Rules of Seduction by Jenna Mullins

Earlier this year one of my friend’s sisters posted a link on Facebook to pre-order her new Young Adult novel. I rarely turn down the chance to read a young adult novel (especially with a love story in it) so I pre-ordered Rules of Seduction. It made it’s debut a few months ago and in-between the Stephanie Plum series I finally got a chance to read it!

In Rules of Seduction we spend the first few months in Hollywood with Danika (also known as Dani). Flying out to LA to start working at her dream job, Dani’s heart is crushed within hours as she discovers the production company she was going to be working with has gone under. Her roommate, Brit, encourages her to take a few weeks and look for a new job.

On her way to calm her feelings with a root beer float Dani runs into a friend she hasn’t seen in years, Elise. Elise is trying to make it as an actress in Hollywood and has a few family members with connections. Her uncle is able to score Dani an internship with a popular vampire TV show, Vand Camp.

Dani learns first hand about heartbreak in Hollywood as she also learns that not all actors are stuck up snobs. Always a rule maker, Dani introduces us to each new chapter in LA with a set of rules. Her friend Elise asks her to seduce her boyfriend (and Vand Camp Star), Tate, as a test to see if he’s been cheating on her. She is convinced she’ll have no problem staying close to rule number one:

Don’t Fall in Love.

Dani and Tate hit it off, but not before the lie has gone too far.

If you are looking for a quick and funny love story, Rules of Seduction is your book! I loved getting to know the different characters and by the end felt like I was in Hollywood with them. Then again, it was 40 degrees and a gross weekend in the Midwest so that was a quick reality check.

The book is great for most ages and never felt like it crossed the line outside of a young adult book. Not only did we watch Dani fall in love (twice) but she also learned the hard rules of life, especially that it doesn’t always go as planned.

I loved a lot of the little one line sarcastic comments throughout the book and it is safe to say that the food references were great.

“Is this a conveyer belt of sushi?” I ask, awestricken. “Now I’ve seen everything.” “Yes, a never-ending train of sushi is my heaven,” Tate says”
― Jenna Mullins, Rules of Seduction

It was a quick and fun read but I’d be excited to see what is next for these characters out in LA! I used this book as my “Author Under 30” for the 2015 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge.