4.5 stars!!

Look, I love Sarah Adams. All her books are so wholesome and bingeable. Second chance romance can be hit or miss for me, but I absolutely loved this one. Nora was so fun and quirky, and Derek was such a sweet MMC.

This book had the perfect amount of spice (imo), some slow burn, tension, enemies to lovers, fake marriage/honeymoon, and forced proximity - all the best tropes hehehe.

Ms Adams you have now cemented yourself as an auto buy author from me!!!

I absolutely LOVED this book (which tracks given how much I love Sarah Adams' writing). I usually am a hard sell for second chance romances and this was done so authentically I had to love it. Nora and Derek are both intricate characters who feel like real people, and thats such a hard feat for an author to pull off. Well done and I will definitely reread it soon!!

Eternally grateful to NetGalley for an advanced copy of one of my most anticipated books of 2024.

You could call me a Sarah Adams loyalist. She can do no wrong. I’ve been eagerly waiting for this one since she announced a follow up to The Cheat Sheet and it did not disappoint. Having been around since the It Happened in Charleston series, it has been such a fun journey to watch her writing evolve. This was her first open-door romance and she executed it beautifully - even though it wasn’t necessary as Adams already has a talent for writing a slow burn and building up tension and anticipation on the pages. I loved the story of Derek and Nora, though I will admit it took me a bit to warm up to Nora’s character. Some of the inner dialogue felt a bit cheesy, but she grew on me and I ended up loving her quirkiness by the end. Derek proved to be book boyfriend material, as are all the male mc’s that Adams writes. Will this book be for everyone? No. Will it be argued that it’s too cheesy and unrealistic? Probably. But for this girl that is a sucker for a love story and happy endings, it was perfect.

I’ve read several of Adam’s books and have loved every one including The Rule Book. What could be better than a second chance romance, fake wedding/honeymoon and sports? I loved the dynamic between Nora and Derek and the revisiting of characters from the Cheat Sheet. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advanced copy!

Thank-you to Net Galley, the publisher, and author for an ARC of the Rule Book. The Rule Book features a bit of second chance romance with a dash of enemies-to-lovers, with a sprinkling of one bed trope.
This is the story of sports agent "Mac" or Nora who gets her first major client -Dereck Pender (tight end of the LA Sharks) Dereck is coming off a major ankle injury and will need to prove himself this season.
When Dereck finds out Nora is his agent, he puts her through his paces. However, she exceeds and excels at it despite losing her sleep. They go to Vegas for a brand deal for him, and at a bar he tells her he can't have her as his agent. To celebrate they are no longer going to be working together-they get drunk.
The next morning they wake up and discover the consequences of their booze filled night. They end up "faking" the marriage and go on a 10 day honeymoon. When the honeymoon is over -will the marriage be for real or will they go their own way. Find out when you read the book!

I have been dying to get my hands on this book since it was announced. I’ve literally had it preordered since September. I read The Cheat Sheet last year and, while I found it a little cheesy, it’s such a sweet book. When I saw The Rule Book was a sequel to it and that it would be an open door romance, I was even more excited. It definitely did not disappoint! This book has everything I loved about The Cheat Sheet and more.

I thought the care and nuance put into the character development of Nora and Derek was so well done. Nora is organized and career focused, but instead of being the stereotypical severe personality, she’s bright and bubbly and full of life and color. She’s someone I would want to be friends with. Derek at the beginning of the story is a bit grumpy and jaded, but soon we see he’s an absolute sweetheart. While he may have been the flirt and party boy in The Cheat Sheet, we get to see behind the layers to his struggles and insecurities in The Rule Book. While it still had the charm of Sarah Adams other books, this one felt raw and real. I loved Nora and Derek’s interactions throughout the story and appreciated their growth both as individuals and as a couple.

Overall, I absolutely adored this book. It is my favorite read so far this year. I can already see it as one of my comfort reads I reread over and over again. If you’re looking for a sweet, low conflict, second chance romance, definitely add this one to your TBR!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! I cannot even tell you how excited was when I got the e-mail that I was approved for this book. Since I’m still new to NetGalley and I don’t have much of a following yet, my requests are frequently denied, so I really want to express my gratitude for this opportunity!

4.5 ⭐️

Tropes:
— second chance romance
— sports romance
— fake marriage
— fake honeymoon
— quirky, headstrong FMC

I was hooked on this book from the moment I started reading. Sports romance is one of my favorites and Adams writes it so well. I enjoyed how it picked up after Cheat Sheet and we still got to see those characters interpreted into this story.

The banter and tension between the two main characters in the first half of the book was so fun to read. The story played out in a really beautiful way that showed how they were able to trust each other and have their love story come full circle again.

Nora is an awesome FMC. She’s quirky, but in a way that you can’t help but love her. And on top of that, she’s headstrong. She’s an agent in a field that’s run predominately by men, but she knows what she wants and what she deserves.

And Derek is an incredibly MMC. I wanted to wrap him up and hug him so many times during this book. I loved his friendship with the guys (and Bree) and his relationship with Nora.

“I’m yours, Nora. I always have been. Always will be.”

