I am here for an academic rivals romance!! Winter and Bobby were a great pairing and I enjoyed their development throughout the story. Learning more about Korean culture was also cool and I enjoyed that representation. As an oldest child, I felt the pressure that both of them put on themselves to always be right and perfect. It was great to see them flourish and break out of their shells on the road trip. Speaking of road trips, I love that type of plot. Talia executed it so well, too. The friendships and shenanigans were cute and I liked where the story ended up. Also Halmeoni was a fantastic side character and I loved every time she was present in the story. The rules were so cute and I like how they introduced each chapter. Overall, this was a cute read! Thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me an e-ARC to read and review!

If you like YA romcoms, road trips, and the rivals-to-lovers trope, consider picking this one up! It was a fast and overall enjoyable read, but most of the themes felt very surface-level. Both of our main characters are Korean-American and the discussion of their culture was prominent throughout the story, but I wish we'd gotten into it deeper. The same can be said of some of their passions or goals for the rest of their lives (they're on a road trip to visit colleges); they were mentioned throughout the book, but were never explored or developed beyond being acknowledged. I also didn't care for the third-act breakup; it seemed like both characters blew their reactions out of proportion, and I already dislike third-act breakups, so that didn't help. I think, too, that Winter's relationship with her mostly-long-distance best friend could have had more screen time. What I did like about the book: the discussion of culture that we did get, the relationship Winter has with her grandmother, and the fact that Winter and Bobby try to get outside of their comfort zone and break rules, since they're both pretty strict rule-followers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for the arc!
This was a really sweet coming of age story! We follow childhood rivals Winter and Bobby as they are nearing the end of high school and trying to figure out where they are going next. This leads them on a road trip to explore colleges, discovering more about themselves and their relationship.
I love a good road trip book and those elements were really fun in this book.
I wish their backstory was a little more detailed and had more of a build to it so we could understand better why their rivalry as lasted for so long.
The coming of age aspect was one of my favorite parts, I could truly feel as I was reading the change in their characters and seeing them discover more about themselves was amazing to see.
If you love Never Have I Ever (Devi & Ben dynamic) with fun YA hijinks and a road trip. This is the book for you! I had a blast!
Thank you again to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for the arc!

One of my favorite reads of this year!!! And it is only March? Love that for me. Winter and Bobby were simply too adorable!! I loved their dynamic and the plot was really engaging! If anyone is in the mood for a cute rom-com then rules for rule breaking is the perfect read for you! I also love the gorgeous cover, the artist did a wonderful job.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for generously providing me an arc of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I rounded up from a 3.5 rating. But Rules for Rule Breaking is a cute, quick read!

The plot itself was fun—Winter and Bobby, who have known each other (and despise each other) since they were kids are forced by their parents to go on a roadtrip to visit colleges they're interested in the summer before their senior year. I enjoyed their banter and as someone living in the DMV area, loved how localized all the visits felt. Talia Tucker did a great job bringing the readers into the world and along with the high schoolers.

I did feel like there needed to be a bit more building between Winter and Bobby. I wanted a little more pining, a little more obliviousness, and a little more tensions for a rival romance. I also felt like the writing itself was a bit too straight-forward. I understand this in the young adult category and I am not the immediate target audience, but I felt like there wasn't enough fully digging in and we stayed surface level for most of Rules for Rule Breaking.

I enjoyed the novel though and had a lot of fun reading about the two's adventures!

Rules for Rule Breaking by Talia Tucker is a captivating road trip narrative.

Winter and Bobby, two Korean Americans, stand out in their high school as the only ones of their culture. Their relationship, far from the typical high school romance, is marked by a fierce rivalry. When their parents insist they embark on a college trip together, they are forced to confront the source of their animosity.

Their journey, filled with struggles and poignant moments, was a joy to read about. Despite the unlikelihood of such a trip in real life (I don't know about you, but my parents would never have let me drive up and down the East Coast with another teen, especially a boy), it felt somewhat authentic due to the characters. With their drive and focus, these characters reminded me of students I've encountered- their determination sometimes bordering on obsession. The ironic title, Rules for Rule Breaking, encapsulates Winter's need for structure even when she breaks the rules.

Winter's grandmother, a beacon of wisdom in this tale, plays a significant role. Her insights surpass those of her granddaughter, Bobby, and their friends. She encourages them to break free from their self-imposed rules, sensing their need to loosen up. Her character adds depth and wisdom to the narrative, reminding the reader that breaking a rule now and then won't bring the world to an end.

