole lot of questions that are still unanswered.