I absolutely loved this book!! While Derek is everything we could want in a cinnamon roll MMC, Nora absolutely stole this show. Her quirkiness and hilarious internal monologue kept me page turning like I had nothing else to do in my life. This book is written so well with so many moments that had me laughing out loud. With all that though, it had so many emotional moments and the vulnerability of these characters shown through and made them that much more endearing to me. It’s such a great story and the ending could not have been more perfect!! Now I just have to go back and catch up with the other guys and their stories!!

The Rule Book, a novel by Sarah Adams, available April 2, 2024!

The sequel to The Cheat Sheet follows LA Sharks tight-end Derek Pender and his (new) agent Nora Mackenzie, who happens to be his college ex-girlfriend and the one who got away. These two were hot for each other starting on the first page, and I enjoyed this second-chance romance so much it is easily one of my favorites!

The character arcs for these two made me love them even more. Derek, who struggles with a career comeback after a devastating injury, needs to accept that he may not be able to play football anymore. This is particularly tough because his worth has been determined by his career since he struggled with an undiagnosed learning disability his whole life. Nora works in a field riddled with misogyny and an inner monologue that she is “too much” with her quirky need to organize and color-code everything. Despite all that, these two love each other inside and out and are a testament to the “if you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it was meant to be” (although that’s not the phrase…iykyk).

This book was so sweet, and I loved the found football family and their hijinks, as well as updates from Nathan and Bree from The Cheat Sheet. Nora’s work “friend” Nicole was hilarious, and there were several twists I didn’t see coming! (Full disclosure: I did not read the blurb prior to reading the book!). I’ve only read a handful of Sarah’s books, but I think this is the first time she’s included a spicy scene, and it was awesome (but can be skipped; see the trigger warning at the book’s beginning).

Thank you so much to Dell (Penguin Random House) and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced (e-)reader copy and a chance to rate and review this book!

4 ⭐️ 1 🌶

I enjoyed Sarah Adams “Cheat Sheet”’so much that I was thrilled to review this ARC of “The Rule Book” for NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine|Dell.

In The Cheat Sheet, Adams created some memorable character and secondary characters. They were funny, endearing and so likable. Her latest effort is the story of one of those secondary character, and it did not disappoint.

I really enjoyed the story of Derek and learning about why his character’s personality and quirks were the way they were. Learning about Nora and her backstory as well her and Derek’s college romance really filled her in well as a character.

The tension between the two is held well and although I knew they would get together in the end, I still was thinking will they or won’t they?

I hope Sarah Adams continues the stories of this group of football players because they are entertaining and so funny.

Definitely pick up a copy.

3.75 ⭐️ i was so happy to receive this advanced copy of the rule book and it was so good! highly recommend to any sarah adams fans or those who love second chance or forced proximity. this also has a trope i haven’t read before but thought was really fun and definitely had me giggling. there are also some cute cheat sheet crossovers so really recommend to those who loved the cheat sheet! i’m so excited for everyone to read this book when it comes out april 2nd :)

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC 💚

The Cheat Sheet was one of my favorite reads so I was super excited to receive this one!!

✨Grumpy x sunshine
✨One bed
✨Marriage of convenience
✨Forced proximity
✨Dyslexia Rep
✨Second chance romance

Nora is a new sports agent and is trying to be the best she can be. The problem? Her new client is her college ex boyfriend, Derek Pender. At first Derek wasn’t going to have the woman who crushed his heart work with him… then he sets a rule book that they must follow in order to make it work.

After a drunken night in Vegas … will they be able to stick to the rules???

4.5 stars

This was a super cute read. It's a companion novel for The Cheat Sheet. Can be read as a standalone, but would spoil some plot lines from The Cheat Sheet.

Nora and Derek were college sweethearts. They were together for a long time then one day Nora breaks up with Derek. Years later Nora is working as a sports agent. Because of her coworker's praise for her work Nora gets assigned to her first athlete, which is her ex, Derek. Their first meeting is chaotic and so Nora tries to convince Derek to hire her as his agent. They come up with a rule book that both parties need to abide by.

Nora was eccentric with very bright personality. She was always in problem solver mode. Derek was so resilient especially after being diagnosed as an adult with dyslexia. I loved how he was a hard worker and dedicated player to the Sharks. I loved the chemistry between Nora and Derek. Even after all this time apart the emotional connection was still there.

