Rule Breaker

Wild Card, Book 1

By: Nikki Hall

Narrated by: Vivienne Ferrari, Duncan Cole

Some rules were meant to be broken....

Soren

I’ve never met someone so determined to mess up her life. Vi Malone is one step away from disaster, and I can’t stop trying to save her. But maybe she can help save me. A couple of weeks posing as my girlfriend would go a long way toward fixing my battered reputation. As long as I don’t break my oldest rule—never get emotionally involved.

Vi

I’ve never met someone so determined to piss me off. Soren Brehm thinks he’s my personal hero because he has something I need, but he can’t solve all my problems with a wicked smile and a spacious second bedroom. Not until I get past his football star façade and realize he sees me, really sees me. I don’t need saving—but maybe I need him.

Rule Breaker is the first full-length novel in the Wild Card series of steamy interconnected stand-alones featuring the football players of Teagan University—a fake dating, forced proximity, college football romance with plenty of heat.

©2022 Nicole Hall (P)2023 Nicole Hall

Great book!

I loved this audiobook . The characters were amazing . The angst I felt between them when it was just supposed to be a thing of convenience for them both. Yet they both fought hard to keep their real emotions from one another , but that can only last so long. Soren gave up a lot for his relationship to vi plus his football career. I enjoyed their journey. The narrators did a spectacular job bring these to to life . Amazing all the way around.

This was great read/listen

I loved the story. It has great characters and I shows creativity in setup. It has varying twist which made it a great story. I like narration as well, they did a great job portraying the characters.

Loved the audio

I first read this story, now listening to it the narrators brought a lot to the story. The performances were great and it was a fun, quick listen.
Forced proximity. College football romance. Fake dating. Fun steamy scenes.

Rule Breaker

Original Goodreads review: Soren. I could just leave this review at that but it probably doesn't provide much context, eh? Anyways. Soren, wow. He's something. Soren is a strong MMC. He's never a jerk and is protective of his people. He's got a lovely little dirty streak in him too and I could visualize him all day.

Vi is a strong FMC. She doesn't need anyone to support her and is fully capable of taking care of herself but, when she lets her guard down, Soren breaks through her defenses and they're the perfect fit for one another. I loved the foundation of the little found family we're growing at TU. I can't wait to get to know the rest of them.

Edited November 2024: I recently listened to the audiobook to prep for the release of Front Runner's audio release! Duncan Cole and Vivienne Ferrari did a great job at the narration. They both did well voicing their own characters as well as differentiating the voices of other characters. I would listen to something they narrate again!

Loved this one!!

Ahhhhh!! Soren + Vi were absolutely perfect!!! I loved their story so much. They basically hit it off from the start and we’re so electric. This is definitely one of my favorite in the series. These narrators were great!!

Delightful!

When Soren Brehm gets a phone call in the middle of the night, he immediately thinks that something's not right, but when he sees it's his friend, Eva, he knows there's a problem. She and her friends are stranded at a party at the Kappa house after Lizzy did something of a ninja move on the very despicable Colton when he tried to touch her. To get them out safely, Soren is "tasked" to take Vi Malone home. There is definitely some sort of instalust going on, at least with Soren, but Vi is too independent and doesn't need anyone's help. To be on the safe side, Vi sleeps in his guestroom, but Soren sees a way for them to be mutually beneficial. He needs a fake girlfriend to appease his parents and she needs someplace safe to live. They clearly belong together and they find that they're seamlessly joining their lives. Soren's parents are a real piece of work and the way that Vi handles them is the perfect slap in the face. Soren is the ideal boyfriend in every sense of the word, especially when he stops by the side of the road to dance with her. There is little angst in this book which makes my heart happy. The chemistry between Vi and Soren fairly sizzles. From meeting her overly-protective brothers, to cracking the case inside the football program, Soren and Vi are a force to be reckoned with. This is a lovely story with characters that are believable and recognizable. It moves at perfect pace and the ending is exceptional. The epilogue is actually exciting and the only thing it was missing was a comeuppance for his parents.
The narration is very well-done by Vivienne Ferrari and Duncan Cole. Their dynamic voices and perfect pace blend well to give each character a unique personality and attitude.

