Rules of Engagement

by J.T. Geissinger

Love is a battlefield for a quirky matchmaker and the cocky football star who hires her to find him a wife.

As the owner of Perfect Pairings matchmaking service, Maddie McRae earns her living helping others fall in love. And one thing the sweet Southern belle knows for sure is that the foundation of wedded bliss is built on similarities: opposites might attract, but they don’t stay together.

Enter Mason Spark.

Rude, arrogant, and notoriously allergic to monogamy, the hottest quarterback in the NFL is Maddie’s polar opposite. He’s also her new client. Her gorgeous, infuriating new client who’s paying her an outrageous sum of money to find him a wife. With his multi-million dollar contract on the line due to his behavior on and off the field, bad boy Mason is willing to pretend to settle down.

But when he starts to fall for the adorkable matchmaker who can’t stand him, the playboy finds himself in the game of his life to keep something he never thought he’d lose—his heart.

Genres: Romance, Sports, Sports Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Humor, Football

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 2020

About the author

J.T. Geissinger is a #1 international and Amazon Charts bestselling author of thirty novels. Ranging from funny, feisty romcoms to intense erotic thrillers, her books have sold over ten million copies and been translated into more than twenty languages.

She is a three-time nominee in both contemporary and paranormal romance for the RITA® Award, the highest distinction in romance fiction from the Romance Writers of America®. She is also a recipient of the Prism Award for Best First Book, the Golden Quill Award for Best Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, and the HOLT Medallion for Best Erotic Romance.

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Reviews

[Dilek VT · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 and many more stars from the bottom of my heart
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I LOVED this book. This was the kind of book I am used to getting from Ms. Geissinger. Actually, after the disappointment of "Perfect Strangers", I was hesitant to try this book. Also, I am not a fan of heroines that are matchmakers. I thought it would be a cheesy book. God, I was so wrong! It was wonderful – it was just the book I needed.

This book is Ms. Geissinger’s signature work: A wonderful romance with smart and fun banter, deep emotions and super hot chemistry. As in all her books, it gives you all the feels. I wanted to read every page twice and did that sometimes :) My book is so full of highlights.

*********************************************

I read the book with HEARTS in my eyes and with an enormous SMILE on my face.



Towards the end, I slowed down just because I didn’t want it to end but well, as all good things, it ended in the blink of an eye. I started craving it as soon as I finished it.

If you need a sweet, funny, emotional book with awesome characterization and a non-stop fun plot line, this is the book for you. The characters are really awesome. I adored both of them. I also loved the hero’s agent Dick, and the heroine’s aunt Waldine. They even have their own chapters.


In short, I loved everything about this book.



Now, let’s talk about the book in a bit more detail.

Let me start with the SAFETY information as I know it is important for many readers. The book was totally safe for me but you should check if it is safe enough for you, too.

The hero, Mason, is a football star and we are given information that he sleeps with many women. He has casual hook-ups only. He doesn’t believe in love. He has a sad and traumatic past and it has made him the bitter person he is now.

For readers who hate OW scenes, let me say that at the beginning of the book, he wakes up in his bed and there is a woman there that he slept with. Nothing happens in the morning but we just know that he slept with her the previous night and now he regrets it.

I have no problem with man-whore heroes or OW scenes; thus, neither bothered me but if you are unhappy about these things, here I am giving you a mild warning.

As for safety after they meet, it is totally safe because neither of them touches another person after meeting each other.

Thank God, there is safe sex and there is no unplanned pregnancy.

A few times, the heroine’s ex causes some drama but she never feels anything for him anymore so no problem.

*********************************************

CHARACTERS & PLOT

Our hero, Mason, is a grumpy as*hole at the beginning of the book. He is angry and rude.

Mason has no friends or family. He is a lonely man. The only person he cares about is his agent Dick.

Mason was living a reckless life and now his agent wants him to get married and settle down so that he can improve his image and keep his job.

Enter Maddie, the matchmaker. She has sent a few girls’ information to them but Mason refused them all without even going on a date. He just talked to them on the phone and decided they were not OK.

Maddie is an interesting character. On the outside, she looks prim and proper – like a librarian, as Mason says. She wears her hair in a bun and her clothes are plain. But the colors she chooses are weird. She has an obsession with pink.

Maddie is a control freak. She needs control for reasons we later learn. When she thinks she is losing control, she freaks out and starts to tidy up the place or clean the house. She has many obsessive traits.

She is also very smart and funny. She is loving, affectionate and sincere. She is adorable. She is cute. She is beautiful. In short, she is all the good things you can think of with a bit of an obsessive and controlling side.



Mason sounds like an unlikable person at the beginning of the book but I soon changed my mind and loved him. The way he sees himself is sad. He thinks he doesn’t deserve anything good. He can’t let go of the things that happened in his past and therefore, they all cast a shadow on his life today. He is lonely and unhappy until he meets Maddie. Maddie shakes his whole world to the bottom of its foundation. Maddie is also shaken by both Mason’s beauty and his beast.



She smiles. I feel that smile all the way down to the darkest corner of my soul, the place where light never shines and I keep all the monsters hidden under lock and key.

She smiles with her whole body.

With her whole being , like she’s a conductor of light itself and all that’s good and pure in the universe is being channeled through her on its way to me, where it surrounds me and bathes me in golden rays of sunshine, so warm and sweet I could almost cry.

I stand there stunned, stupidly gaping at her, until she speaks.

***

I’ve never had an out-of-body experience before, but today is a day of firsts. First time meeting the infamous Mason Spark. First time seeing size eighteen feet in real life. First time wanting to commit murder.

***

“Bed head” doesn’t even begin to cover it. It looks like his preferred hair styling method is sticking his head into a blender and setting it to puree. That would account for his beastly attitude, too. His brains are obviously scrambled. I’ve met bears nicer than him.



As soon as they meet, the awesome banter between them starts and it never ends till the end of the book.

My face hurt after a while because of the non-stop big smile on my face.

“You’re not blinking.”
“Funny, I was just thinking the same about you.”
“Really? I could’ve sworn you were thinking about stabbing me in the neck with that letter opener on your desk.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” I pause for a beat. “I just had the carpet cleaned.”
His lips do that twitching thing again. “You’re right. A neck wound would produce a lot of blood. You could push me out the window.”
“I would, but we’re on the ground floor.”
“Good point. Rat poisoning?”
“Tempting. However, I have no interest in going to prison.”



