Thank you NetGalley and Random House for letting me read this ARC. I am absolutely OBSESSED with this book now. I love a good sports romance and this book gave everything that it was meant to give. The drunken Vegas wedding, the second chance at love, the forced proximity — ate. And left not a single crumb. The banter had me giggling, gasping, and kicking my little book gremlin feet. The tension was so well written and everything that you would expect from college exes. Derek Pender, please accept my marriage proposal through this review. He was everything that a man should be. Funny, hot, generous, incredibly rich, hot, supportive of his woman's dreams, did I mention that he's hot? Aside from all of that, one thing that really puts this book in the same tier as some of my other favorites is the fact that it's not just about the romance, it's about the people. The romance is built around the characters and not the other way around and that is something that I look for in a good book. If you needed anymore reasons to read this book, I could not put it down for the entire day that it took me to finish it.

I adored every single second of this book. Being able to dive into Sarah’s worlds will forever be one of my favorite experiences.

The MC’s had chemistry coming off the page and their experiences together had me laughing and crying and just wishing I had more.

I highly recommend this book to people who also aren’t typically sports girlies but appreciate a sports player. I don’t want to read a sports romance where 80% of the book is taken up by the sport, so Sarah is a magical balancer.

5 stars | 1.5 spice

Derek and Nora <3
The chemistry in this book is off the charts. Sarah Adams knows how to write tension and chemistry and I love her for it.

Sweet and spicy romance between two exes, one is now in the NFL and the other is a sports agent. The second chance romance here is SO good! There's miscommunication but I wasn't annoyed by it, was very realistic for the situation and maturity levels (then in college and now as 30 year olds) of the time.

I loved all the twists and turns and tropes. There's tie in to The Cheat Sheet but can be read as a standalone.

3.5 - 4
A sports romance full of friendships, character development + growth. Quirky characters. Fun rom com.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!! The tension, the chemistry, the romance, the steam!! All so amazing! Norah was absolutely adorable and DEREK! Derek was beyond dreamy. I loved how they communicated and were kind to each other. It was a wonderful, beautiful story!

Yes, 100% yes! The moment the Rule Book was announced I knew I had to read it right away! I LOVED the Cheat Sheet and was thrilled to find out we were getting another book in this series! The wait was so worth it!! It’s full of humor, swoon worthy moments, witty banter, friendship and all things football!

🏈 NFL
💖 Swoon Worthy
🥈Second Chances
💍 Faking It
🫶🏼 Friendship
📱Sports Agent
🤺 Enemies to Lovers
🗣️ Banter

Sarah Adams never misses! This was absolutely adorable and I hope we get more books in this wonderful series!

Thank you Dell for the gifted copy!

If I'm being honest it took me a bit to get into The Rule Book. Nora was a character I had to get used to and I didn't really love how Derek treated her in the beginning, but once I got to know these two characters a bit more, I couldn't put this book down.

Sarah Adams gives us a strong female lead with Nora. She works in a male dominated environment, but doesn't let that stop her at all. She's willing to do the work and won't let anyone tell her she can't be an amazing agent. I have to say I loved the fact that we learned that her mother gave her this faith and confidence in herself and I adored the conversations we read between her and her mother.

Derek is recovering from an injury that has risked his career with the NFL. It's brought a lot of insecurities back to his mind. He didn't have an easy childhood and never felt like he was enough, so to possibly lose something that makes him feel accomplished is very scary. Derek is a very gentle guy and I loved how protective he was about Nora. He felt genuine and I really appreciated that.

Then we can't not talk about their romance. It doesn't start off smoothly, because they didn't have the best break up in college and Derek is still really hurt. But it's clear from the start they haven't lost their chemistry or feelings. The banter was amazing, their chemistry jumped off the page, and they just cared for each other. Sometimes I just wanted to scream at them that they needed to talk and when they actually did, my heart was happy. These two are perfect for each other, but they just needed to realize it.

Also, I have to mention the side characters. Derek's teammates and friends are the best and made me laugh a lot during this book. Nora's boss Nicole seems a bit distant, but she's amazing and fought for her spot in a male dominated field as well and knows what Nora is up against. All in all, I really enjoyed The Rule Book and recommend it to any reader who loves sports romances.

Nora Mackenzie’s career is in the hands of L.A Sharks tight end, Derek Pender..who just so happens to be her serious college ex-boyfriend.
Nora didn’t end things very gracefully back then, and they haven’t seen each other sense. Will they be able to put their differences aside for the sake of the media, or will things unravel between the two ex’s?

Sarah Adams is one of the best closed door romance writers, who is exploring in open door.
the romance between Nora and Derek was unmatched! this story was one that had me crying one minute and laughing the next. the humor and wit between the characters pulled you into the story and made you feel apart of the friend group.
this was my favorite Sarah Adams book and i can’t wait to read what she puts out next!

I absolutely adore Sarah Adams and was so excited when I got accepted for The Rule Book. it didn't disappoint!

I enjoyed this book. It was a light and easy read with likeable characters and a lighthearted plot. The storyline was easy to follow.

Nora, the sport agent and Derek a famous NFL player had a college relationship that didn't end the greatest. They hadn't seen each other in years until she became Derek's agent, you can imagine how that went 🥴 But what happens next, well you will have to read to find out, it's too good for me to spoil it! 😉

I really enjoyed this book, the beginning was a bit slow for me but a little bit in and I had to know what was happening. Their attempts to be mad at each other were quite funny, which made for good banter. There were also a lot of carry over with characters from her previous book The Cheat Sheet. I did really enjoy those characters in this book, you never knew what some of them were going to say next, looking at you Jamal 😂

Overall I really enjoyed it and hope to see another book with another side character in the future.

