Sarah Adams is an auto-read for me. I love her books because they're fun and sweet and frequently hilarious without sacrificing an emotional undercurrent. I will say, I had slightly lower expectations for The Rule Book, because its predecessor, The Cheat Sheet, was a little shakier than some of Adams' later books. But fortunately, The Rule Book surpassed those expectations and was a super enjoyable read.

Nora Mackenzie is an aspiring sports agent whose entire career currently hinges on her college ex, Derek Pender, signing with her. Still smarting over the breakup, Derek decides to make Nora's life hell... until they agree to a truce then get drunk and accidentally married in Vegas. After that, Nora's career depends on the two of them being the happiest [pretend] spouses they can be. Until real feelings get in the way.

This book is classic Sarah Adams through and through. Nora is quirky and loveable, Derek has tons of softness underneath his football player exterior, and the two of them have undeniable chemistry, even when they're just pining for each other. The plot itself felt a little busy and a little contrived at times, but above all else, it was fun and laugh-out-loud funny on multiple occasions. I had mixed feelings about the repeated cameos of Cheat Sheet characters, but it did really emphasize the way that Derek's friend group is more family than anything else, even if they did sometimes feel like a distraction.

Overall, a delight!

4.25/5

🏈 Derek was in LOVE with Nora until one faithful day when she slammed the brakes on their love back in college. Reunited as his agent, he’s set to make her life a living hell. What he doesn’t expect is for Nora to fight back, and fight back hard. One crazy night in Vegas will lead to a wild revelation. One that they cannot take back and honestly, does Derek even want to? Screw the rule book.

🏈 The Rule Book is up there with Practice Makes Perfect as a @authorsarahadams FAVORITE. I really enjoyed both Nora (narrated by Hathaway Lee) and Derek (narrated by Will Damron) characters. I found their love story believable and was kicking my feet with giddiness at that epilogue! Nora is the bad ass female sports agent that I need to see more of in today’s society and I really enjoyed Sarah’s take at the end on some issues Nora was facing. I COULD NOT stop listening and basically binged this is in 12 hours? While those dedicated Adams fans may cringe with her including spice, I felt it was well placed throughout and allowed readers to dive depeer into Nora and Derek’s connection. The Rule Book is out TUESDAY and will definitely be hitting my bookshelf.

I love Sarah Adams!!!

Nora is working as a sports agent and finally assigned her first big athlete...none other than Derek Pender, one of the most famous tight ends in the NFL...and also her ex-boyfriend from college. And not just any ex, but the kind that never really leaves you. It has been eight years since they broke up, but neither has really moved on and they are now thrown together in a professional relationship, but how can they make that work when they have too much baggage in their romantic history? Simple. The Rule Book. Or is it really that simple??

I loved this book. I loved Nora. I love the way her little brain works and I love the way she rattles on and on (hello, anxiety) and all her adorable little catch phrases. Sarah Adams knows how to write engaging banter and this one is no exception. The ONLY critique I have is that the "miscommunication" trope is one of my least favorites ever (thus my only giving this four stars instead of five), but aside from that, loved it and am super grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this one!

DNfed at 60%

I couldn’t do it. I tried. I swear. I just don’t like the FMC. AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I think it’s the “him getting jealous that she slept with other men when they were broken up”

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy of The Rule Book. It was a fun, sweet, and charming book.
The book centers on Nora, a newly promoted sports agent who is assigned to represent Derek, her college ex-boyfriend, who she coldly dumped 8 years before. Derek is recovering from a major injury and is unsure of his future in the NFL.
Derek plans to seek revenge since he's still hurt from having his heart broken but after an incident in Las Vegas they both have to work together to salvage their careers.
The book was cute, funny, and had its deep moments. The romance was heartwarming and lovable. The characters were likeable. Nora is hilarious and unapologetically herself. Derek's friendships with his teammates had really funny moments.
Overall I loved the book, like Sarah Adam's other romances. I highly recommend it and can't wait to read more by her.

This is my 4th Sarah Adams book and I just can't get enough of her. I love how wholesome and sweet her books are. I loved the Cheat Sheet and was so excited to read another book that had Nathan and Bree in it. All of Sarah Adams books feel like a warm hug!

I loved the FMC Nora! She is smart, sweet, funny and kinda dorky. I could appreciate her quirkiness but there was too much of her annoying saying for my taste. I love how she stood up for herself against her coworkers. I felt like the male dominated office was perfectly portrayed in this book and her relationship with Nicole was so great. I loved the support that Nicole gave her, she truly is a bada**.

Derek definitely had some swoon worthy moments. The way he caressed and took care of Nora was so enduring and sweet. He was very annoying in the beginning but he started to grow on me when they were in Cancun. I also can appreciate the dyslexia representation and thought the author dealt with these issues well.