Rules for Rule Breaking will resonate with teens and take adults back to that time in their lives.

Here are reasons to read the YA Contemporary book:

Family Friend - Winter’s family has been friend’s with Bobby’s family for years
Road Trip - so when they require him to accompany her on a road trip to visit colleges, she is less than pleased
Hate to Love - And despite the outrageous amount of shenanigans they get into, they find out they may just be right for each other.

The premise of the book is what sold me, a college road trip. And to be perfectly clear, this book is a good one for younger readers, even though it was a little too complicated. I did love their relationship but thought the writing style itself was not as complex as I wanted it to be. The things these 2 get themselves into is very fun, but overall I felt like there could have been more clarity in the writing itself. Still a good YA college trip story!

Two lifelong academic rivals find themselves going on a road trip together to explore colleges while also breaking the rules for the first time in their lives...as well as realizing that maybe they aren't as repulsed by each other as they claim. Winter is MIT bound and has always been comfortable with keeping at an arms length. She loves spending time with her grandmother and she hates losing. Bobby is as Type-A, anxious, and risk averse as you can be and he feels a bit like he's never been good enough. Winter and Bobby's parents are family friends yet both Winter and Bobby can't stand each other and have been academic rivals. Winter hates that Bobby is so good looking, that he has a perfect girlfriend, and seems to be good at everything he does. Bobby can't stand how at ease with everything Winter is, that she's got such a loving and open family, that she's better than him at everything and that she gets under his skin like no one else. While their parents think they would make a cute couple, neither of them can stand to be in the same room and have made rules for each other to coexists together. With college visits come around, Winter finds out that her best friend isn't even going and Bobby is newly dumped by his girlfriend for being "boring" , and both their parents can't take them on their college visits and suggests they go together. There's nothing they'd like least... yet when they discuss it they realize that they could use this trip to break all the rules and for once abandon having a plan and just going with it. Yet now that they are stuck together they begin to learn more about each other, exploring new places and discovering their own feelings for one another because you don't spend that much time obsessed with someone without maybe possibly falling for them. This was a really cute academic rivals to lovers stories and I adored how both Winter and Bobby had their own struggles yet constantly challenged each other to be better and would be there for one another. This was a sweet read and I would definitely recommend it!

*Thanks Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Kokila for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This ARC was really difficult to follow, it's the editing is off so it made it frustrating.

The story is a great concept, but the storytelling felt flat and there are parts where I'm wondering why Bobby had 3 different names? I'm pushing it at 3 stars, this definitely feels more like a 2.5 stars. It is confusing.

But the cover is so good! Love that!

Rules for Rule Breaking wasn't my favorite. There was so much potential with this story; however, it fell flat. The biggest issue I had with this book was the chemistry between the main characters. I thought Bobby and Winter's chemistry was lacking. I didn't understand why Winter was fighting her attraction to Bobby for so long. The fight scene towards the end was unnecessary. Although Bobby and Winter were relatable, I felt that their characters could have been more fleshed out. I struggled getting through this one. Thank you to NetGalley and Kokila for the ARC.

DNF. The formatting was off in the ARC, but more glaringly, the reader is thrown into what seems like a synopsis of the entire family and drama, instead of having any sort of organic feeling. It’s very much telling with no showing, and I don’t know the characters enough (or at all) to care

This was a good read to unwind after a long day at work. It took me a bit to get into it bc I couldn't buy into the setup (why did both sets of parents actively choose not to go with their kids to tour colleges?) but it got interesting once they hit the road. I found the characters and the plot a lil simplistic, but that's on me -- this book seems more suitable for a younger YA audience, and I'm not the target demographic.

I feel as though I read a rough draft rather than a completed novel. Rules for Rule Breaking had all the right variables that could have made it a spectacular read, but nothing was really explored in depth.

Bobby and Winter are both incredibly relatable characters. I think they accurately represent the more traditional Asian families. They had a lot of thoughts and feelings that I could relate to, from things like Bobby being ashamed of not knowing how to speak Korean, to Winter pretending that everything comes easy to her when in fact she works so hard. Definitely appreciated them.

Now the story is where the low rating comes from. The story was incredibly shallow. There were a lot of themes that could have been explored — culture, family, friendships, responsibility, society — but everything took a backseat to the romance. Normally, I'd be okay with a romance-forward, mindless read, but it seems like a waste to have all of these themes right in front of you, only to have them not be extensively discussed.

