Making the Rules is the second standalone book in the Wild Hearts boxed set by Doranna Durgin. I received a copy of this book as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program in exchange for an unbiased review. Brief plot spoilers may follow.
Summary:
Hunter Agency operatives Kimmer and Rio, codenames Chimera and Phoenix, get their first official case together courtesy of a wealthy older woman who needs their help protecting an antique steeped in scandal and danger. Kimmer, who has a skewered view of family and what she can provide for it, struggles to trust Rio as her partner on the job despite him being her lover off the clock. Rio has his own doubts about their success working together, and as the danger factor continually rises, so does the importance for these two to pull it together before its too late. Questionable allies and a host of enemies meet them on this case, and as they deal with the issues in their partnership, they also find themselves framed for a crime neither of them committed. The person pulling all the strings in this case is someone from Kimmer's past, someone hell-bent on making Kimmer pay for not allowing them to finish the job they'd started.
My thoughts:
Making the Rules was a fun read, but I have a few more
complaints with it than I did Hidden Steel. First things first, Kimmer is a
badass and I loved it. LOL I could see immediately that she had issues,
especially with vulnerability and learning to be dependent on Rio. The problem
was that she was so strong by herself, so capable and so self-sufficient that
it almost made Rio look like a backburner character. This fact was emphasized
by how much of Kimmer's work she had to do alone because Rio was somehow
incapacitated. I could see the doubt that both of them had with working
together, and I think it was that doubt, not an actual inability to work
together, that caused problems. The doubt was the seed, and events in the book
that played on that added to it. I actually think they have potential to work
flawlessly together and if there are more books to come with Chimera and
Phoenix back out in the field, I’d like to see that. I understood Kimmer's hang-ups about family and whatnot, but for someone who usually functions on
logic and reason, I wondered for a lot of the book if she realized that part of
her problem was not seeing that she had an opportunity to provide something to
others that she wasn't given. With that being said, I liked that instead of
wanting to continue on future assignments alone, she made peace with the
knowledge that she wanted to do them with Rio. Even though I think she would have
eventually done a great job with her sisters, I think the solution we ended up
with was great for everyone. I liked the various twists in this story; I could
figure out some of the people who were probably going to end up being a problem
later in the book, but some of the others fell into a gray area, and I enjoyed
that. The intentions of the ‘gray area’ characters weren't immediately revealed
to the reader and being able to go through that process with Kimmer and Rio,
feeling everything they were feeling, until they figured everything out added
on to the excitement.
One of my main complaints with Making the Rules was that I’m surprised poor Rio wasn't dead by the end of the book; he took the majority of the hits, was attacked the most by far, while Kimmer usually didn't take half as much damage. Hell, the reader’s introduction to the man is him getting shot, and he continues to accumulate a number of potentially fatal battle wounds as the story progresses. Not saying I wanted to see Kimmer as banged up, but it would have been nice to see Rio at his full potential. The various injuries he accumulated then having Kimmer need to rescue him made him look a bit weak and from what I understood about his character, weak he definitely was not. Of course, having to do all of that and wing it—alone, for the most part—eventually helped Kimmer to come to the realization that she needed Rio around on and off the job, which was an important development, so I can see where these plot twists had their purpose. I had read in the beginning that the enemy was someone from Kimmer's past, but with all the action that quickly followed, I’d forgotten all about it until the last few chapters, when they finally revealed themselves. I was just trying to figure out the next person in the chain was, who was pulling that person’s strings. It was intricate in a way, with every individual having their reasons for being involved, whether those reasons were understandable ones or not. This was another layered story, with background stories that contributed to the overall plot without diminishing it. At the end of the book I felt like the main characters had made some important revelations about themselves and this set a pretty solid foundation for future chapters.
Do I recommend this book?
Much like I mentioned with Hidden Steel, if you like a story with a strong heroine not given to hysterics, some great action scenes and the ability to live in the moment with the characters, then Making the Rules may be a book for you. I do not recommend the book, though, if you're looking for a romance-heavy plot. Although it is well-known and often mentioned throughout the book that Kimmer and Rio are lovers and one of the plot points is working together as both lovers and partners, there isn't a lot of steam in this book either. Considering the setting, however, the lack of romance is understandable. I also do not recommend the book if you like alpha males who take the lead. Rio is just as much an important part of the plot as Kimmer, but due to circumstance it is Kimmer who ends up having to take the lead in some of the situations. In a general sense though, I definitely recommend this book.
Helpful links:
If you'd like to download Making the Rules as a standalone book, here is where you can download it:
Amazon ($3.99) | NOOK ($3.99) | Google Play Books ($3.99) | Smashwords ($3.99) | iTunes (price needs to be converted into USD)
And if you'd like to download Wild Hearts as a box set (which I recommend since its cheaper):
Amazon ($5.99) | NOOK ($5.99) | Smashwords ($2.99) | iTunes ($2.99)
Doranna Durgin can be reached here:
Website | Facebook | Twitter
If you'd like to read my thoughts on both books rather than two separate reviews, you can check out my LibraryThing review here. I don't want to hog the site up with book reviews which is why I don't post too many of them, but all of the Early Reviewers books that I read will be given a full post here. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed these reviews!
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