Rule Breaker (Mixed Messages Book 1)

Sarcasm, wit, charm, frustration, humor, heartbreak, compassion, angst, love, and hot sex are just a few of the wonderful things you will find in Lily Morton’s, 'Rule Breaker'. From the blurb, to the first page and the very first sentence I was hooked!Gabe is a well-mannered, charming man but is less than tactful and makes no pretense for what he thinks or what he says. After a meeting in which Gabe has just taken down an employee, Morton narrates Dylan’s thoughts, “as we stroll down the corridor to the elevators, both of us steadfastly ignoring the two secretaries who had been standing talking, but have now hurled themselves into the stationary cupboard to get out of the way,” and I could not help but make a comparison between Mr. Hart in the 1980 classic movie with Dolly Parton, '9 to 5'.Dylan is quite the opposite, funny and quick witted he would have you believe he can't stand his boss. However there is this flirty ease with which he sarcastically pushes back and doesn’t let Gabe walk on him. In fact in one scene as they are discussing Gabe’s schedule Dylan makes a joke, and Gabe says “’anything else, or have you got your afternoon shift at the comedy club to get to?’” To which Dylan replies “’No sir, that’s tomorrow. I’m going to just settle for taking the minutes while you eviscerate a few more members of staff.’”It is very apparent before the first chapter has even ended that there is a palpable attraction between these two men, like a highly strung guitar, and it’s not just animosity. Dylan and Gabe’s interactions are riddled with sexual tension.In fact Dylan sort of respects him as evidenced in his thoughts after someone demeans Gabe, “Gabe might be a complete bastard, but I sort of think of him as my bastard, and I don’t like other people criticizing him.”But these two men couldn’t be more opposite in what they want in a relationship. Dylan wants love and Gabe wants sex.After two years as his personal assistant Dylan knows Gabe and his philandering ways well. So when an illness results in him taking care of Gabe, at first you wonder why he would want this man. But as a new side of Gabe is slowly revealed you understand why. Gabe has fought his whole life...and he’s gonna fight love too. “I knew last night that he’d fight it, but apparently, he’s opted for the simple tact of flight instead,” Dylan thinks.Lily Morton does a fantastic job with a supporting cast who see these guys for what they are…in love, even as they themselves fight it. Dylan’s mom is totally fantastic! As Dylan ponders Gabe’s capacity to love she says, “’that man needs love like no one I’ve ever met before. It’s like he’s starved himself of any meaningful connection.’” Jude, Dylan’s bestie, is there every step of the way and after seeing them casually interact says “’What was all that?’” to which Dylan replies “’All what?’” “’All that – the tender touches, the snarky conversation. It was almost like foreplay for sick people.’” And even tough Gabe has a compassionate friend in Henry, who sees it. In fact upon seeing them at a work retreat he says to Dylan “’I wondered, and now I know’” to which Dylan has no idea what he’s speaking of.As things heat up between the two it becomes an angsty emotional roller coaster as Gabe denies Dylan…over and over. Just when I would feel his hopefulness and my heart would crest for Dylan, Gabe would crash in like the G-force he is and send my gut plummeting.When things come to a blow I couldn’t commend Dylan enough for the respect he finally has for himself and I began to love Gabe. God, Gabe! He’s so afraid of loss he can’t let himself love, but when he does...Angst about kills me and makes me want to throw in the towel but with these two it is totally worth it. As their heat filled barbs that fuel their passion become daggers you just know there’s gonna be an explosive ending. I have to say, don’t give up on any of this book, keep going. Morton stokes these boys with some fabulous moments of playful sex, revenge sex, making love, angry sex…and making up sex.I’m not gonna lie, there is a little infidelity in 'Rule Breaker' on Gabe’s part but not with Dylan. I realize for some this is a "rule breaker"…but this was agreed upon with his partner and really is who Gabe is, or was. Plus, we all have a past. Don’t dismiss this book because of that! There is just so much goodness going on here with very well developed leading men that have you rooting for them every step of the way.Lily Morton uses a quote from Thoreau’s in the rest of the story, titled 'Scrambled Eggs and Lemsip', which you can find on her website, that sums these two men’s journey up perfectly: ‘any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it’. Gabe had to learn to break his own rules!

