Review: Hard Rules by Lisa Renee Jones

Wall Street meets the Sons of Anarchy in the smoldering, scorching first novel in the explosively sexy new Dirty Money series from New York Times bestselling author Lisa Renee Jones.

How bad do you want it?

The only man within the Brandon empire with a moral compass, Shane Brandon is ready to take his family's business dealings legitimate. His reckless and ruthless brother, Derek wants to keep Brandon Enterprises cemented in lies, deceit, and corruption. But the harder Shane fights to pull the company back into the light, the darker he has to become. Then he meets Emily Stevens, a woman who not only stirs a voracious sexual need in him, but becomes the only thing anchoring him between good and evil.

Emily is consumed by Shane, pushed sexually in ways she never dreamed of, falling deeper into the all-encompassing passion that is this man. She trusts him. He trusts her, but therein lies the danger. Emily has a secret, the very thing that brought her to him in the first place, and that secret that could that destroy them both.

One dirty father, two rivaling sons, one conniving mother and an empire on the brink of ruins. It's an intense struggle between good and evil. This is the first of the series and it full of secrets, lies, and deceit. 

Shane Brandon has decided to fight for his family's empire. It's an empire riddled with illegitimate activities that are boiling to a head. His father, the head of the family empire, is ill and watching his two sons battle it out. In the middle of this battle he finds solace in one woman, a woman that consumes him, a woman who has secrets that can destroy them both.

Emily has secrets, deep dark secrets that she's keeping from Shane. She needs her job at Brandon Enterprises and tries to end her new relationship with Shane but her feelings don't allow her to end it. 

"So we agree. This is war." "It's always been war. I didn't want to name it, but I am now. It's time we go to battle."

Shane is in for the battle of his life. He has to keep his eye on the prize while avoiding collateral damage however Emily won't listen. Their relationship is intense. They have a commonality that hasn't been revealed. 

Woo, this story is intense! The plot is intriguing, the characters formidable and the cliffhanger is a doozy. This is one explosive family and Emily may be fuel to the fire. We shall see in the next book in this series. 4 Stars!