I could not put this book down! Catherine Bybee always tells an excellent story, and this one was no exception! Suspense, mystery, romance. I loved the new set of characters (a couple have shown up in previous books) and the connection between all of them was palpable. The story was spellbinding! It was one of those that I was anxious to finish so I could see the case wrapped up, but I hated to see it end! I’m excited to read the next book in the series!

This book had it all for me. We get Claire’s story whom we were introduced to in another one of Catherine’s great series, and tied into the first series I ever read of Catherine’s - The Weekday Brides.
Claire is one for excitement and with her skills, she wants to do more while working at MacBain security and she gets her chance when working a case with no other than the totally handsome Cooper Lockman. Not only are they in danger, they are also in danger of being found out about their romance by their boss Neil MacBain.
Their story is hot, steamy, and could be deadly if they aren’t careful. On a personal note, Catherine has started off the Richter series with everything we love about her writing and brings awareness to the crime of taking young women and men and bringing them into underground slavery where many are abused, drugged, and even die. While not a pleasant topic, it reminds me to hug those I love just a little tighter.

I received an ARC of Changing the Rules by Catherine Bybee the first book in her new Richter series by being a member of the author's review team for an honest review. I am not sure how Catherine Bybee does it, but I can truly say that I absolutely loved every page of this incredibly, emotionally charged love story and that I could not put it down. Changing the Rules was an exciting book for me knowing that it is the first book in Catherine Bybee’s new Richter series. I loved the book and cannot wait to read the other book in the series. One of my favorite parts is how the title of the book is incorporated into the love story, especially how it is used at the end of the story. Catherine Bybee has once again proven that she is a master storyteller who always delivers truly page turning romances. Catherine writes about great characters, and loving families, but most of all she writes about strong women who are not defined by their upbringing or their pasts. They survive in spite of the circumstances of their pasts, that changed the consequences of their lives. Once again, I love how Catherine opens her heart in the Author's Note section of the book and to the realities of teen sex trafficking. Once again Catherine Bybee has delivered another amazing book. This page turner is filled with heartbreaking and heartwarming moments. I loved Changing the Rules and reuniting with characters who were first introduced in Say It Again, Sasha Petrov Hoffman’s story. Changing the Rules is the story of Claire Kelly, the Richter runaway who helped solving Amelia Hoffman’s murder and Cooper Lockman. Both Claire and Cooper work for Neil McBain’s security company and met during the case at Richter. Changing the Rules takes place six years after the events in Say It Again. Claire is a college graduate, thanks to the kindness of Neil and Gwen McBain, and Sasha and A.J. Hoffman. Cooper has just returned to America after running the European office. The local police reach out to Neil for assistance with teenage sex trafficking in two local high schools. One of those schools is the private school that Neil’s daughter, Emma attends. Claire and her co-worker, and roommate Jax go undercover as seniors at each of the high schools. Cooper will be a substitute teacher and assistant track coach at one of the schools. I love Claire and Cooper’s love story and how they got romantically closer to each other as they were trying to discover who was behind the sex trafficking in those high schools. I love the lighter moments in Changing the Rules, especially when Claire takes down Cooper at a charity auction event at the beginning of the story. Changing the Rules is a beautifully written story for Claire and Cooper, filled with all of Catherine Bybee’s normal bittersweet moments, plot twists and surprises, and so much emotion. I really enjoyed seeing the softer, gentler more vulnerable side of the characters. I loved catching up with Sasha and A.J. Hoffman and Neil and Gwen McBain. Also, loved how the cover picture and the book title get incorporated into the book. Loved the book, I am so excited for the other books in this new series. I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I enjoyed this book. It was a fun take on 21 Jump Street (and they even make a joke about it in the book) with Claire, Cooper and other members of their team going undercover in a high school to find out who is involved in a prostitution ring. I loved the idea of the book and overall, the execution was done well.

The romance was a bit slow though. Cooper really liked Claire years ago but she was only 18 so he left without telling her why. They meet again when he comes back to her team. Well, now she is older so he doesn’t feel bad about wanting her. But can he get over her hurt? I thought that the romance just dragged a bit and was secondary to the mystery. Overall, an enjoyable story and thanks to NetGalley for an early read.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Claire and Cooper are on a mission to stop a prostitution ring at a high school. Claire hasn't seen Cooper for six years. I enjoyed the chemistry between Claire and Cooper. This book was well written.

