Review: Troubleshooters Series #16 Breaking the Rules

Two things to remember from previous books:

1. At the end of Book 15: Hot Pursuit, Dan Gillman tells Jennilyn LeMay that he loves her, but Jenni doesn't believe it's real. "If you really do," she tells him, "then call me when you get back from Afghanistan." 
2. Also, from Book 13: Into the Fire, Izzy Zanella married Dan's sister, Eden because she was pregnant. Not with his child but someone else's. After a miscarriage, Eden left Izzy and refuses to see him, no matter how many time Izzy goes to Germany to see her. 

Synopsis:
Dan is seriously injured in Afghanistan. Izzy uses some heroics to save him, coming close to death himself, and the two of them are recovering in Germany. When Jenni gets word of Dan's injury she immediately flies to his side. Izzy makes another attempt to see Eden, and when her roommate turns him away one more time, he finally realizes that it's time for him to move on.

Meanwhile, Eden is now back in the States dancing as a stripper in Las Vegas. The money is good and she needs all the money she can get in order keep her younger brother, Ben, from being sent away. Ben is 15 and gay and his abusive step-father is going to send him to a Christian camp in an attempt to "pray the gay away".

While at the local mall, Ben approaches Neesha, a young homeless girl that he's seen in the same clothes and eating the leftovers of others. Eventually, Neesha tells Ben that she's escaped from a child prostitution ring and she knows there are bad men out there looking for her.

When Ben is taken to the "gay camp" and nearly dies due to diabetic complications, Dan, Jenni, Izzy and Eden team together in an attempt to gain custody from Dan and Eden's waste of a mother and loser of a step-father. They also look for Neesha to protect her, but Nessha doesn't know whom to trust. The men from the prostitution ring spot Neesha and give chase. Eden makes a distraction and Neesha gets away, but the men now know the group has information they need and things go from bad to worse.

My Response:
I found it annoying that the two couples, Dan/Jenni and Izzy/Eden, don't want to admit they love each other. Or, they think the other doesn't love them as much, so they're just not going to say anything. Of course, neither of these couples know the other very well, so maybe it's for the best, but they just keep second guessing themselves.

I thought there was a little less action in this book, but we get to hear a lot about how Dan and Eden grew up and the things they went through. We learn why Dan is so hard on Eden and doesn't trust her as well. I'd actually be interested in a story about Ben and/or Neesha when they get a little older. I could see Neesha becoming a strong female character like Alyssa Locke.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.5
Language: Yes
Explicit: Yes
Age Appropriate: 21+