The Rule Book - Sarah Adams
(out April 2 — i better see all of you buy it)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 5

- agent x football player
- one bed
- oops i guess we’re married and our entire lives depend on us staying married
- absolutely HILARIOUS
- second chance (but they never got over each other)
- “my wife”
- pining / sprinkles of jealousy / TENSION
- best friend group ever

Getting this book in my email with the headline “you’ve been approved for an arc” made me scream and jump around my house (like a sane person of course)

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 and it DELIVERED.

This BOOK you guys. I laughed out loud so much people probably thought i was borderline manic. And the way Nora was written had me wondering if Sarah has a camera in my mind. Her out-of-pocket thoughts mirrored my own so much.

This book read fast and light but like a work of art. There was never a moment where i was bored. Every chapter was filled with playful revenge, bickering, and tension. I was a little scared towards the end because they “got together” 70% in but the author wrote it in a way where they did but they didn’t. And honestly, getting them together so they could work out those problems together was genius.

Also the hemmed pant leg bit MADE the whole book. I could simply not stop laughing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for my copy (every thought is my own btw). And of course, thank you to the Queen herself, Sarah Adams for writing every book she’s ever written.

I had the best time reading this! As always, Sarah nailed laugh out loud humor and undeniable chemistry. There is a decent amount of page time spent furthering the relationships between the guys on the football team and, just like with The Cheat Sheet, I couldn't keep myself from smiling and laughing whenever the Sharks were together.

I went into this feeling a little nervous about what the dynamic between Nora and Derek was going to be. While there were a few rough spots, it ended up all working out and definitely helped with building a level of tension that almost took me out a few times because it was so well done.

My only complaint is that the set up had me thinking that there was going to be a little more depth to the story than there ended up being and I was left feeling a little bummed about that. There was a lot of opportunity to dive a little deeper into some of their individual personal issues but most of them were kind of glossed over and everything remained pretty shallow.

Overall, I can definitely see myself reading it again someday and I think it is a perfect addition to Sarah's library of feel-good, cozy, sweet books!

Rating: Liked it
Genre: Romance
Romantic Content: One open door scene

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was one of my most anticipated reads this year and it did not disappoint.

Like every good Sarah Adams book, I was absolutely hooked. This story is even better than the Cheat Sheet. Second-chance, sports romance, women in the workplace, found family, one bed?? Amazing. The vacation vibes in this book were great too. This is not closed door, so keep that in mind if you typically read Sarah Adams for that,

The follow-up to The Cheat Sheet was a long time coming, and I think it was definitely worth the wait! While this book can standalone, the experience will be that much more enjoyable if you have read the precursor as The Rule Book takes us deeper into the Sharks’ world and gives glimpses into the post-HEA for Nathan and Bree.

The Rule Book tells the story of former college flames Nora and Derek. She’s the spunky agent who is just going out on her own at a boys’ club agency, and he’s the star football player who may be facing a career-ending injury who is the first client on her roster. I don’t know a thing about football, but I thoroughly enjoyed this story! The characters are endearing, the plot is wonderfully-paced, and it’s just an all-around feel-good kind of book. It’s a touch more spice than you may expect from Sarah Adams, but I’d call it a pinch of paprika rather than a spoonful of cayenne. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for gifting me with an ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

There is something quintessentially unique about a Sarah Adams book 💕

She toes the line between goofy, funny, and sweet. And this time with a little extra spice🌶️

Derek is an injured football player who needs a new sports agent. Nora is an up and coming agent who needs her first athlete client. Wires cross, and they’re matched but no one knows they used to date in college and spoiler alert, aren’t over each other. Chaos ensues and it’s 🤌🏻

Not to mention, this is set in Cheat Sheet world and we get to see our faves Nathan and Bree Cheese 🧀

Sarah Adams could write IKEA furniture assembly instructions and I’d read it. She never misses. Her voice is so beautifully evident and lovely🫶🏻

Read if you like:
🏈Sports romance
💍Marriage of convenience
✌🏻2nd chance romance
🛏️One bed
💁🏼‍♀️Girl bosses
🗃️The home edit
🙊Word vomit
🤝Bromances
🥇Competitions

Sarah Adams scores the proverbial touchdown with this book. As a follow-up to The Cheat Sheet, we are thrown back into the world of the L.A. Sharks. Oh, how I have missed these guys! The Rule Book is full of love, longing and the rekindling of something that should have never been over. The love between the two main characters will make you smile so wide that your cheeks will be hurting. Their banter is hilarious and will have you rolling on the floor laughing. I loved this book so much!

