The Rule Book by Sarah Adams
My rating:
3.75/5 (rounded up to 4!)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nora and Derek were in love in college and broke up due to their career paths. Neither of them expected to ever cross paths again. When Derek is Nora’s first client in her job of full time sports agent, Derek agrees to work with her but with a very specific set of rules.

This was the follow up novel to The Cheat Sheet. I absolutely loved the Cheat Sheet and ended up giving that one a 5 star rating! This was a super cute and witty continuation of the series!

I love Sarah Adam’s writing style and her character development is always top notch! She is so great at addressing big issues in a light hearted way.

I think I was not quite as connected to this story as much as the first because of the tropes in this one. I found it heavily sport focused, maybe more than the first one? That is obviously to be expected, but it felt more focused on sports than the actual romance at times? Sports are not my favorite thing, so I found myself a little bored wanting more romance. I can’t fault the author for the subject matter, that is just my personal opinion!

Overall I definitely would give this a read because you get to continue the story of the original characters in the Cheat Sheet. I really enjoyed the banter between Nora and Derek and this was the author’s first opened door book that featured more spice than usual, but it was definitely a slow burn!

If you are searching for a cute slow burn romance with some laughs and old flames, definitely add this to your TBR!

Thank you netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC! This is published on April 2, 2024!

Sarah Adams never fails to write a story that is funny and soft and sweet and heart wrenching all at the same time, and The Rule Book is no exception. Nora and Derek’s story is the kind of second chance romance I love to read. Throw in fake marriage and football romance and there was really no chance I wasn’t going to love this book. It was fun to see Bree and Nathan from The Cheat Sheet make appearances, as well as the rest of the guys in the friend group. I really can’t emphasize enough how much I enjoyed this book. Highly recommend!!

The Rule Book was everything I wanted it to be and more. Sarah never fails to suck me into a story and the characters. It was so easy to connect with Nora and Derek. Their banter and chemistry were everything. I couldn't put the book down. The pace of the story line was written so well and I was engage the entire time.

I loved Nora's character. She was funny, sassy, strong and unapologetically herself. Derek. I was swooning over Derek through the whole book. He loved Nora so fiercely even when they weren't together. He's a grumpy golden retriever who is so so hot and caring.

One of my favorite things about Sarah Adams books is the side characters and this book was no different. They create a wholesome vibe for the book and another level of depth and emotion to the story.

If you enjoy fake marriage, second chance, sports romance books, I highly recommend this book!

Not my favorite Sarah Adams. The tension felt unnecessarily drawn out, especially since they both obviously loved each other. Not a bad read though.

Sarah Adams does it again! I loved diving back into the world of the Cheat Sheet and with some awesome guest appearances by Nathan and Bree, we focus on the amazing second chance, lovers to somewhat enemies to lovers Derek and Nora. The FMC was a bit annoying to me in the beginning but, like Derek, by the end I found her endearing.
There was just the right amount of spice in this for me. Their chemistry was bursting from the pages since page 1 and I'm glad it wasn't all closed door but it wasn't smut either.
Honestly, after being obsessed with a certain pop star's relationship with another famous tight end, I couldn't help but picture #87 when reading about #82.
"In a world of boys, he's a gentleman."
This had me smiling and giggling so much and even crying some happy tears at the end.

You won't want to miss this one when it comes out on April 2nd!

Thanks to Netgalley for this arc.

I loved The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams, and have been eagerly anticipating this follow-up! The story centers on an NFL player (you may remember tight end Derek Pender from his appearance in The Cheat Sheet) and his ex-girlfriend-turned-sports-agent, Nora. So many fun twists and turns for these two; I found myself laughing out loud at several points and tearing up at least once.

This book is extra timely if you've been following Taylor and Travis' love story recently! It's a fun, flirty read and as with other Sarah Adams books, full of quirky characters, quick banter, a sweet romance, and solid friendships. Easily my favorite of her books so far!

THE RULE BOOK had me laughing during parts of it, and super annoyed at other times. A cute story about second chance love, this book had it’s highs and lows for me that left me not sure what I thought of it at the end.

During the best of times…there is definitely chemistry between Nora and Derek, which makes their banter likable and fun. I’m also a sucker for tough guy MMC who become big teddy bears when they find a girl they really like, and Derek is definitely that softy. I LOVED the scenes of Derek and his teammates—it reminded me of an episode of the Golden Girls except with big burly men. The fact that they had board game nights had me smiling so hard. There were parts of this story, like during their honeymoon, where I was invested in their love story and cheered both Nora and Derek on.