Mason doesn’t believe in love. Maddie is a true believer of love. So, there begins a fight between them.

Maddie is adamant that she will find a woman he will fall in love with and Mason is sure that it won’t happen.

During this sweet struggle, they fall for each other but each of them is so dense that they cannot believe the other person feels the same thing. So, many funny things happen till they come to their senses.

“Would you like me to tell you why I called now, or do you have more shouting to do? If so, I can wait. Just checking.”
There’s a noise—a chuckle? No. Impossible.
He blurts, “What’s with the pink ?” And we’re off.
“The pink what?”
“All the fucking pink at your office. It’s really fucking weird.”

Now I understand why pious Catholics are always crossing themselves. They’re praying to God to come and take them to heaven, because they’ve got their own Mason Spark in their lives and they’re this close to sharpening that hatchet in the garage and burying it in his skull.

They are so cute while fighting that both the monologues in their heads and the dialogues between them cracked me up.

“Oh, look, we’re growling again. Have you thought of taking one of those DNA tests to see if there’s a bear somewhere in your family tree?”



Mason and Maddie are not the only fun characters. All of them are.

The agent Dick and Auntie Waldine play an important role in the book, as well. They make plans behind their backs so that they can see that they are perfect for each other. They are so very funny.

Especially the aunt was something else. She sees people’s aura, she is interested in astrology and people’s chakras. She also has friends and they gather at night and have sessions, talking to the dead. Some crazy woman she is! Her interactions with Maddie were all super fun.

All characters are very-well portrayed and they each contribute to the story a great deal. Even Mason’s coach was awesome, giving him wonderful advise, saying he needs to be the man Maddie deserves.

*********************************************

The ex-boyfriend of Maddie causes some drama every now and then. But it was OK, some jealousy is always good at the beginning.

“Is that robot we saw at church the only man you’ve ever slept with?”
Shocked, I pull my arm from his grip and say icily, “That’s none of your business.”
“He is, isn’t he?”
“See my previous answer.”

*********************************************

Maddie and Mason seem to be fighting all the time but it also shows how strong their chemistry and attraction is. In time, the emotional bond between them also grows strongly. Maddie sees the good man behind the angry façade and Mason is amazed that she sees him, the real him.



If you hate Mason in the first few chapters, please go on because he will definitely win your heart. Mason’s opening his heart to love and Maddie’s already generous heart will make you fall in love with these characters, too.

Watching her laugh - knowing that I made her laugh - makes me want to pound my fists on my chest like Tarzan. But I only sit there beside her, drinking in the musical sound and resisting the violent need to cut it off by crushing my mouth against hers.

Christ. This is getting pathetic. I need to get away from her before I make a complete fool of myself and start spouting poetry.

***

“I suspect the way you deal with your anger is to drown it, and I hate to think of you angry and alone shooting whiskey when you could be angry and with me doing something more productive. We could go bowling. Work off some of that rage. Stop staring at me like I just landed on your lawn in my spacecraft.”

He murmurs, “I can’t picture you bowling, Pink.”

“I don’t. But I’d learn for you.”



“I’m sorry for teasing you about your ego. It’s not nice. And I don’t want you to think that I think there’s anything wrong with you, because I don’t.”

His face goes through several different emotions before it settles on something I can’t identify. It’s part pain and part pleasure, with a whole lot of ambivalence thrown in.

He says softly, “I know you don’t think there’s anything wrong with me. Which is what makes me assume your parents must’ve dropped you on your head a lot when you were a baby.”



“We definitely don’t work on paper. And don’t forget you can’t stand my manners.”
“Exactly!”
“Plus, you’re hell on my blood pressure.”
“I’m bad for your blood pressure? Ha! I’ve been flirting with heart failure since the day we met!”

And finally, when they started to kiss and make love, the book in my hand exploded with their sweet and hot chemistry. I admire Ms. Geissinger’s talent in writing kissing/love-making scenes. Not every writer can write those scenes with all the feels. All those scenes makes you feel a lot…

He straightens, takes my face between his big rough hands, and stares down at me with entire cities burning in his beautiful eyes.

***

Before I have a chance to feel self-conscious, Mason pops open the remaining buttons on my blouse, pushes aside my bra, and latches onto my nipple, drawing it into the wet heat of his mouth.

The sound I make isn’t human.

He sucks a little harder. In response, I wrap my legs around his waist and start to rock my hips against him, whimpering helplessly in pleasure and pulling on his hair.

“Wow,” he says, chuckling. “This really makes up for all those jabs you took at my ego.”

See how hot and cute they are at the same time? Just the way I like 😊

With his face buried in my neck and his arms tight around my body, he whispers, “You can’t hide. I see you. I see you, do you hear me?”
“I see you, too,” I whisper, fighting tears.
“I know you do.” He lifts his head and gazes into my eyes with a look of wonderment. “And you can’t imagine what that means to me.”

***

I’ve never seen anything as beautiful as her, unbound. Her beauty is made all the more sharp at this moment because the rest of the time, she’s always so controlled. Formal. Body contained within buttoned-up blouses and sensible skirts, hair wound tightly in businesslike buns.

But now she’s unraveled…
Because of me.
I did this.
I feel like a god.
And I want more.

***

She says my name over and over, chanting it like a prayer, and I can’t remember ever feeling so happy. Or so terrified.
This is everything I could ever want.
This connection.
This fire.
This honesty, too, the knowledge that I’m seen and accepted, even appreciated, despite all my shit and my failings.
She’s the only person who’s challenged me in years.
The only one who’s gotten under my skin.

*********************************************

Well, as you see, I am in love with this book.

- I recommend this book highly if you need a book that is sweet, fun, emotional and hot.

- I recommend this book if you want to read one with good characterization and a meaningful plot line that is developed enough.

- I also recommend this book if you want to laugh out loud and feel all the feels that you need in a romance book.

I recommend it – period.

*********************************************

Thank you, Ms Geissinger. You made it again. This is my type of book and you are one of the few writers who can do it the best. Please continue to write such books. I will be looking forward to many more like this. And please, don't upset us like you did in "Perfect Strangers", it left a bitter taste. Well, this book has already made up for it :)

And, dear Ms. Geissinger, I am sorry for your loss. May your mother rest in peace 🙏

*********************************************

* You can follow my instagram page from here

[Carol [Goodreads Addict] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rules of Engagement is a stand alone romcom by J.T. Geissinger. Usually in a review I would tell you how much you are going to fall in love with the Hero, and yes, you definitely are going to. But even more so, you are going to fall in love with Maddie. Maybe most of all, you will fall in love with Maddie and Mason together, because these two are like toast and jam, bread and butter, or maybe more like oil and water. I’ll let you decide.



