Review: Breaking the Rules by Barbara Taylor Bradford

So, THIS, I believe, is actually the final installment (so far) in the Emma Harte series.  I thought the last one was, but not so.  This book follows M, an unknown young woman (although the reader does suspect she is somehow related to the Harte family, as this is in the series) as she begins her pursuit of a modeling career in the US.  You know that she has left home and family behind, but not why.  It is clear that she is running from something.

I didn't love this one as much as I have others in the series.  It takes a while for the reader to warm up to it, as M is basically a stranger to us for the first half to two-thirds of the novel.  Eventually, her real identity is revealed and the book takes on the more familiar trappings of a typical Barbara Taylor Bradford book, bringing in the other characters we've come to know over the course of the series.

One thing I didn't like about this entry in the series is that things seem to happen way too fast to M.  She meets Larry Vaughan and falls instantly in love with hime.  She becomes a modeling superstar almost overnight.  It's not realistic.  And it's not something I remember from the other books.  Maybe I am forgetting some of that, and maybe it was more glaring in this novel because the beginning of the book was a "mystery" as far as M's true identity was concerned.  Like, maybe when the insta-love and insta-fame happens to a Harte, it's less glaring?  Because the Hartes are clearly the cream of the crop, so it's kind of expected that they will continue to be blessed in every way...

Three out of five Whatevers for this one.  I only really got into it about halfway through, when M's real identity was revealed.  Definitely should be read by completists, intent on finishing the series, but don't read it as a stand-alone, for sure.  The original is still the best...A Woman of Substance is unequalled in the rest of the series.

2016-2

So, we just found out this week that the company I just joined, Jamberry, is expanding into the UK!  I'm really excited.  I'd love to break into this market.  If anyone reading is from the UK and interested in a direct sales business that is really rewarding, come visit my Facebook page, https://facebook.com/alexisvelozijc, to learn more about Jamberry.  Better yet, send me a message and we'll chat, I'll send you a sample, and walk you through the company.  You could get in at the beginning of a business that is really going to explode in the UK!  Okay, I'll cool it for now.  I don't want my blog to turn into a giant Jamberry marketing tool.  I just love what I'm doing right now and am very excited about it.