If you like:
- academic rivals
- college tour road trips
- breaking rules for the first time
- nerds with dry senses of humor

Then you absolutely have to read Rules for Rule Breaking by Talia Tucker out on 3/19!

I truly have not had so much fun reading a book in a while. Rules for Rule Breaking had me laughing out loud, tearing up, and rooting for these two awkward nerds.

Winter and Bobby are the most lovable main characters. Their flaws were so relatable and well developed on the page, I could feel their struggles. I absolutely fell in love with their little quirks and passions. The side characters Kai and Emmy were also such vibrant characters. I really enjoyed the tension in Winter and Emmy's relationship and how they resolved it in such a healthy and understanding way.

Tucker's writing absolutely stands out. Her sense of humor was so deadpan and well utilized, I highlighted so many interactions. I truly am just enamored with her writing style, I need more books from Tucker asap please!

A side note that there are a number of niche New Jersey jokes in the book that absolutely warmed by heart (excessive cursing, jug handles, pumping gas).

I cannot wait for this book to come out so I can have a copy on my shelf!

This is a cute, fun read, and I thank NetGalley and Penguin Teen for sharing the ebook with me!
The romance in the story is cute and makes sense. It develops nicely and at a good pace. I enjoyed the characters--they're all interesting and funny and well-developed. Unfortunately, for me, the plot and characters arcs aren't developed enough or deep enough. I wish that Tucker had focused more on the major conflicts--Bobby's issues with his family and Winter's conflict with Emmy. If those conflicts had been developed further, the book overall would've been deeper. I think a lot of issues were throwaways, mentioned to add depth to the characters but never developed.
I did enjoy this book, and I would recommend it to someone who wants to binge read a frenemies-to-lovers romance.

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Winter and Bobby have always been working to one up each other academically. Being the only two Korean students in their grade and having their parents push them together all the time certainly doesn’t help that.
When their parents give them an ultimatum that lands them in a car together for 700 miles, chaos erupts.
This book was a celebration of culture. Between the conversations between family members and the discussions about minorities there were just so many different types of culture shown in this book and it made me so happy.
I ended up reading this book in one sitting and I think that was the perfect decision for me, because this book had the perfect pacing and reading it was really just a dream.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kokila for an eARC of this book.

Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for this ARC of Rules for Rule Breaking. This was such an adorable rom-com, though I would recommend this to the younger side of YA rather than the middle or older end of the spectrum. The road trip and development of the relationship overall felt clunky, but I think this is the perfect rom-com romance book for middle-grade readers beginning to transition into YA!

Cute cover, cute premise, cute characters, cute execution! Did I say this was cute? I feel as if I know Winter and Bobby as well as their friends and family after reading this book. The only criticism I have is the sense of place is just not there. For most of the book I felt it was taking place on the West Coast somewhere and the few times North Carolina was mentioned I was like, what?!? But this is a small thing. Thank you to #netgalley and #kokila for this arc of #rulesforrulebreaking to read and review, all opinions are my own.

this is very cute. a little simplistic and not very different to the many other ya rom-coms on the market, but generally very sweet. i honestly don't have much to say, but i do love that the characters are both education-minded, as that's a specific trait that i resonate with. solid book, interested in what else this author can do.

I like it. I think it's a fun YA / Middle Grade kind of read. Not usually what I would read. I enjoyed it overall but definitely not what I usually read though.

“Rules for Rule Breaking” made me want to pick up more middle grade books at as advid YA reader. I LOVED IT

This was a fast-paced, fun, and endearing coming-of-age story.

When I requested it I didn't realize it was for quite this young of an audience (I'm old), but I would defintiely recommend it to my teen nieces.

That being said, this is a book I wish I could've read as a teen, but we just didn't have that many diverse books covering these amazing topics back then. I'm really glad today's teens do so they can all feel represented and seen.

This book had a really sweet slow-burn romance story and plenty of laugh out loud comedic relief. I absolutely adored it.
This cover is adorable, too!

Tysm Penguin Teen for the ARC!

This had a lot of potential! But I felt like I couldn’t get a read on these characters’ personalities- it read like how someone thought teenagers spoke and acted. Not a huge fan of the dialogue. It was fun at times and I did like their adventure, it just needed some work!

4.5 stars

Overall, I did enjoy this book, character development, and the overall plot. My only issue with this novel is the pacing for me there were times where it felt too fast (like when they were developing feelings for each other) and just the whole road trip felt rushed to me in terms of pacing.

DNF- first off, thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the ARC! I requested this because I thought it sounded cute and the plot seemed promising, but this book just isn’t for me personally. The main characters and the writing just feels too juvenile (I know this is YA) and so I don’t think this is my type. Thank you again for the ARC copy!!

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.