The Sweetheart Rules (A Sweetheart Sisters Novel)

This was a great read for me! I read the first novel in this series, The Sweetheart Bargain, and while I did like it I kept thinking I wanted just a little bit more from the book. This book gave me that MORE! I loved watcing both Matt and Diana struggle with parenting issues and how they were almost parenting together without even realizing it. There was a ton of chemistry between the two of them, and for a time they were willing to ignore it for the sake of being parents, but they finally gave in and it was great! This story was sometimes easy, sometimes sad and it delivered the happily ever after I needed.Matt was not a good father, he realized this about himself and what made this flaw palatable for me was the fact that he was working so hard to change. I thought little Ellie was hilarious, but it was much more difficult to read about Jenny. She was way too young to act like the adult, but she had to make up for a mother that was never around and a father she had only seen a few times. It was very sweet to watch Matt and Jenny find their way together.I was sad every time the story went to Diana's son Jackson's struggles. Although most of us can sympathize with normal teenage angst and the drama that goes along with it, Jackson also has to deal with a father that is unwilling to give him the time of day. In the end, he had to see for himself what his dad was really like and Diana had to stop making excuses for his behavior. This experience made them closer than ever and was the first stop on the road to HEA for Matt and Diana.All along I thought Matt would be the one to run from the relationship at the end but I was wrong. Although I will admit to some annoyance that this was pretty much what happened in the first Sweetheart Sisters novel, I was able to get over it quickly when I thought about it for a while and realized it made sense that both sisters would have some abandonment issues.

This book sucked me in from page one. And made me laugh right off the bat! Which is the best way to cinch me!I loved that the hero is a harried dad not used to hanging with his kids. He was charming and sarcastic in his internal thought and hilarious.I loved that the heroine has depth to her. Her part of the first chapter when she gets home really let you see who she is even barely on.As I read on, very early in chapter 4 it was apparent to me that the hero's daughter, who is eight years old, is much older than eight on the page. The three-year-old daughter at least acted her age but the words and attitude from the elder are more like 13 or 14 and therefore to me not credible. Not to mention I think it was taken a little bit too far that the girls miss behave with their dad. I started to get irritated instead of amused. If he's this big tough Alpha guy he needs to have more discipline with them. Especially since he was in the military. So it was another notch to not credible for me.As of the continued and continued to make me laugh as well. Especially grandma Greta. The 8-year-old continued to be too grown-up and that continue to bother me.But I really like the characters are can I like how quickly Mike started questioning what he wanted. The sexual tension between Mike and Diana was fantastic from the start.The steamy parts were awesome & I was surprised because there were tearjerking parts too! It got me when I least expected it.OMG I loved this book. I couldn't put it down, and I ADORED how it ended. Perfect! I can't wait to check out the others in the series!

This was an excellent story, great emotional depths and some surprises! It actually made me cry a few times! Highly recommended!

this was a great read and loved it!!

Shirley Jump brings readers the second book in her Sweetheart Sisters series, The Sweetheart Rules. Jump writes contemporary romance novels that grab the heart and won't let go. In this installment of the series, she not only focuses on love between the main couple, but also on family love and parenting. Jump gives readers a man who doesn't know how to be a father and woman, who is struggling with a teenage son. It's a match made in heaven. With three eccentric old ladies bent on matchmaking and three great kids, this is a great addition to the series.What I liked:Who doesn't love a man in uniform? The Coast Guard has always been one of those branches of service that I didn't know that much about until I watched tv shows like Deadliest Catch and the movie, The Guardian. I just thought they were men who rode around on boats, warning people about what they should and shouldn't do on the water. But I learned differently and I was really happy to see that this book focused on a character that was in the Coast Guard. Though the story didn't give much time to Mike's career and was honed in on his relationship with his daughters, I found this aspect of his life interesting as well.Mike wouldn't have won any awards for great parenting skills when this novel started. He hadn't seen his daughters in some time and really wasn't even thinking about them, when his ex wife decided she needed to sort out her life and left the girls with him. It was interesting to see him struggle with the little girls and their issues. From tantrums to a child growing up long before her time, Mike has his hands full and when he meets Diana again things get that much more complicated. I wasn't sure I liked Mike until I began to see that he knew he was screwed up and wanted to change. It just goes to show you, that when you make up your mind to change you can. I loved that aspect of the book.Mike wasn't such a good lover either. After a one night stand, he left Diana with a nasty note and never looked back. Now he is realizing his mistake and is determined to show her that he has changed. I liked the fact that he took an interest in her son's problems as well as in her. It showed that he really was trying to do things differently.Diana was a great heroine. She was struggling with a lot and her son didn't make things any better. She kept trying to make excuses for his father's lack luster behavior as a dad and only making things worse. I enjoyed watching her finally face up to how he was and stand behind her son. I thought she had some serious issues of her own with abandonment, but eventually she gets it all together and turns into a good heroine. She was spunky, but she needed some courage to get her going in the right direction.Mike and Diana together made an interesting couple. They were certainly both flawed and very human. I liked the matchmaking ploys of the old ladies and the good romantic scenes. This book had a little something for the new adult reader as well as those of us who are a little older. There was a lot of humor and some moments where tissues might be in order.What I didn't like:Both sisters in the series so far have had issues with running away from those that love them. Finding the same issue in the second book in the series seemed repetitious in a way and I thought Jump could have used something more original to provide the needed conflict for the story.Bottom Line:This was a good book, but probably not my favorite from this author. She has written a ton of contemporary titles and some of them are hard to top. But this read provides a feel good story with a lot of emphasis on family.