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saschadarlington's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t know if there is going to be a fourth Rules book, but if there isn’t I just have to say that Melanie Hooyenga really hit it out of the park with The Edge Rules.
In the preceding two books, we met Brianna first as the top mean girl in The Slope Rules and then as the ex-best friend (still mean girl tendencies) in The Trail Rules. In The Edge Rules we come to see Brianna as a more layered person, evolving throughout the novel. At the beginning, she still shows signs of being judgmental and superior and, well, mean, but she’s becoming self-aware and wants to change. We also see that she’s truly remorseful for past behavior and that changes are not always easy.
Enter Xavier. They meet while on the “Chain Gang,” the joke name for the trash collecting community service they both need to do to complete the service hours for their arrests. Xavier is as nice as Brianna has once been mean, so she expects that it’s only going to be a matter of time until he finds out who she is, especially once she discovers the friends/acquaintances they have in common.
I think The Edge Rules worked so well for me because the scope was narrowed slightly on this novel. It didn’t try to do too much or cover too much ground. Already it was a challenge, I should suspect, to make a mean girl nice and make her believable, which she was. At the beginning, though, I wondered how Hooyenga was going to make the reader actually like Brianna because even at the start of the novel, she was difficult. Characterization is really important in The Edge Rules, and with the relationship complications, it all works.
If you’re a fan of YA sports novels, this one involves snowboarding, YA romances of opposites attract, and mean girls gone good, you will probably enjoy The Edge Rules.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In the preceding two books, we met Brianna first as the top mean girl in The Slope Rules and then as the ex-best friend (still mean girl tendencies) in The Trail Rules. In The Edge Rules we come to see Brianna as a more layered person, evolving throughout the novel. At the beginning, she still shows signs of being judgmental and superior and, well, mean, but she’s becoming self-aware and wants to change. We also see that she’s truly remorseful for past behavior and that changes are not always easy.
Enter Xavier. They meet while on the “Chain Gang,” the joke name for the trash collecting community service they both need to do to complete the service hours for their arrests. Xavier is as nice as Brianna has once been mean, so she expects that it’s only going to be a matter of time until he finds out who she is, especially once she discovers the friends/acquaintances they have in common.
I think The Edge Rules worked so well for me because the scope was narrowed slightly on this novel. It didn’t try to do too much or cover too much ground. Already it was a challenge, I should suspect, to make a mean girl nice and make her believable, which she was. At the beginning, though, I wondered how Hooyenga was going to make the reader actually like Brianna because even at the start of the novel, she was difficult. Characterization is really important in The Edge Rules, and with the relationship complications, it all works.
If you’re a fan of YA sports novels, this one involves snowboarding, YA romances of opposites attract, and mean girls gone good, you will probably enjoy The Edge Rules.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
theestherhadassah's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! The Edge Rules was my cup of tea . . . Or coffee. i'm not much of a tea drinker. A strong message in this book is definitely that appearance is vain if what's inside is not the same as what people see on the outside. At the start, it was very hard to actually like Brianna's character. That's rare. I have a hard time when it comes to NOT liking characters, never the other way around. Ms. Hooyenga did the impossible.
When I heard there would be a third installment to The Rules series, I was ecstatic! So, thank you ChapterxChapter Book Tours & Promotions for the chance to read an ARC.
When I heard there would be a third installment to The Rules series, I was ecstatic! So, thank you ChapterxChapter Book Tours & Promotions for the chance to read an ARC.
samwlabb's review
4.0
Brianna was raised believing, that appearance was everything, and she put a lot of time and energy into becoming the local queen bee. But after falling from grace and hitting rock bottom, Brianna held that mirror up to herself, and was NOT happy with who she saw.
This book was billed as a romance, and it had romance, don't worry, but really it was a redemption story. I LOVE redemption stories, because I like to believe that we can all stumble, make mistakes, and atone for our transgressions.
Brianna had turned into a terrible person. She was making poor choices and alienating others, because she was unable to properly manage her emotions. It could not have been easy for her to acknowledge that fact to herself, and that was one of the things that earned her some empathy from me.
I loved seeing her take those steps towards being a better person, and I liked that Hooyenga made it clear, that this was a difficult journey for Brianna. She tripped a little, but she often caught herself, and self-corrected. She experienced tremendous growth over the course of the book, and I was very proud of her.
I was also glad to see her parents doing a little growing too, because they played a role in how she became the mean girl. I guess you could say, that Brianna's arrest was a wake up call for the whole family.
Now for the warm and fuzzy parts! The romance! Xavier was interesting from the start, but the more I learned about him, and the more I saw him interacting with friends and family, the more I adored him. He was just a good person, and the perfect person to accompany Brianna on her journey to becoming a better version of herself. It was great spending time with these two, because I could sense the attraction and the tension, but there were also those little stirrings of something more.
The friendships that developed while Brianna completed her community service were wonderful too. Something different brought each character to the clean up crew, and they were all from very different backgrounds, but at the same time, they shared so much common ground, and I love that Hooyenga highlighted those similarities.
It was also a lot of fun being out on the slopes with Brianna and Xavier. The closest I have ever gotten to any sort of snow sports is watching them from the lodge as I drank my hot cocoa, but Hooyenga did an amazing job pulling me out onto the mountain. I shared Brianna's highs and lows out there, and I really enjoyed getting to be a part of it.
There was one other super delightful little thing you should keep your eye out for. I won't give too many details, because it's a spoiler if you ask me, but keep an eye out for Piper, because she was too adorable to be contained on the page.
Overall: A great story of redemption, and how one can really start living once they abandon the quest to keep up appearances and start looking beyond the surface.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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This book was billed as a romance, and it had romance, don't worry, but really it was a redemption story. I LOVE redemption stories, because I like to believe that we can all stumble, make mistakes, and atone for our transgressions.
Brianna had turned into a terrible person. She was making poor choices and alienating others, because she was unable to properly manage her emotions. It could not have been easy for her to acknowledge that fact to herself, and that was one of the things that earned her some empathy from me.
I loved seeing her take those steps towards being a better person, and I liked that Hooyenga made it clear, that this was a difficult journey for Brianna. She tripped a little, but she often caught herself, and self-corrected. She experienced tremendous growth over the course of the book, and I was very proud of her.
I was also glad to see her parents doing a little growing too, because they played a role in how she became the mean girl. I guess you could say, that Brianna's arrest was a wake up call for the whole family.
Now for the warm and fuzzy parts! The romance! Xavier was interesting from the start, but the more I learned about him, and the more I saw him interacting with friends and family, the more I adored him. He was just a good person, and the perfect person to accompany Brianna on her journey to becoming a better version of herself. It was great spending time with these two, because I could sense the attraction and the tension, but there were also those little stirrings of something more.
The friendships that developed while Brianna completed her community service were wonderful too. Something different brought each character to the clean up crew, and they were all from very different backgrounds, but at the same time, they shared so much common ground, and I love that Hooyenga highlighted those similarities.
It was also a lot of fun being out on the slopes with Brianna and Xavier. The closest I have ever gotten to any sort of snow sports is watching them from the lodge as I drank my hot cocoa, but Hooyenga did an amazing job pulling me out onto the mountain. I shared Brianna's highs and lows out there, and I really enjoyed getting to be a part of it.
There was one other super delightful little thing you should keep your eye out for. I won't give too many details, because it's a spoiler if you ask me, but keep an eye out for Piper, because she was too adorable to be contained on the page.
Overall: A great story of redemption, and how one can really start living once they abandon the quest to keep up appearances and start looking beyond the surface.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
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