Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle & @blackstonepublishing  for my complimentary physical copy and audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Every time I read Brian Freeman I am impressed by how well he writes! He has a talent for developing complex characters and intricate plots with surprising twists that somehow all weave back together perfectly. Brian Freeman has been a favorite author of mine for years, so I am excited to present this book today!

SYNOPSIS: Tommy Miller is a man hiding his dangerous past as a mercenary. He has been living incognito for several years, and even his wife, Teresa, doesn’t know who he really is. But when Teresa and their baby daughter are abducted, Tommy has to resume his former persona to search for her, only to discover Teresa has a few secrets of her own. With the police hot on his trail, Tommy has to unravel the past in order to find Teresa and the baby before it is too late!

This story caught my attention from the very first page. The action and suspense continue at a great pace, and lead to an exciting conclusion. I also appreciated the author’s acknowledgements at the end.

I checked out both the print and audio versions and loved both! Scott Brick does an excellent job as the narrator and is the perfect voice for the alpha male main character. I highly recommend this one!

Scott Brick is one of my favorite narrators for high intensity thrillers. His voice brings the story alive, adding depth and intrigue to every twist and turn. Hard to press the pause button!

Thank you Blackstone Audio for the gifted ALC.

Whenever I see Brian Freeman has written another thriller, I’m all in. My favorites are Thief River Falls and The Deep Deep Snow series. Break Every Rule is a terrific read. This thriller is action packed from the start, but never at the expense of character development. I’m hopeful this will be the beginning of a new series.

The audiobook production is excellent. Scott Brick is as wonderful as ever and he narrates this story beautifully.

Tommy Miller is an ordinary family man, with a boring sounding background, for anyone who cares to look, and a young wife and their infant daughter. Ordinary until Teresa and Rosalita, the wife and daughter, are abducted outside of Teresa's antique shop in Florida.
Just like that, Tommy sheds his Tommy Miller skin to become someone who he thought he had left behind years ago. A highly trained Investigator, and more importantly, killer. There is one person in Tommy's past that would love to catch up with him. Is that who grabbed his family?
The more Tommy digs though, the more he realizes that the secrets he always knew his wife held close, are much more sinister than he ever would have guesses.
The trail leads Tommy to a tropical island, owned by a wealthy man, who is responsible to young women going missing from all over the world.
And Tammy past....he has to deal with that also.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Audio for the opportunity to enjoy this Suspense Thriller audio_ARC narrated by the talented Scott Brick.

I absolutely loved Break Every Rule, and listening to it as an audiobook narrated by the brilliant Scott Brick made the experience even better. The story was engaging from start to finish, keeping me hooked throughout. I can only hope that one day, we get to see “the list” in real life. The one thing that bothered me a bit was the portrayal of the ‘rich guy’—it felt too similar to a real-life high-profile presidential candidate, and I just hope there’s no hint of TDS in that. Regardless, if this ever becomes a series or mini-series, I’d be first in line to read it. Big thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Break Every Rule is a superb standalone thriller that I hope becomes the beginning of a series. Very dramatically narrated by Scott Brick, this audiobook kept me enthralled from beginning to end. And clocking in at nearly 12 hours that is no easy feat.

Tommy and Theresa are a happily married couple with an adorable baby, Rosalita. Tommy has a past and many secrets that Theresa is unaware exist. When Theresa and Rosalita go missing, Tommy discovers his wife has quite a few secrets of her own. Will Tommy and Detective Lindy Jax find Theresa and Rosalita? You will need to read/listen to this face paced, occasionally witty novel yourself.

If Brian Freeman chooses to make this into the first book of a series, I would buy them all. It’s that good.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing, Netgalley and author Brian Freeman for the ALC. All my feedback is voluntary.

Fast paced and highly entertaining thriller.

When his wife and baby daughter are kidnapped from their home in Florida, Tommy Miller must come out of hiding and use all of his deadly skills to track them and get them back. His biggest initial problem is that his wife was keeping secrets, and he hasn't the first idea of who would have grabbed her or why. And, indeed, Tommy has some pretty big secrets of his own. Are the abductors trying to get to him or is Teresa their real target.

I'm not going to unpack this great plot as there is so much going on, but it was quite well-constructed with lively action scenes and different locales for them to play out in. I liked the main character and several others in the book and had a hard time putting it down. The ruthless billionaire and his wife on their private island are definitely evil and up to no good. The Florida police detective who can't let the case go and follows the trail to the Bahamas. The trustworthy partner -- yeah there are some tropes -- but it's all great storytelling.

I was lucky enough to be able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The fantastic narrator, Scott Brick (already one of my favorites), brings so much dramatic flair when he voices the characters which definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the whole book. His intonation, accents, pacing, and cadence are always spot on. Enjoy!

Tommy Miller is an interesting man. He likes things that are orderly. He likes to be prepared. He keeps tabs on his wife, but they both have secrets. Tommy is a hunted man, and he is also a Tiger. How far would you go to protect those you love most? That is the question in this fast paced thriller. Thanks to NetGalley for this fun read! Loved the narration!

