Another slam dunk (or touchdown, I guess in this case?) for Sarah Adams! Her books are absolute delights!

football + female agent + workplace romance of sorts + awesome friend group + steam + banter = love

I LOVED THIS BOOK. It is so funny, so witty, and so precious to me.

I love a good sports romance, and in this case we have a female in a position of power and really being a good female role model. It's also very spicy, which is different from Sarah's other books where they were more closed door.

Hilarious and wonderful!

Thank you to Sarah Adams, Netgalley, and Dell for the ebook ARC! This is also available on PRHAudio!

First of all, let me just say that I’ve loved everything Sarah Adams has written. Her social media presence implies she’s just a national treasure, and I’ll read all of her books.

This book was laugh out loud funny. It was a little spicier than her others. It’s sporty. It’s sweet. It’s just so lovely.

The way I adore Derek’s group of friends…ugh! My heart.

Nicole and Nora…the fiercest duo with absolute badassery.

Read this if you love: sports romances, confident women, witty banter, sweet & spicy, found family, and good writing!

📖 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐬

"𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳?"
🤍 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮. "𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘢𝘮. 𝘋𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺. 𝘛𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺."

I read this book right after finishing the audiobook of 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒕, and it was so much fun to read about Bree and all the guys again!

Derek and Nora’s story was so different than book one and I loved every minute of it! The banter and spice was a lovely addition. If you are not a fan of spice, you can easily skip chapter 34! 💖

I loved the initial revenge plot. Derek, just like Nathan, is a man with layers and emotions he is trying to work through. As you unravel his and Nora’s past you root for them to admit they still love each other.

I was not expecting the Vegas surprise wedding and the turn the book took with that. I adored the ‘fake’ marriage aspect of the last half of the book!

There is a lot of women empowering women in this book and it’s fantastic. What Nora has to go through to make it in a predominantly male career is entirely relatable and I am so glad her and Nicole found their way to happiness in a work setting!

Derek’s struggle with his undiagnosed dyslexia as a child/adult was heartbreaking. I am so glad that he had Nora to help him see his value outside of football!

Derek’s quirky teammates and their bromance was the freaking best part of this book! I want them to be my friends. 🤣

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
✌🏼 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦
💖 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘗𝘭𝘰𝘵
💍 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥
🛏️ 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘥
🏖️ 𝘍𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯
🔥 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘋𝘰𝘰𝘳 (1.5 🌶️)

⭐️ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 releases on April 2nd! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for my advanced copy of this story so that I could share this honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy of The Rule Book by Sarah Adams in exchange for an honest review! This is the first book I have read in one sitting in a long time! The Rule Book reminds me of The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren and Elle Kennedy's Off Campus series. This is one of my absolute favorite books that I have read this year! I love how the story flowed with its fast-paced banter. There are so many sweet moments that made me feel all giddy. I loved both characters Derek and Nora so much! They are both so wholesome and light-hearted with sweet banter. I enjoyed how this romance was not too steamy but still offered hot moments. Overall, I have nothing that I disliked about this book except for anyone and everyone who got in Derek and Nora's way.

4.5 stars!! this was my first sarah adams book and it did not disappoint! i loved it, it was just such a fun and quick read. also, derek is *chefs kiss*🥰 in retrospect, i probably should have read the cheat sheet first, but there weren’t any spoilers, this just takes me place after that one. anyways, it was a great read and i’d definitely recommend!! 🫶

This book was just SO FUN. It’s definitely one of those feel good romances you pick up when you’ve had the worst day and it immediately makes you feel better. It’s like a ray of sunshine with all the jokes, second chance romance, and easy loving characters. I fell in love with Nora and Derek separately and together, I just wanted more of them. This is technically the second book to The Cheat Sheet (it takes place after it and includes lots of cameos) and I truly liked this one way more than the first. Derek and Nora fit together seamlessly and emphasized that there can be love that is the right person, wrong time and it’s okay to follow your dreams or change your mind. The build up and tension was written well and I appreciated that this one wasn’t as territorial as I felt Nathan and Bree’s story was. You could tell Derek and Nora would do anything to protect one another, and would defend each other, but it wasn’t cringey or low key toxic. Overall, I loved them and this was a super fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

@authorsarahadams can be counted on for sweet romance. The Rule Book picks up where The Chest Sheet leaves off and features Derek, a tight end for the LA Sharks and his new agent Nora. This enemies to lovers story is romantic and breezy. It’s a fun romance that doesn’t pack a lot of 🌶️. Sarah Adams is a go-to for feel-good romance. #sarahadamsauthor #therulebook #thecheatsheet #romancereaderofinstagram #enemiestoloversromance Thanks to @netgalley and to @randomhouse for the arc that releases April 2!

