"The Rule Book" is a must-read if you love a swoon worthy Sports Romance. From start to finish I was pulled into this storyline and binged the entire book cover to cover.

Tropes:
-Second Chance Romance
-Athlete | Agent
-Marriage Of Convenience

I thought everything about this book was done so well. The plot is packed with memorable characters, banter and flirty interactions.

I definitely will be recommending this one!

Thank you to Sarah Adams , Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for providing me with an ARC of this book.

God, I don’t think Sara Adams can do any wrong. I was super excited to read this book and elated to get an approval through NetGalley as this is the first Sara Adams book that has spice. Like any other Sara Adams book I thoroughly enjoyed it, The banter, the characters, the tension, everything. Love love loved it. Excited to see what else she’ll write but if she writes it I don’t care if it’s closed door or open door I’m gonna read it..

4.5⭐️

This was so good!!!! My first book by Sarah Adams and it did NOT disappoint! Omg I absolutely loved Nora and Derek and their relationship was so pure and perfect. The rule book story line I loved as well. This definitely shows the right person wrong time situation and I am here for it. I love second chance so much. I need to pick up more Sarah Adams books cause this was 🥳!

I can definitely see myself rereading this as a comfort again cause it was that good🥰

“The Rule Book” has got to be my favorite sports romance! This second-chance, dreamy love story is giving me everything I would want in a romantic-comedy novel. I did not want to put it down and I truly found the plot to be unpredictable. I loved the light-hearted banter and joking. But the longing from these two was real. It was great to see how they encouraged eachother’s character growth.

For those who love:
🌴 Second-Chance Romance
🌴 Football Romance
🌴 Athlete + Sports Agent
🌴 Friendships!!
🌴 Career-focused main characters
🌴 Marriage of Inconvenience
🌴 Honeymoon

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Sarah Adams is amazing when she writes closed door romances, but Sarah Adams writing a spicy romance??? My favorite!! This may be my new favorite Sarah Adams book! It was so good! Such a good follow up to the Cheat Sheet! I loved the overlap! The characters and development of this book were incredible. I loved the slow burn and the quirky interactions. Overall I HIGHLY recommend!!!

Nora is an up and coming agent who has spent her adult life striving for this dream career. After a promotion she is excited to represent her first client independently, at least until she finds out this new client is her college ex-boyfriend Derek Pender. Derek is a tight end for the LA Sharks & has spent the last several months rehabbing from a potential career ending ankle injury. He desperately needs help improving the public opinion of him before the season starts. Can these two once lovers, now enemies, work together despite their fierce competitiveness & fraught history? It seems like they might until a work trip leads to a drunken visit to a wedding chapel & what happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas.

This delicious enemies-to-lovers football romance hit the perfect spot of hilarious, sweet, and sexy with a good balance of plot. I loved the competitive nature of both main characters & how that played out in their interactions. I also loved how true to herself Nora was throughout the entire book. Their chemistry was great, the banter had me cackling, and Derek’s flirting was *chef’s kiss*. If current pop culture football romance (iykyk) has you begging for more, I think you’re going to love The Rule Book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @authorsarahadams, @randomhouse and @netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This review will be posted on Instagram, GoodReads, and Storygraph on 4/2 publication day. All are linked below.

I love The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams. It's one of my go-to recommendations when people ask for a romcom. So, when I heard that there would be a companion novel, I screamed! To say The Rule Book was one of my most anticipated books for 2024 is an understatement. Well, I absolutely loved this book!!! Second chance romance is my favorite trope and this one is done so right!

Nora and Derek are such wonderful characters. Nora is quirky, smart, driven, super organized, and kicking a$$ in a male-dominated field. Derek is an all bark, no bite softie who has been let down by the people he loves in the past. And, oh boy, are these two competitive! The banter between these two is simply hilarious. Plus, there's lots of the longing and pining by both and sizzling chemistry. Everything about this couple is chef's kiss!

The former college sweethearts abruptly ended their relationship without closure for either one. I loved the flashbacks to their college days where we could see the thrill of first love, their connection, and how all-consuming it was for both of them. The peeks into their past perfectly set the stage for their very complicated present relationship.

Of course, we also have Nathan, Bree, and the rest of Derek's Shark friends there giving advice, helping Derek make a plan, and meddling with the best intentions. There's something so special about this group of friends!

I loved every minute of this story of forgiveness, self-discovery, and being loved for who you are. I can't recommend this enough for those who want a funny, swoony, heartwarming read.

Thank you to Dell Romance for a copy of this book.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙗𝙮 𝙎𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙝 𝘼𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙨
𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★★★★★

Sarah Adams is one of my favorite authors and this book was seriously perfection! The way Sarah Adams writes her characters and her stories hooks me in and this is up there with one of my favorites of hers.

First off, the tropes alone in this book had me invested before I even opened the book!