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What I Loved:
The rawness and realness, healing process, and relatable struggles of the characters. The hot sex scenes. Sarah is a master at comedy.

What I Didn’t Love:
The length: This book could’ve been shorter. There were parts that were boring to me and I skipped them. There were 15 punctuation errors. I hope her editor fixes them before the book gets published.

Love! Love! Love!

Thank you NetGalley and Sarah Adams for the chance to read this.

I am new to the world of sports romances, having only read a few books and this DID NOT DISAPPOINT! It was the perfect sports mix with lots of ROM-COM. Nora’s funny misspoken phrases are perfect in every way. Derek’s love for Nora is the sweetest thing, he is perfect in every way possible and I love everything about their love. I love the character growth and “watching” the relationship really blossom. Also, breaking rules is the reason they were made right?

**Review will go live on instagram, goodreads, and storygraph 3/19!**

This book was like candy. Not just any candy, but your favorite candy. I devoured it and fell in love - much like Derek and Nora!

The Rule Book follows Nora, an up and coming sports agent who finally gets her first big name to represent! She is thrilled - until she learns that her assignment is none other than Derek Pender, the tattooed tight-end for the LA Sharks — and her ex-boyfriend from college.

Tensions run high when the two decide to proceed to work together, creating a rule book to keep their relationship strictly professional. Nora can’t let Derek get in the way of her big career goals, and Derek can’t admit that he has never healed from their break-up seven years ago. Will they stick to their rules, or will they find a way to break every single one?

Highlights from this book include:
🏈 A female main character who is afraid of her own big feelings and deflects with humor.
🏈 Dealing with the trauma of being told, “you’re too much” and being replaced.
🏈 Dyslexia Representation
🏈 Derek’s core group of friends on the LA Sharks. If you want a group of guys that give you all the Diamond Dog feels from Ted Lasso, this group of guys will do it for you.
🏈 An open door scene that was simultaneously sweet and spicy - but if you are used to a closed door romance, have no fear! Sarah Adams adds a content warning at the beginning and lets you know what chapters to skip if the spice isn’t for you.

Sarah Adams keeps me coming back to her romances. Her characters feel like real people, the situations they find themselves are believable, and the words she writes are simply lovely. I cannot wait to see what she writes next!

“𝓦𝓮 𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓷'𝓽 𝓻𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓮𝓪𝓬𝓱 𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓷, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓘 𝓹𝓵𝓪𝓷 𝓸𝓷 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂 𝓭𝓪𝔂 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓷𝓸𝔀."

✂️ P L O T L I N E
Nora Mackenzie is finally having her big break in the male dominated sports agent field. The only problem is that her first client happens to be her super hot college ex boyfriend and current NFL Tight End, Derek Pender. Derek only agrees to work with her if she promises to follow everything in his rule book. After a drunken night in Vegas, their rule book completely goes out the window. Will this new relationship be the one to save both their careers?

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
I’m still swooning from this book! With the extra hard week I had, it was the perfect pick me up! I related to this book so much because my husband and I also fit the college sweetheart and second chance love trope. Let’s not get started on what an amazing character Nora is. She is sassy and hilarious and brings the perfect amount of sunshine everywhere she goes! Her obsession with ice cream with cereal on top is also an obsession that I share with her. 😂 I love that this book has an underlying theme of overcoming the patriarchy. Pam (Nora’s Mom) and Nicole (her boss) were such great example of strong female roll models that we all need. The bromance between Derek and his friends adds an extra level of warmth to the story. And did I mention that there is NO third act breakup?!?! Sarah Adams always has the perfect recipe that makes me smile from ear to ear. I bet you will love this one too!

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
💫Second chance love 💕
💫Sports Romance🏈
💫Marriage of convenience💍
💫Football player x Sports Agent📝
💫Grumpy x sunshine☀️
💫One bed🛌
💫A little bit of spice🌶️
💫Swoon worthy🥰
💫Bromance👯‍♂️
💫Dual POV✌🏽

⚠️ 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: late diagnosis of dyslexia and parental neglect.

🏈𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾🏈
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💕Q U O T E: “𝑀𝓎 𝓂𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒶𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓂𝑒 𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓁𝓎 𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝑒 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒'𝓈 𝒸𝓊𝓅 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝑒𝒶, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒹𝑜𝑒𝓈𝓃'𝓉 𝓂𝑒𝒶𝓃 𝐼 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝓁𝒶𝓋𝑜𝓇 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑒𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇.”

🙏 Thank you NetGalley, Random House- Ballantine, and Sarah Adams for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts 💕

Sarah Adams writing sparkles with magic!

The Rule Book is a fun, banter-filled sports romance you won't want to miss. Nora and Derek dated in college and everything was great... until she broke up with him out of the blue. Now, years later, neither of them are over it. When they're. unknowingly partnered up as sports agent and football player they struggle to make it work. After an accidental drunken night and Vegas marriage, the two are in hot water with the press and their careers are on the line. Now, they've got to play along with the ruse to protect their careers but somehow also keep their feelings at bay.

Can these two follow their rule book or will they end up making their mistakes again?