I have read quite a few books by Catherine Bybee and they always leave me feeling warm and satisfied.
This one was no exception! Loved it! It was the perfect summer time (here in Australia) read

Bybee brings back the MacBain Security and Solutions team focusing on the relationship between Claire and Cooper. It was fun catching up with all at MacBain Security. The story adds a new member to the team, Manuel. Perhaps we will see more of him in book two of the new series.

Changing the rules involves high school girls being maneuvered into sex trafficking. Who is feeding the girls into the network? Who is in charge? Team members go undercover at two high schools to find the answers. This is a totally satisfying read.

I am a huge fan of Catherine Bybee. This latest installment with Claire and Cooper as leads did not disappoint. This is an excellent series with many strong personalities and characters. It is rare that an author can cross series successfully, but Bybee never disappoints. Bravo!

This books was a great introduction to this series. I cannot wait to read the next ones. The relationship between Claire and Jax was your perfect mix of sister and friend. Each of Claire’s handpicked family was exactly what she needed in her live. The slow burn between her and Cooper was perfect and did not cross any “teacher student” boundaries that might have been there. This is NOT a teacher student story. Both Claire and Cooper are well above drinking age. This is, however and undercover story.

What a start to a new series! I have been reading Catherine Bybee for years and I have to say I haven’t read anything like this by her before. I loved going on Claire & Cooper’s journey and finding it to be an adventure unlike others I have taken before.

I can’t see what will happen next in this series!

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

I was given this book to read by NetGalley. Really enjoyed this book, I read it all in one sitting. Catherine Bybee has a nice easy flow. She is a must read!

Changing the Rules by Catherine Bybee a thrilling four-star read. This is number one in the Richter series, but honestly, I felt like I was coming in halfway at the start, that’s why I gave it four-stars as the rest was all five-star reading. Claire really steps up to the plate and plays it so well, she clearly has a past that she can play to her benefit, and I wouldn’t want anything to be in her place, playing a teen and being in high school again, no thank you. This will have you guessing and wondering who is the real baddie, and who is the saviour? It will keep you hooked until the end.

In the first book in this new series by perennially wonderful Catherine Bybee, faces from past books come together to weed out and dismantle a teen prostitution ring.
Claire Kelly, one of MacBain Security and Solutions youngest operatives, a survivor of the Richter School, along with her bestie Jax, go undercover at two local high schools being targeted by a ring of sex traffic-ers. Thrown into the mix if Cooper Lockman, another operative who’s just come back on the scene after a 6 year stint in Europe.

Cooper had a thing for Claire back in the day, but because she was so much younger than him and barely of legal age, he never acted on it. 6 years later and a great deal has changed, but not his feelings.

Working together - he as a substitute teacher and she a student – makes life deliciously miserable for the both of them. It’s a slow burn for these two to get to any kind of intimate relationship, but the wait is sososo worth it.

The plot revolves around the firm discovering who in the high schools is recruiting/kidnapping girls to be sex workers. Unfortunately, this isn’t a far off or hypothetical theme, since its occurrence is a real problem in this country.

Told with her usual attention to details, witty banter, and slow climbing emotional rollercoaster, CHANGING THE RULES is well worth the read. ByBee is a one-click author for me and this start of a new series has proved to be another reason why she is.

I was allowed a sneak peek of the book by Netgalley and Montlake. 5 stars for this read.

I absolutely loved this book! It was great getting to see characters from the weekday novels. There is Some romance but a lot of action and a great story line, I found myself finishing this book I. One day because it was that good. . If you have not read this author this is a great book to start with.

I'm so happy that we got Claire's story. She made such a huge impression in Sasha's book. I love females who can seriously kick some butt and it was great to see these woman bring more of their skills to entertain us with. I'm hoping we will get more books with these former-Richter students.

While this is a first in the series, it is a spinoff of two other series. You could possibly read this as a standalone but I do think you would enjoy it so much more when you have that background knowledge from at least the First Wives Series. Claire showed up in the last book of that series and you learn where she came from and why she has the skills that she does.

I adored Claire just as much as an adult as I did when she was a fresh faced eighteen year old. It made my cold heart happy to see her find a family in Neil and Gwen, Sasha and the rest of the gang. You really see how much they all care for her in this book.

Cooper was just as great. I really like the decision he made and it was so obvious how much he adores Claire. I love seeing devotion like that. I'm a big fan of a love that just clicks like it did for Cooper when he met Claire. Saying this, I do wish the romance was bit more. The storyline was awesome and exciting with the investigation, I just wish the romance was a bigger part of that as well.