I adored the two main characters Nora and Derek and loved the banter between the two. Their back story, how they came back together and the chemistry was everything! The individual characters were so fun and captivating. I truly could not put this one down and I loved every second of it!

The audiobook was wonderful to listen to. Hathaway Lee and Will Damron did a phenominal job narrating this story and portraying the characters!

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘
Second Chance Romance
Marriage of Convenience
Enemies to Lovers
Forced Proximity
Sports Romance
Dual POV
One Bed

READ DEREK & NORA because this one (like all of Sarah’s books) is SO GOOD. Nora is hilarious. The guy group made me laugh so many times. Nathan and Bree make appearances that made me miss them but also love seeing what they were up to. And Derek is so gone for Nora that I was completely gone for him the second he hit the page.

I like to call myself a "certified second chance romance hater," but every once in a while one comes around that proves I can love the trope when the story is right. This is absolutely one of those times. This couple's backstory may be messy, but it's definitely a case of "right person, wrong time." They would never have worked the first time around, and it was only with time and distance that they were able to get it right. This still has the fresh, lighthearted vibes of Adams' other work, but it also gets angsty and seriously tension-filled - plus, there's actually a little bit of spice! I loved the lovers to enemies to spouses to lovers vibes, which made this a nuanced, multi-faceted read. There were things that would typically push my buttons in the wrong way, but I empathized with both characters and could easily see how it all went wrong. I was hooked on watching these two slowly find their way back together, and the intense pining and depth of emotion made it a fantastic read.

The story follows Nora, a woman who is just starting to find success in her career as a sports agent. She's finally been given her first client and her first real chance to prove herself... but there is one major problem. Nora's new client, Derek, is her college ex and the only man to ever truly have her heart. While Nora knows she did the right thing by ending their relationship years ago, that doesn't mean that there aren't things she should've done differently. The two haven't seen each other in nearly a decade and the tabloids show that he's clearly moved on, so maybe the situation won't end in disaster, right? But as these two former lovers turned enemies navigate their new working relationship, they add one more complication - a drunken Vegas wedding.

So let's talk about the one thing that could've sent this spiraling in the wrong direction - the fact that Derek has been a player in the years they were separated. That's my nightmare fuel in a second chance romance, not going to lie. But I think it was handled really well here. Nora broke up with Derek out of the blue and never offered an explanation. She has no idea how badly she shattered his heart. It was clear from the start that both of their feelings ran deeper than either knew, and that pining and angst is what heightens the emotions. I actually really loved Derek; he is so completely gone for his girl that I couldn't help but adore him. I also understood Nora's reasons, and it was obvious that they had both grown and changed in the years since. They might not have been right together in college, but they're different people now and that history is still there. I loved the little twists and turns in the story, and I loved watching them figure things out. There are some great moments of intimacy that stole my heart, and I ended up being emotionally invested in their relationship from start to finish.

The Rule Book by Sarah Adams is a wonderful and steamy romance that will leave readers swooning from start to finish.
Adam’s never disappoints and she delivered with her phenomenal sports romance story.
Sarah Adams is an automatic buy for me. I love her books and they seem to get better and better. The book's relatable characters and engaging plot create an immersive reading experience that resonates with fans of romance and women's fiction.
With its engaging plot, well-developed characters, and sizzling chemistry I could not stop once I started.
The setting is delightful and the romance definitely earns a solid 5-star rating and is a must-read for fans of contemporary romance.
This was one of my favorite books of the year and I can't wait to read more by this author!

Thank You NetGalley and Random House, Ballantine & Dell for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

“I want to be her human bubblewrap.”

I’ve never read a book by Sarah Adams that didn’t blow me away from the start. I had the pleasure of listening to this masterpiece and the narrators not only did an exceptional job with the story, but I felt as though I was IN the story. As though I was friends with Nora and Derek (most likely Nora while lusting after Derek, if I’m being honest). And an author and narrators that can make you feel as though these characters are your own found family? That’s more than I can ever hope for going in, and yet Sarah continues to deliver every time.

There was something about this book that had me laughing, sighing in relief, aching in longing, and wanting to pull both Nora and Derek into one large group hug (even if they likely would prefer I wasn’t there). And yet despite the heavier moments and topics, it was mostly light-hearted, making for a quick and enjoyable read.

I loved Nora’s quirkiness and how Derek embraced it without even a second thought. After years apart, it truly felt like they had been by one another’s sides from the start—and their chemistry was unmatched. Also the fact that the choice that was made wasn’t instantly viewed as a mistake, but rather one that was necessary at the time for each individual character to be able to grow and become who they wanted to be. The character growth in this story pulled at my heartstrings in the best of ways. I highly recommend this one to anyone looking for a laugh or who might need to see that some choices were meant to be, but that doesn’t mean new decisions can’t be made years later.

Tropes:
- Second chance
- Mutual pining
- Athlete/agent
- Sports romance
- Grumpy/sunshine
- Hate to love
- Enemies to lovers
- Accidental marriage
- Forced proximity

4.5 stars
Huge thank you to Dell and NetGalley for the early copy of this one!

