The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

For two months, Sarah has been keeping a secret from her best friend, Brianna: she has a huge crush on her boyfriend Ryan.

It doesn't matter that Sarah liked Ryan first. It also doesn't matter that Sarah talked to Ryan first or held his hand first. Brianna took charge when she saw Ryan talking to Sarah, not thinking that Ryan might like Sarah, and declared him her boyfriend.

Brianna wanted Ryan so she got him.

So now Sarah is a bystander in their relationship. She's happy for them, but being around them hurts her heart because she really likes Ryan. Has liked him since the eighth grade.

But she has been quite during these two months and has been a great best friend to Brianna.

Brianna, the girl who tells Sarah what to do in order to look "doable" rather than beautiful. Brianna, the girl who has been Sarah's best friend since kindergarten.

Then the unthinkable happened: Ryan kissed Sarah. Ryan, Brianna's boyfriend and Sarah's crush, kissed Sarah. And now all Sarah can think about is doing it over and over. But then she feels guilty because Brianna is her best friend and she has a hard life at home.

The guilt is eating inside of her but she can't deny the attraction her and Ryan have together. And it's not just the attraction, but the connection they have. Conversation doesn't seem like a chore with the two of them, but flows easily. They have a great time.

Brianna thinks that she's in love with Ryan, which destroys Sarah. How can her and Ryan break apart that love Brianna feels?

Can Sarah and Ryan be together, or will Sarah's friendship with Brianna win out and she will have to watch the two lovebirds be together even longer? Read The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
Hmm. I've had good luck and bad luck with Elizabeth Scott. Loved one of her books and hated another, so I wanted to give another go at her work.

And this book got a 3 to 3 1/2 stars, so it landed in the middle.

On the one hand, I liked it. I liked the scenes between Sarah and Ryan. They were adorable and bittersweet rolled together.

But on the other hand, I was frustrated. Brianna is a brat, plain and simple. I could never be friends with her. I couldn't believe how she downgraded and judged Sarah and Sarah just took it thinking it was Brianna being a friend! Definitely wasn't.

Also, Brianna was bio polar, or so I thought. She would go from sad and crying to happy and laughing in a matter of seconds. Too much whiplash for me to keep up with her.

So, basically, I liked the forbidden romance between Sarah and Ryan, but hated Brianna. Take out Brianna and this book would have been perfect.

Of course, if that actually happened then this book would not be the torture chamber that it is.

I have an opinion on the whole, "like another guy when he's unavailable and doing something naughty about it before the situation is fixed" but it's conflicted and contradicting of itself so I'm not going to go there. It is a topic that has been written about many times and numerous authors go at it different than others.

Now that I've had a good, a bad, and an okay novel from Scott, I suppose I'll need to go find another one of her novels to see how I like her works. Get one that is more dominated to actually figure out if I like her novels or not!

For anyone who wants a fast, guilt ridden novel to read, this would be right up your alley! For readers who despise mean girls and girls who get stomped all over by best friends, I would kindly suggest you stay away from this novel.