And now the worst of times…Nora is an eccentric character, and at the start of the book she was more than I could handle (I either got used to her or her quirks were toned down a bit as the book went). As a sports fan, I had a hard time believing the agent/player storyline at all. Nora was not believable as an agent at all, especially when it came to Derek’s comeback, and Derek’s comeback didn’t come off as realistic either. I also think there was some whiplash when it came to how Derek and Nora viewed their relationship. One minute they didn’t trust each other, and then they did. One minute they couldn’t be friends, next minute they want to stay married.

Ultimately, if you like second chance love stories, there’s a good chance you’re going to at least like, if not love this book. Annoying parts aside, this was a fast read that kept me entertained and even smiling at times.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I appreciate the opportunity!**

Fans of sports romance will enjoy this story! While at times pretty silly, it was light and entertaining and a great palate cleanser.

I was convinced I was not going to get an ARC for this one. So, I was ecstatic when this popped into my NetGalley shelf last week!
Sarah Adams is a must read for me and this book did not disappoint. I was excited when she announced that she was revisiting the Sharks and couldn’t wait for Derek’s story! This one has all the best tropes (fake-dating/marriage is my fav) and the characters are fun and relatable. I loved Nora’s bad jokes and fun outfit choices. I also enjoyed Derek’s story of troubles and school and adult dyslexia diagnosis. As with all of Sarah’s books, this one will hit you in the feelings and leave you laughing out loud. Per-order now and thank me later!

I feel pretty confident in saying that anyone who loves Sarah Adams’ books is going to love this one too. It is so quintessentially Sarah and falls right in line with The Cheat Sheet. It is a lighthearted, feel-good book.

Nora is about to get her first client as a sports agent. That first client just happens to be the man whose heart she broke back in college. One her own heart has never quite let go of. While their reunion gets off to a rocky start, a drunken night ends with the two of them married and needing to “fake” it for a while to protect Nora’s fledging reputation. Though rules are put in place as an attempt at keeping lines drawn, it’s not long before those rules start being broken.

As stated above, this book has all of the quirk and charm and sweetness readers have come to expect from a Sarah Adams novel. Her characters tend to read a little bit younger than they’re meant to be to me, but they’re endearing and likable and you want to root for them. Derek was so tender and sweet. I wanted him to have all the things he wanted and hoped for. I liked that Nora had a cheerful spirit, but she had fire under the surface. My favorite moments between Derek and Nora were when they cracked and had the serious conversations about their past that they needed to have. It showed a lot of maturity in those moments to realize as well that they were the right people for each other, just at the wrong time in college. I also enjoyed their mutual support for each other. I would have liked a little bit more of the second half of the book to have been spent outside of their “fake” honeymoon bubble and navigating the real world together. A weird personal quirk was uncovered with this one as well, because I tend to struggle with second chance when there is too much animosity between the characters during their initial reconnection, but this one was actually a bit too light for me. I wanted a little bit more tension. But again, that’s a personal quirk because I know light and fairly low stakes drama is where Sarah shines.

I know there have been opinions from longtime Sarah Adams readers about her shifting from closed door to open door in her writing, and I want to say that I think she did it in a very natural way in this book. I think the chapter with the intimate scene really helped establish the connection/reconnection between Derek and Nora. It reinforced everything that led them back to that moment, and I think spice that enhances and drives the plot is important when it’s done right as it was here. I thought she also presented this in a way that was respectful and considerate of her longtime readers who prefer no spice in that, yes I believe it added to the plot but no a reader won’t be missing anything vital should they choose to skip the chapter that she notes at the beginning of the book. I want to applaud her for allowing herself to grow and evolve in a way that feels right for her as a writer and still thinking of her closed door readers as best she can.

I’m fairly confident that anyone who loved The Cheat Sheet is almost certainly going to love this one too. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine/Dell for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked Sarah Adams' "When In Rome" books, but this one is a miss. Lucky for her, it's about a famous football player's love life, and that's kind of a thing right now (Hey Taylor and Travis!). So, good or not, people will probably read it.

Nora is the most annoying main character I've come across in years, and Derek and his friends aren't much better. It was like Adams had stereotypical "sporty romance" characters in her head and felt the need to write what she thought people wanted to read about. Did some editor give her this story idea and make her write it?

