3.5 stars...a sweet friends to lovers, fake dating romance. Bree and Nathan have been in love with each other since high school. Afraid, to ruin a perfect relationship, they stay firmly in the friend zone. Roped into fake dating after an incident, Nathan enlists his football teammates to come up with a cheat sheet to get him out of the friend zone. Both characters and sweet and likeable but I wish that Bree had more guts and could see the signs of Nathan's devotion to her. Overall, a low angst tale of love and friendship.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for a copy of this book.

A thoroughly satisfying best-friends to lovers tale, the Cheat Sheet takes old tropes and puts them to fun use. It walks the fine line of allowing us to feel the angst of Nathan and Bree without it going on so long we just want to pitch the book in the dumpster. Being able to see both points of view helped both move the plot along and kept us out of endless thought spirals. Sometimes long-term best friends to lovers can feel manipulative, but this entry didn't have that feel. Consent and boundaries were clearly respected, particularly on Nathan's part. I appreciated the upending of the toxic group of male friends, especially with how they all treated Bree as a friend.
The Cheat Sheet is a closed door romance; though the characters talk about sex and there is tons of steam/tension, there are no on-page scenes. Both characters have work, dreams, and interests separate from and supported by their romantic interest. Some deeper issues (eg Nathan's family or Bree's accident) are touched upon as just another normal thing people go through and have to deal with instead of world ending catastrophes.
All-in-all, The Cheat Sheet is well-done comfort food, recommended.

I loved this book! It was so angsty, but so rewarding. Friends to lover plus faking dating equals a happy heart. I loved Bree and Nathan together. They were so sweet and romantic, that it was almost too much. I squealed multiple times throughout the book. Did it drive me a little crazy how they were pining for each other so hard, but just wouldn't TELL THE OTHER ONE??? YES!! But it was worth the trip. Highly recommend! I will be thinking about this book for a long while. I want to read the rest of her books.

Awwwwww. I really really loved this story. It was sweet and achingly yummy and I just have to say that this concept of closed door sex is righteous!!! Who knew!? I also already told the author that the scene with Nathan and Bree in the hall when he tells her to “pretend” is the single most perfectly erotic thing I have ever read. Seriously. This book was yum. On a stick. 💜💜💜📚

DNF at 41%. I received an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The concept was cute and I wanted it to be executed well, but it just wasn't. It took everything in me to read as far as I did. First and foremost-the language. Why does Bree talk like a whiny child? No one talks like that. No one. It was so cheesy, like a sharp cheddar cheese. Bree isn't likable in the least, she gives pick-me energy and child energy.

Also, the fact that Nathan's eyes are described as literally black. I don't think that's genetically possible (I could be wrong), and also I just find that terrifying, NOT attractive or endearing. Imagine someone's eyes just being a giant pupil because that's what I was imagining every time his "black eyes" were mentioned.

AND the word "orbs" was used to refer to someone's eyes. Is this 2012 Wattpad? This is where I started to be like "I genuinely can't do this anymore," but I kept going for a little while longer. The book completely lost me at the brownie making scene because I simply could not get past how cringe Bree is.

In terms of basic plot, it wasn't giving what it was supposed to give. It just felt drawn out and pointless. The dual POV trope of knowing they both feel the same way has worked before in other novels and provided sweet, sweet dramatic irony; but, here... there was not a good enough reason for neither of them saying anything. Especially Nathan. It was so flat. No dimension. No umph. It's definitely not making it onto my list of worthwhile romance novels.

From the beginning, I wanted so badly to love this book. I'm a sucker for the "friends to lovers" trope, after all. That said, I need to borrow some famous words to describe the feeling I was left with upon concluding this title, ""It's so bad I want to give you a zero. But that's not possible so I give you a one." From the cringeworthy dialogue to the juvenile actions of both main characters, this book had the allure of a burning pile of garbage. I knew it was terrible, but I couldn't bring myself to look away so I finished. Last but not least, she kept referring to the male lead's black eyes. To start, that's not humanly possible and second it was just plain weird.