Mason Spark is a quarterback for the Pioneers. He’s been with the team for six years and has spent those six years gaining the reputation of being quite the bad boy. Drinking, womanizing, and just general bad behavior. His agent, Dick, who I also loved by the way, is determined not to let his client ruin his life. So he has decided that Mason needs a wife and has hired a matchmaker to find him his perfect mate.



Maddie McKee believes in love. She owns her own matchmaking business, Perfect Pairings and spends her life helping people to fall in love. Only it never happened for her.



When Mason and Maddie first meet, sparks are flying, but maybe not in a good way. They both seem to have the immediate ability to push each other’s buttons. Maddie’s business is love, and Mason doesn’t believe in love. He’s grumpy and rude, she’s a southern lady, all prim and proper. They couldn’t be more different.

“I’ve already ruined too much in my life, I don’t have to ruin her too.”

These two don’t seem to be able to be in the same room together without driving each other crazy. But they also don’t seem to be able to walk away. This book made me spontaneously laugh out loud so many times. And the rest of the time, I was smiling. Maddie’s Auntie Waldine was so much fun. The whole book was just adorable. As you can imagine, there is so much more to these two and I loved discovering what they kept buried so deep while they navigated the mine field between them.

“If gentlemen are wolves, does that mean ladies are bunny rabbits?”
“Don’t be silly! A true lady is the most ferocious creature you’ll ever meet.”
“I’m beginning to get that.”



I really did love everything about this. It was fun but not in an over the top way. Just a pure pleasure to read. J.T. Geissinger continues to amaze me with every single book she writes. Each is so different from her others. If you want a sweet, fun, feel good book that just makes your world a little bit brighter, or maybe in this case, I should say, pinker, than I highly recommend this book. I hope you love it as much as I did.

For more about this book and so many more, come and visit me at Carol's Crazy Bookish World.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Carol...

[Isabella. R · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Prince Charmless Stars ⭐

Rules of Engagement was everything I hoped and more. Rom-Coms are my weakness, yet I don't find many of them funny, go figure! So, when my dear friend Annie gave it the thumbs up, I was a little anxious. Only because she is the class to my trash. We always agree on the love of reading but not always the reading material. But then there's the moment we both adore the same book and we both happily grin.....

Southern Belle, Maddie McRae is at wits end. After building her matchmaking service ‘Perfect Pairings’ to the reputable business it is, she is ropeable knowing that her latest client is a sham. You see Maddie believes in true love and happily ever afters. What she doesn’t offer is an escort service. Taking on quarterback Mason Spark as a client was a huge mistake. Especially when he admits to only needing a wife for PR purposes. But Maddie is no quitter. She is dead set on proving that a love match can be found even for the biggest cynic.

My mistake was presenting lovely, intelligent, gracious single women who desired to meet equally lovely, intelligent, gracious single men. What Mason Spark needs is a lady gorilla.

Bless his heart, Mason Sparks is misunderstood. Not really, he’s an insufferable asshole with a temper and a massive ego to match. However, as Maddie and Mason begin spending time together (since she has nominated herself as his dating coach) we quickly begin to see that maybe their perfect matches are both under their noses and there is more than meets the eye.

“You’ve both got a lot of broken pieces. But if you give it a chance, you might find that all your broken pieces fit together perfectly to make a beautiful whole.”

These two were amazing. Their banter was the best foreplay and with the helping hand from their own personal cupids (Auntie Waldine and Dick) watching them realise how perfect they were together, was hilarious and magical!

“Like me? So you admit it. You do have feelings for me.”

“So many feelings.”

His voice turns rough. “Yeah? Like what?”

I try to hide my smile. “Annoyance. Frustration. Exasperation. The list is long.”

[Wendys Wycked Words · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, I had a wonderful time reading this awesome romantic comedy. I really needed it after all the heavier books I have been reading and I definitely feel much lighter after finishing this one. I still have a huge smile on my face...



This is one of the funniest "opposites attract" stories I have ever read and I fell in love with both the main characters. 

Maddie runs a matchmaking business, and being a believer in "true love", she really enjoys her job, helping people finding the love of their life. It's a bit sad she hasn't found her own prince yet, but she isn't bitter about it...there is still plenty of time.



Mason is a famous quarterback and he is looking for a wife to clean up his image...all his womanizing and causing trouble is finally catching up to him. So his agent, Dick, signs him up at a matchmaking agency...Perfect Pairings, which is owned by Maddie of course.

 The banter between these two left me in stitches. I still have some muscle cramps from all the laughing I did. Both of them were hilarious. This book was the perfect amount of "funny" without getting to the point of being ridiculous or OTT. 



If you enjoy slow-built romances with a huge amount of fun, sarcasm, and chemistry, then you should definitely give this one a go !!

I also want to give some extra credit to Maddie's aunt Waldine and Mason's agent, Dick. They were pretty awesome in their own way ;) 


An ARC was provided to

in exchange for an honest review

 

[Carvanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is f-wording fantastic!!! This is one of the most charming, fun and witty books I’ve read in a long time and I literally devoured it in one sitting, late night and all!





When Mason needs to clean up his public reputation, his agent sets up a meeting with a matchmaker to find him a wife. Mason is not on board with this idea, but he’d do anything for Dick. The minute Maddie walks into the room, Mason is a goner.

’She smiles.

I feel that smile all the way down to the darkest corner of my soul, the place where light never shines and I keep all the monsters hidden under lock and key.

She smiles with her whole body. With her whole being, like she’s a conductor of light itself and all that’s good and pure in the universe is being channeled through her on its way to me, where it surrounds me and bathes me in golden rays of sunshine, so warm and sweet I could almost cry.’

But, Mason, being Mason, does the only thing he can. He f-words it up.





I have huge amounts of adoration for Maddie. She’s a Southern lady to the very marrow of her bones. (Notice the f-words?) But lord have mercy can the girl bring you to your knees if you cross her, and do so without ever breaking one of her momma’s rules. As Mason soon learns. She was just as much fun as Mason and definitely a favorite heroine of all time.


