Review: ‘Just Breaking the Rules’ by Lauren Blakely
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Just Breaking The Rules
by Lauren BlakelySeries: Hockey Ever After #1
Published by Self-Published on January 21, 2026
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eArc
Pages: 494
Source: the author
Audience: 18+/Adult
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Everyone knows the golden rule of business: don’t bang your business partner.Especially if he’s your brother’s hot-as-sin, hockey-star best friend.
But when the sexy single dad athlete saves me from a cake contest catastrophe—and shows me how good he is with his hands—I blurt out the world’s worst business pitch: Want to invest in my bakery?
With no loan or backup plan, this is my last shot at proving I’m more than my past mistakes, and shockingly, he says yes.
We set one rule: don’t mix business with pleasure.Except Corbin Knight’s impossible to resist.
When he’s not scoring goals, he’s staying up late with me to test tempting recipes.Braiding my hair before we bake like it’s foreplay.Giving me his jersey to wear to games.
I try to keep a professional distance from the bossy, possessive and dangerously flirty hockey player, but soon we’re testing the limits of the kitchen counter.
This bakery is my chance to finally get my life right, so I fight the messy feelings.Until one night, he shows up after closing and admits he can’t stop thinking about me.
Suddenly I’m ready to break every rule—no matter the cost to our dreams.
And breaking the rules has never tasted so good.
This is Corbin and Mabel's romance. Tropes include: Brother's best friend, single dad, workplace romance, hockey, the one who got away, love letters
Just Breaking the Rules is the first book in Lauren Blakely’s newest hockey romance series, Hockey Ever After. After reading her other hockey romance series, I was looking forward to her latest release. If there is one thing that Lauren does well in hockey romances, it is giving them the right balance with hockey game moments, plus moments of the characters falling for one another.
Just Breaking the Rules features a slow burn romance and ongoing should-they-or-shouldn’t-they tension, which may frustrate some readers, as it frustrated me.
I really liked both characters in this book, Corbin and Mabel. Corbin stood out as an amazing father and maintained a great relationship with his daughter’s mom, which was shown in the book, and he was always looking out for Mabel, especially at the beginning of the book. I appreciated how he supported Mabel with the bakery and loved those moments with them together. I loved Mabel too, and how she wasn’t going to let any mishap that happened, including what happened at the beginning of this book, deter her from her dreams of opening a bakery. She even handled peopled that gave her a hard time in the small town due to what happened years ago at the firehouse. She truly was a rockstar in my opinion, and Lauren has definitely written some relatable FMCs in her stories, which is why Mabel is another one I liked so much.
I loved the representation of color blindness when it came to Corbin. He had a daughter who helped him with it, and he knew what helped him, and he didn’t let him stop him. I loved how Mabel handled it when she found out he had color blindness.
Despite these strengths, I felt the book was too long, with excessive dialogue and filler that could have been trimmed. The extended back-and-forth between Corbin and Mabel became frustrating, especially after Corbin admits his feelings and how things were handled toward the end when it came to the bakery and their relationship. Yes, that was another thing, the rushed ending and the conflict that happens between Corbin and Mabel came on too quickly.
But, overall, I did enjoy the book, and it was a sweet story, but unfortunately, I’m only giving it 3.5-stars. It’s not a Lauren Blakely favorite for me, but I hope the next in the series will be.
POV: First Person (Dual POV)
Standalone or Part of Series: It’s an interconnected standalone in the Hockey Ever After series.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you are seeking a hockey romance with lots of slow-burn tension and character-driven moments, this book will likely be a good fit. However, if you prefer a faster pace and less dialogue/filler, you may want to start with one of Lauren Blakely’s other romance books. I loved her How to Date, and The Virgin Society series, and each book can be read as standalones.
What to Expect:
🏒Sports/Hockey Romance
🏒Brother’s Best Friend
🏒Single Father Romance
🏒Workplace Romance
🏒The One Who Got Away
About Lauren Blakely
A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s cute but spicy. Lauren likes dogs, cake, and show tunes and is the vegetarian at your dinner party.
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