ok, I'll admit, the Cheat Sheet was super cute but I wasn't the biggest fan. The big take away for me was that I felt like the characters weren't mature at all despite their ages and it made me super frustrated at Bree in particular. I know you're probably wondering why I signed myself up to read the Rule Book.

Because I'm a big believer in second chances and that sequels are often better than the first. The Rule Book proved both to be right. I was pleasantly surprised.

This was such a cute read and I loved that Nora and Derek could be such fun and quirky characters with very real flaws and backstories. I really enjoyed it and thought it was a big step up from the Cheat Sheet. I've been won over and I look forward to seeing what Sarah comes up with next!

To my rom com loving friends, this one is for you.

I finished this book a few weeks ago and when I sat down to write this review, I realised I couldn't recall the plot. That might tell you my feelings that while this is a competent, enjoyable contemporary romance, it's also very mid. A little reflection has now brought forth my more detailed memories of the book and I can say it was good, but didn't have any aspect that really jumped out at me as outstanding.

Firstly, the tropes. There's quite a few and I personally find when there's 3 or more being stacked up in a romance things can get a little formulaic. This is the case here unfortunately. First we have second chance - they dated in college, she broke up with him abruptly (and absolutely gutted the man). Next, sports romance - Derek's a big deal football player. Then, workplace romance - Nora is his new sports agent. And then, grumpy/sunshine - she's determined not to let their past get in the way and is determinedly sunny, he's still really cranky about the breakup and wants to punish her by being awful. AND THEN there's another crazy trope thrown in in the middle - accidental marriage while drunk in Vegas. Is that a trope? I feel like it should be. This then necessitates a "fake relationship" honeymoon for publicity purposes. I've lost count of tropes now.

But was it a good read? Well, yes. I enjoyed the way that they eventually were able to talk through the pain of their past breakup and their actions and feelings, and ultimately reach a place of forgiveness. He was clearly still crazy for her the whole time, and I do like a man who is head over heels, just completely gone for the FMC. The pacing was strange though - I would have expected the drunken Vegas wedding to be nearer the start of the book, immediately followed by the fake publicity honeymoon to keep the crazy antics portion of the story clipping along. Instead there was a lot of initial exposition about Nora's place at the agency and Derek making her do stupid tasks.

I was surprised to find this is open door and the intimate scene was delightfully sexy. I had been led to believe Adams usually writes closed door so I appreciated getting some payoff on the page for all the wonderful tension between these two. Oh yeah, and he's big. We get reminded of that a lot. He's a football player don't you know?

Overall a good read with fun moments, but ultimately not memorable in the pantheon of football sports romances of recent years.

I adored The Rule Book! It’s been a while since I last read a good sports romance and this one certainly ticks all the boxes for me. It’s witty and funny and there are some swoonworthy locations, but really it’s the characters that shine through and carry this story. Nora MacKenzie, Mac to her colleagues, is a talented sports agent making her mark in a man’s world while Derek Pender, her first client, is returning to his highly successful NFL career after an ankle injury sidelined him. I loved these two characters from the start. Nora is quirky and fun, but also has a strong OCD streak that includes organising her wardrobe by colour. Derek is dyslexic, though he has only just discovered this as the story opens. He turned to football in his teens after struggling at school in every other area. He and Nora have history, having dated as teenagers, which adds an extra twist to this story. I couldn’t stop reading this book. It’s just fabulous!

Sarah Adams can do no wrong in my eyes. She is a queen and her books are all *chefs kiss* perfect! I have loved them all and this one was no different. The relationship between Nora and Derek was so cute and developed so well through the book! It was a fast paced read and I could not put it down!!

Unfortunately the formatting was unreadable for me to read but I do think it I was able to read it I would have enjoyed it.

*WARNING! I'm not sorry for the football puns*

~Hot Take~
I love Nora and Derek. I see myself in Nora, a little quirky & different. She does what she loves and isn't embarrassed about it. And Derek, he is a giant teddy bear with muscles.

🏈 Touch Down!
Anyone who loves sports, second chance, close proximity, Rom-Coms with a quirky, fun but determined FMMC and a take no shit, but gentle & caring beast of a MMC, this book is for you!

ExCollege sweethearts are reunited when Nora Mackenzie's career comes to rest on Derek Penders' shoulders, BIG shoulders.
Their breakup in college was not handled well, more like fumbled. But Nora has worked too hard to become a sports agent, and in a world dominated by men who don't want her there, she has to stay focused. She can't let their past get in the way of her career. After all, that blindsided her before. But Derek holds a grudge. When Nora broke it off in college, there was no real explanation. She just left, leaving him heartbroken.So! A little game of revenge is what Derek wants to play.
Nora is given Derek as her first client, and this has to work! But Derek plans to make her quit. Rules are laid out, more so to make Nora's job difficult, but when a night in Vegas sees that Rule Book thrown out the hypothetical window, a new game is put in place to save both their careers.