’I fold my hands in my lap and smile, because Southern girls don’t need a gun to shoot you dead.’


Mason was just hilarious, despite his grumpy, rude ways. He’s a complete womanizer, has no friends, drinks too much and can’t be relied upon by his teammates. But under all of that beats a heart of gold that would do anything for the people he loves. The problem is, he doesn’t believe in love. To say his past has left him scarred would be an understatement. The fact that Maddie is determined to find him a wife drives him crazy but he’s quick to turn it around and use it as an advantage.






This book had me laughing out loud, my cheeks hurting from all the grinning both at this couple and their antics as well as the secondary characters that added so much to this couple’s finding happiness. The humor was perfect without ever being juvenile. The chemistry between Maddie and Mason was felt from their first meeting and simmers throughout the story making this one sizzling slow burn.

I loved everything about this book. EVERYTHING! I can’t recommend this enough if you enjoy rom-coms. And if they sometimes don’t work for you, try this one because if one could change your mind, this would be it.


Multi POV - mostly hero and heroine
Safe a bit of ow/om drama - om is definitely the catalyst of some drama and tiny separation but it completely backfires on him - ow is a date that insinuates herself into a meal with h/H but it backfires on her as well; no cheating; h is not a virgin; H is a manwhore but he can only see h once he meets her and her insistence on finding him a wife drives him crazy but he uses it to his advantage.
Triggers no apparent triggers

[Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 STARS

Eyes blazing, she says, “You know, before I met you, I hadn’t argued with anyone in fifteen years.”
“Doubtful. That tongue of yours is way too sharp to be outta practice.”

OH MY GOD. My face actually hurts from smiling so much. This was the most fun I've had reading a book in a while. It had the perfect amount of humor all wrapped around witty and fun banter, all anchored by a sizzling slow burn romance that I couldn't get enough of.

My mistake was presenting lovely, intelligent, gracious single women who desired to meet equally lovely, intelligent, gracious single men. What Mason Spark needs is a lady gorilla.

J.T. Geissinger is an auto-read author for me. I don't even bother reading the blurbs to her books because I already know I'm going to read them. But when I saw she's coming out with something different from her usual, you know I had to read the blurb. And when I read the blurb to this, it gave me total Match Me If You Can vibes. And in case it's not obvious, I loved Match Me If You Can. Yet this is not exactly the type of trope you find often. Now don't get me wrong, this book totally stood out in its own unique right, and it hit every spot I never even knew I had.

It’s too bad the man has the personality of a chupacabra, because he’s actually very good-looking.

Mason is a football superstar, and a royal grump. I'm talking the king of grumps here. He's a bit of a recluse and the only kind of woman he likes is a temporary one. But his agent is convinced that the only thing that would pull his terrible rep out of the pits of hell is a woman. Or a wife specifically. There's just one problem, Mason has the temperament of a bear with a thorn in his paw. In comes Maddie, matchmaker extraordinaire. She's a little prissy, a lot proper, with souther charm, a love of pink and mouth full of sass. The two of them set off instant fireworks, and so begins the best banter of all time.

Mason doesn't believe in love where Maddie loves love. She's determined to find Mason the perfect woman while he's convinced she doesn't exist. They snipe and snarl at each other at every step, and soon Maddie realizes that Mason doesn't just need a matchmaker, he needs a dating coach. And off they go. You guys. These two had some of the funniest, cutest, and witty banter I've read in a while. The two of them set the pages on fire with their chemistry. And yet the slow burn sizzled so good, it actually made my ovaries hurt. True story.

Maddie is the perfect southern belle to Mason's grump. GOD. He was so grumpy. I loved him. I loved her even more. Enter the most perfect secondary characters with Maddie's aunt and Mason's agent, and everything was just GAH. I couldn't get enough of this story. Like I never wanted it to end. It was the cutest, quirkiest, sassiest, swooniest thing EVER. SO stinking good. If you're looking for a lighthearted, witty, and feel-good romcom, this will hit every spot for you. TRUST ME.

ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review

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[Mali Mor ❤️ The Romantic Blogger · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 PINK STARS! 💕

I LOVE romantic comedies, but lately I haven't been able to find one that makes me laugh more than the need to roll my eyes... until I started this book! 💕
This slow-burn story was just what I needed - funny, sweet, witty and so hot!!! 🏈🔥

📚 “𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙠?”
𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙪𝙥 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚. “𝙄𝙩 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙚.” 📚

30-Years-old Maddie McRae runs a respectable matchmaking service named "Perfect Pairings" (even though she is single). She's optimistic, polite, sweet - but also a control freak and has a serious obsession with the color pink. 😂💕
Maddie believes in true love, that's why she does what she does... What she doesn't do is offer an escort services to her clients. 😱
So, when she finds out that the quarterback Mason Spark has paid for her services to find a fake bride just to save his reputation - she is furious! Yet, she will do anything to prove that even the most cynical person can find true love ... 💕💥

📚 "𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨.”
“𝙊𝙠𝙖𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜?” 📚

28-Year-old Mason is grumpy and rude, he has no family or friends and doesn't believe in love. His traumatic past has made him cynical, one who doesn't believe he deserves anything good... 💔🏈😭
Until Maddie arrives and turns his life completely up-side-down! 💣💥

Oh my god, their banters were so much fun... even their inner monologues made me laugh out loud! 😂

📚 “𝘿𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙪𝙜𝙚 𝙚𝙜𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚?”
“𝙉𝙤,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚. “𝙈𝙮 𝙗𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙩.” 📚

Besides Maddie and Mason, the other characters were also wonderfully written and each contributed to the story in its own special way (Especially Maddie's aunt and Mason's agent, who even have their own chapters in the story). 💕💥
The only thing I didn't like was the drama at the end. Of course every romantic comedy needs some sort of crisis, but the way the author turned Maddie's ex into the "bad guy" was too exaggerated... I could imagined him rubbing his hands and laughing in an evil voice. 😂

What I love most about J.T's books is her talent for building sexual tension that makes me want to pluck my hair off and drool all over the place - and than finish it with hot scenes that was totally worth the wait! 🔥

So if you want to fall in love, swoon and tear with laughter... this is just the book you should read!!! 💕

▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️▫️

📖 ᖴOᒪᒪOᗯ ᗰE Oᑎ IᑎᔕTᗩGᖇᗩᗰ: 🎉 https://www.instagram.com/the_romanti...