-Second-Chance Romance (my absolute favorite!)
-Sports Romance
-Fake Marriage turned Real Marriage
-Grumpy/Sunshine
-Dual POV
-Forced Proximity (one bed)

Nora is an up and coming sports agent trying to find her place in an agency mostly full of men who think she has no promise (and one woman who is definitely an ice princess but the only thing she has close to a friend). A real break comes for Nora when she gets the chance to be an agent to none other than the biggest NFL tight end, Derek Pender.
The only problem with this arrangement is.. Nora doesn't know how Derek is going to react. The reason behind this...? They were once in love in college and Nora dumped him and left him extremely broken hearted.

When Derek learns that Nora will be his new agent, Derek is dishing out some "friendly" yet cruel revenge for the messy college break-up that left him a broken mess. But Nora does not let Derek's revenge get to her. She keeps on representing him and being there for him, even when he's being nasty to her. Then one night in Vegas, they accidentally tie the knot. Rather than diminishing the marriage and pretending it never happened, they agree to stay married to help both of their images to the pubic eye.

This story had me laughing and crying. Sarah's characters are always so witty and fun. I love the other guys from the team and the fact that they're all in the book. Even some characters from The Cheat Sheet show up and it's the best friendship circle EVER.
I loved this one and can't wait to have a copy of my own when it hits the shelves on April 2, 2024.

As I journeyed through the pages of this captivating romance novel, I found myself immersed in a compelling story of love, redemption, and second chances. I became invested in the intricate journey of two individuals as they navigated the challenges of rekindling their relationship after years apart.

Throughout the narrative, I experienced the exploration of themes like forgiveness and growth, which were masterfully presented, highlighting the importance of overcoming past misunderstandings and fears to embrace a new beginning together. Through their experiences, the characters underwent profound transformations, reminding me of the resilience of the human spirit.

What truly set this novel apart was its authentic portrayal of the characters. With depth and vulnerability, they confronted their inner demons and the uncertainties of the future, making their journey both relatable and compelling.

Humor and levity were seamlessly integrated into the storyline, offering moments of lightness amidst the emotional intensity of the narrative. The witty banter and amusing situations added depth to the characters and kept me engaged from start to finish.

As the protagonists embarked on their honeymoon and confronted the challenges ahead, they were forced to confront their own insecurities and make difficult decisions about their relationship. This exploration of self-discovery and personal growth added layers of depth to the story, making it a truly enriching read.

This romance novel offered me a heartfelt exploration of love and redemption. With its compelling storyline, well-developed characters, and profound themes, it is sure to captivate readers looking for a romance that is both tender and authentic.

Everything Sarah Adams writes has my heart. From When in Rome to Practice Makes Perfect, I have read almost every single book she has written. She always manages to make me feel things and fall in love with each of her stories. I’m a sucker for second chance romance stories, I can’t help it. So when I started reading I was deeply engaged. Because, of course I wanted to know what happened that this gorgeous NFL player is so heartbroken and still hung up on his ex. I have to admit that I dislike whatever type of revenge, but Adams always manages to keep everything in a respectful manner (idk how else to explain this😂😭) At times I identified so much to Nora, because just like her I have sacrificed things for my future. So, with all that being said I hope you decide to give this book a chance and read it. I promise you will fall in love with this story as hard as I did. And yes, I cried.

This book happens in the same universe of The Cheat Sheet book. I have not read it but I have to say that I was able to understand The Rule Book without problems. Now I have to read the first one tho🥹💖

Oh! And before I forget about it… Mrs Adams book tend to be closed doors but let me tell youuuuu something! This book was not closed doors and oh my God! It did make me sweat 🥵

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spicyness: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Pub. Date: April 2, 2024

Shut up this was so stinking cute. Are you kidding me? Derek was a precious teddy bear that deserves the world. Both of their growth and relationship was done so well. Everything after Vegas I am obsessed with. This was so fun. Anything Sarah write I can confidently say is an automatic read for me now.





Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

9/10
Romance

This is an ARC. It comes out April 2.

First of all I love the author @authorsarahadams I would read ANY THING she writes. When I got back into reading one of the first romances I read was The Cheat Sheet and from that point on romances became one of my go to genres.