I want to kill my boss. It has become an absolute truth that a small portion of my time every day is now taken over with creating increasingly inventive ways to murder him slowly.Thus begins one of the funniest audios I’ve ever listened to. And I listen to a lot, so that’s saying something. Dylan Mitchell’s problem is his impossible-to-please boss. Of course he does his best, but he’s also snarky, talks back, and generally refuses to be cowed by the man who has felled many people in the office. Other co-workers are terrified of Gabe’s wrath. Dylan treats it like a temper tantrum and moves on. They are actually a good team. Until a trip away reveals to Dylan a whole new side to Gabe.Now, the book is written almost entirely in Dylan’s perspective, which works because, of the two, he’s the one with the true sense of humor. He’s also the one with family and friends to support him. Gabe is alone in this world. He has his friend Henry, to be sure, and his boyfriend Fletcher. Dylan has his own opinion of Fletcher and it’s quickly apparent why. Vapid is an understatement. Or, as Dylan puts it, “Little Lord Lubeship”. Gabe and Fletcher also have a fairly adventurous sex life and although Dylan is worldly, he’s not fond of sharing. So when he and Gabe finally do get together, that’s a hard limit for him.There are reasons why Gabe is the way he is and they are certainly tragic. He’s done well for himself professionally, but he’s avoided real entanglements emotionally. Until Dylan. Seems two years of working in close quarters has had quite an impact. But it’s when Dylan brings Gabe into his inner circle that Gabe truly learns what family, friends, and love are. Dylan is a nurturer. He sees the wounded man that Gabe is and he wants to help. Wants to love. Gabe is terrified of being hurt (aren’t we all?), so he keeps himself apart, aloof. Henry is the only person whom he’s let in. Who knows everything.The dark moment in this book is pretty dark, especially contrasting with all the happy and funny moments. Of course I knew somehow the men would get back together – this is a romance after all – but I did wonder how. Well, loving someone does count, finding the way home matters, and Charlie Hunnam helps.Joel Leslie narrated the book and, as always, he did a fabulous job. He differentiates the many characters and, as always, handles the female characters with ease. His Rebecca was a treat. He also does well when he put on his officious voice and read emails such as this:To Dylan MitchellFrom Gabe FosterWhen I was a small boy, I liked to eat soil. My mother was worried but she needn’t have been concerned. Unbeknownst to both of us, I was actually just preparing myself to drink your coffee.Each chapter starts with an email between the two men – going back and forth. A moment of levity and I might have giggle-snorted through a few of them. Or most of them. Or all of them. Ms. Morton’s mind has depths of creativity that I love in authors and between the banter and the snark, the book went by so quickly.Which is why I was glad the second book was at hand. Onward to the next adventure.

New to me author and i loved every second of it!Gabe, grumpy, sarcastic and moody. He goes through life with a revolving door of men that mean very little to him. At work he's serious and professional and its pretty much the only thing that means anything to him apart from his assistant Dylan. Intrigued from the moment he hired him. He fights the connection constantly as he knows it would never work and that he would lose a great assistant.Dylan hates his boss, ok so maybe he's hot, and sometimes funny. But he drives Dylan mad. He spends half his days dreaming of ways to strangle the life out of him and the other half dreaming of being taken over the desk by him. He loves his job but its getting harder and harder to put up with Gabes moods.A business trip and an evil hookup/boyfriend force Gabe to take action, but boy does he fight it!Fell instantly in love with this book! The British humour called to me on a higher level and i spent lots of the book cracking up! I'd love to meet these guys! I'd slot right in with them!Loved Gabe! I do love a moody behind (censored) hole! They're my fave! I love diving into their pasts and watching them heal.Dylan is my new book bestie! He's glorious! Funny, sexy, bossy, sarcastic, he's the whole package!!These two together lit up the pages with repressed passion! I loved em so hard! Just loved their relationship it was imperfectly perfect!Lots of fun along the way has made me crave more from this author! I lover her writing and this story has me sold on reading her whole back catalogue!Bloody love it when i find i find a great new author to devour! Bring on book 2!

