I thought this was pretty cute!

Bobby and Winter are the only two Korean-American kids in their area, so they are either always mistaken for siblings or romantic partners (they'd probably be well suited for that Siblings or Dating insta account!). They resent this... and each other. Even though their parents are best friends, they don't like each other; Winter thinks he's too serious, and Bobby thinks she never takes anything seriously enough. So, they make a long list of ground rules to get through spending time together, like "we will not be friends," "we will not meet outside of school," and "we will not have private conversations." Each chapter begins with a new rule, followed by a time when they break it (hence, "rules for rule breaking"). When they go on a road trip to tour colleges together, they realize what they've been missing out on by always following the rules.

This book is about feeling separated from your culture and family (Bobby hates that his parents never taught him Korean, and his parents also don't speak to anyone in their families). It's about feeling distant from your best friend.

Although it was only 304 pages, the book felt like it dragged in the middle. I was kind of bored and didn't feel much of a connection between the characters. I liked it enough to finish it, but it wasn't too memorable. Sometimes you just need a fluffy story, though!

Thank you to Penguin for the advanced copy of this book! All thoughts are my own.

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you @penguinteen for an early copy of Rules for Rule Breaking by Talia Tucker. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Release date: March 19th, 2024

Blurb: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/179956934-rules-for-rule-breaking?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=YD4A0FYEEz&rank=1

🛑Read on with caution; review may contain spoilers🛑

Rules for Rule Breaking is an okay coming-of-age YA romance read. The main characters Bobby and Winter come from Korean families and have known each other since they were kids. It has been implied that Bobby and Winter have liked each other since they were young, but refused to show it and projected the opposite of their feelings and hated each other instead. Quite shallow, in my opinion, especially since their hatred continued until high school, and only ended when their families forced them together on a road trip to visit their prospective colleges.

While I loved how their road trip brought Winter and Bobby closer and got to talk out most of their feelings plus their somewhat open-ended happy ending, the overall storyline felt shallow. Lots of issues within the story could have been explored deeply – how greatly Bobby’s parents have neglected to teach him their Korean culture and heritage, how Winter will meet Emmy halfway to keep their friendship, etc.

I would recommend Rules for Rule Breaking if you’re looking for a light and easy romance read.

This book was great because of how much it made me laugh! Bobby and winter are truly one of my favorite couples and with humor reminescent of David Yoon, this one was a treat! The ending was a bit abrupt, but I can forgive that because I left this book with a smile on my face!

Thank you to Net galley for approving my ARC of Rules for Rule Breaking
I really enjoyed this book. The leading characters had great chemistry and were also very relatable as teenagers growing up in Asian households. I found myself reading the whole book in one night which is something I haven’t in a looooong time. I 100% recommend this book to not only young adults, but everyone, as this perspective of how familial pressures affect teenagers is such an important message to get out.

First off, the cover is gorgeous. I liked the characters but the beginning felt a little bit repetitive, they just kept fighting. The romance was cute though.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Winter and Bobby’s family are close friends. They’re both from Korean American families and grew up doing everything together. Winter isn’t the type to really let loose and likes to keep people at arms length. While Bobby is anxious and his recent breakup has sent him into super depression mode. So when their parents suggest they tour colleges together, they decide on one rule for their road trip.. that is to break all the rules!

You have a story of fake friends who pretend for their parents to self discovery and making memories. Bobby is very in touch with his feelings and that was nice to see from a male lead instead of a female. It was very fun and light hearted read with such perfectly timed banter that made it so much more.

Definitely a coming of age story that I think many would enjoy!

this was such a cute read omg! first of all, the cover?! so pretty. like look at the colors! absolutely stunning. i adored the writing soo much, it was so light and fun and fitted the story perfectly. there were so many aspects of this book, not just romance; and i deeply appreciated that. it spoke about culture, anxiety, pressure, familial drama, and platonic friendships. i always love a book that has a range of topics.

but the romance which was the main part of this book... oof, it was so good. childhood family friends who are forced together daily but are rivals in every possible way? not something i thought i needed until i read this. THE BANTER AHH!! I ALWAYS LOVE!! BANTER!!

.☽༊˚ ❄️ winter: first, the names of the characters in this book were so interesting haha. i liked her as a character; she was a driven fmc who strived towards her goals. some of the things she felt regarding platonic friendships, and moving away from everyone you know were so real to me.

.☽༊˚ 🗒️ bobby: ahh bobby. our little picture perfect little boy. he was truly such a funny and interesting character to me, like the little notebook he always carried around, or the way he just HAD to stick to the itinerary. truly very funny and interesting. but dang did he say some swoon-worthy stuff. but i'm sorry i just couldn't with his name, bobby bae 😭😭 i know his name is robert and everyone calls him bobby but like... i just couldn't.