I never did learn to differentiate among Derek's football-playing brethren -- they're all the same. The other guys seemed to be there for comic relief -- because they're a team of guys who play sportsball and this is what they do, I guess? -- and I think I was supposed to find their banter and their treatment of Derek funny. But it was incredibly forced and just not funny at all.

Nora is peppy and perky to the point of needing a tranquilizer. She's also stereotypically "very feminine and beautiful" but also "very knowledgeable about sports" -- all the things Adams seems to think the main character in a book like this is supposed to be. She learned to love sports in an effort to be close to her dad, is hated by the guys in the office, doesn't have female friends, is "quirky," and yet somehow tough as nails and a kick-butt agent. Meh. I've met this character before, done better. Early on, we get a description of her weird fashion sense, and then it never comes up again. It seemed a strange thing to describe an outfit that is so "oh, Nora, girl, you so crazy and independent," and then never hear about it again. The closest we get is a mention of a smiley-face t-shirt here and there, and some yellow sneakers. For something that was supposed to be a major part of her characterization, it seemed odd to me that it was just dropped.

And Derek. Good lord. If I had to hear about his size or his muscles one more time I was going to throw my Kindle at the wall. He's a big dude. We get it. He plays in the NFL. Many of them tend to be large men. His size was his entire personality and the only thing Nora commented on over and over and over. LET IT GO. He's also just entirely too good to be true, even for a romance novel. Geez, let the guy have a flaw or two. He went from sweet to cringe real fast.

The book is also very preachy about women and their career goals, and how we don't need no man to help us or get in our way. I get that, and I agree. But would I have unceremoniously dumped the love of my life over it? I doubt it. The whole breakup, and all the moments of conflict that follow, are very contrived (although not as contrived as the getting back together).

I really didn't care what happened to either Nora or Derek, and was glad when I was done reading about them.

I'll read Sarah Adams' next one, just to see if this book was a fluke, or if the "When in Rome" books were. If "The Rule Book" is more her typical style, I'm breaking up with her. And we are never, ever, ever getting back together.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Nora "Mac" Mackenzie is a brand new sports agent, about to take on her first client, which would be awesome, except her boss picks the athlete for her... and it happens to be her old college boyfriend. Derek Pender is the Tight End on the LA Sharks, and just suffered a potentially career-ending injury that he's been working to push through so he can get back on the field. His new agent is supposed to help him... Romance novel tropes ensue.

The characters here are cute, but not really DEEP. They're interesting enough to hold your attention and get you rooting for them, but you're not going to fall into an existential crisis trying to figure out what they're going to decide to do next. High brow fiction, this is not. Nora is silly and funny, definitely the sunshine of the two. Derek is a bit of a cinnamon roll, though the layers aren't, like, thick, or anything. The team buddies are silly and fun. The whole group feels very Bromance Book Club after all the dudes but one have gotten married... There's a fake marriage, a one bed situation, rules for existing together, including "no dating/sex/friendship."

Honestly, I wouldn't have minded if the side characters weren't ALL paired off and pushing Derek toward it. I wouldn't have minded if they didn't have to set down a rule book. I wouldn't mind if they skipped the drunk married in Vegas thing, especially since the book says that ALL the other guys in the group got married on Vegas too. Does every trip to Vegas HAVE to result in a wedding? Honestly?

The book is silly and it's fun. It was a nice way to spend some time "falling in love." If you love a romance novel that hits all the tropes, has a pro-women angle where a character gets to take the high road and gets one over a chauvinistic side character, and has silly one liners and goofy scene setups, this is great for you.

While I love a good formulaic romance, this one had a few twists I didn’t see coming. I fell in love with Nick and Nora during their story and was rooting for them both the entire time. Nick gave off big Travis Kelce vibes, and I loved that he was slightly more complex than the typical romantic hero. There’s also a ton of girl power as we watch Nora navigate the male-dominated sports agent scene. You’ll be cheering for her the entire time. Overall a solid romance that provides a good escape without some of the usual tropes.

The best way to describe the story would have to be as a quick breather. Something to cleanse the palate in between rough stories and it was GREAT! It was exactly what I needed after diving into a series of High Fantasy novels and having to adjust to new worlds every time I read.