Steamy

Soren and Vi meet when he comes to help out a mutual friend of theirs at a party. After giving her a ride home, she agrees to help him out with his family by being his fake girlfriend. Then when she needs a new place to live, he lets her move in. Will sparks fly when these two live in close proximity?

This is the first book in the Wild Card series about football players from Teagan University. And after listening to this one, I’m eager to add the rest to my TBR. I mean who doesn’t love a good college sports romance story.

Whilst some aspects of the story are a little predictable, there’s more than enough steam and intrigue to keep you listening til the end. The main drama revolves around other characters, and not our main ones. I enjoyed the pace, tone and steam of this audio book.

Soren 🫠🫠🫠

This is the first book of the wild card series that I have listened to and omg I am so glad I work from home. Soren is everything I didn’t know I needed. I have read the books a bit out of order and haven’t gotten around to reading this one, but listening to it is just far better than reading it would’ve been. The story - amazing, the narrators - exceptional, finding my football book boyfriend - done. Loved every minute of this and will probably listen to this again just to hear Soren 🫠

Fake dating

Rule Breaker is the first book in the Wild Card series, but it can be read as a standalone.

Vi and Soren decide to fake date because it would benefit both of them equally. Yet, there’s obviously attraction between them from the get-go. They can’t deny it for long, and soon (really soon), they both realize that they’re not just faking anymore.

Vi was strong and sassy. She didn’t really need Soren to “save” her, but he did what he could to help her anyway. She was so supportive of Soren, and she managed to get him to open up.

Soren was so sweet! Sure, before Vi, he had been a big flirt, but once he met Vi, he let her see the real him. His parents were…something else. But Vi was there for him, defending him when no one else would. And I really loved the way he showed Vi just how much he loved her. It was so cute!

I do wish their fake relationship was built up more because it seemed more like an insta-love story rather than fake dating.

This was a fast-paced read with little drama and swoony moments. It is a fake dating college sports romance.

Audio:
Narrators: Vivienne Ferrari and Duncan Cole
Style: Dual

The narrators did a great job on this audio. I could easily differentiate between the different characters.

Everyday Vi 🥹

Violet Malone just wants to be left alone while she finishes out her college degree . Constantly busy with classes, the gym + her workout class schedule leaves no time for much of anything else . So when she decides to go to a party to let off some steam the last thing she expected to happen was for her to possibly break the wrist of one of the Teagan Universities football stars . Or that because of that little incident she would now a have fake boyfriend who she has only met once when he became her knight in shining armor . Oh and that she would now be moving in with said knight as well . All Vi can hope is that this fake relationship doesn’t leave her heartbroken + that her stalker doesn’t leave any permanent damage .

Soren Brehm just wants everyone to understand that football really is his life, his heart + his soul . But there is no one he wants to understand this more than his stuck up parents . So when the opportunity arises for Soren to not only help out his best friend Ava, but also the mystery girl who took his breath away while also getting his parents off his back, seem like a win all the way around . Except Soren didn’t intend to find himself falling head over heels for his fake girlfriend . His also didn’t intend for this stalker situation to escalate + continue on for so long . But when secrets and lies are happening all around you, it’s hard to know who to believe .

Yes Yes Yes ! This book hooks you in from literally the first 30 seconds of the book + immediately it makes you addicted for answers . Soren is truly just perfect . Always wanting to be better because he believes he could never be good enough until Vi shows him that he is more than enough . Vi truly is the Aurora Borealis . She doesn’t know just how beautifully stunning inside + out she truly is but Soren is there to remind and cherish her every single day . UGH they just couldn’t be more perfectly matched for each other ! I’m so excited to keep reading this series to find out what happens next with our crew of wild cards !

This is the first book in the Wild Card series and it can be read as a complete standalone .

This book was given to me for honest review by Wordsmith Publicity .