Thank you to @netgalley @berkleypub and @berkleyromance for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @prhaudio for a free download of the audiobook. And thank you to @berittalksbooks and @dg_reads for including me on this buddy read.

This is my first book by Stacey Abrams and it I enjoyed it. It kind of gave me Mr. and Mrs. Smith vibes is that two people clearly attracted to each other are pitted against one another to fish out the real bad guy. There were twists and turns and dead people suddenly being alive! The two main characters also had some serious electricity between them

I think I would have enjoyed the book more if it was more on the suspenseful side and less focused on the steamy romance. I do think the characters had complex layers and the backstories were well laid out.

4 stars

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT is at its heart a romance with a side story of espionage and spy games. What Abrams does well with this book is give her readers the heat and tension between her main characters while still maintaining the background of their top-secret mission in a believable way.

I will be honest, the main reason I chose to read this book is that I thought it would be more suspense than romance. I wanted a spy drama with the sexy parts thrown in. However, I wound up getting more of the passion and the liaison. This isn’t a bad thing, but as a reader, I had to change gears and my mindset. Once I did this, the story was more enjoyable.

If you are looking for chemistry that sizzles off the page, an enemies-to-lovers romance, complicated history, and a thread of intelligence work, look no further than RULES OF ENGAGEMENT. It is a fast-paced romance with two lead characters you are rooting for to get out of their own ways to find love.

First Stacey Abrams as Selena Book I've read and won't be the last. Thoroughly enjoyed...would love a movie of it!

Rules of Engagement was not what I expected but after reading it, the book was an enjoyable read. To be honest I thought that the book would be similar to her previous novel with a political background but it was part love story part spy thriller. You may not think that those two could co-exist in the same novel but Stacey pulls it off. Not one of my favorite books but it was certainly unique and a worth while read. Thanks NetGalley for the ability to read it before it was published for an honest review.

This was a pretty good read. There is just the right amount of romance and suspense. The sexual tension and mutual hate between Raleigh and Adam was written so intensely, I honestly thought they would kill each other by its ending lols.

The deception was wild though...like whew! It keeps you on your toes and engaged in the story. There are some lagging moments with the overall story plot and the ending felt a bit incomplete imo BUT at the end of it all. I truly enjoyed Rules of Engagement.

Book Review…Rules of Engagement by Stacey Abrams

Dr. Raleigh Foster, an operative for a top-secret intelligence organization, and her partner the brooding, sexy Adam Grayson have been tasked with infiltrate Scimitar, the terrorist group that has stolen lethal environmental technology. As Raleigh and Adam untangle a twisted web of secrets and lies, the tension mounts between them until their masquerade as a couple proves too tempting to resist and Raleigh discovers that the most dangerous risk of all is falling in love.

This was an interesting and complex read full of twists, suspense and yes some romance! The characters and the story have a lot of layers and depth. I wouldn't really call it a slow burn or fast paced story. It moves at a comfortable pace and as things move the suspense builds and becomes more intense. The story is told from both Adams and Raleigh's point of views which really helped to understand both of them. The only thing I didn't really like was that it felt like the ending was rushed but other than that it was an entertaining story!

This book reads like a blockbuster movie. Dr. Raleigh Foster is a government operative. The job is dangerous and her life is at risk, but so is her heart as she is paired with Adam Grayson.
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Every turn had me guessing who was double crossing who and who could really be trusted. Fast paced and engaging I would love to see this as a movie!

Huge thank you to @berkleypub @berittalksbooks @thephdivabooks @dg_reads @prhaudio and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a romantic suspense spy thriller, which sounds amazing. Unfortunately, I had to DNF it. The romance, in my opinion, started too early and out of nowhere. The spy/thriller part was too technical and over my head. I wanted to love this so bad. It combines my two favorite genres. Alas, it just didn't work for me.

Long ago, Ralegh and Adam were in special forces together. They were on a team that got Adam's best friend killed. Something he and his friend's wife never recovered from. Adam left his work there and never looked back. Until the day that the one person he fell in love with back then, shows up in his life again. She needs his help, but he can't ever forgive her for being the reason his best friend was killed.
Adam is drawn to Raleigh still and to protect his company he has to go along with this plan. The more time they spend together, the more that Adam remembers what he loved about Raleigh and they get closer and closer, but will their love be able to withstand the secrets she is keeping this time?
I really enjoyed this story, but it was hard to read. It was written in 3rd person POV which I like, but it jumped around where one paragraph was from his POV and then the next was from hers. It was a bit hard to understand.
I thought that Adam was so upset with himself at being drawn to Raleigh and had such a hard time trusting her and his emotions were all over the place. One moment he loved her the next he was willing to walk away forever without talking through things and that bothered me. He was hot and cold, very, very black and white but mayb that was his character.
If you like espionage and secret missions with some mystery, this is your book!
Thank you to Berkley, Stacey Abrams and Netgalley for an early copy.