.☽༊˚ 🎀 side characters: i truly loved every single one!! KAI IS MY LOOOOOOOVE THIS MAN!!! I WANT HIM AS MY BFF HE'S AMAZING I LOVE YOU. emmy was fun, i liked looking at her and winters friendship and all the aspects around that. i marked up some quotes of theirs that i liked their really funny friends, but kai and bobby in my opinion are just everything. ALSO THE GRANDMOTHER?? OMG FAVOURITE CHARACTER IN THIS WHOLE BOOK!! SHE DESERVES IT ALL!! we literally wouldn't really have this book if it weren't for her. be my grandmother please and thank you 🥹

This was such a fun, both light and heavy, story of two teens on a roadtrip to visit colleges, break some rules, and discover things about themselves along the way. I don’t really remember what initially interested me in this book, but I think it’s worth the read if it interests you even a little bit. Overall, it was a very easy read and one that I sped through without even fully realizing it, and I definitely recommend checking it out!

We begin the story with rivals, both academically and personally, even if everyone around them doesn’t really understand why. But when they want to visit some colleges over the summer, they’re forced to go on a 700 mile road trip together. And, not so spoiler alert, they don’t stay rivals the entire time.

There’s something that feels relatable about teenagers who are so focused on being at the top of their class and their future that they haven’t really done anything that people consider typical for teenagers, as someone who was exactly the same way. And honestly I think there’s always something valuable about seeing teenage characters who aren’t exactly the way the movies showcase them. On top of that, seeing the embedded mental health representation, and the beauty of being seen, even by your rival.

I think that this book truly deals with some of the deeply human and also painful experiences of growing up, of feeling detached from your culture or what you think you’re supposed to be. At the same time, it’s a fun book of breaking rules along the way, with a set of rules to do it properly. It’s a little messy and very heartfelt, and I would recommend checking it out.

This was a cute book for sure.

College road trip. Two teens whom are rivals-ish. Academic over achievers.

All fun and cute letting this play out. Will definitely be on my HS shelf.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

OMG! Thank you Talia Tucker for such an amazing book! It was perfect! I don’t even know what to say I’m speechless. I felt like I was in the back seat of Bobby’s car as they were on their roadtrip to visit colleges and breaking all the rules as they went. They were the perfect duo. They were funny and had all the teenage angst. I loved that as each day passed they both really got to see each other for who they were and the persona they played in front of each other dropped. Even though they were frenemies being together on that roadtrip is exactly what they needed to gain clarity on their next chapter in life!

Don’t walk, run to get this book!!

Thank you @coloredpagesbt @penguinteen @taliatuck for the #Gifted book!

This book was a funny and sweet read. I love the rivals to lovers trope and Talia Tucker did such a good job with it in this book. Bobby and Winter were both more complicated characters than I was expecting. This time period in life, that decision point of what to do after high school, can be difficult even for over achievers who think they know exactly what they want in life. I really enjoyed how this book explored this. It's an excellent debut novel and I look forward to reading more books from this author.

This was a great YA debut novel, with great characters and a fun plot! I look forward to what Ms. Tucker writes next!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

It's a cute little rom-com! I noticed rom-coms tend to be hit or miss for me, especially for YA titles since I seem to be gearing more towards New Adult or Adult rom-com titles. I still found this to be fun, but I will admit some of the banter and angst felt cringe to me, but that's mostly because I've been in that phase before and as an adult see things differently now.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ // 5 stars

okay, WOW 😍 i want to start off by saying that this was the cutest and funnest read between academic rivals! it definitely felt like a read that could easily be turned into an amazing movie.

this story was a fun journey through the eyes of the only two Koreans in their school, seeking out good college candidates as rivals, obviously 🤪 who end up on a road trip together to visit and tour schools…what could go wrong? Or right? 🫶🏻

i loved the dynamics of our main characters, winter and bobby. i think i resonate with bobby a lot actually because i found him to be quite relatable with his quirks, timeliness, and many notebooks 😆 winter on the other hand was also relatable for me in the way that she is full of sarcasm and is a chunky sweater-wearer 👚

the side characters in this story really helped support the storyline in my opinion. we see each of their best friends, emmy and kai, and they each had a fun and emotional impact to the story. my favorite was probably winters grandma, Halmeoni. i LOVED that woman with her bingo and petunias!! 😂✨

id definitely recommend this to anyone who loves enemies-to-lovers vibes, YA contemporary romance, strong family ties (+ reference to Korean culture), and banter. Ohhh the BANTER! 😍

one road trip across the country viewing colleges, two childhood nemesis turned academic rivals, what could possibly go wrong? turns out a lot can 😂

thank you so much talia tuck for writing this book, and giving me winter and bae, and thank you colored pages book tours for sending me this eARC and having me on this tour! i appreciate this a lot <3

read this if you love:
🤭 childhood nemesis
📖 academic rivals-to-lovers
💭 overthinking people pleaser mmc
🎯 responsible kid fmc
💖 the most realistic coming-of age-story
💌 wholesome friendships
🚗 an epic road trip

this debut novel is a perfect read, filled with fun, chaos, raw emotions, realistic characters and family dynamics, rule-breaking and imperfect people. a book where you might think they're annoying but honestly, they're just real characters like us who make mistakes and take time accepting them. i will protect these two for life!