This wasn't one of the worst YA contemporaries I've read (it's definitely not bad, either), but there was definitely a lot of wasted potential in this. I just wanted it to be more than what it was.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-book for free in exchange for an honest review! I loved this book! It was well written, the characters had depth and the story was super enjoyable! Winter and Bobby’s rivalry is so relatable and as their forced road trip brings them closer and closer it’s easy to root for them. Highly recommend this even for adults well past their high school years!

Rules For Rule Breaking by Talia Tucker


"The sky was the color of chai with a teaspoon of milk, with not a single star in sight. The two of them had nowhere to go and no means of getting there."


Winter Park. Bobby Rae. Family friends, enemies-to-lovers. MIT. Halmeoni. A girl in robotics. Umma.

NASA scientists. Lip gloss and clandestine meetings. Riverdale binges. Political journalism, the perfect Korean daughter.

Serial killer handwriting. Stealing flowers. Trying to learn Korean for a certain someone. The Mona Lisa.

Moratorium. Cheese whiz. A UPenn. Two new best friends navigating difficult family relationships from unforgiving people and cultural differences.

Academic rivals. College tour road trips. Becoming a rebel rule breaker. Nerdiness. Confused emotions. Learning to love one another.

Rules are meant to be broken. 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 Stars!

Rules for Rule Breaking is about two Korean American kids whose family are close but they always despise each other. Told in dual perspectives.

I'm a huge fan of academic rival, but this one goes way differently than I thought. It's an okay read. The banter was okay but the chemistry is not so much. I love their family friendship though.

It's all about a journey to self-discovery. highly recommend if you love childhood frenemies! Thank you Netgalley for the advanced review copy.

Rules for Rule Breaking is about two Korean American kids who have always tried to be their best while engaging in a rivalry. As a whole I liked it, their banter seemed fun, and the plot was nice, however, the characters felt very one-dimensional, they weren't completely fleshed out and I couldn't really connect, or maybe I've read too many ya romcoms with rivals to lovers where it just feels the same, anyhow I would have liked to see more of them deal with their problems and get a better character arc.
I would recommend it to people looking for a quick, fun read without much thought and would likely look out for Talia Tucker's future works.

Read this in a day and LOVED it! As a fellow serial rule follower, I related to both of the main characters. The dual POV was amazing and the romance so cute. Their struggles with college decisions were so real and I also related to that, because how are you supposed to know if where you're going to be for the next four years is the right place without seeing it yourself? Overall a well-paced romance with lots of relatability and great characters with realistic development.

Thank you for the advanced reader copy. I was intrigued by the title, premise, and cover and the story lived up to my expectations.
I will say, I initially had a hard time getting into the story. However, once I got past the first quarter of the book, I found that I was thoroughly enjoying the story and could not put it down.
The characters of Bobby and Winter, with their complex relationship and undeniable chemistry really drew me in. I found myself wanting to be a high schooler again. I also enjoyed that the story touched on topics such as estranged family members, loss, and cultural differences.
There were some strange scenes where the writing seemed a little juvenile for me. For example; the scene where they are running around the hotel room from a mosquito. Mosquitos aren't flies, they are fast but not that fast. Also the scene in the car where they were trying out pick up lines, this just felt too unrealistic. But the overall writing style is engaging and authentic.

First off, a huge thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for giving me the opportunity to read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

Rules for Rule breaking follows 17 year old Winter Park and 18 year old Bobby (Robert Bea)

Winter and Bobby have been enemies for as long as anyone can remember. From petty comments. And trying to one up the other in school, the resentment only grows as they’re forced to have Sunday dinner with each other every week.
It’s clear that they do not get along.
Unfortunately, you can’t always have what you want. And due to unforeseen circumstances both Bobby and Winter and forced to spend their summer together; roadtripping across New England to attend college tours.
They’re perfect, get good grades, make their parents happy and certainly don’t break rules.
But the longer they’re together the more they feel like maybe some rules are worth breaking.


Yes yes and yes!

This was everything I wanted in a coming-of-age book. Winter and Bobby’s banter was absolutely hilarious and I loved every second of it!

I’m a sucker for the rivals/enemies to lovers and this I think perfectly executed that in a modern way which can be hard.
The characters were well developed and had amazing and human characteristics that you sometimes don’t see in YA novels.

This was a fun and quick read that left me happy for the ending the characters got!
I absolutely loved all the shenanigans they got into because it’s real, and honest and every person at some point in their life is going to snap and want to do something crazy.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is wanting a light-hearted and honest book! The vibes definitely give ‘Never-Have-I-Ever’ so if you liked that show you’ll definitely enjoy this book!