The story follows Winter Park and Bobby Bae, two Korean American high school juniors as they embark on a college road trip. They challenge each other to break rules along the way, from sampling local food to partying, resulting in some memorable and comical situations. I really enjoyed the rivals to lovers tension between the two characters and their growth felt genuine and relatable.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, & Kokila for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very cute lifelong rivals to "more than" story. As the only 2 Korean Americans in their class Winter and Bobby have spent their lives compared to each other and competing against each other. They are forced by their parents to go on a road trip to visit college campuses. Winter is hilarious and annoys the rule following Bobby to no end. I really liked the side characters and how everyone has layers. Definitely worth picking up!

4 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the eARC and gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC

I think this book would have worked better as a contemporary novel rather than a romance one. The romance was great, I love academic rivals to lovers and forced proximity tropes (which this book excelled at), and the characters' journeys were great, but I feel like there were so many important messages and themes that could have been explored more if given more time.

The characters and their emotions were very relatable to me. There were so many themes about culture, family, and friends that the audience can easily relate to, but they weren't as in depth as I hoped it would be. Again, the romance took over the book completely where I felt like it should have been more of a side plot. A story about two teenagers discovering themselves while on a college road trip is a good enough plot, I think that the romance was added to entice the romance-loving booktok audience.

Rules for Rule Breaking was not a bad read at all, I just think that it could have been better with some changed elements.

**Rules for Rule Breaking**

⭐️⭐️⭐️

**Synopsis:**
You have 2 of the best students in school. Their family has been friends for years, but not the same can be said about Bobby and Winter. They hate each other so much that they have rules against anything that can make them friends. Bobby recently went through a break-up and Winter's best friend is leaving the country soon. This leaves Bobby feeling like he is unlike himself, and Winter is encouraged by her Grandma to let loose. When forced on a college road trip by their parents, they decide the only rule on their trip is to break the rules. Rules are broken from dares and any time they become friends. Will they stay friends or more?
**Personal thoughts:** This was an adorable book! I liked the small adventures. I would say this book I got before release, I took longer to read it due to the pace. I found it a bit slow at times but overall not bad. Giving it 3 stars is "I like it". If you like clean romance, slower-paced, just cute high schooler romance then this is good for you. I didn't think the risks were big enough.

**Spicy level:** 🌶️/5 | minimal romantic gestures

**Trigger warnings:** N/A can’t remember any

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Instagram: @readswithtayee

This was a fun young adult read. The enemy to lovers troupe was a little different in this one which made it fun. The aspect of family was in the forefront which added well to the tension and plot line. I would recommend this to any teen/tween who is looking to escape for a couple hours into the life of someone who might be just a little bit like them.

This was a fast paced, fun but serious when it needed to be, coming of age YA rom-com. It gave me A Charmed Life by Julie Abe vibes (without the magic). I loved the longtime rivals turned lovers romance and really liked the way the author presented themes of the future, college, making / keeping friends. So my YA books or even adult books have these fictional friends that like each other or hang out despite having nothing in common and nobody talks about that.

This book was so real with the MC’s fear of making new friends and was a fresh take on realizing the relationships you have are not always what you think.

I also loved the grandmother’s role in the story and loved that she was a troublemaker with good intentions.

I’d definitely read more from this author and would even enjoy a spin off with some of the other characters we met.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“there are plenty of other fish in the sea, right?” “yeah, but you’ll never catch any of them if you don’t grab a pole.”

rules for rule breaking by talia tucker! 💖🧡🖤

i very much enjoyed this book! it had definitely had me giggling and rooting for the characters from the very beginning 🥰 bobby and winter had such great banter! the writing style was interesting for me because i usually struggle hard with third person language but with this book i barely noticed it! i listened to the audiobook while reading along with the physical book and the different narrators for winter and bobby’s perspectives really helped :) i loved the ending i just wish it had been a little bit longer because 292 pages was NOT enough of these characters!!! (bobby bae my beloved, he is so neurodivergent coded and as a fellow autistic person he felt so special to me 🥰🥰) i would recommended this if you are in the mood for some fun characters, road trip vibes, and a cute romance, with a side of a warm hug from a grandmother :)

Booksmart meets Never Have I Ever in this debut YA rom-com about two Korean American teens forced into a shared college visit road trip where they discover that the reasons they’ve been rivals their entire lives might actually be signs they’re a perfect pair.