📖 ᐯIᔕIT ᗰY ᗷᒪOG ᖴOᖇ ᗰOᖇE ᖇEᐯIEᗯᔕ: https://books-romance.com/

[Leo (Queen of the Rants and Spoilers) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m so tired of books like this one. Authors writing their heroine with barely any sex experience and if she has any she has had the most horrible sex ever. And meanwhile here we have a “hot as fuck” hero with experience as high as Mount Everest. It’s not cute or funny. It’s stupid how many authors view women when they are women themselves. Oh but you can write OWs as sluts? Oh but let’s not forget how the author is trying to stereotype women, if she doesn’t have sex she must be a cat lady with many cats.

Don’t get me started how you authors always write a heroine who’s mousy, looking like a librarian with plain or “ugly” looking clothes because she can’t be as beautiful or hot as the “hot as fuck” hero. You authors, give women a bad name. You make me sick.

[Starr (AKA Starrfish) Rivers · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the hay, I'm feeling generous today. Really this is more like a 4.25 which I rounded to a 4.5 then rounded to a 5.

The fact that sex only happened after 70% has nothing to do with it. It's just that things started getting a little boring after the first 50%.

What I do love about the book is the quick wit and dry humor. The back and forth banter between the MCs. He's like a bad-tempered gorgeous beast with the softest marshmallow heart. She's like the tenacious flat-chested Southern belle librarian who always sees the best in people.

The fact that there's no undue drama helped me round things up. For example, toward the end, when Bobby the ex came blackmailing, things could have gone the melodrama route. But Maddie came back strong. I liked her unswerving loyalty. She stood up for her man not once but twice! She saved him! She was the knight in shining armor in this novel, saving the supposed bad guy from a wrongful execution.

I enjoyed this one. As you can see, having read the thing in 1 day. It's a winner.

[Malene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this wonderful romantic comedy which was so much more than a comedy. It’s also an enemies to lovers and slow burn romance. An awesome package that just made me feel so damn good from start to finish. Every character in this story just shined. Especially Maddie and Mason because their chemistry and bantering were gold. So much fun and heat sizzling beneath the surface. Maddie’s auntie Waldine and Mason’s agent Dick were terrific additions to the story and definitely had their role to play in the story.
Maddie helping Mason with finding the right woman for him turned out to be a game changer for the both of them. The dialogue was witty and the story entertaining. Rule of Engagement was a wonderful and unexpected surprise.

4 Pink Stars

[Giorgia Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

It’s hard to rate this because the writing was good, the dialog was awesome and so so witty. I laughed a whole lot!
The characters were ridiculously quick with their comebacks and in all honesty if this book was just a collection of introspective thoughts and quirky smart one liners then it would get a 5 star rating.

Buuut, this is supposed to be a rom-com of sorts and therefore it needs more in the way of plot development and storyline.

Nothing much happened really, except a dizzying back and forth based on an instant love/lust connection of sorts.

This is a good choice if anyone needs a light romance with smart and funny dialog but don’t expect much plot.

[Arena♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

🌟4 'matchmaking' stars🌟

Southern Belle, Maddie McRae runs a matchmaking service called "Perfect Pairings." She is good at what she does and has made a name for herself in business. Enter her next client, Mason Sparks, who is the complete opposite of her. She is sweet and sophisticated where he is broody and crude. He doesn't believe in happily ever afters whereas her entire world depends on it. They couldn't be more different even if they tried but at the end of the day, they have one thing in common, and that is love and loyalty for each other.

“You’ve both got a lot of broken pieces. But if you give it a chance, you might find that all your broken pieces fit together perfectly to make a beautiful whole.”

They both came from a painful past, filled with hurt and longing but together, they were stronger than ever. I smiled hard the entire time I was reading this book, whether it was because of how adorable they were or sometimes even at their ridiculousness smh

Yes, there were things I didn't like in this beautiful and adorable book.
reasons for my 4 star rating:

○ The word "fuck" was mentioned about 43167547972903 times
○ The term "spoiler alert" was mentioned about 43257681087 times
○ The sisterhood of the walking ouija board (or something like that)

Overall, it was a very enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend it! Also, wanna know how much you're gonna love this book? (spoiler alert: a fuckton😉)

Also, my favourite part of the book:
"Tell me three words"
“Okay, superstar. Here’s three words for you. You ready?”
I adopt a serious face, though my heart is hammering. “I’m ready.”
Looking into my eyes, she says calmly, “Let’s get married.”
I almost topple over onto the floor. “What?”
“You don’t have to shout at me. You did ask for three words, after all.”
I’m so astonished I almost can’t from a sentence. “B-but I thought… I meant… I love you!”
She smiles serenely at me. “I know you do, Mason. I love you, too. So much.”
“No—I meant I thought you were going to say I love you!”
“I know you did, honey, but I figured unless I popped the question first, you’d carry that big pink diamond around for who knows how long before you got around to asking me, so…” She shrugs. “Here we are.”
My jaw hangs open. “You know about the ring?”
Waldine throws herself onto one of the sofas, props her feet up on the arm, folds her arms behind her head, and grins at me.
“Son, half of Atlanta knows about the ring. You think you could sneak into a jewelry shop and plunk down millions on a piece of ice in that town and nobody would hear about it? Psh.”

OMG! OMG! OMG! *total fangirling*

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am giving this book 4.5 stars.🌟🌟🌟🌟for content
but also 5 smiley faces 😊😊😊😊😊 for pleasure factor (I was totally beaming while reading).
Hell yes,
I am just going to round it up to 5 ❤❤❤❤❤ "so in love with this story and it's characters" stars.

This book was a wonderful return to the quirky, witty, hilarious type of read that I so love from Ms. Geissinger after the major disappointment of her previous release "Perfect Strangers"(sorry but that one totally sucked for me).

This was a complete zinger of a rom-com.
I adore snarky, sassy, sarcastic banter so much and this book was a smorgasbord of such delightfully wicked humor .

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!!!!👍

[Anna *Bran. San. Stan* · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars: “Nice is the foulest four-letter word in the English language. It’s got fuck beat by a mile.”

A quintessential romantic comedy – humorous and witty, with a pretty much ridiculous plot, very entertaining and absolutely worth reading. Needless to say, you’re not reading this for its realism and because of this, the blatant caricature of the characters was fun (Maddie McRay, an amalgamation of the Southern belle and the stereotypical librarian; Mason Spark the football player/misunderstood man-whore; Robert the robot/politician/Maddie’s ex; Auntie Waldine the quirky/meddling “witch”; Dick the concerned/meddling agent).