I also loved how Derek's friends made a reappearance in this book. They were hilarious. Loved their friendship the most and I adored how they welcomed Nora with open arms. This book was amazing! Highly recommend!

i was having SO MUCH FUN reading this book!! my cheeks hurts so much because i can't stop smilling so wide! following derek and nora journey is worth every minute i spend reading this book!

this is a second-chance ex to lovers romance and i love the way they understands each other, always communicate and be honest to each other. even though the book timeline is in the present not on their past, i still can feel the growth and character development of both characters, they are more mature and wiser, that makes me so damn proud of them and keep cheering them on to be back together!

this book is so cute, wholesome, adorable and sweet, both characters are so loveable. the way they express their loves are amazing, i love how both of them learn from their past, put on so equal effort and even did some gestures for each other to make their relationship work again<33

Oh my actual goodness this book is my favorite Sarah Adams yet!! This book is full of so many tropes (enemies to lovers, second chance romance, one bed, accidental marriage, sports romance) and it was all so wonderfully done. Nora was such a fun FMC and I loved that both her and Derek had so much depth as characters but that the book was still so fun to read. I loved seeing the characters from The Cheat Sheet back again. Would definitely recommend, thank you so much Netgalley for the ARC :)

✨Book Review✨

The Rule Book - Sarah Adams

I am so thrilled and thankful to receive this Advanced Reader Copy from @netgalley and Random House Publishing Company!

📖 The Rule Book takes us back to LA and the NFL Sharks. Our main male character is Derek, a tight end who is getting a new agent. Enter Nora: smart, competitive and Derek’s ex-girlfriend from college. When Derek sets out to make her life miserable so she’ll quit, Nora doubles down and takes on the challenge. Will these two be able to work together or will one of them cave and throw in the towel?

📚 This book had me giggling and feeling connected to both characters throughout the story. I loved how both Nora and Derek shared the narrative so that we could see scenes from both of their perspectives. I’ve read The Cheat Sheet and I really enjoyed seeing some character crossover that I already knew! This book was light and fun, the perfect combination of predictability and surprises that kept me engaged.

🌟 If you like Romantic Comedy then you have got to pick this one up! It publishes on April 2nd and you won’t want to miss it! Sarah brilliantly includes a a note to skip a specific chapter if you’re looking to keep the bedroom door firmly closed, which makes this book for any spice comfort levels. Happy reading!

#BookReview #TheRuleBook #NetGalley #LASharks #NoraAndDerek #BookRecommendation #Bookstagram #BookReviewers #GoodReads

This book was so fun! I love the fake dating/marriage trope so I was sucked in almost immediately. I also really enjoy sports romances, so this was also right up my alley. I read this whole thing in two days, and couldn't put it down. I loved how quirky Nora was, and how she was wholeheartedly herself. Derek was also the best. He let Nora make all of her own decisions and supported her in every way he could. Also, the bedside table part was MY FAVORITE. I loved that we finally found out what was in it. Love love love!

I love Sarah Adams! Her books are always adorable!! I loved how the pieces of the story came together. Super relatable and in depth characters. As I read the story, I wanted more and more. I was captivated! A fantastic read!

Thank you to Dell Books/Penguin Random House for the early review copy!

You can always count on Sarah Adams to write a book that has all the warm fuzzies. It's one of my favorite things about reading her stuff - you can count on a capable FMC and her swoony MMC counterpart. This book was - as expected - adorable.

Nora Mackenzie - Mack to her colleagues - needs one good client to help her boost her burgeoning career as a sports agent. When she's paired up with one of the biggest atheletes of all - tight end for the LA Sharks, Derek Pender, it's the break she desperately needs but with one little hitch. Not only is Derek one of the biggest football stars in the league - he's her former college boyfriend. Hoping he'll have moved past their college breakup, Nora puts her best foot forward as his new agent. Unfortunately for Nora, not only is Derek not quite ready to forgive and forget - she's the last person he thought he'd ever have to work with - he makes her life as his new agent misery.

When one drunken evening results in a quickie Vegas wedding, Derek and Nora find themselves in the middle of a PR nightmare with only one solution - play along as a married couple and go on a honeymoon to save face. With the both of them in uncharted territory, there's only one thing to do; throw their rule book out the window and listen to their hearts.

Recurring characters from Sarah Adams The Cheat Sheet pop up throughout this fun novel that's a perfect diversion for an afternoon. I had so much fun following Nora, Derek and the Sharks as they found their way forward on and off the field. I loved Nora's grit and drive to succeed in a predominantly male dominated field as a sports agent and thought the story arc was paced just right.
This one is perfect for all those who love the Travis/Taylor storyline and live for the kind of happily ever after that only Adams can provide.

What a fun read! I loved this book because I really felt all the emotions that Derek and Nora felt. I can read anything by this author and know it's going to be great!

Nora is a brand new sports agent and her college boyfriend has been appointed to her as her first client. She’s determined no keep that little fact quiet and convince Derek to let her represent him. He’s not sold on the idea.

I absolutely adore this couple and the FMC is hilariously quirky. I love how the MMC finds her oddities endearing when other exes have taken issue with it.

4.5🌟

This was one of my most anticipated reads for this year and good god it did not disappoint. I devoured this in just over a day! I was so absorbed in Nora and Derek’s story.

Derek Pender is an amazing cinnamon roll of a human. Nora Mackenzie is my new best friend, literally. I need her in my life yesterday. They dated in college, both felt very strongly about one another. However, Nora was very invested in growing her career and focusing on herself and she saw Derek as a distraction to her success. Even though she still loved him, she broke up with him and they parted ways.