I love everything Adams has written and this is no exception. 10/10 banter and humor-- I read this whole book with a smile on my face.

This is a Sarah Adams special 🥹 it feels like coming home and cozy and soft and so so happy! It has everything you’d expect from Sarah with a LITTLE bit of spice and it was honestly perfect. Nora and Derek were full of longing and love and tension and heartbreak and FUN. I loved this book so much.

Nora is my FAVORITE. She is sunshine in all of the best ways. Her colorful outfits, her pink couch, her silly little phrases, her need to organize and color code. There is no one I love more than Nora. She spoke to me in a such a personal way that I can’t even describe. Derek is also such a SOFT BOY. I loved him so much. His tattoo?? The thing in his bedside drawer?! The way he loved Nora even when he was sure he shouldn’t/couldn’t?! They were honestly the best kind of second chance because they were forever each other champions, even from afar. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

I loved both of their individual story arcs! Nora and her work, how hard it is to be a woman in a male centric field. But she worked SO HARD to get where she was, and thankfully had someone in her corner!! I love her and Nicole! And love where they needed up!! And Derek and his struggles when he was a kid, and getting a dyslexia diagnosis and how that helped see his childhood in a new way.

The guys are always in a silly goofy mood, even when they’re being serious, and I LOVE them for it! I love that they are always there for each other no matter what!! And I loved that Bree was INSTANTLY ready to be best friends with Nora!!

Thank you so much to Random House and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4.5/5

Sarah Adam’s books addictive and I have been looking forward to this book for so long! It was great to be back with this NFL team—Go Sharks! 🦈

Second chance romances are my favorite! I love how Derek and Nora navigate opening up about their past selves to make their present relationship work. Throw in a marriage of convenience and ALL the chemistry and tension and you get a great love story.

Derek’s teammates added so much humor and fun to the story. I loved seeing what Nathan, Bree, and everyone else were up to now.

Content: one open door scene (low explicit), some language

Many thanks to Random House & NetGalley for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. Derek is a tight end for the Las Vegas Sharks, recovering from an ankle injury, leaving him concerned about his future. Nora has just gotten a promotion and is ready for her first client, who just happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Will the two play nice or be enemies going forward?

I absolutely loved this book! I loved seeing familiar faces again from “The Cheat Sheet” and getting to know Derek and Nora more. The college sweethearts-breakup-meet again storyline drew me in from the first page and I couldn’t put this down! I laughed, cried and kicked my feet giggling as I read this. I loved Nathan but Derek might be my favorite guy in this series. If you loved “The Cheat Sheet” you’ll love this one just as much.

Practice Makes Perfect was one of my favorite romances in 2023. Sadly, I think I’m in the minority here but I did not love The Rule Book. I thought Nora was annoying and I’m kind of sick of the quirky girl trope. This had some of my favorite tropes but felt very surface level and rushed. We kept hearing that Nora was a great sports agent but never saw it. We kept hearing what a star Derek was and then he retired??? I just was left wanting more. That being said, I still enjoy Adam’s work and will always come back for more.

⭐️4.5

i love nora and derek so much, i am so happy i got to experience their love story. i enjoyed the various tropes and how their love developed deeper after finding out they have to work together (as exes). thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc! i highly recommend this one!
trips: enemies to lovers, second chance, grumpy x sunshine, not-so-fake marriage, forced proximity/one bed, sports romance, and dual pov!

Sarah Adams is a millennial magician with words and romance and her stories are always the perfect balance of relatable and cheesy and sweet. Nora and Derek were such lovable characters and their story was just heartwarming. In usual Sarah Adams fashion, there was great banter, slow burn chemistry, humor, relatable main characters and delightful side characters. Characters from The Cheat Sheet make an appearance in this one, which was fun. While sports romances aren’t always my preferred trope, The Rule Book hits on second chance romance, disability rep and has a dual pov style, all of which are things I love.
This was my first ARC experience…thanks NetGalley and Penguin Random House! This book comes out on 4/2 and I highly recommend it!

I've read a couple of Sarah Adam's closed door romances and this was not that...luckily! I was surprised to enjoy this sports-centered romance, but the chemistry and angst between Derek and Nora made this book addicting! Derek held onto his grudge a little too long, but his conflicted feelings towards Nora really upped the angst, so all is forgiven. Especially since after their wild night in Vegas, the romance really kicks off.

A few years ago, Nora and Derek had a strong college relationship. Derek was heartbroken when she broke up with him out of the blue, with little to no explanation. But he continued with football and went pro. Nora was the last person he was expecting when he needed to replace his agent. He saw it as an opportunity to enact a little revenge towards her.. But old feelings die hard, and the retribution did not last long.
The Rule Book was a really cute read. I loved Nora's character. Using her quirkiness in uncomfortable situations- even though it got used against her in her male dominated career- that made her very real. She was witty, tried hard, and had an awesome appreciation for her momma. Derek was a sweetheart and a master at putting others first. This was my first Sarah Adams book, but now i need to find the rest of her sports romcoms. thanks to Netgalley and Random House for this earc.