Sarah Adams did a great job weaving your classic love story with a myriad of tropes everyone loves, but not letting it overwhelm the reader. Just when you thought you knew the outcome of the plot, she made sure to switch it up on you without leaving us hanging or confused. One would think that with the introduction of so many tropes, the romance would seem off, but I’m glad to say, it moved at a solid pace. With the transition between Derek’s and Nora’s points of view, I was able to grasp more of their mindset and learn the answer as to why such tropes were occurring.

As well, many of the characters felt authentic to me, which helped to ease the story along. With characters such as Nora and Nicole, the novel felt more real as if they were people you would actually stumble into real life which made the story all so much more sweeter. Unfortunately, one aspect of the story I wasn’t a big fan of was the characters; specifically Derek’s NFL friends. Most of the time when the group of friends were talking I felt as if the author was trying to put a lot more emotion than what was needed. Instead of feeling like a group of really good friends, it felt more sterile at times and too much. It didn’t feel as real to me, which really threw me off of the course of the novel at times.

While finishing of the story, as much as I really enjoyed the beginning, I feel put off by the ending. It seemed to drag on for me which made me struggle to finish it. I can completely understand why the author would add such chapters but I felt as if it would have benefited from less exposition to wrap things up so neatly.

Overall I would say this story was a classic romance read that many will fall in love with. It's a great summer romance that will leave you fighting for both main characters and wanting the best for them.

-Review will be published on GoodReads account on February 26th, 2024

I loved this even more than The Cheat Sheet! We adore a heroine trying to make her way in a male-dominated world, especially when it places her squarely into a second chance romance with her NFL starring college ex-boyfriend! I would LOVE to be friends with Nicole, Nora’s astoundingly strong and inspiring boss. The pacing of Nora and Derek’s story was spot-on, and the tension between them was addicting! Derek’s friendship with his teammates (Nathan starred in The Cheat Sheet) has serious Bromance Book Club vibes (written by Lyssa Kay Adams and one of my all time favorites). Sarah Adams writes lovable quirks so well, and this is no exception! I could have had more steamy scenes, but the author writes it so that readers can skip the steamy chapter if desired.

Let’s just say the plot twist and everything probably one of my fav books from Sarah and my new comfort read and I swear I was laughing out loud in almost every chapter.

Thank you to Random House Publishing for this ARC of The Rule Book by Sarah Adams. All opinions are my own.

Sarah Adams is my favorite author, and The Cheat Sheet was my favorite book I read in 2022. When I saw that she was writing a sequel to it, I knew that I wanted to read it as soon as possible.

The Rule Book is now my favorite romance book of all time! It’s THAT good!

I don’t know how she managed to top The Cheat Sheet, but this book just had everything I could’ve ever wanted in a romance: witty banter, shenanigans, romantic declarations of love, only one bed, and a hilarious and supportive friend group.

The entire time I was reading this book, I had the biggest grin on my face and was constantly giggling because of how it made me feel.

Derek and Nora are THE couple. They had amazing chemistry and hilarious conversations. Nora is so smart and great at comebacks. Derek is so charming and protective, and I just really enjoyed them together.

Derek’s teammates were so funny, and I loved how they reminded me of the Bromance Book Club from Lyssa Kay Adams’ series. Their constant barging in and advice added to the story so much.

I also loved how Nathan and Bree from The Cheat Sheet were part of this story as well. I loved how they kept trying to help Derek and Nora get together.

Overall, I would recommend this book to everyone. If you only read one book this year, it should be this one.

I have loved every Sarah Adam’s book I have ever read! While I enjoyed this one, I didn’t love it as much as the others. I loved the quirkiness of the FMC (although sometimes I felt it was overdone) and I loved how sweet the MMC was. I loved the chemistry they had together The only place it fell short for me was the ending. I don’t necessarily love with what happened in the end. It’s just not something I thought fit with the story. Overall it’s a cute second chance romance!

I don't think I've ever read a Sarah Adams book that I didn't like, or one where I didn't think about it for days after. While I am not normally a second-chance romance fan, I had to give it a chance because it was written by my favorite author. I was surprised by the depth that the characters went and adored the personalities. I always come away from a Sarah Adams book with a fuzzy feeling in my heart and a happy attitude, and this book was no different.

Thanks to Netgalley & Random House- Ballantine for the E-ARC! This was so cute! Loved the characters & the whole theme. New favorite author!!