I found Mason’s POV especially hilarious (I just love grumpy heroes); the angry attraction and the resulting verbal exchanges between Mason and Maddie were a delight (see example below). I did find Maddie’s naïveté quite annoying, though, especially at the beginning.

Sadly (for me), the football aspect is marginal at best and only really figures in at the end (mentioning the Pats and Tom Brady a hundred times over does not make a sports romance; and that in Atlanta, of all places!) so don’t read this for the advertised sports aspect – read this for what it is: a highly enjoyable, funny romantic comedy that will make you laugh and forget time.

Mason:

And here I am, a twenty-eight-year-old man who’s so fucked up his agent thinks finding him the perfect wife will save him from himself.
I’m only going along with it because I don’t have the heart to tell him that ship’s already sailed.
That ship has fucking sunk.

Sample of Mason and Maddie’s dialogue, in front of her house, Mason’s POV, omitting most of the narrative voice:

“Now I think maybe you should walk me to the door, because unless gravity is doing something funny and the house is supposed to be tilting like that, I’m very tipsy.”
Closing one eye, she squints at her front door.
“I told you drinking all that whiskey so fast was bad.”
“Don’t be smug, Sparky. It’s not a good look on you.”
“Sparky?” . . .
“Don’t tell me no one’s ever called you that before. It’s the low-hanging fruit of nicknames for you.” . . .
“Even if someone did call me that, they wouldn’t have the balls to say it to my face.”. . .
“Guess my balls must be pretty big then, huh?”
“Massive.” . . .
“Can you walk or do I need to carry you?”
“Psh. Carry me. As if.”
She takes a step, loses her footing, and squawks, grabbing hard onto my arm. “Why is the ground all slippery?”
“That’s not the ground, Pink,” I say, chuckling. “Up you go.”
In one swift motion, I lean over, pick her up, and swing her into my arms.
She’s horrified for all of about two seconds, stiff and outraged, then she says, “Well, hell,” and slings her arms around my shoulders. Her smile is wide and happy as she relaxes against me. “Home, Jeeves.”
I take a moment to examine her fuzzy gaze. “You don’t really drink whiskey, do you?”
“Lord, no. That stuff tastes like gasoline. How can you stand it?”
“Because I’m so manly.”
“Oh, right. I forgot. Are we going to stand here in the driveway all day? Not that I’m complaining. This is surprisingly comfortable. If the football thing doesn’t pan out for you, you could start a business carrying tipsy ladies around.” . . .

[Chris C - A Midlife Wife · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, funny, sweet... ❤️ This one!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many of us have read the similar tropes over and over. Big sports star meets uptight female who is supposed to be helping them. I’ve read a few that we are very good and were quite engaging.

However, Rules of Engagement is definitely above the bar. The story started with me rolling my eyes just a bit but then as I progressed I found myself completely loving their battle of wits and fun interactions.

Geissinger pulls all the stops out on this hilarious romantic comedy of errors. It’s lighthearted in many aspects with the underlying understanding of how people can cover up their unhappiness and broken soul.

But it also shows how the right person can help put you back together. That’s the best part of the entire story for me.

A delightful story that you definitely don’t wanna put down. Rules of Engagement is witty, laugh out loud and roll your eyes at the same time! It’s an amazing heartfelt and very loving story. A definite favorite for me!

* copy received for review consideration
Full Review - https://amidlifewife.com/rules-of-eng...

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

At the beginning, I was enjoying and open for possibilities. But I lost interest when I figured, it's the usual story about the stereotypical and cliched MCs; the big, troubled, lonely, playboy and the petite, clueless (which is stupid considering she is a matchmaker), uptight, Mary Sue. And, even though they are opposites, there is one thing they have in common, they are both so dumb, it gave me a headache. If you can look past that, you may enjoy the story and find it cute. The characters though not the brightest, are kinda sweet. So, it's okay considering all the garbage out there. And the writing is flawless. I might come back to it later, probably not.

[Sam (AMNReader) · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you've been reading my reviews since my last hockey romance review, you probably know odd shit bothers me in CR. Like, you aren't making up a fictional town - Atlanta is real. So is Buckhead.

You aren't making up a fictional American Football League: It's the NFL.

And it's got the New England Patriots. And the best part of this book was the QB from the Atlanta *wait for it* Pioneers getting made fun of by way of comparing him to Tom Brady.

Who I swear...I had a lengthy conversation about that man in Buckhead, in Atlanta, where I saw former FALCON Warrick Dunn at a restaurant. Because I hate him so hard. Brady not Dunn (Dunn is by all account I've heard a phenomenal human) I don't even care about football, I just hate Tom Brady. The person I was conversing with was stunned "Who doesn't love Tom Brady?" I think the answer is anyone outside of New England or thinks his face is exactly as smug as I do.

So anyway, Atlanta has a team. I don't know why on earth you create a world where the team hails from a place where a team exists and call it something different while leveraging all the real from the current (or very recent) NFL.

I get hung up on that shit in CR. I CANNOT with this. Everytime, I'm like "what are you...why are you..."

So anyway, all that aside, this book was ok. I vastly preferred his voice to hers, I've forgotten their first names already. So that's the shelf this will occupy, and I skimmed most of it. The drama and the like did not create the level of vulnerability or connection I bought. It was just sorta there. Enough to read for a bit, but not enough for me to know which book I was reading when I put it down.

[Alba and Her Secrets..♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 'Pink halo' Stars!
ARC provided via Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest review.


I wasn't expecting this surprise from J.T. Geissinger! I discovered and got hooked to her writing after reading her Wicked Games series which happen to be amazing contemporary erotic romances, full of sexiness and drama. What we got this time though it's a slow burn enemies-to-lovers romcom, written in different perspectives, that made me laugh and fall in love with these hilarious characters!

Rules of Engagement is, as I said, a standalone romantic comedy and it focuses on Maddie McRae, a Southern belle and quirky matchmaker, and Mason Spark, a hot and grumpy football star and Maddie's new client. According to his agent, Mason needs a wife immediately to redeem his public image. Mason is so not having it. Enter Maddie. She is stubborn as hell and she is decided to find Mason's soul mate. But what happens when chemistry starts burning between them instead? Read this and find out!