While traveling to DC this spring, I snagged a copy of While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams and thoroughly enjoyed it. When I spotted Rules Of Engagement was listed as one of the options through Berkley Romance's Influencer Program, I knew this was exactly what I wanted to read!

I would would categorize Rules of Engagement as a Romance Thriller. If you like espionage, multiple identifies, code names, secret projects, and the likes, you will enjoy this book. I vascillated between the audiobook (thank you Penguin Random House Audio for the gifted copy) and the free e-book courtesy of Berkley Romance via NetGalley. There were a lot code names and characters to keep track of initially so going between the audiobook and the book was helpful. I finished this one up in a day, because I had to find out what happened.

Synopsis: When Dr. Raleigh Foster, an operative for an intelligence organization is brought to for her latest mission, she does not anticipate the old wounds it would poke. Her task is to infiltrate Scimitar, a terrorist organization, and help retrieve stolen lethal technology. Determined, Raleigh is up to the task, but is shocked when she discovers she must work with a partner, Adam Grayson. With a complicated history, these two are downright refusing to work together. When their boss orders them to complete the mission the two reluctantly comply to to infiltrate the terrorist organization together.

The book is spicy, mysterious, suspenseful, and jumps back and forth between now and then to provide snippets of what caused such a rift for these two operatives.

I enjoyed this book and found it to be captivating. I kept turning the pages to find out what would happen next! Although this is a standalone, I think it could easily have been the start of a series.

This review was originally posted on <a href="http://booksofmyheart.net/2022/09/03/%f0%9f%8e%a7-rules-of-engagement-by-selena-montgomery/" target="_blank"> Books of My Heart</a>
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<i>Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i>

I really wanted to try this one because of who the author is.   The narrator being a favorite tipped me into trying the audio.   <strong>Rules of Engagement</strong> looked to be just the kind of romantic suspense I enjoy.

There is a complex set of layers in this world and in these characters.  The main setting is in a foreign country but also sites in the US like Atlanta.   I love all the tech, both in computer software but also chemistry and weapons.  The characters are also multi-faceted as they are CIA.  They met 3 years ago in Jafir. Raleigh and Adam flirted at love.  Each of them has a close friend who has died there. It's much more complicated but I won't spoil you.

There is a trope here for everyone.  Is a <em>second chance romance</em> possible now, with the secrets they have, the guilt over their friends deaths?   Adam blames Raleigh so they blaze more like <em>enemies to lovers</em>.   But for the new mission, as the original mission goes active again,  they need to be <em>fake dating</em>.

We get both Raleigh and Adam's point of views which helps to feel their passions.  They are both strong, fiery and angry.  We get some flashbacks to the original mission and its setup.  They work together, bickering and lusting all the while.   I thought some things were a bit unrealistic in the way they acted but they were under some serious constraints and beliefs.

I liked Raleigh and felt badly for things she had suffered and how tightly she held herself.  Adam was just too entitled for me much of the time; he always seemed to make her do the compromising, although he wasn't shy about saying he loved her.

The mission and mysteries and actions were dangerous and intriguing.  They had plenty of close chances at death.  Each was a skilled operative and smart with their work.   Every phase of the operation was a thrill ride. I enjoyed this heart-pounding thriller romance.

Rules of Engagement has risk, danger, and suspense to grab readers in this romantic suspense novel written by Stacey Abrams using her pen name of Selena Montgomery. When she adds trust, forgiveness, and romance, the novel is elevated to an intriguing story that keeps one turning the pages.

Dr. Raleigh Foster is an operative for a top-secret intelligence organization. When she’s asked to infiltrate Scimitar, a group that has stolen environmental technology that can be converted to a weapon, she is quickly on board. For this assignment, she needs a partner, Adam Grayson, to pose as her lover. He used to work for the same organization, but left after a botched mission.

Raleigh’s character is well developed. While she can come across as vulnerable as times, she is also brave, intelligent, and capable. However, she can be perceived as cold. Adam has a strong core of honor, loyalty, and integrity, but can find it hard to trust and forgive. Their attitudes and outlooks change and grow as they respond to events as the story unfolds. The dynamic between the two changes as well. Should rules always be followed or are they guidelines to be interpreted as a mission unfolds?

An impactful and memorable opening scene will immediately pull most readers into the book. However, it takes a while to see how this prologue fits into the story. Several needed flashback scenes adversely affected the overall flow. Nevertheless, with exciting scenes as well as plot twists and turns, the story gradually builds momentum to an action-packed mission end. The final chapter takes place four months later and wraps up the loose ends. However, it felt tacked on rather than a smooth continuation of the story. Additionally, I wanted a little more world-building of the fictional island of Jafir in the Mediterranean Sea to satisfy me.

