***5 'We Make Our Own Rules' Stars*** 
 Oh the FEELS! 
 Not that I didn't know this going in because Katy Regnery definitely pulls out every emotion known to man in her books, ESPECIALLY her Modern Fairytales, but this one hit pretty damn hard from the very beginning and didn't let up until the end. 
 It was hard not to fall in love with Laire and Erik as they fell in love with each other. To say Laire is sheltered is a major understatement. Raised with strict, and almost archaic, values and never venturing much farther away from Corey than her daddy's boat can take her, Laire knows next to nothing about the world outside her constricting community, but desperately wants to. Although Laire was quite naive about a lot of things, and that lack of understanding could have caused her to turn away from what she wanted most, but it didn't, it actually spurred her on to know and want more. She was sweet and I loved seeing the world through her eyes. 
 Erik is, for lack of a better explanation, a Prince. He grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth thanks to his parents social status and has been groomed to follow in his father's footsteps, something he isn't totally on board with, but can't seem to figure a way out of it. So, he tows the line and plays the role everyone wants him to. Erik is a sweetheart, clueless at times, but a sweetheart. He may be coasting along in life and not willing to buck the status quo, but he isn't arrogant either. He simply tries to make the best of everything and see where things will fall. 
 In Don't Speak we get a first love romance and a second chance romance all in one book and it was amazing! It was sweet, swoony and heart melting and absolutely satisfying as Derek and Laire learn what it means to fall in love. But of course nothing is easy when two very different worlds collide and I swear my anxiety over when the ball would drop was insane because based on everything that was going on I knew, KNEW, it would be devastating and it was. I honestly don't know if Ms. Regnery can ever top the clusterf*ck that happened between Laire and Derek, because even I was like 'Whoa...no way...' and felt my own heart break for them. But, they do end up finding their way back to each other and I have to say I loved how their HEA played out in the end. 
 But as much as I loved Laire and Erik's journey to their HEA it was the little details in the book that made it a complete experience for me. From the uniqueness of Corey and the people who have lived there for generations to taking key aspects of Disney's Little Mermaid (a movie I watched waaaaaayyy too many times when it came out on VHS ~ yes, I am dating myself), making them her own and weaving them into the fabric of the story, Ms. Regnery definitely served up a 5 star read for anyone who believes that fairytales can come true. 
 ~ Copy provided by Social Butterfly PR ~