I love Sarah Adams she has not disappointed once! This is so well crafted. I love all the characters. Something that i appreciate about Sarah Adams is her ability to get her readers invested in new characters while still having the other characters from the first book still relevant. 10/10.Adams has the ability to write light and fluffy romance while keeping the story realistic. She really makes it easy to root for everyone. I'm sad to see the end of the series. I am excited to read anything else she puts out. Thank you for letting me read an ARC. I can not wait for everyone to get their hands on the book,.

The Rule Book is a stand alone sequel to The Cheat Sheet. Derek Pender is the very talented tight end for the Sharks. While out recovering from an injury his teammates, including Nathan Donelson and his new wife Bree, decide he needs to get back out there and find someone to settle down with. Derek hasn't seriously dated anyone since he was dumped by his college sweetheart Nora Mackenzie.
Nora Mackenzie has worked hard to put her career first and become a sports agent. When she is finally assigned her very first client it is none other than...Derek Pender. Will she be able to keep the past and any lingering feelings separate from the job she has to do or will this be a second chance romance?
Thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview.

Let me start by saying that if you want a cute, obsessed boy, second chance sports romance: this is it. Now let's address why i didn’t rate it much higher.
I think this style of writing is not for me. i read the cheat sheet by sarah a few years ago and when i say that that was my favorite book for a good while i'm not exaggerating. I was so in love with it all. and i think i still might be (although i haven’t revisited the story in quite a while). But when i read her other book practice makes perfect some time ago, i felt the complete opposite. The main characters were so annoying and i could not deal with their story at all.
So when i saw that she was releasing a brand new sports romance book that features the characters from the cheat sheet, i was thrilled! The same style of the story i so enjoyed reading. Except, when i got to read it, i didn’t feel the spark.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a cute, light and overall fun book. and based on the reviews, tons of people loved it. It just isn’t for me. And i think it’s time i accept that i’m not the sarah adams girl i used to be.
I thought this moved quite fast, there wasn’t enough conflict and honestly i’m not going to remember a single thing about it in a few months. nora/mac and her punch lines would make me throw this book away and never touch it again. its a very very cheesy style of writing and it just doesn’t hit it for me as well as a few years ago.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in advance of publication in exchange for an honest review.

Read if you like:
🥈 2nd Chance Romances
💍 Fake Dating
🍻 What Happens in Vegas…
🏈 Sports Romances
📋 Rules to break

Oh my gosh! The second chance romance with the forced proximity, with the lingering feelings and dual pov was absolutely perfection!

The revenge plot for Derek gave my favorite parts of enemies to lovers with the tension and underlying feelings you know are there just waiting to be let out and was just so well done!

I loved the depth of emotions that we got from both Nora and Derek and how clearly they were each “the one that got away” for the other. This alone made this book so swoony!

All in all, this was such a fun and cute second chance romance with all the tension that I love! Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I really enjoyed The Rule Book. I read The Cheat Sheet years ago when it was still an indie book and loved it. Seeing Sarah’s books thrive has been so wonderful and I’ve been excited to read this. I thought that Nora and Derek were great characters and the second chance romance trope really worked for me with them. The book was fun and swoony and just another great romcom from Sarah!

I absolutely loved this book!! While Derek is everything we could want in a cinnamon roll MMC, Nora absolutely stole this show. Her quirkiness and hilarious internal monologue kept me page turning like I had nothing else to do in my life. This book is written so well with so many moments that had me laughing out loud. With all that though, it had so many emotional moments and the vulnerability of these characters shown through and made them that much more endearing to me. It’s such a great story and the ending could not have been more perfect!! Now I just have to go back and catch up with the other guys and their stories!!

The Rule Book, a novel by Sarah Adams, available April 2, 2024!

The sequel to The Cheat Sheet follows LA Sharks tight-end Derek Pender and his (new) agent Nora Mackenzie, who happens to be his college ex-girlfriend and the one who got away. These two were hot for each other starting on the first page, and I enjoyed this second-chance romance so much it is easily one of my favorites!