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
Break Every Rule by Brian Freeman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 407 / Genre: Suspense Thriller
Audiobook Narrator: Scott Brick
Duration: 11 hours 56 minutes
Release Date: Sept. 10, 2024

Tommy Miller was some kind of special ops secret military dude who gave it all up for a normal quiet life when his last mission went sideways. The last thing he expected was to fall in love, have a family, and live a perfect life. That is until his wife and baby were suddenly kidnapped. He assumed it was payback from his last job, but it turns out his wife had some major secrets of her own.

So I’ll warn you now that there’s some nasty sex trafficking type stuff that goes down in this story. But, thankfully it’s all implied and doesn’t go into really graphic detail. And it uses that backstory to make you crave payback in a major way. All in all, this was a non-stop action thriller with compelling characters. The audiobook was especially good since it was narrated by Scott Brick, who always does an amazing job when it comes to action-adventure thrillers like this one.

Thank you, @NetGalley, @BlackstonePublishing, and @BFreemanBooks for my gifted copy.

Wow! Hold on to your seats!! (And your loved ones!)
You’re in for a ride!

Tommy Miller is a big guy, with a big life, and a lot of secrets.
Teresa Blanco is a young, beautiful woman who looks to be in some kind of trouble. When they meet, it is NOT under the best of circumstances…and though he tries to help her, she refuses. She doesn’t know him, and the men who are mistreating her all have guns. He asks her a simple question…do you want my help?

This is pretty much the opening. And the stakes only seem to get higher as we move along… 😮

I was a bit confused at first, due to some different POV’s and timestamps… but in the long run, once you figure out what the heck is going on, well…it all makes sense!!

And, it seems that Tommy is not the ONLY ONE who’s keeping secrets! Teresa has some of her own!!

Very fast paced, heart-pounding, nail-biting, can’t-turn-the-page-fast-enough…kind of book!! (You may find that you’ll need to sit down at times, as the world is spinning and the breath is knocked out of you!! No joke!!)

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️for me!!

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and 😮😮( OMG Blackstone! Cannot believe I got one from them! Didn’t realize it until I went to write this review!!) 😮😮 #BlackstonePublishing for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
**** Release date is 9/10/24, so look for it on shelves in a few days!! ****

#BreakEveryRule by #BrianFreeman and narrated brilliantly by #ScottBrick.

Hoping this is the beginning of a new series! If it is, I will be reading EVERY BOOK!! 🤞🏼🤞🏼

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Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, and click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!! 📚⭐️

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook. The build up of excitement at the beginning of this book didn’t really continue throughout the book. I thought the book was suspenseful but more in an action way verses in a storyline line way. I didn’t really connect with the characters and the way he had his life set up. It seems on the controlling side. Which for the book is made sense but it seemed odd the lack of communication the two seemed to have. Which is way their relationship seemed very forced.

Wow! This was a roller coaster story! I could not stop listening to it. There were so many twists, turns, and surprises. The characters were well written. I loved Tommy’s never ending drive to get to the bottom of the disappearance. The villains were so ruthless, and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened. Scott Brock was a good narrator. His reading is punctuated but also smooth. He does a great job making you feel the stress in the high action chapters. This was my first Brian Freeman novel, and I will definitely be picking up some more!

Title: Break Every Rule
Author: Brian Freeman
Format: 🎧
Narrator: Scott Brick
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing Audiobook
Genre: Mystery
Audiobook Release Date: September 10, 2024
My Rating: 3.4 Stars
Pages 352

Story travels from Florida to the Bahamas then and now
The prologue begins six years ago when two beautiful young girls - sixteen year old Ivy and twenty year old Elena were invited to attend a party on a pleasure Yacht. Only it turns out there was no pleasure for these two. When Ivy had repeatedly been raped she plunged a knife into her attacker who just happened to be a Prince. Elena stated they need to jump the boat and swim to shore.

Present Day – Macanopy, Florida -Tommy and Teresa Miller have been happily married and have a beautiful eight month old baby daughter-Rosalita.
Tommy is a former detective and Special Forces soldier known as ‘Tiger’ but is now living a false identity wants to keep his past in the past.

We readers believe Teresa is really Elena whom we read in the Prologue.
So Teresa is also living a false identity.
Teresa runs an Antique Shop. On a typically day she takes Rosalita to a baby-sitter and then on to work. However, one morning Teresa is abducted from the shop. She was seen being pushed into a car and rushed off.

We know both Tommy and Teresa have secrets– so is this incident a result of his past or hers?

About the Author~ Brian Freeman is a New York Times bestselling author of psychological thrillers, including the Jonathan Stride and Frost Easton series. He is known as an author who uses "you are there" settings and his complex, engaging characters and twist-filled plots.
Additionally he was selected as the official author to continue Robert Ludlum's Jason Bourne series,

Brian Freeman is new to me but I know of Robert Kudium’s ‘Jason Bourne’ novels – almost positive I did not read the trilogy but I remember Matt Damon played Bourne in the movie.