This novel is creative and complex, and it will keep readers guessing. High stakes and an all-too-real situation kept me engaged throughout the story. The people in the story came to life and the pacing is brisk once the mission is underway. Themes include friendship, loyalty, betrayal, attraction, trust, deception, lies, subterfuge, power, and much more.

Overall, this intriguing thriller with romance and suspense has intense moments and action that kept me turning the pages. The story kept this reader on an emotional rollercoaster. Those who enjoy romantic suspense or thrillers with some romance may want to check out this series. I’m looking forward to reading the author’s next romantic suspense novel.

Berkley Publishing Group and Selena Montgomery provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for September 6, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

The mission failed, people died, or did they? Now Dr. Raleigh Foster with Adam Grayson posing as her lover are going back to clean up the mess they left.

Notice how short my recap is of the book, too bad the author didn’t realize less can be more.

I have wanted to read a book by this author for a while but boy did I pick the wrong book. I was ready to give up this overly wordy book at the halfway point but I had committed to review this book so I kept going. It didn’t get any better.

The characters were strange and the relationships are muddy. They had no depth. Raleigh and Adam had worked together before. Supposedly Adam fell in love with her. Now three years later readers are to believe he didn’t recognize her. Then when they started working together again they fought like children. He couldn’t handle she was in charge of the operation but still was interested in her romantically. Just too much bickering for me.

As for this espionage plot, it was all over the place and overly complicated, and hard to follow. The romance scenes were okay but seemed off-putting. I didn’t think the characters had any chemistry. I really started to feel the book just went on and on until the author met the necessary word count.

I admire Stacey Abrams’ political strengths and would definitely vote for her if I lived in Georgia but this book just missed on so many levels. She has a lot on her plate running for Governor and her work boosting voter turnout, maybe she should stick to that right now because it seems clear she lost her focus on this book.

Rules of Engagement definitely wasn’t my cup of tea. I was so excited to read it but it just fell flat. Maybe I will read one of her earlier books when she wasn’t so politically involved someday to see if this book was just a misstep.

This is the first novel I've read by Stacey Abram's a.k.a. Selena Montgomery. Rules of Engagement is a romantic suspense novel bringing two operatives together for a special mission. The forced proximity makes what they feel undeniable as they fight the bad guys to find the traitor.

This reads more as a romance novel than a suspenseful spy drama. Secrets and loyalties are tested throughout the story, making the reader wonder if the hearts desire will prevail. This is a fairly quick, enjoyable read.

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group for the #gifted copy of this novel to read and review.

I enjoyed Stacey Abrams' last book, a legal thriller called While Justice Sleeps so I thought I'd try this one. Even though it was presented as a romantic suspense, I expected a little more suspense and intrigue. This was full on romance, with the main characters spending the entire book dancing around their sexual tension. The convoluted plot was secondary to pages and pages of their conflicting feelings. Maybe for romance readers but it wasn't my cup of tea.

Dr. Raleigh Foster is an operative for a top-secret intelligence organization. Undercover work has its risks though she does not hesitate when asked to infiltrate a terrorist group that has stolen lethal technology. The hard part of the assignment is her partner—Adam Grayson, posed as her lover. Adam blames himself for the botched mission that killed his best friend. But he believes that Raleigh also contributed to the death. Nevertheless, his feelings of suspicion and hate turn to trust and desire.

Perhaps I was too excited to read another Stacey Abrams writing as Selena Montgomery novel. Maybe my expectations were too high. I was tempted to DNF at least three times but held on to the hope it would becomes less confusing and finally flow. There are too many characters. The espionage plot is over my head. The objective is hard to follow. The only thing I clearly understood were the clearly stated rules of engagement...I think. A book is just not enjoyable when I am totally lost. It can very well be my own lack of following so please read an excerpt or other reviews first.

Happy Early Re-Pub Day, Stacey Abrams! Rules of Engagement will be available Tuesday, September 6.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

~LiteraryMarie

Sorry to report I cannot finish Stacey Abrams' romance/thriller as it reminds me of all the reasons I do not read romance novels.

1. Plot holes: How does an international billionaire spy not remember the other international spy he fell in love with in a war zone? It's only been 3 years., dude. Lost weight does not count.

2. Bickering and hormones: how will they ever find the missing computer program the international billionaire spy created if they keep childishly bickering and hating one another, while trying to not rip each other's clothes off?

