Dear Sarah Adams,

You know that I’ll read anything you write, right?

I LOVED The Cheat Sheet, and it was so fun to return to the world of the LA Sharks in The Rule Book! Nora and Derek are the cutest, and I loved getting to check in with Bree and Nathan 🥹

Some things you might love about this book:

✨ Quirky MFC
🫶 Learning disability rep
🕺 Vegas!
💞 Second chance romance

Sarah’s books are sweet and cheesy and FUN — AKA all of the things I want when reading a romance/romcom — and I’m so grateful to have received an early copy of The Rule Book 🌴🏈💚

A big THANK YOU to NetGalley, Random House (Ballantine), & Sarah Adams for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Nora has finally made it as a sports agent. What she didn’t expect was her first client to be her ex-boyfriend and NFL player Derek. In order to work together they decide to make their own “Rule Book” in order to keep things strictly professional. But when a business trip to Vegas ends up leading to a drunken marriage and tattooed wedding rings, the only way Nora and Derek can save their careers is to make it seem like it was an intentional elopement. Nora and Derek slowly reconcile their past during their public honeymoon and can’t deny they still have feelings for each other. But will Derek’s NFL career survive his injury? Will Nora’s career be done before it’s even started?

With Sarah Adams staple banter, humor and sweetness this was a highly enjoyable sports romance!

This was a fun romance with lots of delightful tropes (sports, fake marriage, second chance). This was set in the same world as The Cheat Sheet but I also think it reads find as stand alone.

As a fan the Cheat Sheet, I knew I was going to like this one, and I was right because I’ve never laughed so hard in my life while reading. I absolutely loved this book. The banter is incredible. It was interesting to see Sarah play with the themes like “second chances” and the “right person at the wrong time.” The football team is probably my favorite and how they are all one big happy family. It’s good to see Derek finally get his HEA. Definitely recommending The Rule Book to everyone I know.

Sarah Adams’ The Rule Book will suck you in from the start when college sweethearts are reunited after an abrupt break up by Nora. She is an up and coming sports agent and Derek has become a well-known football player coming back from injury, but don’t realize it until their first meeting that they’ll be working together. One of the endorsements that Derek has to take on is for a men’s suit company based in Vegas. The two of them end up drinking at a bar and wake up the next morning with wedding rings tattooed, and after they wake up realize it’s gone viral. In an attempt to embrace it, they head to Mexico for a honeymoon, which is amazing. Sara writes down to earth characters with the perfect amount of steam and you’ll see characters from The Cheat Sheet make an appearance.

A second chance at romance for former lovers turned client and sports agent. Sarah does a great job of including romance tropes we all love (one bed, marriage of convenience, etc.) in a way that makes sense for the plot as opposed to throwing a trope in just to have it in there. So fun to read. Nora and Derek are easy to root for and even easier to love.

I loved the plot of this book! The author did a really great job developing the characters and suspending disbelief in a setting that can be difficult to do that with. The book was fun to read and the banter was an added bonus!

The Rule Book is a fun second chance romance that takes place in the same universe as The Cheat Sheet by the same author. If you though Derek was a playboy in Cheat Sheet this book will give you all the background details that made him the man he became in the NFL. I didn't love the whole "I'm going to make your life harder so you'd quit" childish behavior Derek pushed onto Nora but loved how it worked out. Sometimes you just want to read something that is quick and sweet and this filled that need.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I simply love any book Sarah Adams writes. They're just so fun ⋆.˚🦋༘⋆

College exes who reunite seven years later and have to pretend to be married (though they did get married in Vegas after a drunken night) because of good publicity... I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH. Sarah Adams never disappoints on the tropes idk they hit hard!

This is the perfect book for the summer <3

Sarah Adams writes very sweet closed door romances with great characters and great chemistry. The Rule Book is no exception, really enjoyable story.

Nora has just been promoted as a sports agent and is about to take on her first client who happens to be her college boyfriend whose heart she broke. Derek refuses to admit that he still has feelings for her, so he decides to be the worst client ever so she either quits or he has grounds to fire her. But Nora won’t go down without a fight and on one drunken trip to Vegas, the pair finds themselves married and forced into a fake marriage to protect their reputations. What happens, though, when they realize none of it is fake?
On the whole I enjoyed this book. It has some great banter and humor. This is a great second chance romance with two characters who are clearly meant for each other. There were only two flaws for me. The first hangup I had is that I can’t take Nora seriously as a professional. A lot of her character is based on the fact that she doesn’t bend to expectations and is the bright, cheerful, over the top personality. I loved that about her because she’s a fun character. I just don’t believe that would ever fly in the real world, so it took me out of the book. The other negative is that Derek was a real jerk when it came to getting revenge at the beginning. While we know he’s still in love with her and trying to hide those feelings, it just makes him petty and unlikable. Sure you see his true character when he realizes he’s gone too far, but it was a bit of a struggle to get behind his character when he’s intentionally cruel and undermining her profession.
Overall, though, I did enjoy this book and would gladly pick up another by this author.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Sarah Adams is the author for me. I enjoyed When in Rome and Practice Makes Perfect, but I just haven’t felt motivated to read any of her other books. I started this one, but it just didn’t grab my attention.