The blurb sounded interesting and yes it kept me interested.
The big negative for me is that I have a low tolerance for f-bombs and the bad guys as well as Tiger had me at me reaching my limit as well as shaking my head asking why I thought I would like this.
I hung in there as I was curious and did like the ending.

Additionally I like narrator Scott Brick. He has narrated many of the Harlan Coben books especially the Myron Bolitar series. I was actually hoping some of Harlan Coben humor would sneak into this story.

I want to thank NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for September 10, 2024.

BREAK EVERY RULE by Brian Freeman

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for the ARC audiobook to read.

4.5 ⭐️
Narrator, Scott Brick, always does an outstanding narration and this too, was done to perfection. Scott Brick is a favorite narrator of mine.

This is my second read by Brian Freeman and I throughly enjoyed, Break Every Rule; an addictive thriller full of nonstop action and suspense.

Tommy Miller must return to his past; a killer operating from the deepest shadows to find his missing wife, Teresa, and his missing daughter, Rosalita. He realizes he must break every rule to save his family. Tommy reports Teresa and Rosalita missing to the sheriff’s office in Alachua County, FL and it doesn’t take long for Sheriff’s Office detective, Lindy Jax, to figure out Tommy is hiding several details. But does he really know who his wife is? Rife with action in this fast-paced suspense crime thriller filled with twists and turns. I look forward to more from Brian Freeman. I would also like to see Tommy Miller in another book by Brian Freeman.

I enjoyed the characters and the plot of Break Every Rule by Brian Freeman. The narrator did a fantastic job.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced, and the plot was very interesting. I enjoy reading about a true bad ass! I enjoyed the characters and I really liked the ending. The narration, for the audiobook was really good as well.

3.75 stars rounded up.

I knew right away there was going to be some para military, rogue killing group involved in this story and it was true. However, there was so much more! Including a loving husband, a relentless cop and a Jeffery Epstein type that evaded consequences thanks to extreme wealth.

I enjoyed the story. However, it lacked suspense and details for me. There was one small twist but it didn’t really come as a huge surprise. Overall, entertaining enough but not super engaging

Advance reader copy provided by Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

4⭐
Genre ~ crime thriller
Setting ~ Florida
Publication date ~ September 10, 2024
Publisher ~ Blackstone Audio
Est Page Count ~ (p+ 46 chapters) not sure how many pages since I listened. The hardcover on Amazon says 608, but that seems like a lot.
Audio length ~ 11 hours 56 minutes
Narrator ~ Scott Brick
POV ~ multiple 3rd
Featuring ~ 3 parts, abduction, trafficking, murder, non stop action

Dark secrets are slowly revealed when a wife and baby go missing, but does the husband or the wife have the bigger secret?

Tommy and Teresa have been married for a couple of years and have a baby girl. When they go missing he has no choice but to involve the cops, but doing so could reveal everything he’s been hiding from all these years.

Detective Lindy Jax is on the case. I thought she did a top notch job and wouldn’t mind if this turned into a series following her.

There's another POV that plays an intricate part in the story, and that's all I'm going to say on that.

Overall, the action never lets up for this fast paced thriller. If you like crime thrillers with powerful people that think they're above the law then you might want to give this one a go.

Narration notes:
He did a nice job. Since the cop is a woman I would have preferred a female narrator for her parts.

I loved this new standalone novel from one of my favorite writers, Brian Freeman. The story is ripped from recent headlines. Rich people trafficking in young girls. Politicians are involved. Royals are involved. But what happens when a former mercenary working for a secret organization gets dragged into rescuing someone from this horrendous life.

Freeman does a great job creating these original characters based on real life criminals and their clients. Plus the novel's hero, Tommy Miller, was a brilliant cross of Jason Bourne and Jack Reacher. Brian Freeman always grabs his audience and paces the whole story well. His research makes his stories intense and battle and fight scenes are realistic.

And since I got to listen to the audiobook, I can't forget to mention the narrator, Scott Brick. He is amazing in all of his works, but has an extra special talent for action novels.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Tommy Miller is living with his new wife and daughter in Florida as he hides from his deadly past. One morning his wife and daughter are kidnapped. He thinks his past as caught up to him. As he works to find them, he comes to find out his wife had a secret past of her own. Tommy must track down his wife and daughter while dealing with both of their secret lives..

This book starts off with a bang, and doesn’t tend to let up at all. I was immediately drawn in by Tommy Miller’s character and the story. Brian Freeman kept coming up with new twists as the story unfolded. There was a lot happening, so it never felt like the book dragged at all. The plot was complicated, but not hard to follow. This lead to a very satisfying read.

Over all this is an excellent thriller that is well worth your time. It has interesting characters who are complex and keep you on your toes. The action is plentiful and the book flies as you read it. Thank you to Netgalley, Brian Freeman, and Blackstone Publishing for a free advanced readers copy for an honest review.