This book takes place in the same universe as The Cheat Sheet. The main characters from Cheat Sheet make several appearances in this book. This book is full of romance tropes. We have second chance romance, fake dating, and the one bed trope. Derek and Nora dated in college and it ended poorly. Nora is a sports agent and Derek is in the NFL. Nora’s company just so happens to pass Derek along to her. They have to navigate their feelings through the various roles. Are they friends? Enemies? Agent and client? More than that? It also explores learning disabilities and how difficult it is for a woman in a workplace saturated with men. This book has all the feels. I would absolutely recommend

Simply in love, Sarah is one of my favorite Romcom authors, her books always make me happy.🩷

I confess that I have not yet read The Cheat Sheet, (sorry haha, it’s the first in this friends duology) and even so I understood this book very well, of course there are cameos from all of Nathan and Derek's friends, Nathan and Bree too, this book actually gave me the motivation I needed to read TCS which has been there on my tbr since the book came out haha 🙈🤍

Now this book, omg, I love it,🤍Nora and Derek are so beautiful, their dynamic was very fun😆, I really liked how their story developed, how she had the courage to do what she did and follow her dreams, also how they talked about their insecurities and problems, and how they can solve it, I loved reading the mutual support they had despite the difficulties, I liked the development of their relationship and also individually.🥹🤍
Derek WHAT A MAN!! But Nora is also a QUEEN, they both complement each other.🤍
I laughed and cried (with happiness) with these two haha ​​and reading Derek's Pov and Nora's Pov was even more perfect.🤍

Sarah's writing is perfect, I love how she writes, it makes you simply hooked on reading that you can't stop reading, please Sarah, never stop writing like this.🤍
Anyway, it's one of my favorite books, I wish Sarah released 5 books a year haha.🤧

- Fake Honeymoon In Cancun
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Second Chance
- “That’s my wife”
- Only one bed
- Accidentally married in vegas
- Sport Agent / NFL Player
- Dual Pov

Thanks Netgalley for the arc✨

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Another solid read from the Great Sarah Adams. She's definitely an auto buy for me at this point and I'm planning on working through her backlist too.

I really liked Nora. She was quirky but also had a spine of steel. Hearing about how she always organizes EVERYTHING by color was really fun to imagine. I don't think I could ever be that organized but it's fun to imagine it!

I initially had some issues with Derek. He is obviously a good man and good MMC, but at the beginning, he is still so bent about their breakup 8 YEARS AGO, that he is purposefully sandbagging her position as his agent and just being a general dickbag. It just seemed so out of character for what we knew he could be. Everyone was telling him he was being a dick and was just unconcerned until boom, he was.

I was also hoping for a little more interactions with them as agent/player, but a lot of that was glossed over.

But overall, I love Sarah's books and this one was no exception. Would recommend for any romance readers 💚🩵💛

When two college exes reunite later and enter into an arrangement of sports agent and player, old feelings will come up and things take a turn, especially since they accidentally both get drunk and get married in Vegas... and now have to fake a marriage to the public. Nora Mackenzie has always chased after her career. she so badly wants to make it as a sport's agent, the only time she strayed from her goal was in college when she was dating her athlete boyfriend... the very same boyfriend she dumped and now he's a famous NFL tight end and the very same star she is suppose to snag as a client as an official full-time sports agent... if only she can convince him to let her be his agent. Nora brutally dumped Derek out of nowhere in college and she knows he's going to hold a grudge. Derek is still reeling from letting the one woman he's ever loved get away, Nora, his girlfriend who dumped him out of the blue when he was ready to marry her. He never found out why she did and it still haunts him... yet to his great surprise she shows up asking to be his agent and he wants revenge. Derek agrees to let Nora be his agent and he pulls childish pranks on her and forces her to do petty chores for him, yet when they finally are forced to spend time together they finally face the big breakup from the past and realize that they might have both been wrong about each other. Things only take a turn when a wild night in Vega leads to Nora and Derek getting married and it being made public... and with her job on the line they both decide to pretend that the marriage was a deliberate choice. They agree to follow a rulebook... yet when old feelings arise they might just throw out the rules completely for a second chance at love. This one was unfortunately a big miss for me, for two adults who are suppose to b in their 30's they acted like teenagers and I found myself annoyed with both of them. Everything could have worked out if they just had one single conversation with each other rather than act like children and honestly I was so over their dynamic together. I didn't care about them getting back together and I did not feel the chemistry at all. This one really was a miss and i had loved some of the author's other previous books but this one just didn't work for me. I will definitely still be reading the author's upcoming books though because I have loved some of their previous books, however I just didn't have a fun time with this particular one. If you enjoy childish exes and second chance romances with huge lack of communication trope, this is for you.