Check out this book if you love:
-Second Chance Romance
-Fake Marriage
-Enemies-to-Lovers
-Sports Romance
-Grumpy/Sunshine
-Dual POV
-Forced proximity/One Bed
-Option for Closed Door Romance (Skip chapter 34)

Overall I rate this book 4.5/5 and would definitely recommend this to a friend.

Thank you to Random House/Dell and Netgalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Sarah Adams does it again!

I love Derek and Nora so so much. Their relationship felt so real and believable and the chemistry was off the charts.

Nora was a great FMC. She was unapologetically herself and her quirky one liners were a highlight for me. Also, can confirm that cereal and ice cream is the perfect nighttime snack 👌

Derek was such a well written character. He knew when to back off and give Nora the space she needed for her career but still showed how much he cared for her and was willing to do for her.

I loved the accidental marriage in Vegas and the whole second chance romance trope.

This may have just become one of my new favorite Sarah Adams books and definitely will be a comfort read from here on out!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: ❤️Romance
Recommend:⚠️

“The Rule Book” was fine! I found myself skimming a little bit at the end because I wanted to just confirm what happens at the end but I wasn’t so fully invested I needed to read every word. It was just a little formulaic and didn’t blow me away but it was cute.

Nora is a up and coming sports agent who gets assigned her first solo client and unbeknownst to anyone at her agency, the client is her ex boyfriend from college, Derek. Derek plays for the Stars, a fictional NFL team, who was recently injured. Obviously hijinks ensue.

If you really love the idea of a sports agent and NFL star falling in love, read this one! If not, I think it can be skipped.

This follows Nora and Derek. Nora is a sport’s agent and she is trying to find her first full time client. In comes Derek, who is a NFL tight end looking for a new agent. However they are ex-college sweethearts and Derek is still holding a huge grudge. They create a “rule book” on how to handle their relationship on just a professional level. I had so much fun with this book. I absolutely adored both of these characters so much. Nora and Derek were so perfect and I loved reading about them. This story actually encapsulated the right person, wrong time trope so perfectly. Nora was quirky and fun and loved reading from her POV. Derek was so adorable and his one liners had me on the floor. How their relationship developed throughout the story was so heartwarming. I also loved the tension the “fake marriage" created and this is Sarah Adam’s first book with a spicy scene !! Had a blast with this book and one I will be recommending.

This sports romance between a sports agent, Nora, and a professional football player down with a (possibly) career ending injury, Derek, was everything I wanted and more! I loved the glimpse we saw into the work life of both our characters especially because I had no idea what either of those jobs look like behind the scenes. This romance was full of all your favorite tropes: hate to love, second chance romance, fake dating, marriage of convenience, fake honeymoon. I read this one before The Cheat Sheet and getting snippets here and there about the couple from that book's relationship made me want to go back and read it to get more from them! Sarah Adam's writing is so beautiful and easily digestible, I read it so quick! I recommend this book to anyone who loves romance or just needs a quick and easy palette cleanser in between fantasies but wants something that they're still really going to love.

𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘛𝘢𝘺𝘭𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴.

Dear Sarah Adams, thank you! I have been wanting more of this friend group since devouring The Cheat Sheet and I needed this.

I went into this book without having read the blurb and I’m honestly happy about that because there were multiple surprises that I didn’t see coming and I loved that.

This book was amazing. Sarah Adam’s witty banter is always amazing, but it also worked so well for this second chance romance! I believe this is her first second chance romance and I really need her to write another one. It really was the perfect second chance, with plenty of hurt feelings, but also a lot of fixing of miscommunication, healing, and forgiveness. Derek and Nora really felt like real people finding their way back to each other.

I loved Derek. All of his aspects! Heartbroken Derek was simultaneously devastating and heartwarming, Conniving Derek was simply funny, and Lovesick Derek was sweet. The many stages he goes through made him feel so real.

I related a lot to Nora. Her feelings of never thinking she’s enough while also being “too much” and refusing to change is something I can say I completely understand. It made her feel so real, because I think characters deemed “too much” often try to change and I love that she was unapologetically herself. I also love that Derek loved her for those things, not in spite. I think she grew so much in the book, especially in learning to accept Derek’s love.

Also, I loved this as Sarah Adams’ first open-door. I feel like it made so much sense for this book and these specific characters.