The heart-shaped sign out front reads “Perfect Pairings. Because You Deserve Your Happily-Ever-After!”
Sweet Jesus. I’ve wandered into hell.

I really enjoy a good romcom and J.T. Geissinger did a very good job with this one! I loved the different (and hilarious) POVs and how the love story was developed, especially towards the end. I did find this a bit slow at the beginning but after pealing the layers of Maddie and Mason's personalities, I fell in love with them (individually and as a couple). The chemistry was there from the very start but it was definitely a slow burn romance. But it surely got HAWT when that exploded!

“You’ve both got a lot of broken pieces. But if you give it a chance, you might find that all your broken pieces fit together perfectly to make a beautiful whole.”

I loved these two together and I loved how they are so funny and so vulnerable at the same time. There is so much more than what the eye can see, especially when it comes to Mason and his past. You truly understand why he is the way he is and why it takes him a while to accept his feelings for Maddie. But, trust me, when that happens that beautiful connection is unstoppable. I really did love this couple (together with Auntie Waldine and Dick), they were so funny and so adorable!

“You can’t hide. I see you. I see you, do you hear me?”
“I see you, too.”

Therefore, I am rating Rules of Engagement with 4 STARS because it was a very enjoyable read that made me laugh so much, melt all over and swoon. I love me a good hate to love story with hilarious comedy and fantastic characters! J.T. Gessinger did a very good job with this one. Definitely different from what I’ve read from her before but still so addicting! I do recommend this to anyone who enjoys romantic comedies!

CHECK OUT MY BLOG HERE:

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, though I had a rocky start. Geissinger starts out with some clichés for her main characters and seemed like she was going to follow the standard path. Mason is the dark and brooding guy carrying a load of self-loathing and Maddie is the buttoned-down and serious girl dedicated to self-control and everything bland. You've seen that template a thousand times, right? And it's always predictable and sometimes tedious and the best you can hope for is some good banter.

Well, Geissinger does deliver the banter. But she also judos those elements into actual, interesting parts of the characters that have both meaning and reasonable effect on the story. This is strongest manifested in Mason's self-loathing. I hate this in my romantic leads because it's almost always overblown and a break with reality (in addition to being a huge negative motivation* putting the brakes on plot). Geissinger makes it much better-founded than that, so that while it remains a break with reality, it's both reasonable in origin and handled reasonably in his character. There are two bonuses she throws in that had real impact with me. One is that Maddie recognized his self-loathing and corrected for it appropriately in their interactions (supporting his advances while still calling out his missteps), but second is that his main progress against it is catalyzed by his coach rather than through "true love". Loving Maddie and giving her what he felt she deserved became his goal without coming from her or a dark moment or ultimatum or any of the other romance tropes that are often thrown at the self-loathing hero.

Maddie's blinders weren't handled nearly so well, unfortunately. They persist way too long, even as she gets endless feedback from others that she has a fundamental misread in place blocking her up. I found this uncharacteristic, even as it served as a balance preventing her from being over-idealized as the woman-as-goddess. Countering that at least partially is her actively fighting the whole princess/pedestal thing and calling it out as the broken, borderline misogyny it tends towards. Still, she persists way too long with insisting she'll find the perfect girl for Mason even as she sublimates terrible jealousy while doing so.

So this was heading for a solid four stars going into the last quarter. And normally that lead-in to a paragraph is a bad sign and signals a coming down-grade. Not this time. The final conflict/show-down was such a wonderful twist on a dark moment that I read it in wonder and appreciation. I don't care to go into spoilery details, so I'll just go with how wonderful Maddie is and how together, they prove exactly what has been communicated the rest of the way—kind of like a capstone project in a demanding graduate course where they display what they know and how far they've come and it was glorious.

So I'm ending this with 4½ stars that I'm rounding up on how much I loved that ending, both on a straight-up emotional level and on an appreciation for the storycraft that went into producing it. And I'll conclude by acknowledging that my read is a possibly-idiosyncratic one where I found things I wanted to see because I liked both leads so well and was thus able to simply roll with things that were weaker or might throw out other readers. I don't think that's the case because I really do have a hatred of that self-loathing nonsense. But there you go.

A note about Crude language: Mason has a mouth on him and a deep and personal relationship with the F-word. So he swears a lot. Maddie doesn't swear and some of the great banter centered around their sparring over "appropriate" expressions. Which was fun. I didn't, however, find any of it to be "crude" as I internalize the term. It just didn't rise to the level of sexuality or degrading that actually bothers me, sometimes. It's a subtle distinction, I know. Which is why I'm including this section even without the tag.

A note about Steamy: There are a couple explicit sex scenes near the end of the story that are long enough to push this into the middle of my steam tolerance. I kind liked how well they dovetailed into the story and intimacy arc of both characters, though, so I appreciated that they were there.

* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term. Jennifer Crusie blogged about it a bit back (or, if that link doesn't work, here's a cache of the original) and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 Sterne, fast perfekt.

Oh, das hat mich auf dem richtigen Fuß erwischt. Super grummeliger Typ, bei dem man wunderbar zwischen den Zeilen lesen muss, in GENIALEM verbalen Schlagabtausch mit Hochzeitsvermittlerin, die ihn an die Frau bringen soll. Soooo schön slow-burning!
Minimal klischeehaft, deswegen keine vollen 5 Sterne, hat mich beim Lesen aber nicht gestört.

[ABookLover73 · Rating 5 out of 5]

FIVE FUNNY STARS for Maddie and Mason 💖💙💖💙!!!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is the first book that I've read by J.T. Geissinger and I loved it!

It was a sweet and funny book to read and it got my heart.

"Rules of Engagement" is a romantic comedy that will totally make you laugh through the whole book.

Maddie and Mason are characteristically different but how it says: "The opposites attract" 😉!

If you looking for a funny book, then you should read this one next!

Highly recommended!!!

[AvidReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books of 2020!
Oh how I loved this book and all the characters in it. Beginning to the end it was hilarious. I loved this couple and their banter so much. Mason was such a sweetheart and I’m so glad he got Maddie as his soulmate.
I so recommended this.

[Leila · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Pink stars!

I do believe that I’ll round up to 5 stars because I had so much fun reading the witty banter between Maddie and Mason!

You been around as long as I have, you know real chemistry when you see it. I mean, sometimes it looks a lot like burning hatred, but trust me, that’s chemistry.