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine,

The Rule Book by Sarah Adams follows Nora and Derek, two former college sweethearts who are forced to come together again when Nora becomes Derek’s agent.

I have read a few other books by this author and really enjoyed them so I was highly anticipating this book. I’m sad to say that this wasn’t a hit for me. It wasn’t bad, it just felt very middle of the road. I think a lot of it is that it takes so long to really get going and by the time the romance really kicked off, I was over the story.

Nora was also kind of an annoying character to follow. She felt too unserious about her job that it was hard to actually believe her character. I also didn’t like the way Derek tried to mess with her at the beginning. It wasn’t endearing to me at all.

I do think the last half of this book really picks up and was very enjoyable. I think anyone who likes cheesy romcoms could love this book.

It just took awhile to get going and it was a little too over the top for my personal preference. I had a hard time actually believing that these were adult characters and not teens. I would still recommend this book to the right audience and I think a lot of people will love this one!

I am a sucker for an FMC bossing in a man’s world, and Nora is a queen! Admittedly, fake dating, marriage is my favorite trope and Sarah Adams is one of my fav authors, so I was excited to read this one.
Nora and Derek are college sweethearts who break up before graduation, and there may still be some hard feelings lingering.
He’s made it to the NFL and she’s made it as a sports agent and when their paths cross in present day, it’s filled with a little angst, a few pranks and a lot of unresolved feelings.
This was such a fun, quick read that was entertaining the entire way through. The banter was fantastic. I loved how the football guys teased him. I also love how the characters had some real life disabilities and flaws that actually added to the story and made them feel more relatable.
Overall, loved the book!

I've been waiting for this sequel to The Cheat Sheet for so long!! And it was adorable. It gave the classic Sarah Adams warm fuzzies and was everything I wanted. The football friends in this series remind me of the Bromance Book Club guys, I adore them all. I loved that Nora and Derek really worked through all of their issues from their past relationship. Second-chance romances often don't hook me, especially the couple doesn't seem to resolve the reason they broke up in the first place. This was not the case with Nora and Derek!

I will say I was disappointed that we didn't see more of Nora and Bri together. They did feel like they would have been great friends. I can't wait to see which Shark gets the next book, and I'm hoping these characters reappear some more.

This book is so cute! I have loved Sarah Adams since I read Practice Makes. Perfect, so I was very excited to read The Rule Book. This book has so much chemistry and tension between the main characters. Derek and Nora were college sweethearts, but when life took them their separate ways, they never thought they would see each other again. In a second chance romance, the two are brought back together when Nora gets assigned Derek as a client. Now they must see if they can get over their past to work together. I just found this book so cute. I loved both of the main characters and their relationship was easy to root for. They are both so quirky and lovable. I have not read The Cheat Sheet yet (but now on my tbr list!), but if they male bro bond is anything like this book I know I will love it! Highly recommend this rom-com book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine Books for granting me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This is a great stand alone sequel to The Cheat Sheet that you won't want to miss. This book has exes to lovers, women empowerment, football, and romance! A must read for fans of Sarah Adams!

4.25⭐️
**Spoiler Free Review of The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams**
This is my first book by Sarah Adams, and it was a delight. This is the perfect blend between sweet, funny, and endearing. The two main characters, Nora and Derek absolutely stole my heart. Nora is unashamedly herself in an environment that tells her she should be anything BUT herself. Derek is a sweetheart who tries to hide it, but can’t help but let his big heart slip through the cracks of his hard exterior.
While this book made me laugh out loud (the funniest one liners and the banter was excellent), it also made my heart swell. There are so many sweet moments that can make anyone believe in true love. I liked the pacing of the story as well as the writing.
This story is adjacent to Sarah Adams’ “The Cheat Sheet,” which I didn’t know until halfway through. I haven’t read this book and I didn’t feel like I missed out on too much while reading The Rule Book, however, I’m sure I would’ve picked up on a few more things if I had read this one second.
That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet romance that was light on spice and heavy on the connection between the two characters.
Tropes:
⭐️grumpy x sunshine
⭐️second chance romance
⭐️one bed
⭐️fake dating / marriage of connivence

Thanks to Net Galley and Random House for this ARC!

For my sport romance girlies out there, this book is for you !!

Tropes | Second Chance & Fake Marriage (of convenience)

The pace is great and the characters are unique and endearing.