During this entire book, I couldn’t stop thinking of different Taylor Swift songs that fit Derek and Nora so well, so I decided to explain their character arcs in terms of Taylor Swift songs, because why not:

Nora - 𝙈𝙞𝙙𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙍𝙖𝙞𝙣 to 𝙄 𝙒𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙒𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙒𝙚 𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙠 to 𝙃𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝘿𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙎𝙪𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙗𝙖𝙣 𝙇𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 to 𝘼𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙬 to 𝙊𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙨 to 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧

Derek - 𝙋𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙍𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 to 𝙄𝙨 𝙄𝙩 𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙉𝙤𝙬? to 𝙎𝙖𝙮 𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙂𝙤 to 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙤𝙤 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡 to 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙒𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙃𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨/𝘽𝙖𝙙 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 to 𝘾𝙧𝙪𝙚𝙡 𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧 to 𝙏𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨 back to 𝙋𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙍𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨

The Rule Book follows Nora and Derek who were college sweethearts but broke up. Nora is now a sports agent and Derek is a tight end in the NFL. Derek ends up being Nora's first client. Nora is executed to have her first client but Derek is still holding a grudge for their breakup. He wants to make her miserable but instead of giving in Nora is determined to make this work. A wild night in Vegas leads to Nora and Derek waking up married. Was this meant to be or will they break up again?

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I loved The Cheat Sheet and this was such a good follow up. ( I would suggest reading The Cheat Sheet first because there are some callbacks to that book in this one). I loved this book. I thought this was so cute. One thing Sarah Adams is going to do is write a good romance book. I loved how this book dealt with serious issues at times. I loved that Nora was a strong woman who went after her goals. I really liked the relationship between Nora and Derek. This was just so good. I can't wait to reread this one. I highly suggest this book and anything Sarah Adams writes.

Thank you so much Sarah Adams, Dell Romance, and Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

This book stole my heart! And I binged it! A delightfully swoony read, it's a sports romance packed with fun tropes like second-chance romance, enemies to lovers, fake dating/marriage, and forced proximity. Nora and Derek dated in college but broke up before he was drafted into the NFL. Years later, Nora, who has been paying her dues to become a sports agent, is assigned her first client, Derek. So, they make a list of rules for working together, but rules are made to be broken!

The characters are lovable. Nora is an adorably quirky and very determined FMC, and I loved her. She works in a male-dominated profession and has to contend with a lot. Dreamy Derek is a big ol cinnamon roll MMC who is coming to terms with a possibly career-ending injury and a diagnosis of dyslexia in adulthood. Both have things to work through on their own and interesting backstories. Together, they share witty banter and undeniable chemistry.

The secondary characters are great too. Nora and her colleague Nicole's dynamic is awesome, and Nora's mom is lovely. Then there's Derek's teammates—oh boy, they are a riot! Their hilarious dialogue, antics, and unwavering support for each other bring a warm, found-family element to the story.

I enjoyed Adams's engaging writing style, which is full of light-hearted humor. The pacing was just right, and this feel-good rom-com kept me entertained from start to finish.


Thank you to Random House Publishing, Ballentine for the free book!

I devoured this book! It’s such a different take on the football sport romance genre. It had everything we know and love: second chance, forbidden relationship, an accidental/fake marriage, and the slowest burn all with no third act breakup. Maybe I’ve been reading under a rock, but I’ve never read a book about a sports agent and her football playing client.

Sarah Adams has a great way of making her characters' emotions jump off the page. Both these characters are holding their feelings close in order to protect themselve. Their inner monologue was just so vulnerable. The FMC, Nora was smart, sassy, and a little silly. I mean, she hemmed just ONE pant leg of EVERY SINGLE PAIR OF PANTS HE OWNED. This is the kind of payback I can get behind.

It’s news to Derek to learn that his career has been handed over to the new agent at the firm. But it’s a complete shock to learn that Mac, who he’s been conversing with over email, is actually his college girlfriend(and the one who got away), Nora Mackenzie. Insert record scratch here. After a whirlwind of trying to push her away with the most menial tasks, Nora comes back every time. After cornering him into an endorsement deal in Vegas, they wake up in the morning married. Let me tell you, I didn’t see this coming. Everything comes to head when this hits the press. We continue to see the push and pull between these two until they start working together.

The Rule Book is the slowest burn that is worth the wait to see these two admit their feelings for one another. Both of these characters had such an amazing support system. Derek learns that his teammates are truly family. They cheer him on and set things in motion when he can’t get out of his own way. Nora’s mom is seriously the best. When Nora tells her that they got married, she doesn’t even bat an eye. She just asks if she needs more forks(you’ll get it when you read it). I wholeheartedly love this friend group and am excited to read The Cheat Sheet next to see more of the group. The Cheat Sheet was released first, but as a truly interconnected standalone I don’t feel as if a piece of the puzzle was missing. Sports romance IS Sarah Adam’s genre.

When Nora gets her first assignment as a sports agent, she’s horrified to learn its her college ex-boyfriend who she must win over. Past feelings and a drunken trip to Vegas ending in marriage, and these two must pretend it wasn’t a mistake in front of the media. Every single trope I love was present in this book. I grinned the entire time and words cannot express how much I loved these two characters. Sarah Adams is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me. She never misses!