Thank you for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was not for me. I love a well-written romance but this wasn't it. I haven't read anything else by this author but I'll see if I can find something more suited to me! I think it's because it had Hating Game vibes, which wasn't my favorite.

1.5 stars
I really struggled with how to rate The Rule Book. I give it 1 star for the intent of the book and 4-5 stars for the execution outside of that intent. I absolutely hated the premise of football player Derek playing toxic boss for his surprise new sports agent, and ex-girlfriend, Nora. Honestly, that whole setup is toxic and derivative. Guy gets dumped by the love of his life so he executes a whole revenge plan of power dynamics to get her to quit and abandon her entire career to satisfy his butthurt need for payback and amusement. I wish I had 3 thumbs so I could turn them all down. However, it wouldn’t have taken much editing to remove that aspect and instead we’d have had a snarky, funny and endearing second chance at love. But that requires one to overlook the toxic revenge harassment plot in the first third of the book, which doesn’t deserve to be overlooked. #timesup

You never know when your past is going to come back to haunt you…Nora is starting out as a sports agent and her first client just so happens to be her ex and not just any ex, Derek Pender, a famous NFL tight end. She convinces him to stay with her although he wants to shut the whole thing down, as their relationship ended on a terrible note, and it was all her fault. Their lives become increasingly complicated - can we say a Vegas quickie wedding - the two have to decide what they will do to keep their careers on track.

I adore Sarah Adams! Her writing is so good and although she throws in the tropes we enjoy, somehow they seem elegant and original. This enemies-to-lovers romance is such fun. You root for both characters while reveling in the animosity he feels for her. There’s a bit of spice, a lot of longing, and a very well-earned romance. I enjoy Nora’s job as a premise for their re-meet: she is ascending in her career in a male-dominated field and the trials and tribulations of trying to make yourself known in that sort of world hit home for a lot of women. And the fact that SHE was the one who left him in college - all good stuff. A highly recommend romance - I love everything Adams does!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

The Rule Book by Sarah Adams
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The perfect book for when you miss football season! I loved the premise of this book and there were a lot of twists and turns the plot took that I was not expecting. Like every Sarah Adams book, the characters are lovably quirky and have you rooting for them from the first page. They are also hilarious which makes the rom com reading experience that much better.

While I do wish the writing was a little more mature, with less internal thoughts from the main characters, this book was exactly what I wanted: a fun and quick read with a great romance. If you loved The Cheat Sheet, this is a great follow up!

Huge thank you to @netgalley and @dellromance for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed "The Rule Book" by Sarah Adams. The plot moved along nicely and the main characters were likeable and their romance was believable. There was also plenty of sarcastic banter which is a sure win for me. I usually do not enjoy the second chance romance trope in general but this book has me rethinking that by the end.

Sarah Adam’s is the master of quick, fun, silly romances. I always find myself giggling and swooning throughout her books. That being said, this was not one of my favorites of her. It was a little too cheesy at times for my taste, but still an enjoyable read!

📝 The Rule Book by Sarah Adams 📝

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5

💭 Thoughts:
I am a Sarah Adams STAN! I absolutely love her writing, and I loved that she branched out and added a little spice 🥵 to this one! It’s a second chance sports romance, with sprinkles of several other tropes: grumpy/sunshine, marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, etc. I enjoyed the dyslexia rep and would have loved more of it sprinkled in, even. The love story was so sweet, and I love the cameos of our faves from The Cheat Sheet. This book was delightful, and I recommend it when you need a light read to spark some joy!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House (Ballentine) Publishing, and Sarah Adams for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Look, go into this looking for a nice easy read. This was the perfect weekend read - bring on a beach trip for the summer type of book. I loved The Cheat Sheet and this was really fun and cute but not quite at the same level as the Cheat Sheet... I didn't connect with these characters quite as well, but still really enjoyed the story overall.