Thank you Sarah Adams and Netgalley for the ARC

#arcreview #netgalley #netgalleyreview #sportsromance #secondchanceromance #bookreview #newrelease #therulebook #sarahadams

Sarah Adams is a comfort read to me and I am here for anything she puts out. This is a companion to The Cheat Sheet, and I think this one was perfection.

Working in a male-dominated industry, sports agent Nora is trying to catch her first big break managing one of the NFL’s biggest tight ends. There’s just one small problem – Derek is the college ex she left broken-hearted with no explanation.

Derek is struggling to overcome an injury that’s sidelined him for an extended period of time. With his career on the line, he needs to find a new agent stat, but when he discovers his ex is that agent, he does everything he can to make her quit. They agree to create a rule book to set some boundaries, but rules are made to be broken…

Full of rom com tropes, this is Sarah Adams at her finest. I can’t wait for her next one!

Thank you to Sarah Adams, Random House and NetGalley for an advance e-copy of the book for an honest review.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒍𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝑨𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒔
𝚁𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙰𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝟸𝚗𝚍, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺 — 𝙾𝚞𝚝 𝙽𝚘𝚠!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆:
🏈 second chance romance
💚 sports romance (football)
🏈 accidental marriage
💚 forced proximity
🏈 dyslexia representation
💚 only one open door romance scene
🏈 dual POV

Nora is trying to make it in a “man’s world” of being a sports agent. Nora ends up landing her first client & that first client just so happens to be Derek, her ex boyfriend that she broke up with when they were in college. When Derek finds out that Nora is his agent, he does whatever is in his power to make Nora quit because there is no way that the girl who broke his heart will be his agent. After a drunken night in Vegas, Derek & Nora end up married. Not only that, but their marriage has been publicly broadcasted on social media.

I am sooo happy that I was given the opportunity to read this one because I am obsessed! Not only did I love the insanely cute love story, but I also loved the character development of both Nora & Derek. The way that Nora was able to self-reflect & take responsibility for the harsh break up due to her own insecurities & childhood experiences was so nice to see. I also love how Derek was able to accept his diagnosis of being dyslexic & took the initiative to seek out answers as to why he had such a difficult time learning how to read. Being a special education teacher, it made my heart so happy to see this representation! Even though this book didn’t need the pinch of spice for me to experience the chemistry between Nora & Derek because the writing did that enough, but it was just the cherry on top of a wonderfully written romance novel. I highly recommend!

THE RULE BOOK is the follow-up to THE CHEAT SHEET, and it's a blast catching up with all the characters we met before 💚. The gang's antics make for a fun read!

Nora Mackenzie is making a name for herself as a sports agent. When she's asked to represent her college ex-boyfriend, NFL tight end Derek Pender, everything gets complicated.

If you're into second-chance romances like me, you'll adore this book! Nora is the kind of woman we all wish we could be—funny, witty, and just a joy to be around. Derek's journey to self-acceptance is touching to watch.

This book has it all—emotion, humor, heartbreak, and beauty.

a second chance romance with a grumpy NFL star and a sunshiney rising star agent who meet again when nora (who is known in the industry as "mac," a nickname of her last name) gets him as her new client. they are (not surprisingly) not on the same page about why they broke up and how they feel about it now, so they make some RULES to keep themselves in line... guess how long that works for!!!

a drunk night in vegas leads to a wedding that they decide to play out for the sake of their images... but is that REALLY why they're staying married???

this is a cute one, it's fun, it wasn't my favorite from sarah adams, but i liked it! there's a little more steam than i expected from her, but it's still not overly spicy. this will be a great summer read!

I loved this book so much! It was a great sequel to the cheat sheet but it also works as a standalone, which I typically like in sequels.

I know I am an outlier here but I really disliked The Cheat Sheet. So why did I pick up its sequel?? I loved Sarah Adams' When In Rome series so I decided to give this one a shot, and I'm so glad I did. The Rule Book characters felt more mature and developed than those in The Cheat Sheet and I really, really enjoyed this one.

This book was super cute, romantic, and humorist.
This is everything I love from Sarah Adams. 4.5 stars

Another sweet and fun read from Sarah Adams! Enjoying this series so far!
I love a good second chance romance on top of a sports romance and fake marriage (sort of). Nora was almost the perfect mixture of career oriented, emotionally mature, but also funny and not overly serious. I liked that she could think quick on her feet, was down to have a good time, and also is obsessed with organizing. Derek is the perfect male lead. He's strong and confident, yet also soft and understanding at the same time. Adams did a great job instilling their dual pov chapters with the history and emotion that came from their previous relationship in college without going overly into details about the relationship from the past.
Overall, the story was fun, inspirational, had good banter, and portrayed professional sports, including women working in it, in such a positive way. I love the goal of finding a balance of work and career goals with personal happiness and strong relationships.
Always looking forward to her next book!

Nora's career is in the hands in the hand of Derek who happens to be her college ex-boyfriend turned NFL tight end who she did no end things with as gently as she should've. Now her decisions are back to bite her in the butt when Derek has planned to make her life a living hell as his agent. But one thing about Nora? She won't quit so easily. When one of their work trips takes them to Las Vegas, they wake up the next morning married and have already posted it everywhere. With this PR nightmare, it's suggested they keep on with it for awhile before divorcing but Derek and Nora can't help the draw they have to one another and have to decide what they next steps are.

This book was fun in that Sarah Adams way that everyone loves. A fun, quirky and strong heroine with a swoonworthy hero is a matchmade in heaven. I enjoyed this one and this one was a little more believable than the first in the series. A sweet book all the way around.