Review: House Rules by Cathryn Fox

House Rules by Cathryn Fox
Series: Dossier, Book 2
Publisher: Entangled: Scorched
Genre: Erotic Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 9781546708414
Release Date: June 5, 2017
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N

The last thing I expected to find in my dossier was sexy stockings, a plane voucher to London and an invitation to dance at a gentleman’s club. I’m a quiet museum curator for God’s sake. No way, no how am I going to slide down a pole for a bunch of over privileged, narcissistic men—until I see Sean Fraser, my childhood crush, enter the establishment. Since I’m no longer that overweight teen with braces and mousey hair, there is no way he’ll recognize me. Hmmm… Maybe I’ll give him a fake name—and a private dance. That ought to make him finally notice me, right?

What the hell is Kennedy Lane doing sliding down a pole in a private Gentlemen’s club? I'm not sure, and while I know she's hands off, I want her. I’ve always wanted her. She might have been too young for me back in the day. Now, not so much. Hands off leads to hands on after a private dance, and while Kennedy spends the weekend pretending to be someone she isn’t, I know full well who she is. And I’m not quite ready to let her hang up her stockings when the show is over.

Two years ago, Kennedy and her friends put their names in a hat, each friend having to give the person they picked a trip where their most explicit fantasies could be explored. That’s how quiet museum curator Kennedy Lane finds herself in London with a bag of lingerie and an invitation to dance at a gentleman’s club. She has no intention of doing so, until she sees her best friend’s brother, Sean, going into the club. As a teenager, Kennedy was in love with Sean, but not only did he not feel the same back then, he doesn’t even recognize her as an adult. If she’s going to brave dancing on a pole in public, then Kennedy figures she might as well go all-in. She’ll give Sean a fake name and seize the opportunity she’s always wanted: a no-holds-barred erotic adventure with the man of her dreams. Little does she know that Sean knows exactly who she is, and there’s no way he’ll let things end after just one night.

House Rules is deliciously dirty. I’m a sucker for a good “heroine is in love with her best friend’s brother” story, and Cathryn Fox makes this familiar trope feel fresh with her fun and naughty spin on it.

Kennedy is a good girl taking a walk on the wild side. I loved watching her embrace her sexuality and go for what she wants with Sean. She was in love with him as a teenager, and now that he’s finally noticed her, those old feelings are starting to resurface. I was rooting for Kennedy to get her dream guy, because Sean was definitely worth swooning over. Sean is dominant, dirty, and hot as hell. But what really captured my interest was how he was pretty gone over Kennedy. The three year age gap when they were teenagers meant he had to pretend not to see her as anything more than his sister’s friend. But as an adult, Sean makes up for lost time. He and Kennedy are scorching in the bedroom, but there are also some incredibly sweet moments in between all the raunchy ones that balance out the story.

House Rules is the second Dossier story, but it can be easily read as a standalone. The premise of the series is fun and I liked Kennedy and Sean so much that I’m definitely looking forward to more Dossier tales. If you’re looking for fast-paced, well-written erotic romance, House Rules is definitely a good bet.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.