Not to be dramatic but this is her best book y’all! I completely ate this one up. The tropes worked so well with one another and she even gave us a spicy scene in this one. I loved both of our main characters equally and being able to see our favs from the cheat sheet was just the cherry on top for me. Do yourself a favor and RUN to read this one. PERFECT for spring and summer

The Rule Book is definitely gonna be a lot of readers favorite this year.
It has everything we love: fake marriage, grumpy x sunshine, sports romance, forced proximity and second chance. With tropes like that how could Sarah Adams go wrong?!
Nora & Derek steal the show here. They are adorable and just the right amount of angst. This is also a slow burn romance too so ya know the payoff is good 👌🏻
Adams writes a romcom that will steal your heart and leave you wanting to reread it again.
A must read for romcom lovers!

Outstanding. Beautiful. Funny. Sappy. Adorable.
Are you a fan of Friends? Ross and Rachel your favorite TV couple? How about Taylor and Travis? Then this book is for you if you have said yes to any of these questions.
Nora Mackenzie has been working hard to achieve her dream of becoming a professional sports agent. And when she lands her first real client, she is thrilled. Even though her new client just so happens to be her ex college boyfriend who she suddenly broke up with years ago. Derek, still angry with how Nora ended things, will allow her to be his agent but he plans on making her life miserable. But after one drunken night in Vegas where they end up in bed together and married, things are about to change.
I was cracking up this whole book. Nora is the funniest main character I have come across in a while. The banter between the two had me SWOONING! I also found myself emotional and teary eyed while the two go on a long slow burn journey back to one another.

I love Sarah Adams as a writer, and this book was no exception. I am not normally a huge fan of sports romance, but since I read and loved The Cheat Sheet, I figured I would give this a shot. I was not disappointed!

I did find the whole revenge plot to be a little juvenile, but it didn't take away from the overall enjoyability of the book. Derek and Nora were lovable characters, easy to read, and I really enjoyed the way their romance progressed.

This was actually my first book by the author- but I now see it’s time to dust off the others that have been on my shelf and get reading! And the audio version of this one was PERFECT

Ten years ago, Nora ended things with Derek, breaking his heart during their senior year in college. Now a successful NFL player, Derek is Nora's first solo client as a rising sports agent. However, he still holds a grudge against her and does everything in his power to make her life as his agent miserable enough for her to quit. With encouragement from his Sharks teammates, Derek begins to realize that he may not hate Nora but is looking for excuses to be around her. Nora, determined to be the best agent Derek has ever had, refuses to give up despite his attempts to sabotage her. Everything changes when they wake up hungover and married in Vegas. Now, to save their careers, they have to pretend to be in love.

He didn't think she would see her again and definitely not as his new agent. Derek didn't want anything to do with Nora especially after the fact that she broke up with him cold as ice but as his current agent is recovering he has no other choice.
Nora cannot believe that as a rookie sports agent her first client is none other than Derek Pender, football star AND her ex boyfriend from college. She pleas and pleas to accept her and give her a shot but it keeps going down from there.

Derek and Nora definitely had their pros and cons. Derek was very focused. He wanted nothing more than to be able to be given the chance to play football again. Caring and selfless and looked out for the best of others.
Nora was witty, definitely took the seriousness and put in her own humor. She was able to make everyone smile and likeable. But she needs to be more professional as an agent. She was a strong independent woman and very forthcoming.
Derek and her complimented each other very well as he seemed more serious and she broke the ice any chance she got. I loved them together but I think the story line was very scattered. The Vegas night was just random to me so I felt it was rushed to put in the story. I felt that some of the story seemed out of place.

Summary: Nora Mackenzie finally has the break her career as a sports agent needed. The only problem, her first client is her college ex-boyfriend, Derek Pender. And of course, Nora didn't end their relationship very gracefully so Derek has been holding onto his grudge and he knows just the way to soothe it. Despite his plan to exact his revenge and get her to quit, they end up in bed together, married, after a wild night in Vegas. What will happen between the two of them now that their rule book is out the window?

Dani’s Thoughts: Well this just became my favorite Sarah Adams book!! I loved the history shared between Derek and Nora that even after their many, many years apart has not faded. Accidental Vegas wedding is a favorite trope of mine, and this one did not disappoint, especially once Derek decided to put his revenge ways behind him. It was fun seeing all of my favorites from The Cheat Sheet and how their lives have changed over the last 2 years. The group really was there for Derek to help sort through his feelings, and in turn, Nora was able to have a great group around her as well. Highly suggest reading The Cheat Sheet first, but this can be read as a standalone.

4.5 ⭐️ I love Sarah Adams! She is able to create fast paced books that you can’t put down! The relationship was amazing and I kept coming back to read more about it. If you have read any her books before definitely pick this one up too! I will be continuing to read more.