NOREK (my portmanteau for these cuties) are the ultimate field goal! Their witty banter is fun and a huge part of the tension growing between them. There is burn🔥, I'm not talking grass burn. It's a slow and exciting burn. But the story isn't slow by any means. It is one of those books that holds your attention completely. You WILL shut out your own family to keep reading. Responsibilities? Who has them?

Characters we know and love from The Cheat Sheet return, bringing that comfortable & nostalgic feeling. As always, Sarah Adams writing has pace and immerses you in the characters' world, and makes you wish you could score a touchdown with book boyfriend Derek Pender.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶

*Thank you, @netgalley and @hachetteaus for this ARC for review consideration. These are 100% all my own opinions.*

Oooo I adored this book so much 🥰

I have a soft spot for second chance romance and THE RULE BOOK certainly hit hard.

The chemistry between the two main characters, Nora and Derek, is electric. Nora's enthusiasm and tenacity are so badass, she is a refreshing character to read with all her quirks only making her even more lovable. I particularly loved the scenes between Nora and her boss and how Nora will stop at nothing to convince her that they are actually friends 😂

Derek is very swoony-worthy. He clearly cares for Nora so much and has been harbouring his regret for how things ended between them in college. Derek's chosen family (team) elevate the fun while pushing him to be better.

What stood out to me most about this book is the way the characters support each other's success. Nora and Derek have a playful dynamic, but their mutual respect and admiration for each other is evident in every interaction.

There are so many things I want to gush about but if I do, I will spoil it for you as the blurb already gives you a fair amount of context, so all I can say is that if you're looking for a love story that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside, The Rule Book is the book for you.

Thank you to the team at @hachetteaus and @netgalley for the eARC of The Rule Book. The physical book will be joining my trophies very soon 😂

Rating: ★★★★⋆ / 4.5

Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette and Sarah Adams for giving me the opportunity to review an eARC of this book!

As a lover of the Cheat Sheet, I already knew I was going to love this book - and Sarah did not disappoint!!

Meet the sunny, snappy dressing sports agent, Nora ‘Mac’ McKenzie, and her brooding-ex, injured football player Derek Pender. This story is a second chance sports romance with a touch of rivalry/enemies to lovers. Read: their breakup was NOT amicable and he’s keen to make her life miserable! I will say, the immaturity of Derek was a bit hard to stomach, BUT he redeemed himself later on in the story, so I forgive him. ❤️

I also really appreciated the effort that went into describing the challenges women in sports agency face, and I picture Miranda Priestly when I think of Nicole 😂

Overall, if you’re a sports romance fan, definitely add this to your TBR!

Sarah Adams and her Football romances are just like bread and a toaster, they just go together.

I loved this book so much. I loved how Nora fought so hard for her career and for Derek. I loved how Derek understood why Nora did the things she did and how he fought so hard for her trust again. While I sadly took a bit more time to write this review, I have read this book once and am about to start it again, but with the physical copy!

Thankyou Sarah and NetGalley for this book!

If you love second chance romance, sports romance, fake marriage, grumpy x sunshine and forced proximity then The Rule Book is for you. This irresistible romance from Sarah Adams quickly became a favourite read of mine for 2024 & led to me picking up The Cheat Sheet to read alongside it. The Rule Book is a companion story to The Cheat Sheet, but can definitely be read as a standalone.

Nora is finding her way as a sports agent, in a very male dominated industry and finally gets her big break but it is managing her College Ex-Boyfriend Derek Pender. There is still an attraction between the two, even though Nora ended things with Derek years ago but Derek can't help but hold a grudge. Derek decides it is a perfect chance to get revenge on Nora and make her quit but Nora decides to push back. After a drunken night in Vegas Derek and Nora find themselves married and having to keep up the ruse to save face with the press.

Both Nora and Derek were extremely likeable characters. Nora was a little bit quirky and let her personality show through a lot. Derek spent most of the book recovering from an injury and grappling with his future with the the Sharks. I particularly loved the camaraderie between Derek and the rest of his team. A solid team environment really makes me super gooey when reading a sports romance & is always a highlight for me.

There is a bit of spice in The Rule Book but it is contained to the one chapter and a warning is provided up front to readers. If you would prefer to keep it closed door spice, you can easily skip over the chapter.

Thank you to Hachette Australia and Netgalley for gifting me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book! Second chance romances always tug at my heartstrings, and this one was flawless. While I typically don't gravitate towards closed-door romance novels, I devoured this one without pause—it was simply irresistible. Derek and Nora quickly became one of my favorite couples in Sarah's repertoire. Their reconnection, with Derek unknowingly signing with his ex-girlfriend Nora as his agent, was incredibly sweet. Overall, I found this book thoroughly enjoyable and am eagerly anticipating Sarah's next release!