When sweet Southern belle and matchmaker Maddie meets playboy football star Mason the sparks fly! Maddie is hired to find a match for Mason so that he can spruce up his bad boy image. The sarcastic banter is like foreplay to these two even though they don’t want to admit their attraction to each other. It was hilarious reading the back and forth, the quick jabs, the sarcastic comments and the witty comebacks.

I loved the additional POV’s of Maddie’s Aunt Waldine and Mason's agent, Dick or as I like to call them The Meddling Fairy Godparents.

“You’ve both got a lot of broken pieces. But if you give it a chance, you might find that all your broken pieces fit together perfectly to make a beautiful whole.”

This was a fun escape from all the stress that we’ve all been under these past few weeks.

[❤️Emma Book Lover ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Matchmaker stars



I love mrs Geeissinger's writing style, I never get bored or skim in her books, and the heroines are always my kind of girls: sassy, strong, independent and speak their own mind.
The hero , is always funny, strong and alpha but a softie for his girl, charming and smart.

This book is about a quirky matchmaker and a grumpy football star that need help in finds a wife to save his reputation and career.
Maddie is that matchmaker, she is the cute librarian type of girl, exactly the opposite of Mason's type, but well...the heart wants what it wants.

They argue a loot, the banter, dialogues are funny af, she puts him in his place and challenges him at every step, and apparently thats what Mason had been missing in his life all along: for a woman to come and to be able to handle him and his tantrums.
There is very low drama, is more about how their relationship evolves from kind of enemies to the love of eachothers life.
Also, Maddie's auntie and Mason's agent are a big part of this book, them being secrete matchmakers too lol.

Have you ever noticed how versatile the word “fuck” is?
I know, random question, but stick with me. I have a point. As a noun, verb, or adjective, “fuck” really can’t be beat. I use it constantly in all its forms.
For example, right now I’m staring at the naked blonde snoring softly in my bed and I’m thinking This is fucked. Why the fuck did I take her home from the bar last night? I am a fucking moron. FUCK.
That last one’s probably my favorite.
Just the word all by itself.
In capitals.
Like that, it can mean “wow.” Or “life sucks.” Or “how did I get mustard on my shirt?” Or even “we’re all gonna die!”

Truer words were never spoken, Mason you are a true genius🤣🤣

"Honestly, I’ve never met a man with such a serious case of resting bitch face."

[Danielle's · Rating 5 out of 5]

The matchmaker and the difficult client.

Mason needs a wife. Not because he wants a women to love or a family to share his time with. Not because he’s ready to settle down or wants to build a future. Mason wants a wife for his public image. He’s a bad tempered playboy with too much money and not enough emotions. His manger wants to change all that. Dick is like a family member to Mason. He only wants what’s best... and the way to get it, is to trick him into thinking it’s his idea.

Maddie has a new client. He’s difficult, cocky and a pain in the ass. She needs to find him a good match. The problem is he’s undatable. He wants a perfect wife but for show. What he’s going to get is a lesson in the rules of engagement.

This book is funny, witty and swoon-worth. Mason is an arrogant alpha and Maddie is a strong willed female. The combination makes for an interesting read. This is my first book by J. T. Geissinger and I really enjoyed it. The chemistry was good and the story was entertaining.

5 out of 5.

* I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Mindy Lou's Book Review · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rules of Engagement is an enemies to lovers romantic comedy.

NFL player Mason Sparks and matchmaking owner Maddie McRae have only one thing in common, a past that has defined them. These two couldn't be more opposite if they tried. When they meet for the first time, you can visualize the sparks flying. Their constant battle of wills was hilariously entertaining.

Mason is not exactly Prince Charming but the more the story progresses the more you learn what great guy he really is. He had a pretty rough childhood and he hasn't been able to shake the negativity he was exposed to for so long. It took no-nonsense Maddie to shake some truth into his life.

Maddie has also had a pretty traumatic event from her childhood that has held her back. It took Mason to push every one of her buttons to wake up to what's right in front of her. I liked how she didn't bow down to the great NFL player but treated Mason as the man that he is.

I loved the chemistry between these two. Their banter was fun and made me laugh. I also loved her aunt. What a character she was! This was a cute story.

[eli · Rating 1 out of 5]

* arc provided by social butterfly*
if you want to read this I'll tell you to go to the 80% of the book and start there, because before that, nothing really happens.
we basically know all about the characters since the first chapter, there's no development whatsoever in any of them.
the relationship is slow, and I actually liked their interactions, but not enough to like this book.
plot wise is a disaster, I don't care about the 763622 clichés here because I think that clichés can become great books, but this book feels like reading a wattpad fanfiction from 2012.
and I don't even want to start to talk about the main character being so "quirky and feminist" but judging every fucking woman, and the way the author narrates the story to make her look "perfect" and "not like other girls"... imagine how tired we are of that trope.
overall, I will say that it was actually funny and cute sometimes, but it's nothing memorable and I'm probably never picking this again

[Grecia Robles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro está BUENAZO!!
ME ENCANTÓ!!
Me pareció tan cuqui.

Es demasiado soft, sweet y cute, me mantuvo con una sonrisa en todo el libro. La verdad que me sorprendió no esperaba que me gustara tanto.

Además la química de los protagonistas en el primer momento que se ven es palpable o sea traspasa el papel o la pantalla de e-reader.

Los protagonistas me gustaron mucho pero sobre todo Mason, su speach interno era muy chistoso.
Sus discusiones, sus momentos de fan o sea todo todo me gustó de ellos.

Mi único pero sería que duran bastante para darse un beso y yo toda ansiosa porque lo quería ya.

[Lana Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars ☀️ for a sweet and very funny rom-com

It was such a pleasure to meet the characters and watch their banter, so I really enjoyed this one. The spiritual and almost mystical touch did not take away from the story but made it even better.

Like God did when he told Adam and Eve not to eat the apple. That was one epic reverse psychology move right there, ladies and gents.

It's a sweet fairy tale with lots of good jokes and some steamy moments.

[Ros 🌻 · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

PERFECTION.

Urgh, Geissinger absolutely nailed this one!

A Rom-Com that’s actually funny... please don’t skip this one, guys.

Mason and Maddie are such great characters and their conversations are brilliantly fun - I laughed so many times throughout this book, the writing is such a breath of fresh air.

I love the versatility of Geissinger - she is truly a favourite author of mine.