3. Goofball names: Raleigh Foster and Adam Grayson, AKA Chimera and Merlin. Leader's name is Atlas.

4. The past: someone's boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/partner/husband/former band member will always show up and throw an enormous monkey wrench into the soup, causing broken hearts and huge misunderstandings that will last too long. (I'm not sticking around to find out, let me know if I'm wrong.)

5. $100 words/college application words: somebody got a thesauras for Christmas when they wrote this one.
6. Purple prose: Gahhhhh! Stacey, why???????

I respect this woman for her political activism and would vote her President of the Universe in a heartbeat but this...this is not her finest work.

This book was not my cup of tea. I adore Stacey Abrams and I was really looking forward to reading one of her romance novels but alas, this just wasn't to my taste. The story is a kind of spy drama that follows two intelligence operatives as they struggle to infiltrate a terrorist organization to retrieve technology that could potentially be used as a lethal bioweapon. Raleigh and Adam have a complicated history and are thrown together again in this book as fake lovers, per their cover story. I just couldn't get into it. The suspense half of the story was so complicated and just kind of... goofy? It seemed juvenile to me. The romance didn't pull me in either. There really didn't seem to be any chemistry or reason for them to be attracted to each other, and the euphemisms in the love scenes were kind of cringe-y. There were also several characters that were introduced and just disappeared with no real development or resolution. Like I said, I am a huge Stacey Abrams fan, politically speaking, but I think I just don't mesh with her writing style.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The old saying, "It's not what you know but who you know" is absolutely evident in Stacey Abrams' novel, Rules of Engagement . Writing as Selena Montgomery, Abrams, whose day job is a speaker and politician, illustrates the fact that her writing skills are non-existent, and that she should keep her day job. While reading this poorly written book, readers will get the feeling that Abrams slept with her thesaurus. One also gets the feeling that the romance scenes in the book are the fantasies of 10-year old boys who’ve never experienced real passion and are trying to fool everyone into thinking they know what they are talking about.

"Word Salad" comes to mind as soon as the first chapter, which will certainly appeal to those with an IQ under 50. It may be suspected that never before has a book been written with the words passion and pleasure used hundreds of times.

The plot is ridiculous, and totally implausible. The characters are shallow and selfish and it will surprise readers that they are able to carry out the story to the end which is totally predictable; there are no surprises in this stupid novel. They all have code names that are reminiscent of kids in a treehouse playing spy.

True to form, Abrams emphasizes the fact that her characters are black rather than developing their characteristics as protagonists and real people (there are plenty of excellent novels with black protagonists by viable authors such as Robert Bailey’s Bo Haynes, James Patterson’s Alex Cross). That fact doesn’t have anything to do with the plot and it doesn’t matter whether they are black, white, or yellow; the characters have only passion on their minds and barely have the skills to complete their mission, which reeks of phoniness – Abrams obviously has no knowledge of how secret government entities are run.

One positive thing: the love scenes aren’t blatantly risqué or filthy, which is a plus for someone searching for a readable novel. Actually, this novel is almost laughable, and proves that if you know someone, you can have a book published even though there is no evidence of writing skill or imagination.

Bottom Line: While the author did well in her educational pursuits and graduated at the top of her classes, it is evident that she is book-smart but lacks the skills needed to write a realistic novel. Most authors have taken classes on writing, rather than politics, and know how to make the words jump from the page; Abram obviously has not honed her writing skills and this novel is actually a piece of very poorly written garbage. This is one that will be read by those who share Abrams’ politics rather than by those who enjoy well-written novels with suspense, viable romance, and actual substance. Readers who are hung up on race, ridiculous story-lines, word salads, and weak plots should immediately pick up this stupid novel. It is the epitome of the concept of LCD (lowest common denominator). Any reader who has time to waste on this novel is in a poor spot in their existence and ought to change course to get a life.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this novel.

"Love is a game of chance in this romantic suspense novel by New York Times bestselling author and American politician and activist Stacey Abrams, writing under her pen name, Selena Montgomery.

Dr. Raleigh Foster, an operative for a top-secret intelligence organization, knows that her undercover work has its risks. So she doesn't hesitate when asked to infiltrate Scimitar, the terrorist group that has stolen lethal environmental technology. But when she's assigned a partner - brooding, sexy Adam Grayson - to pose as her lover, Raleigh discovers that the most dangerous risk of all...is falling in love.

Adam blames himself for the botched mission that got his best friend killed by Scimitar, and he believes that Raleigh may have contributed to the man's death. But the closer he works with his alluring partner, the more his suspicions turn to trust - and intense desire. Now, as he and Raleigh untangle a twisted web of secrets and lies, the tension mounts between them...until their masquerade as a couple proves too tempting to resist."

What can't Stacey Abrams do?