Genre: Adult Fiction (Contemporary Romance)
Date Published: October 2, 2026
Publisher: Self
I run a global security company with my brothers and negotiate high-stakes deals without breaking a sweat.
But my daughter deciding she suddenly hates every outfit in her closet five minutes before school? That brings me to my knees every time.
Honestly, being a CEO is easier than being a single dad.
That’s why I have rules. Routines. Structure. My life runs a whole lot smoother when everything stays organized and under control.
Then my maintenance company bails on me again, and my house descends into complete chaos. Hiring help goes from unnecessary to essential.
Which is how Melody crashes into my carefully ordered life.
Suddenly, my daughter wants to cook with Melody every evening and runs to her for advice about dresses and hair clips. And I can’t stop thinking about the beautiful woman dancing through my kitchen like she already belongs in our lives.
She makes me want things I stopped believing I deserved a long time ago.
But after losing my wife, I swore I’d never give anyone the power to destroy me again.
Because if I let Melody become part of our lives, losing her would hurt not only me—but my daughter too.
The problem is, every time Melody smiles at me, I want to bend every rule I’ve spent years living by.
Bending His Rules is the second book in the Clifford Brothers series by Layla Hagen. First of all, I have to say that I love that his name is Heath Clifford. I'm a dork. You already know this. I haven't read the first book yet, but I really want to. I love the dynamic the brothers have. They're cute.
Heath has had a lot of loss in his life, so when Melody enters the picture, he doesn't want any involvement other than business. They have a pretty quick attraction to each other, but they don't act on it quicky, which is nice. He puts his daughter above everything, and Melody seems to too, once she becomes part of their lives. There's a lot of cuteness to this story. There's also a lot of steam!
I thoroughly enjoyed Heath and Melody's story. Watching them come together as a family was written beautifully. It kept my attention. The characters were people you'd want to get to know. Now, I'll have to hop back and get my hands on the first book.
Heath has had a lot of loss in his life, so when Melody enters the picture, he doesn't want any involvement other than business. They have a pretty quick attraction to each other, but they don't act on it quicky, which is nice. He puts his daughter above everything, and Melody seems to too, once she becomes part of their lives. There's a lot of cuteness to this story. There's also a lot of steam!
I thoroughly enjoyed Heath and Melody's story. Watching them come together as a family was written beautifully. It kept my attention. The characters were people you'd want to get to know. Now, I'll have to hop back and get my hands on the first book.
The ARC of Bending His Rules by Layla Hagen was kindly provided to me by the author through Wordsmith Publicity for review. The opinions are my own.
Check out my reviews of other books by this author!
Layla Hagen is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance.
She fell in love with books when she was nine years old, and her love affair with stories continues even now, many years later.
She writes steamy and romantic stories and can’t wait to share them with the world.
She is represented by fabulous Louise Fury (The Bent Agency)
To learn more about Layla Hagen and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, BookBub, and Twitter.
She fell in love with books when she was nine years old, and her love affair with stories continues even now, many years later.
She writes steamy and romantic stories and can’t wait to share them with the world.
She is represented by fabulous Louise Fury (The Bent Agency)
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