I'm eager for the next book. There were no clues, but I have my guess who is next and I'm looking forward to it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC of Changing the Rules (Richter, #1) by Catherine Bybee. I have been reading Catherine Bybee books for years and have always enjoyed them. I believe her to be a wonderful storyteller and love how her stories are both drama-filled as well as love stories...a little bit of something for everyone.

Warning: This book deals with human trafficking and prostitution of teenagers.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how the characters interacted with each other and how characters from other books she has written (Neil) continued to play a part in this series. The chemistry between
Cooper and Claire was great. I loved their banter and to see how their relationship evolved.

The reason why this book was given 4 stars instead of 5 is because there was continual discussion about Richter and about Claire's history yet it wasn't explained what happened to her while she was there. It was very confusing. I thought maybe this was the second book in the series and I had missed the first one but no, this was the first.

There were also a lot of characters and at times, I had a hard time keeping up with who everyone was. This story did keep me guessing as to what would happen next and also who were the "bad guys". Overall, I do recommend the book.

#NetGalley #ARC #CatherineBybee #PrivateInvestigator #HumanTrafficking #Prostitution #Police #HighSchool #Track #Love #FriendsToLovers #Danger #UnderCover #Abuse #ChangingTheRules

More Action, Arguably Less Romance. Still Bybee. This book - arguably a *version* of a take on 21 Jump Street (though admittedly my only exposure to that franchise is the Tatum/ Hill movies) - continues Bybee's recent (2020+) path of moving to less saccharine / comedic romances and to more thriller-ish romances. There is still comedy and sweetness here, but it takes more of a backburner to the thriller elements. Also continuing is Bybee's more recent examination of weighty real-world topics while telling a romance tale, and in this case the topic in question is sex trafficking - particularly of high school/ just after high school age young women. Bybee, at least in my experience with her books, isn't really known for having multiple sex scenes throughout the tale, and this particular book is no exception to that norm. Truly a solid romance, with all of the old RWA standards I am aware of met, and a pretty good (low body count) thriller to boot - particularly when considering that the author is more known in the romance world and has written far more in that genre. This reader, for one, is looking forward to seeing where this series goes. Very much recommended.

SYNOPSIS:
Both members of MacBain Security and Solutions, Claire and Copper are sent undercover in a Southern California high school, to help pinpoint a human trafficking ring. Prior to this assignment, Cooper has been working overseas in Germany in an effort to try and forget his feelings for Claire, who has been none the wiser to how Cooper feels about her. With his return, Cooper is determined to not let Claire know how he feels especially with their respective undercover roles of substitute and student.

REVIEW:
As the heroine of the story, Claire is strong, courageous, and can hang with the guys. She is also compassionate and feminine in a way that makes it clear you don’t have to be masculine to do the work she does. This was a refreshing character, who showed great concern for the task at hand and not the typical dedication that results in the lack of a social life.

While it wasn’t the center of the story, the relationship between Claire and Cooper is a slow burn romance that helped to break up the heaviness of such a difficult topic. Although advertised as a romance, this book is more of a mystery. I actually appreciated that the romance wasn’t front and center of this story, since it allowed me to focus on the seriousness of the trafficking of underage girls.

This was a really great read for me! It started out slow and I couldn’t name for sure how I was feeling about it, but a third of the way in it started to pick up. Cooper and Claire’s interactions along with the supporting characters made for a strong plot and engaging storyline. I ended up really enjoying this read for how it highlights such a crucial topic in a way that didn’t completely overwhelm me. I will be recommending this book!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Catherine Bybee has always been a tried and true author for me! Changing the Rules is a fast paced romance/suspense novel that will have you on the hook from the very beginning . When I first saw the cover, I thought this would be a light romance, but I was wrong! Catherine Bybee tackles some heavy subject matter and shed light on topics people shy away from, she also does a great job at educating the reader at the same time. There were several perfectly timed twists and turns and I was truly surprised with the outcome!! As per usual, I am looking forward to diving into whatever Catherine Bybee comes out with next!

WOW! I could not put this book down! I was so engrossed in this story, which is so relevant in today's society but you hear very little about; sex trafficking of underage kids. A special ops team goes undercover and immerses themselves in high school where sex trafficking is suspected. It's a web of who's who and what role do they play in the trafficking ring. The closer they get the more questions they have and answers they need to find. The mystery and drama kept me glued to the pages! Bonus, two members of the special ops team have some pretty incredible chemistry; Cooper and Claire. It warmed my heart and lightened the story a bit to watch these two come together. I would highly recommend this book!