While I'm usually more invested in enemies-to-lovers books, this BFFs-to-lovers book read like a warm fuzzy blanket and was exactly the blissful kind of romance I needed right now. I loved this book.

"The Cheat Sheet" by Sarah Adams
☆☆☆☆

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Bree Camden has been in love with her best friend, Nathan Donelson since high school. Nathan loves Bree. Both only think the other sees them as a buddy, a best friend.

Bree owns and teaches ballet classes for girls who cannot afford classes. Nathan is an NFL player. When the rent increased on Bree's building, Nathan paid the difference without Bree's knowledge. When the rent increased again, Nathan bought the building.

One night, while celebrating a teammate's birthday, Bree drinks more than she should and blabs about her feelings about Nathan to a reporter.

The story hits the news, and Nathan's publicist gets them a deal that pays big -- it will help Bree pay Nathan back. They will pretend to date until the Super Bowl -- three weeks.

Nathan has three weeks to show Bree how he really feels about her, while Bree will need to spend the next three weeks trying to ignore her feelings. They supported one another and accepted each other, showing the other that they were important.

I loved Nathan and Bree. This was a friends to lovers trope with a slow, slow burn! His teammates were funny as Nathan's romance advisors. The dual perspectives worked well for this book. They were great friends and became an even stronger couple.

BEST ROMANCE I’VE READ THIS YEAR! This friends to lovers book was such a good blend of longing and fun witty banter I adored it! The HEA was also perfection! Thank you to the publisher for an audiobook arc it was such a fun listen and I had to read it faster so I read the second half!

Posted on Goodreads and @bookish_princess on Instagram 2/5/2022
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4260427747?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

I am excited for Sarah Adams' to have been picked up for this rom-com novel. I think it is her strongest book to date and this book deserves all of the attention it is getting.
It is a sweet friends-to-couple story about long time pining and that awful stumbling block known as 'I don't want to lose our friendship is this dating thing doesn't work out.' Thanks to dual POVs there isn't anything to worry about for the reader. We know they both want it, and they want it BAAAAAD. We are just lucky enough to be taken on that slow burn ride while they figure it out.
Adams always brings fun and playfulness to her characters and she definitely high kicks a field goal with the banter and situational humor in "The Cheat Sheet."
I admit to already owning the Kindle version since day 1 of it's release, but I had to ask for the ARC so I could see that super-silly bonus epilogue that Adams includes for her new and repeat readers.
Thanks so much for the ARC!

This book was adorable,. I love when an author has the ability to make men seem just as vulnerable and confused as a women can be during a relationship! The fake dating, professional athlete/ballerina dynamic, the friend zone to end zone build up made this a gotta finish it before I fall asleep book for me. The characters including the supporting ones were fun and funny. A great beach or fireside read. Only minor criticisms would be that I wanted to hear what the reaction to their commercial was, and I would have liked to have gotten the full story about the argument between Lily and Nathan's mom. Definately would recommend and I'm hoping to see Jamal, Derek and the other guys stories too.

Nathan and Bree have been friends for years. They suddenly are finding themselves having to fake date, but they both have feelings for each other but also don't want to ruin their friendship by pursuing anything further than friends. I loved the epilogue and bonus chapter that was added!

I absolutely adore this book and Bree and Nathan! I loved the epilogue and the bonus chapter we got which happened One Year Later! I’ll admit the start of that bonus chapter almost made me throw my phone across the room but it was good. I also loved the addition of the authors Q and A to this edition. I originally read the Cheat Sheet in her independently published work and would absolutely recommend getting this work from her new publisher! It’s so good!!

The story was sweet, in line with the Bromance Book Club series. I was definitely here for it, although I would have liked certain portions to have been a bit more down to earth.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC.