Member Reviews
I recently read The Rule Book by Sarah Adams, and it was a fun and entertaining romantic comedy that left me with a smile on my face. The story is about Nora Mackenzie, a sports agent who has to work with her ex-boyfriend, famous NFL tight end Derek Pender. Derek is holding a grudge against Nora for breaking his heart years ago, and he's determined to make her life miserable. However, things take an unexpected turn when a wild night in Vegas leads to them waking up married.
The book is a light-hearted and engaging read that will make you laugh and swoon. The author has done an excellent job of creating relatable characters that are easy to connect with. Nora and Derek's banter and playful teasing are entertaining, and their chemistry is off the charts.
The Rule Book is a well-written romantic comedy that will keep you engaged from beginning to end. The plot is well-crafted, and the pacing is perfect. The book is suitable for a wider audience as the love scenes are not explicit, making it a perfect read for anyone who loves a good romantic comedy.
Overall, I highly recommend The Rule Book to anyone who loves romantic comedies. It's a delightful book that will leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling in your heart. The characters are charming, and the story is engaging, making it a perfect read for a lazy afternoon or a weekend getaway.
This book is the follow up to the cheat sheet and it did not disappoint either. I laughed so much reading this book. You could feel how much fun they were having. I already knew it was going to be a good book, but reading it gave me so much joy, and you get nathan and bree and the other guys on the sharks so if you read the first one you wont be missing them.
Sarah Adams has returned to the LA Sharks with a peek at the last single player (the others pair off between "The Cheat Sheet" and now). Poor Derek, he's the last singleton, but that's not what's got him depressed. He's recovering from a broken ankle and the insecurity of his return to the Sharks is eating away at him. Where's the dude that was all sunshine, parties, and flirting? He's got an understandable case of grumps. So what happens when sunshine and goofiness personified appears as his new sports agent? Oh, and she's the girl that broke your heart in college. Yeah, Derek doubles down on the dark cloud jerk approach. But Nora doesn't let it get to her. Especially when she discovers she can go around him and find leverage through his friends. For those Sarah Adams lovers, you'll be happy to see the inclusion of the other Shark players, but you'll also get treated to a tropical vacation where this couple get's to escape those LA expectations and interferences and enjoy each other. She tells the reader up front how to keep the 'door closed' on the more descriptive scene and overall this book is pretty flirtatious and hot (those college memories are **fans self**).
This is totally worth the read and I think overall Adams' fans are going to be happy and supportive of this book. I've read all of her books so far (even those early forays into historical romance) and there is always a level of sweet fun that gives joy straight from the page.
Thanks so much for the ARC!
First of all, I ADORE Sarah Adams. She is an automatic buy author for me, and I feel that with every book that she publishes, Sarah's writing just gets better and better. I didn't even think that was possible, but she has done it yet again with The Rule Book. This was an easy 5-Star rating for me.
The characters that she created within The Cheat Sheet universe are so endearing and they all seamlessly made the jump into The Rule Book, taking the reader with them. I love how she chose Derek Pender to be the male main character in this book and I hope she continues to add more books within this world.
The plot had so much - "enemies"-to-friends-to-lovers, sports romance, fake marriage, only one bed. And yet, it all worked well together and was not too overwhelming! The writing was, as always, beautiful, hilarious, yet also soul-wrenchingly vulnerable. Sarah knows how to make you laugh AND cry, then laugh that you are crying, and then happy tears. It truly is a roller coaster. The banter is AMAZING between all of the characters, but especially anyone Nora interacts with on the page.
Overall, I feel as if this book as if you bottled up the joy and love from Ted Lasso and mixed it in with the Proposal and sprinkled all of the sunshine and rainbow sprinkles from Sarah Adam's books and BOOM - you have The Rule Book.
· Name of the publication/blog/outlet where your review will be published/posted
I will be sharing my review on my Instagram Page (https://www.instagram.com/audie_reads/) on April 2nd (Publication Day). I will also be posting a teaser the week before publication.
· Run date for when the review will be posted/published
April 2nd (Publication Day). I will also be posting a teaser the week before publication.
· A link to your review, if available, so the publisher can share your review
(will update feedback with the links as soon as they are available)
I feel so blessed to have received a copy of this book. Once again, Sarah did not disappoint! I have already told several friends they need to read The Rule Book. I will read any book by this author, and I'm so glad her newest title is just as good as her others. LOVED that my favorite trope made an appearance - looking at you, One Bed. Our library will definitely purchase a copy or two!
This book was everything The Cheat Sheet was! If you liked Cheat Sheet you'll enjoy this too. Likeable, believable, flawed and funny characters. This was a treat to read.
This was a fun and sweet read. Definitely one to add to the endless TBR stack and a fun one to share with a friend or 3.
Sarah Adams is a very popular author at my library and I really loved this book. I will definitely purchase it and expect it to circulate well.
I couldn't wait for this new Sarah Adams and she didn't let me down. She is just a master of a well written, slow burn romantic comedy. Her dialog is spot on ...current and clever. I have a real book hangover now that I'm finished.
If you liked The Cheat Sheet and enjoy closed door romance, you will enjoy this one. The author does have one open door scene, but she tells you where it is so you can skip it, if I remember correctly.
Second chance romance, sports, lots of chemistry, and a fake marriage make this a quick fun read. I loved our main characters and enjoyed their banter and playful relationship.
If you’re following Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce as closely as I am, this book is for you!
First of all: the chemistry was PERFECTION! They genuinely felt like exes with complicated feelings. This book gave me so many “JUST KISS ALREADY” moments that I felt like I was going to explode, but in the best way! I could feel both the tension and the love that they never let go of and it made this also burn so worth it.
I just loved both Nora and Derek. Nora made some decisions that greatly frustrated me, but I loved that about her because she felt complex and real. I had already really liked Derek in The Cheat Sheet, but in this book, he just became the perfect book boyfriend. Even when he was getting revenge, he was still somehow extremely likable.
This book was just so funny! Both Nora and Derek’s internal monologues were hilarious, especially during Derek’s Revenge Era. The only thing I wish there was a little more of were his friends. The guys were one of my favorite parts of The Cheat Sheet (especially Derek in that book) and I wish there was a little more of the guys scheming to help Derek, but I also get why there wasn’t because of where the middle 40% of the book was set.
One note: I went into this book almost completely blind and I think that increased my enjoyment of the book, so I’d recommend not reading the full blurb.
I hadn't previously read any of Sarah Adams' books, but man I'm glad I read this one! I saw no issue with the open-door romance in this book, but I know some die-hard fans did. I think it is totally ok for adult romance to feature it! This book is humorous and will have the reader kicking their feet and grinning like a fool! Great banter, witty characters, and I always love a good sports romance!
A fun rom com that will keep you turning the pages til the end! A little steamier than her previous work, but it doesn't detract from the romance and swoon worthy banter. Fans of Sarah Adams will enjoy!
Absolutely adorable! I loved every second of this read. It is rare to find a romance book that literally makes me laugh out loud, but this does it on every other page. It was perfection. Sweet, hilarious, romantic, steamy. It was the definition of having fun while you are reading.
The chemistry between Nora and Derek is perfect! This book is easy to sink into and enjoy, plus is full of humour and heart. I loved the bit about Nora hemming Dereks pants so that one leg was shorter than the other, and the reactions from his teammates about this throughout the book, it was hilarious! Also Nora's power play of looking up the nose to show her authority had me in fits of laughter, and there were many more moments that had me laughing out loud at the situations and interactions. It was very entertaining and I'd 100% recommend this book!
I've loved every Sarah Adams book I've read and The Rule Book is just as wonderful as the rest! If you've read The Cheat Sheet and enjoyed it then you'll enjoy this book too. But even if you haven't read The Cheat Sheet this book is a great stand alone too. I didn't think I was into reading sports romances but both of these books were amazing. Sarah Adams could write anything and I'd read it as I love her writing style.
I'm a big fan of Sarah Adams and loved The Cheat Sheet. This sequel is going to deliver everything that fans of TCS are looking for -- and then some. I know her recent shift into open door, has been a little controversial, but I'm here for it. I like seeing more realistic, edgier characters and unlike some romance novels that I would have preferred much less of an open door, Adams opens it without making you feel like you need to bleach your eyeballs. It's sweet and tender and fits with the characters.
There were a lot of things I really enjoyed about The Rule Book. The chemistry between these two is fire, right from the start. There is no question they are into each other and Adams just writes the heck out of it. I absolutely loved that I could feel the tension, palpably. I also really appreciated that we don't have to wait 300 pages for them to admit this to each other. Even though the guy is still nursing a broken heart, he goes for it and I liked that. I really liked him, as a character, overall.
I did struggle to like the FMC, though. She does not come across as very intelligent. It's really hard to believe that she's a successful sports agent. Her dialogue is pretty cringey at times and it slows down the flow of the story often. I'm all for a quirky, unique FMC, but it felt forced.
Overall, if you're a fan of Adams, I think you'll enjoy it. I still think some of her earlier books are my all-time favorites, but this is a fun read.
I absolutely loved The Rule Book by Sarah Adams!
Nora Mackenzie has been working to become a sports agent for years. She finally gets an opportunity to secure her first client, Derek Penderson, the NFL player whose agent just quit. The only problem is that the player is her college ex-boyfriend.
The last thing Derek Penderson wants is to spend time with Nora Mackenzie, the woman that broke his heart after she ended things with him. Since he needs to work with her, he decides to try and make her miserable enough to quit. When that doesn’t work, they make a strict rule book to ensure they never become friends. Things get a little messy when they have a drunken wedding in Vegas and have to learn to be around each other for the sake of their jobs.
This book was an easy 5 star read. I love sports romance books and I absolutely love the agent/player trope. Even when Derek wasn't happy that Nora was back in his life and he tried to make her quit, we still see how much he truly cares for her even if he tries to hide it. This book did a good job showcasing issues that women have in the workplace with double standards. I loved seeing Nora stand up against that in the end. If you like an enemies to lovers sport romance, then The Rule Book by Sarah Addams is the perfect read for you.
This was light, fun read and I liked the seeing the characters from previous books. I also appreciated the heads up about the spicy chapter and giving the option to skip for those who wanted the door to be closed.
This story had me rooting for a Happy Ever After from the beginning. It did not disappoint. It was beautiful to witness Nora and Derek overcome their personal challenges throughout this book.
Sarah Adams writing is like a warm mug of apple cider and fuzzy duck pjs...in the absolute best way possible!!
The Rule Book was no exception! Our hopes for this cutie were high and trust me, they met every expectation!! Derek and Nora had incredible banter, charm. and passion between them- I also just wanted to squish them in a ball and carry them with me everywhere.
You'll love this one if you like:
- second chance
- sports romance
- witty banter
- cancun
- Vegas weddings and 'that's my wife' kinda vibes
- SMILING AND ENJOYING LIFE OKAY
SUCH a pleasure to get this sweet book early!