Lily Morton is a new to me author. I "found her" in the short story charity box set "Heart 2 Heart" Anthology and enjoyed her short story "The Tattoo Artist and the Writer", the story of Sage and Noah, so very much. After exploring Lily's author page on Amazon UK, I bought her book "Rule Breaker" and it's brilliant. It's funny, snarky, heartbreaking and so good! I have since bought all of Lily Morton's books and loved them all.Gabe Foster is a lawyer and at the top of his game. Dylan Mitchell has been his assistant for two years and he thinks he hates his boss. Dylan's snarky come backs to Gabe's sarcasm are priceless.Gabe has deep rooted reasons, including one very dark reason, why he doesn't believe in love. He doesn't want love in his life. So, he keeps his sexual encounters casual. Even his boyfriend of the moment and Gabe have an open relationship. In fact, you could say the most constant person in Gabe's life is his assistant of two years, Dylan.Dylan is Gabe's super efficient assistant. He basically organises Gabe's life for him. Their relationship is professional, but very "off the wall" unusual. To an observer, they could seem like an old married couple, constantly sniping at each other, scoring points. But there are other emotions at play and Dylan is in hell. He has to work with Gabe every day and his feelings for his boss run deep.I've read quite a few M/M romances and Lily Morton's have caught my attention, as well as her M/F books. She sprinkles her stories with great snarky humour and British references that catch me laughing out loud. Rule Breaker is a standalone M/M romance told from Dylan's point of view (though we do hear from Gabe in the Epilogue) with a HEA.

I re read Rule Breaker again while waiting for Vow Maker to be released and loved it just as much as my first read. You can’t help but love Dylan and Gabe whilst being angry and frustrated with them too. This book has so many lol moments it made my cheeks ache, but also brought tears with the depth of their emotions. Lily Morton I’m sorry I didn’t review it on my first read but I didn’t realise how important reviews are to authors.

The absolute worst thing about this story?? The appalling lack of editing, and I understand from the back of the book that a beta reader was used....my honest advice dear author for what it's worth is to get yourself a new one and fast!! You apparently do read reviews, whether good, bad or indifferent so....with less than 1% in, I'd already picked up several errors [incorrect words, grammar and punctuation] and I have to say that...along with Gabe's behaviour later on in the story [more of which later], the lack of editing spoilt the story for me. Instead of getting totally invested in the characters and the storyline [which truth be told, I mostly enjoyed cos there were some truly funny parts], I was concentrating mainly on the errors I was finding on every page...not good, not good at all.You'll notice however that I've still given 4 stars...that's because I adored the banter [and the sex was hot too!!] between Dylan and Gabe. I totally 💜 Dylan [ooh, and Jude]...Gabe, his bouts of verbal abuse and his disgraceful behaviour not so much, and I have to say there were several times I could've joyfully kicked him in the privates myself. He was an absolute s*d towards Dylan most of the time, culminating in his Valentine's Day stunt.Up until then, I'd sort of been rooting for him, especially after the wonderful Christmas he'd spent with Dylan and his family in Devon, but that little Valentine's Day stunt just about killed any affection I felt for him. He deserved all the pain and heartache he got thereafter, and I was gobsmacked when his best mate Henry went behind his back and told Dylan Gabe's family history, in an effort to woo Dylan back to Gabe's side...although luckily, Dylan didn't fall for that little trick.All in all, there were things I really liked about the story, and things I hated. I think 4 stars is more than fair given that the story was riddled with all sorts of errors.

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It ticked every single box for me - the banter between characters and the angst was absolutely spot on! I just couldn't stop reading, and ended up staying awake until gone midnight because I had to finish it and see Gabe and Dylan get to their much deserved HEA. The story made my heart ache so much, honestly my heart hurt reading this, and it was so PERFECT because I love stories that can do that.I loved Gabe unconditionally, even when he was being a major dick. The banter and chemistry between Gabe and Dylan was off the charts! I just was so invested in their story and seeing them happy, even if I was mentally scolding Gabe for being so daft sometimes (which, once we learn more about him and about his past, I was completely understanding of).I cannot recommend this enough for anyone who loves angst and snarky banter, and please keep an open mind because I was ALMOST put off by Gabe having a boyfriend (well, not really a boyfriend and just the guy he was having sex with I guess) at the start, and I'm so glad that I didn't because then I'd have missed out on this amazing story.