Rule Number Five by Jessa Wilder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had my whole life planned out… until I met a hockey player obsessed with breaking all of my rules.

My five simple rules for hooking up keep me from being distracted. Now that I’m so close to landing my dream internship, nothing is going to make me break them. Not even a protective hockey player with clear grey eyes, a sharp jaw, and a body that makes my breath catch.

Until Jax wins a bet and one kiss has me breaking them all.

Rule Number Five

Five Rules. One Kiss. Zero Chance of Forgetting Him

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💚💜❤️
Steam: 🔥🔥
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏
Character development: ☺️🤣🙁😘
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration Type: Dual Narration

🦸🏼‍♀️ Heroine Spotlight: Sidney

Sidney lives by five ironclad rules—no kissing, no repeats, no phone numbers, no hockey players, and absolutely no falling in love. Her heart is off-limits, her future laser-focused: finish college, land the coveted Parliament internship, and build the political career she’s dreamed of. Relationships? A liability she can’t afford. Especially when her past has taught her that love, like politics, can be messy and unforgiving.
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🦸🏻‍♂️ Hero Spotlight: Jax

Jax is the golden boy of college hockey, skating toward an NHL contract and wrapping up his kinesiology degree. But beneath the swagger is a guy quietly disillusioned by the puck bunny scene and still grieving the loss of his best friend. When a bet leads him to Sidney, he’s intrigued—not just by her beauty, but by the challenge. She’s unlike anyone he’s ever met. And for the first time, he’s chasing something more than a win.
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🔥 Plot Snapshot

Sidney’s rules were supposed to protect her—from heartbreak, from distraction, from becoming her mother. But one impulsive night with Jax cracks her armor. He’s kind, observant, and frustratingly persistent. She tries to forget him, but fate (and a brutal class they both need to pass) keeps throwing them together. Jax wants more than a one-night stand, but Sidney’s fear of emotional fallout—and her deeply rooted trust issues—make every step toward connection feel like a risk she can’t afford.

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❤️‍🔥 What Worked

• Jax’s emotional depth surprised me. His grief over Marcus adds weight to his quiet intensity and explains his reluctance to open up.
• I loved the role reversal—Jax as the academic tutor, Sidney as the one struggling. It flipped the usual sports romance dynamic in a refreshing way.
• Sidney’s aversion to hockey players isn’t just a trope—it’s grounded in painful personal history. Her emotional logic makes sense, and that realism adds texture to her character.

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🤨 Room for More

• The pacing dragged a bit during the “slow burn” phase. Their friendship-to-romance arc could’ve used a tighter edit.
• The looming post-graduation separation felt unnecessarily bleak. I wanted more hope, more fight for their future—especially after all the emotional groundwork.

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🎧 Narration Vibes

Dual POVs, dual narrators: Edward Black and Nikki Grey. Nikki’s voice is deeper than I typically prefer for female leads, but her male character work is solid. Edward Black brings vocal variety, but his delivery was louder than expected—I had to adjust my volume more than usual. His tone didn’t quite match the emotional resonance I wanted from Jax, though his technical skill is clear.

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📝 Final Thoughts

This story had heart, heat, and a heroine with real stakes. Sidney’s emotional walls were believable, and Jax’s quiet persistence made him more than just a sports romance archetype. While the ending leaned a little too bittersweet for my taste, the journey was worth it. If you like your romance with emotional baggage, academic angst, and a hero who’s more than just a jersey, this one might just score.

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💬 Favorite Quotes

“It’s not a sacrifice to love you. It’s a f*cking privilege.”

“We were two trains heading toward each other until their inevitable crash. Unable to stop, no matter how hard they break, the impact leaving the wreckage of us.”

“You look good wearing my name, Trouble.”

“If I can’t have forever, please don’t take away right now.”

“Just being near her, calmed the restless part of me. The part that thought I would never be enough.”

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