I was so keen to pick this book up after my last read, which was traumatic and quite emotionally draining. I thought this would be super fun and cute – I really quite like Sarah Adams’ Rome Kentucky series and although I hadn’t read the first book in this series, I figured it wouldn’t matter that much.

And it didn’t. But….I have mixed feelings about this as a book.

This for me, was a story told in two parts. In the beginning, Nora ‘Mac’ Mackenzie is working for a sports representation agency and she’s about to get her first client. An agent is sick and has to take a lot of time off or retire prematurely and so one of the other agents has recommended Mac as the replacement to the client, a tight end for the Los Angeles Sharks. To Mac’s horror (it’s hard enough getting a client as a woman) the client is none other than Derek Pender, her college boyfriend whom she dumped quite unceremoniously.

Originally Derek is like ‘no way’ and walks out when he realises the ‘Mac’ he’s meeting is Nora. But she chases after him and somehow manages to convince him and Derek decides that sure, she can be his agent but he’s going to make her life a living misery. And he does, phoning her relentlessly, giving her stupid humiliating tasks, not taking her or her work seriously, refusing to listen to the deals she is making on his behalf. Derek is also injured, he’s coming back from a broken leg and is having some severe doubts as the other tight end for his team did a great job filling in after his injury, so he’s having a crisis of confidence. This he seems to take out on Nora as well but mostly, it’s because he’s angry she dumped him. Like she didn’t have a right to, or something.

I really struggled with this whilst Derek was doing the hazing thing. I didn’t find it funny or cute. I found it to be an asshole move, degrading and rude, disrespectful and taking advantage of the fact that clearly, Nora needs a break in her career. She can’t afford to walk away from this – she’s already treated shittily by the men that work at her agency. If she was to lose her first client, her life would be even worse than Derek is currently making it. It’s just gross, childish behaviour and this is dual narration so we get to hear all of Derek’s inner monologue when he’s thinking up these things too, sometimes. I honestly did not like him, at all. I considered DNF’ing this a couple of times but…..I made myself push through.

And it does get better, once the hazing stops. And I did enjoy it more after that……especially once Nora explained her reasoning for breaking up with Derek all those years ago. I mean, it probably would’ve been nice if she’d done it more at the time but I also understand why she didn’t. Their college dynamic was that their relationship was threatening things that Nora wanted to do with her life, it was very all consuming and involved. It kind of disintegrates into a situation where something happens and they need to pretend to fake be married, which brings up a lot of unresolved feelings and issues for both of them.

Neither of them have ever really gotten over the other and this reintroduction to each other when they are both older (and I would say more mature but Derek’s early actions query that for me) does given them both feelings about a second chance and whether or not it could work between them. I did enjoy some of their interactions in Vegas and the aftermath but unfortunately a lot of the early impressions weren’t good and it was a struggle to move past that. Also Derek has this group of friends (presumably the couple from the first book and a few others) and they’re honestly, the least believable group of NFL players and friends I’ve ever read. Nothing about any of their conversations or interactions felt in any way genuine or natural – more like how people want friendship groups to interact.

Sarah Adams is an author that has worked really well for me before but unfortunately I did find this one lacklustre, which was a shame.

I loved this book so much! I am always a sucker for a second chance romance and this was PERFECTION.
I don't usually read close door romance books but I ate this book up!! I could not keep it down!
Derek and Nora have to be one of my favourite couples Sarah as written about.
Derek doesn't realise he has signed with an agent who is his ex girlfriend Nora but when the two reunited it was so sweet!!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book! Cannot wait for the next one from Sarah.

Nora and Derek's second chance at romance is exactly the type of story I needed. It's witty, it's funny and it's got a perfect dash of sexiness.

Nora is the kind of heroine I want to be friends with. Grab a drink, or maybe a long lunch. I imagine myself talking through my problems with her and getting great advice. She's smart and kind and deserved the HEA she got in this book. Don't get me wrong, Derek is great, definite book boyfriend material, but for me the stand out character in this one was Nora.

Oh how I have missed this group of wacky NFL superstars! This book is a wonderful followup to The Cheat Sheet. While I wasn't sure about Derek to start with, as Nora and Derek's history comes out in the story I start to really love Derek. Everyone should have a Derek in their life. Mind you, Nora is pretty awesome too. In a very male dominated career she is a tough but lovable FMC. We should all aspire to be strong, yet have heart, like Nora. "You're a gemstone. Rare and unique and vibrant. And anyone who can't see that doesn't deserve to have you in their life."