This book was so good!! I'm a sucker for books with road trips. I found the characters really funny and relatable, and I'd definitely recommend it.

Rules for Rule Breaking was pretty entertaining. Winter and Bobby and family friends and academic rivals and they hate each other, for unknown reasons. But throw in some forced proximity when they are forced into a roadtrip together and you get A LOT of witty banter.

While there were some heavy topics (culture, mental health, family dysfunction), it felt like a relatively light read. I still don’t really know why Winter was so against Bobby, but I did like seeing their friendship blossom

The narrators were definitely spot on and they brought these characters to life. Great intonation. I’ll be keeping my eye out for more from both the author and the narrators!

This was such a fun and refreshing rom-com! I love supporting POC authors and reading stories with POC characters who are simply living their lives. This was one such story that was such a fun read!

"Booksmart meets Never Have I Ever in this debut YA rom-com about two Korean American teens forced into a shared college visit road trip where they discover that the reasons they’ve been rivals their entire lives might actually be signs they’re a perfect pair."

I wanted to love this book, but I unfortunately couldn't. It had some elements of fun, however, I felt that the plot never reached it's full potential and was overshadowed by the two main characters and their building romance. I think if the plot had been explored a little deeper and a larger focus of the book it really could have made a different impact for me.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc of this book. all opinions are my own.

This was fantastic. I really enjoyed it! I'd recommend it.

"Rules for Rule Breaking" felt more like a rough draft than a completed novel. Despite having all the right elements for a great story, nothing was explored in depth.

Bobby and Winter are relatable characters, representing traditional Asian families well. I could relate to Bobby's shame over not speaking Korean and Winter's facade of ease despite hard work. They were definitely appreciated.

However, the story itself was shallow. Themes like culture, family, friendships, responsibility, and society were present but overshadowed by the romance. While I usually enjoy romance-focused reads, it felt like a missed opportunity not to delve into these important themes.

Overall, it wasn't a bad YA contemporary, but it had a lot of wasted potential. I just wanted it to be more than it was.

The context for the Rule Breaking is that Winter and Bobby set up rules as academic rivals, which for some reason their parents know about and entertain. I loved how everyone character had their time in the spotlight and a backstory. The main characters grew from their interactions with the friends and family around them and many scenes in this book are lighthearted and silly (as you’d expect for teenagers who try to act mature).
It took a while for me to really get into the novel because of a rocky intro where many conversations between characters were disrupted by dense explanations of context, like explaining who is Winter’s best friend while she’s talking to her grandmother. The descriptions are good, kind of abstract but with descriptive imagery. I loved the insights into Korean culture, like the food and the common names. As a POC, I thought it was very important to discuss the motivations and the challenges for immigrants who move to America.
Overall it was funny, lighthearted romance/ coming of age and I loved how the mains became more confident in themselves.
I just had to note this quote that made me laugh, (talking about male MC): “He didn’t exactly steam her dumplings”.

Thank you so much @coloredpagesbt , @penguinteen & @taliatuck for the arc of this amazing book.

First of all, can we please talk about the cover, it's so pretty 😭

As some of you know academic rivals to lovers is one of my fav trope and this book has it and it's done so well. I enjoyed so much while reading. It was such an easy and fun read filled with so much banter 🤍
Also I loved how the friendship between Emmy and winter was portrayed.
It was like watching a kdrama , i totally loved it 🤍

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel! I was scared I’d be annoyed with these characters or find them too elementary, but I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the smart characters and their banter, and watching them go from people that were always annoyed at each other to friendly to romantic. Their travels together were so fun and they felt their age - not younger or older, which I enjoyed. I’ll definitely read more from Talia!

This was so cute and such a fun read! I loved the two main characters immediately. They each had their own issues they were working though yet could relate and learn to grow with each other. This tackles growing up, life changes, family drama, the asian american experience, academic pressure, and so much more; all super relatable. The banter between them was hilarious and I kept cheering for them to get together. A quick and entertaining read, I read it in one sitting!

This was such a sweet book. I really enjoyed the coming of age type book, and the two "perfect" teens learn how to actually be teenagers during the trip.

The mid miscommunication issues got old after the story had seemed to straighten itself out, but I do understand why it happened. Emotions run crazy for a teen, or adult, so it makes sense why they happened. I just wished for the sake of the story telling it didnt.

Past that, it was a fun read. I caught myself smiling when the characters did, and frowning when they did. I enjoyed it a lot.