Now, 8 years later, Nora is working as an NFL agent and is assigned to a new client.. Derek Pender. Derek is worried about his future as the LA Sharks’ tight end. He is getting back into the lineup after being injured. Nora wants to do anything she can to better Derek’s career. But when Derek sees his new agent, his heartbreak comes right back at him like it never left. At first, he refuses to allow Nora to be his agent, but eventually they come to an agreement and develop a “rule book” that they have to follow. (So freaking funny and OBVIOUSLY some rules are bound to be broken).

One brand deal that Nora gets him to accept lands them in Vegas for a photo shoot. After a night out in the city that never sleeps, they wake up together in the same bed… married.

Derek and Nora have to come to their senses and be honest with themselves and each other. Do they both still have feelings for each other? Or is it just fake?

How does she do it?!?!

Sarah Adams is my girl and never does me wrong! This book had me hooked and in love with the characters.

Nora is a sports agent and gets assigned her first client, who just so happens to be the one who got away. Derek is a star NFL returning to the game after a debilitating injury. This book is full of so much emotion and pining!

Read if you love:
🤍second chance romance
🤍witty banter
🤍it’s always been you
🤍football romance
🤍strong FMC
🤍swoon worthy men

I absolutely adored "The Rule Book" by Sarah Adams. It has so many of my favorite tropes - marriage of convienence, one bed, forced proximity, dual POV, grumpy v. sunshine, all wrapped up in a second-chance, slow-burn romance. Nora Mackenzie has spent years - and sacrificed relationships - fighting to carve out a career as a sports agent, and is finally on the road to success. But then she is assigned Derek Pender - one of the relationships she sacrificed - as her first solo client. Nora never really got over Derek, and comes to learn that Derek never really got over her.

Nora is one of my favorite FMC of recent books. She is (usually) unapologetically herself, refusing to sacrifice what makes her her in order to get ahead in a man's world. I love her whimsical and yet somehow simultaneously snarky sayings. Her interactions with Nicole are amazing, her interactions with Derek even more so. Derek is somehow sweet and strong - he is not the nicest to Nora in the first days of their reconnection, but it is clear that much of the reason he is doing what he does is because he wants to spend time with Nora. And I LOVE his relationship with his teammates/friends/found family.

Once the story shifts to their "honeymoon" in Mexico, it just gets that much better. Nora and Derek are honest with each other fairly early on, even if there is still some miscommunication between them. I really enjoy when a story can suck you in without a ton of drama and angst. There is some angst here, but nothing over the top. And I love that both Nora and Derek acknowledge that their past was both understandable and ultimately, helped make them both.

A winner of a book. I normally like my romances more on the spicy side, but this one was lovely without it. 5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for a complimentary ARC of this book. These opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Rule Book by Sarah Adams.

I have enjoyed several of Sarah Adams' books. I am not the biggest fan of her sports romances. I think because of the "guy humor". With that being said it was still a good book.

There an ex-boyfriend to lover scenario. Second chances with the love of your life. Endearing love. Patience of a saint!

Nora Mackenzie who goes by Mac is an aspiring sports agent. Her ex-boyfriend Derek Pender is a football player in need of a new agent. In order to work together Derek makes a whole list of rules they must follow in order to work together. Most of those rules go out the window after a wild night in Las Vegas and they get married. The love they have for each other will make your chest ache. It is a "will they, won't they", how far will they go when they don't want the possibility of a broken heart.

This book is SO CUTE! I absolutely love a sweet second chance romance, and this book gave us that with a lot of sass and humor mixed in. Although Nora's inability to be serious in serious situations was frustrating to me at times, I related to her so much in her struggles with inequality in the workplace and the way women are held to a different standard than men are. I loved the dual POV and getting to see the relationship from both perspectives. There was so much miscommunication that made you just want to sit Nora and Derek down and force them to talk it out! This is a wonderful romance read with themes of second chance, forced proximity, grumpy x sunshine, sports, feminism, workplace inequality, overcoming struggles, invisible disability, and marriage of convenience.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first Sarah Adams book and I was not disappointed! I will definitely be going back to read her other books now. I switched between the ebook and audiobook while reading - thank you to Dell, NetGalley, and PRH Audio for providing me with copies of each. This review is voluntary and all opinions expressed are my own.

The audiobook felt like I was listening to a romcom movie in my head. The banter, the humor, and the tension were all perfect! The narrators did an excellent job for this dual POV book. Nora is quirky and goofy, but also sharp and fearless. She isn’t afraid to stand up to men as a woman in the sports agent world. Derek is a huge cinnamon roll who tries to be mean to Nora but fails miserably. I love them together!

Read this book if you enjoy: second chance romance, college sweethearts, family family, fake dating (accidental marriage), and one open door spice scene with no explicit descriptions.