Big thanks to NetGalley, Hachette Australian & New Zealand, and Sarah Adams for this early release copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was everything I needed, Sarah Adam’s did it again.
It was heartwarming, beautiful, inspirational and even gut wrenching at times. I’m not a big football fan and this book was all about the football which I actually ended up enjoying that aspect of it.

This book has to be 5 stars for everything from the cover to the cheesy moments and the characters.

I was NOT expecting to love this as much as I did! I went into this expecting a fun silly little time, as is usually the case when I read a romance involving a sport I know nothing about. I was not expecting heartbreaking discourse around adult diagnosis of dyslexia, and I was certainly not expecting it to make me cry. I don't have dyslexia but I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, and I related so deeply to many of the feelings that Derek described when speaking about his childhood. I think most people who have received a late diagnosis of something similar would feel the same. To me it felt so well written, the emotions surrounding the diagnosis so beautifully captured and described.

Anyone who has followed me for a while knows that miscommunication is one of my most hated tropes in a romance. The Rule Book flirted with this occasionally, mostly in flashbacks, but I felt the author managed to create conflict in the narrative without having to resort to full on, frustrating miscommunication. We love!

My other favourite part of this book was the friendship between Nora and Nicole. As the only two women working in a male-dominated workplace, it would have been easy to have them in competition with each other. Instead they lifted each other up and supported each other. Without spoiling anything, I adored where these two ended up.

The Rule Book would be a great read for anyone wanting something heartwarming, raw, vulnerable and emotional.
You don't have to be a sporty person to understand this - Lord knows I know nothing about American football. For a story that revolves around it, there isn't much football talk. You also don't have to have read the first book in the series (The Cheat Sheet) to enjoy this one, it's a true interconnected standalone. I actually still haven't read The Cheat Sheet yet and with the way my TBR is looking, I doubt I will any time soon. Hopefully one day though!

<b>3 stars</b>

<i>Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC to review. All thoughts are my own.</i>

The Rule Book is my second book by this author, and I had enjoyed the tension and character development in The Cheat Sheet enough that when I learned there was going to be a second book set in this world, I decided to pick it up and see what it would be like as it was marketed to be more than Adams' closed door romances.

Whilst I enjoyed some of the light-hearted moments and the swoonable segments between Nora and Derek, I found it hard to get fully engaged with the characters represented in this book. Nora is needlessly kooky to present a conflict for her character being too much for some people. While I got what the author was attempting to achieve and promote that all people can be loved for who they are, I just found that it led to several contradictory plot devices, and made Nora challenging to enjoy as there often didn't feel like there was any real depth to her. With Derek, I appreciated his recent dyslexia diagnosis and the subsequent triggering trauma he faced when younger being explored, but in the present timeline, he felt quite beige as a character.

The whole concept of them working together despite their past breakup trauma sounded great in the synopsis, but both characters felt very juvenile until they finally aired their grievances. I did enjoy more as the romance rekindled between them, but the parameters for it (a drunken marriage when they were barely communicating felt strange to me and using their honeymoon for publicity) felt off and I just found myself a somewhat stuck passenger witnessing it all and not vibing with it.

For those who prefer closed-door romances, the author gives over the chapter number where the sex scene occurs, and it is rather brief and tame, so I think fans will be very pleased to not lose Adams' focus on emotions over passion that way. I also appreciated the content warning at the front of the book, and I feel the reader is well supported in all aspects of any triggering content, which is a huge win for a romance novel being released in 2024 - this is refreshing to see.

Overall, I do think this was something you can have a bit of fun with. It was light-hearted for the majority of the read and very easy to navigate your way through. I just didn't gel with these two main characters as much as I hoped to and just had an alright time reading this book.

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I actually enjoyed this book more than The Cheat Sheet. Mainly because I thought Nora was hilarious, and Derek was an absolute sweetheart. The pacing of the book was quite well done, and there wasn’t anything too dramatic in the plot to make me dislike them. I was sad for the time that they missed out on together, but the author explains it well; that they weren’t right for each other back then.
I love romance books that you can get lost in.
4.5 stars

Thank you to Hachette Australia & New Zealand for sending me the digital ARC of Sarah Adam’s newest release ‘The Rule Book’. This is the second book I have read by Sarah Adams and I can say with absolute certainty that it won’t be my last. This book had me in a choke hold, right from the beginning. I became invested in Nora and Derek’s story.

Derek is a famous NFL tight end, recovering from a possibly career ending injury.
Nora is a sports agent who has battled in a male dominated industry until finally getting her big break with her first client, Derek Pender. Her Ex. From college.

While this book does have a bit of a comedic spin on the friends to loves, second chance romance, it also has s level of drama and intrigue that will keep you coming back for more and more, until, finally there is no more left to read.

I devoured this book in less than 2 days, I would (and I have!) highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a light-hearted romance that also has depth and character development.

You know what they say, what happens in Vegas….