The details…
- Title: The Rules of Forever
- Author: Nan Campbell
- Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
- Publication date: September 13, 2022
- ISBN: 1636792480
- Available formats: ebook, paperback
- File size: 1553 KB
- Print length: 312 pages
- Genre: contemporary romance
- Themes: finding true love, learning to trust, family, art, education
- Tropes: friends with benefits, rich/poor girl
The blurb from the publisher…
Public school teacher Cara Talarico is determined to pay off her student loans by the time she turns thirty-five and has sworn off everything fun to make it happen—including dating. Attending her high school reunion definitely ranks in the not-fun category. The last thing she expects is to reconnect with Lauren Havemayer, her unrequited crush from ten years ago.
Having just returned from Europe, Lauren barely remembers Cara from their school days but can’t deny the sparks flying between them now. It’s too bad Lauren is abstaining from romance—love has caused her nothing but pain, and she doesn’t trust herself or anyone else.
They embark on a cautious friendship with benefits—no feelings allowed. But with their chemistry off the charts no matter how much they try to fight it, feelings are being felt. They both agreed to the rules at the start, but keeping them is more complicated than it seems.
My thoughts…
I really enjoyed this book. The friends with benefits trope can come off a bit contrived at times, but I found this one believable. I bought into The Rules of Forever hook, line and sinker. This is mainly because the characters are so likable. Campbell does a nice job developing both leads. Cara and Lauren are relatable and reliable while remaining interesting and unique. Campbell sketches them with sensitivity, compassion and humor, paying close attention to the kind of details that promote connectivity to the reading audience. Additionally, their chemistry plays out well on the page; it’s authentic and convincing. It comes off as fresh, not forced and contributes greatly to the success of the romance.
Besides well-developed characters, Campbell uses sound literary devices that give readers a romance they can count on but not find overly predictable. She charms readers with her delightful dialogue, entertaining subplots and engaging secondary characters. In addition to that, her use of conflict and sexual tension is masterfully done. Readers quickly become engrossed as well as captivated. The romance flourishes because of it.
Final remarks…
This is another writer whose debut has taken me by surprise; Campbell’s romance shows adeptness and skill. The storytelling flows smoothly across the page and absorbs the reader quickly and completely. This is a solid book. I look forward to reading Campbell’s next tale, which comes out sometime in April of next year.
Strengths…
- Well-written
- Well-constructed
- Well- penned dialogue
- Well-developed, likable characters
- Amusing
- Charming
- Sweet
A few scenes from The Rules of Forever to wet your whistle…
She dropped her hands from Lauren’s coat and said, “I have a suspicion that my mom and Aunt Deedee might be watching from the window, so let’s bow to each other like martial artists to really confuse them.”
Lauren complied, her eyes mirthful, and they stood apart and bent at the waist before breaking out in giggles.
“Why are they watching?”
Cara shrugged…“They want to be all up in my business.”
“Family.” Lauren opened her car door, but her eyes lingered on Cara. “Just one of many things to be thankful for.” She got in and touched her fingers to her lips and blew Cara a kiss, and Cara nearly swooned at the sweetness of it.
“…Now what were we talking about before this? Oh yeah, that awesome kiss from this morning.” Cara sighed dramatically. “Amazing.”
“You’re laying it on a bit thick. It was just a kiss.”
“That’s where you’rewrong. It was different. I felt that kiss from the soles of my feet to the tips of my split ends. You managed to make me feel really special this morning even if you weren’t feeling your best.”
Lauren could feel herself blushing and was glad Cara couldn’t see it. “You don’t have split ends. Your hair is very healthy.”
“I want it all: a relationship with a woman that will last forever, someone I can depend on and who depends on me, the proverbial house with the white picket fence and the dog in the yard, a passel of kids to keep us busy.”
“Nice.” Lauren’s smile was brittle.
She might as well know what I’m looking for now [Cara thought]. Lauren might even bail on their friendship without any more prompting than this. “It’s a dream I have. I don’t know how likely it is to come true. And I had always thought that whoever my future forever woman is, she’ll have to be a lot younger than me because even after I’ve paid off my loans, it will be a long time until I’m financially ready to commit to someone. I’ll be way past child-bearing years. She’ll have to be the baby maker of the family unit. Can you see me? Fifty years old and hobbling around after my offspring with a cane in one hand and a tissue in the other.”
In her mind’s eye, Cara could see the home and kids and dog, and the woman beside her was Lauren. They looked so right together in her imagination—in love and happy, supporting each other through life’s ups and downs. She shook her head to rid herself of the image. It wasn’t going to happen.
Lauren had been gazing into her bowl. She looked up, shaking her own head a little. “A tissue?”
“To wipe my imaginary kid’s imaginary snot.”
“Ah,” Lauren said, nodding. She picked up her spoon again.
“Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable.”
“Why would imaginary snot make me uncomfortable?” Lauren gave her a half smile. “That sounds lovely, Cara. I hope you get your forever woman and all her accessories. You deserve it.”
“Thanks.” Her forever relationship had always been a comforting, hypothetical, someday, sometime thing. In all her youthful daydreams, she never once thought she might develop feelings for someone who wasn’t driving toward the same life destination as she was, but there it was. All the wishing in the world wouldn’t make Lauren want what Cara did.
Lauren held up her beer so it eclipsed the waning sun behind it, turning it into a molten ingot of fire. “She’s undiluted. She fills me up,makes me feel a little unsteady. Sweet, a little salty, and golden. She nourishes me.” She took a sip and set her glass down with a thump, flicking embarrassed eyes at Preston. “Tell me to shut up already.”
He slid his glass along the table and clinked Lauren’s with it. “I have to meet this woman. Not many people could make a poet out of you.”
“Yeah, she might secretly love to hear me talk like that, but she’d also be quick to tell me I’m being ridiculous.”
“What does she look like?”
Lauren retrieved her phone and scrolled to the photo of them from before the gala.
“Paloma took that before we went out last week.”
Preston took it from her. “Hot.”
“Yup.” She looked over his shoulder at the image. “Smoking.”
She stared at [the photo], turning pensive. “It’s not going to last.”
“Why not?”
“She wants it all: wife, kids, hers and hers minivans sitting in a suburban driveway somewhere. Your basic happily ever after. I can’t give her that.”
“Do you even want that?”
Lauren sat back and thought about it. She did, she realized. Somewhere in some dead-end chamber of her heart burned the candle of her thwarted desire for a forever love. Her attempts to starve it of oxygen and light hadn’t worked. Dashed relationships and broken hopes had seen the flame gutter and smoke, but it had never gone completely out. That scrappy little light seemed inextinguishable, but locating it amidst all that came after was the hard part. If she allowed herself to even go looking for that candle, she imagined she would find Cara already there, tending its flame. But she had no idea how to get to that place of love and trust and hope anymore, no matter how much she wanted to be consumed by its fire. She stared morosely into her beer, not bothering to answer.
Preston scooted his chair closer. “You can have it if you want it. You’re just not letting yourself.”
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A bit about the author
Nan Campbell grew up on the Jersey Shore, where she first discovered her love of romance novels as a kid, spending her summers at the beach reading stories that were wholly inappropriate for her age. She was, and continues to be, a sucker for a happy ending.
She is a seasoned traveler, having visited many countries across six continents, and hopes to make it to the seventh someday. She hates to cook but loves to practice her cocktail-making skills. She also loves karaoke, which is unfortunate for anyone within range of her singing voice.
Nan and her wife live in New York City, where they struggle to balance their natural homebody tendencies with all the amazing things the city has to offer.
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