☾⋆⁺₊🎧🌅✨𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒ winter park

"She’d always liked space because it made everything seem small, but it seemed that she had shrunk her world so much that she left no room for anything or anyone else."


our tea drinking, space loving girl. her best friend is her rebel grandma who is such a joy! winter is an absolute mood, especially with her ease of being alone. she has no qualms about being by herself, and yet yearns to be able to let loose. she's stuck in this rivalry against bobby (the only other asian kid in the area) and hates having to bow down to him. so obviously she does everything to be first, and wins :) but again she aint perfect, she's only human. she finds herself making everyone stay at an arms length, and doesnt know how to fix this.

☾⋆⁺₊🎧🌅✨𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒ bobby bae

"Never in a million years did he think he’d get advice that could potentially alter the trajectory of his life from someone who was using her sleeve as a napkin. And never in a trillion years did he think that person would be Winter Park."


this is the sweetest boy to ever exist on earth. i mean this boy is literally the boy version of me! anything goes wrong, we cry. anything bad happens, we cry. we need everyone to like us? check :( we definitely need therapy. and oh he just got freshly dumped! so he decides lets throw caution to the wind and do the college trip.

this boy was so in love with our winter, he literally does everything she asks. but he was just in denial to actually acknowledge it as love.

☾⋆⁺₊🎧🌅✨𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒ them <3

“What would you know about my relationship or any relationship for that matter? You’ve never dated anyone. You barely even have any friends.”
“At least I’m not desperate for everyone to love me.”


god put these two in the same room and knew they'd be the most chaotic existence ever and so made sure they interacted very less. but lets just say, they decided to take fate into their own hands and went on that trip. and that trip was just the thing the two of them needed! it became their adventure to finally break some rules and the rules they break were so hilarious 🤣

moreover, this trip helped the two understand what they were lacking in and maybe how to become better. the character arcs of these two are insane but realistic. i mean come on, a couple that heals together, stays together!

☾⋆⁺₊🎧🌅✨𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒ the writing

author, i need more! these two chaotic cuties were just so fun and lovely, i did not realize the pages flipping by. i did not even realize i was done with the book, until i flipped the page and was met with a blank page and i wanted to cry T-T like nooooo, i need more of this old married couple.

all in all this book is simply amazing, with such vivid writing that immediately transports you into that car along with these two about to take the most life-changing road trip of their life ;)

rules for rule breaking is out now! run to your nearest bookstore and grab your copy now.

I really enjoyed this enemies to friends to lovers YA story. It was rather amusing to read about how Winter and Bobby were so much alike but try everything to one up each other. I really enjoyed reading about their college preview trip where both finally learn to let loose a little and break some rules. This was a cute read.

This was such a book book, and I was very happy to have the chance to read an early copy of it. Apologies for the review not posting on time. Thank you netgalley for an arc of this book.

I liked the cover, I liked the concept, I even liked the characters. I just would've liked for it to be a little more fleshed out.

I just melted reading this book, it is so sweet and warm and wholesome 😭 I loved the narration style and the pacing and the characters and their thoughts and interactions <333

Tropes - it's a YA longtime enemies to lovers who go on a roadtrip together to visit colleges!

TWs - estrangement from relatives, death of grandparent(s) off page

-- ty to the author, the publisher and @turnthepagetours for sending me a copy!

Rules for Rule Breaking is an academic rival to lovers, a road trip romance following two Asian American high school friends who are family friends. And their family sends them together to visit colleges during their summer break. 100 miles is a long time to be in close proximity of someone who you want to strangle on the best of days.

This book sounds so good in the blurb sadly it didn’t work for me. The biggest reason will be the female MC, Winter, I kept waiting for a few of the apologies that never came. Also her making fun of Bobby for crying didn’t sit well with me. in the beginning, I was sure things would change but I didn’t appreciate it in the second half. Okay, some people are more emotional than others and if they are not causing you any trouble for that then stop with your judgements.

That being said I am still giving it three stars because I did love some of the things. I understood some of the struggles the MCs went through, even Winter. She isn’t a bad character just someone who needs to learn a few things. Bobby was well written but I hated the last few chapters where he kept making efforts even though he had done nothing wrong.

I loved Winter’s grandmother and Kai (Bobby’s best friend) stole the show whenever he appeared in the book.