Thank you to Dell and NetGalley for the eARC! The Rule Book is such an endearing & entertaining romance! Nora is a quirky sports agent who finds out her first client will be her ex-bf, Derek, a pro-football players for the LA Sharks (friends and teammates with Nathan from The Cheat Sheet).

Hilarity and hijinks ensue when small competitions between the two occur, and then a night in Vegas changes everything. I absolutely adored Nora as a character, initially both characters came on a little strong and I wasn’t really connecting with or liking them, but through their individual emotional journeys and their growth as a couple I adored them. The found family aspect in this book is amazing, and I’d love to read more about all of these characters. The tropes were abundant and it was great: one bed, rivals to lovers, second chance, it was a lot, but the characters had a history together and then entered new territory so it made sense story-wise.

I definitely have to go back and read The Cheat Sheet now, but you don’t have to read it prior to The Rule Book. This can be read as a standalone, but you’ll fall so in love with the friend group that you’ll need more. 😂

I highly recommend this, one of my favorite romances so far this year!

First & foremost I want to say a big thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing, & Author Sarah Adam's for choosing me to be one of the first people to read this book.
Blurb: Derek & Nora were college sweethearts, always together at the hip, and were truly best friends. However after their breakup they don’t speak to each other for the next 3 years, until they realize that Nora is Derek’s new agent for his football career. Her life & his career are at stake in this wonderful book. They make a “rule book” to stick by while they are in this new professional relationship. However, some rules get crossed & some emotions get flustered.

Now what can I say about this book. It had me in an absolute chokehold the entire time. Something about Sarah Adam's writing really captivates me & has me enjoying it so much. I have so many good things to say about this.I truly loved this book so much that I finished it in one day. I can’t wait for it to be out in the public.
The banter between Derek & Nora was top notch 10/10 banter. I truly felt like I couldn't get enough of their relationship & this story. I was laughing, crying, smiling, & anxious the entire time reading it.
I highly recommend this book and can't wait for it to be out in the world so other people can read it & enjoy it like I did!!!
Thank you the publishing team again!!
5/5 stars HIGHLY RECOMMEND !!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Dell for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you're a fan of second chance romances, fake dating/accidental marriage, and forced proximity, then you absolutely must read this swoon-worthy sports romance about Nora Mackenzie, a sports agent, and her new client/former college sweetheart, Derek Pender. This was my first Sarah Adams book, and I cannot wait to read her other novels! I truly loved everything about this book. Derek and Nora were an incredible couple, and their connection felt so genuine. I'm a firm believer that timing is everything, and these two felt like soulmates. I loved Nora's goofy, girlboss personality, and sweet, protective Derek is the ultimate book boyfriend. Although I typically prefer closed-door romances, I thought the one open-door scene was fairly mild. This was such a lighthearted and fun book, and I could not stop smiling while reading it. "The Rule Book" is a companion story to Adams's "The Cheat Sheet," but it works well as a standalone, although there are a few spoilers. I hope there are more companion stories, because I would love to see Derek and Nora again!

Nora Mackenzie, or Mac as she's known at work, has her first big shot at being a sports agent. The problem is, her new client is her ex from college. Derek is a tight end for the Sharks, and he's hoping to return to the new season better than ever from an ankle injury. He can't believe his continuing bad luck when his new agent happens to be the one that got away and hurt him big-time when she left. Derek is acting like the worst client ever in the hopes that Nora will quit and to get a little pay back for stomping on his heart. Unfortunately, the two end up married after a drunken night in Vegas and have to keep up the marriage charade to save Nora's job.

This was such a fun take on fake-married, and I had a great time reading The Rule Book. Derek is sweet once he drops the act, and Nora is bubbly and fun. The rest of the Sharks are unhinged, but in a fun way. I thought it a little odd that Nora's scar was mentioned a couple of times, but it was never really explained.

I hadn't read the Cheat Sheet, so this can definitely be read as a stand-alone.

3.5 Stars

Tropes: Football Romance, Marriage of Convenience, Second Chance, Grumpy x Sunshine, Found Family, Sports Agent x Client

This book was... okay. It wasn't my jam but I can see why someone else would like it.
The characters had a lot of potential and if cutesy was what you were looking for, they were a perfect fit! It was very lighthearted and funny at times. I just didn't come out of reading this with the excitement I was expecting.
There was just an immaturity to the characters and the plot overall that I couldn't get over. I was really struggling to read this - especially towards the beginning when there wasn't any depth to the MCs yet. It did get better! but it was still very surface-level throughout and it was frustrating. There were also just a lot of key plot points that I felt were thrown in last minute.
The concept was great and I was excited to read but ultimately just found myself disappointed.