The character arcs for these two made me love them even more. Derek, who struggles with a career comeback after a devastating injury, needs to accept that he may not be able to play football anymore. This is particularly tough because his worth has been determined by his career since he struggled with an undiagnosed learning disability his whole life. Nora works in a field riddled with misogyny and an inner monologue that she is “too much” with her quirky need to organize and color-code everything. Despite all that, these two love each other inside and out and are a testament to the “if you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it was meant to be” (although that’s not the phrase…iykyk).

This book was so sweet, and I loved the found football family and their hijinks, as well as updates from Nathan and Bree from The Cheat Sheet. Nora’s work “friend” Nicole was hilarious, and there were several twists I didn’t see coming! (Full disclosure: I did not read the blurb prior to reading the book!). I’ve only read a handful of Sarah’s books, but I think this is the first time she’s included a spicy scene, and it was awesome (but can be skipped; see the trigger warning at the book’s beginning).

Thank you so much to Dell (Penguin Random House) and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced (e-)reader copy and a chance to rate and review this book!

4 ⭐️ 1 🌶

I enjoyed Sarah Adams “Cheat Sheet”’so much that I was thrilled to review this ARC of “The Rule Book” for NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine|Dell.

In The Cheat Sheet, Adams created some memorable character and secondary characters. They were funny, endearing and so likable. Her latest effort is the story of one of those secondary character, and it did not disappoint.

I really enjoyed the story of Derek and learning about why his character’s personality and quirks were the way they were. Learning about Nora and her backstory as well her and Derek’s college romance really filled her in well as a character.

The tension between the two is held well and although I knew they would get together in the end, I still was thinking will they or won’t they?

I hope Sarah Adams continues the stories of this group of football players because they are entertaining and so funny.

Definitely pick up a copy.

3.75 ⭐️ i was so happy to receive this advanced copy of the rule book and it was so good! highly recommend to any sarah adams fans or those who love second chance or forced proximity. this also has a trope i haven’t read before but thought was really fun and definitely had me giggling. there are also some cute cheat sheet crossovers so really recommend to those who loved the cheat sheet! i’m so excited for everyone to read this book when it comes out april 2nd :)

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC 💚

The Cheat Sheet was one of my favorite reads so I was super excited to receive this one!!

✨Grumpy x sunshine
✨One bed
✨Marriage of convenience
✨Forced proximity
✨Dyslexia Rep
✨Second chance romance

Nora is a new sports agent and is trying to be the best she can be. The problem? Her new client is her college ex boyfriend, Derek Pender. At first Derek wasn’t going to have the woman who crushed his heart work with him… then he sets a rule book that they must follow in order to make it work.

After a drunken night in Vegas … will they be able to stick to the rules???

4.5 stars

This was a super cute read. It's a companion novel for The Cheat Sheet. Can be read as a standalone, but would spoil some plot lines from The Cheat Sheet.

Nora and Derek were college sweethearts. They were together for a long time then one day Nora breaks up with Derek. Years later Nora is working as a sports agent. Because of her coworker's praise for her work Nora gets assigned to her first athlete, which is her ex, Derek. Their first meeting is chaotic and so Nora tries to convince Derek to hire her as his agent. They come up with a rule book that both parties need to abide by.

Nora was eccentric with very bright personality. She was always in problem solver mode. Derek was so resilient especially after being diagnosed as an adult with dyslexia. I loved how he was a hard worker and dedicated player to the Sharks. I loved the chemistry between Nora and Derek. Even after all this time apart the emotional connection was still there.

I also loved how Derek's friends made a reappearance in this book. They were hilarious. Loved their friendship the most and I adored how they welcomed Nora with open arms. This book was amazing! Highly recommend!

i was having SO MUCH FUN reading this book!! my cheeks hurts so much because i can't stop smilling so wide! following derek and nora journey is worth every minute i spend reading this book!

this is a second-chance ex to lovers romance and i love the way they understands each other, always communicate and be honest to each other. even though the book timeline is in the present not on their past, i still can feel the growth and character development of both characters, they are more mature and wiser, that makes me so damn proud of them and keep cheering them on to be back together!

this book is so cute, wholesome, adorable and sweet, both characters are so loveable. the way they express their loves are amazing, i love how both of them learn from their past, put on so equal effort and even did some gestures for each other to make their relationship work again<33