4.5 amazing stars

The Rule Book by Sarah Adams is the second book in the Cheat Sheet series. Nora Mackenzie is a sports agent, and, having worked her way up in a male dominated field, has just received her first player to represent. And it just so happens that it's her college boyfriend. The one she broke up with. The one that she still loves.

Derek Pender got injured last season, and, as an older (almost 30 y/o) player he's freaking out that he will be cut from the team this year and is doing everything he can to make sure the public sees that he's serious about his rehab, training, and position on the team. When his agent retires suddenly and he finds out his new agent is Nora, he really holds a grudge and is determined to make things so difficult for her that she quits. He even comes up with a "rule book" with outrageous rules that they have to follow if she wants to continue to be his agent.

Instead of giving in and quitting, Nora decides to scheme back. But on a work trip to Vegas, things get a little wild and Nora and Derek have to make a decision about their relationship and their careers.

Oh. My. Goodness. I love Sarah Adams and will automatically read anything this woman puts out. The banter is so funny I found my self giggling outloud on multiple occasions. I thought Nora was super sweet, funny, and quirky but she was so strong and quick thinking. I loved reading about her organizing things and how it calms her mind - I am the same way! I started out unsure about how I felt about Derek. He was kind of a whiney baby. Why, after a breakup in college 8 years ago, is he trying to destroy Nora's career? But as he slowly opened up he grew on me. He was quite romantic and soft and sweet. I still think I would have like to hear more about the agent/client side of Nora's career, and this was a little more relationship heavy (which was fine and I loved it, don't get me wrong).

This book was great and I highly recommend this quick read for any romance lovers out there. (Also, it's pretty much closed door but still hot for those that care about those kind of things like I do).

I just loved everything about this story! The full and fun cast of characters and great and the romance is swoon worthy. I found also found that the laugh out loud moments were the best.

Nora and Derek are so adorable and fun together. I couldn't wait for them to admit their feelings for each other from the very beginning, and the fake marriage lead to some steam coming off the pages.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:

Second Chance
Single Bed
Sports Romance
Swoon Worthy
Fake Marriage
Dual POV
Laugh Out Loud
Embodiment of comfort romcom

nora mackenzie, newly promoted to being a sports agent, is ready to prove that she’s ready to represent NFL players. unbeknownst to her—and to him—nora’s first client is her ex-boyfriend derek pender, la sharks tight end. this is the perfect second chance romance for sports romance lovers!

I loved nora’s quirks and how derek couldn’t help but fall back in love with her. I also appreciated the dyslexia representation and seeing how nora handles the male dominated office as a sports agent

This was really cute! A quick and easy read set in the same universe as her previous work The Cheat Sheet, so if you enjoyed that one, you'll enjoy this one too.

Nora and Derek are college exes who have reunited years later as a NFL darling and a sports agent. When working together, they accidentally get fake married after a drunken night in Vegas and they then have to spend a week together on a honeymoon for good publicity.

There were a lot of things that worked well for this: I enjoyed both Nora's quirkiness and Derek's hard shelled softie interier. The unresolved feelings made sense, but I'm also glad that they spent the time apart to become who they needed to be.

I will say that I prefer her Rome, Kentucky books over this universe in that I think her writing is a bit stronger. But that's just my opinion!

I've read all of Sarah Adams books but unfortunately I had to DNF this book for the time being. There wasn't anything bad about the writing I just wasn't connecting too much with the story. I found it to be a little cheesy that the main characters were still pining over the college relationship many years later. I may pick this book up again as it wasn't that bad but I just was getting a bit bored.

When starting a book, I try to go in with an open mind and zero expectations or pre-conceived notions. That being said, I tried really hard to love this book and I just…couldn’t. Nora is supposed to be an Elle Woods-esque character (and I LOVE Elle Woods) but is more like a caricature of Elle Woods. Nora is so much “not like the other girls” because she wears colorful outfits, has a corny sense of humor, and is…nice? Oh yeah, and she likes sports. Really though, those are the only things that really made her “different” and “quirky”. It’s like that meme of the women in the grocery story where one is holding a bag of frozen vegetables on her head and the caption is “Nora is soooo crazy.” The point being that something totally innocuous is made out to be super unusual in place of character development. Having that point emphasized repeatedly with every description of her outfits along with having to read about how “huge” Derek is every other page was cringey to say the least. Like we get it, he plays for the NFL, he’s a large person. We get it, Nora wears colorful clothes so she’s “too much” for people and her only friend is her mother. But, she can also make friends anywhere, they just get tired of her really fast because she’s a workaholic? Also, she’s a feminist and totally supports women, she’s just not like any other woman and has no close female friendships. It felt like Nora was everywhere and Derek didn’t really have a consistent growth plot line. He went from fearing being kicked off his team and not knowing who he was through about 95% of the book to a complete 180 in the last chapter with the reader having to guess how he got there so quickly. He has dyslexia and struggled with school and that was kind of just thrown in the story, but never got actual closure. I would’ve liked to see him actually address the hurt he felt with his parents and sister. Don’t even get me started on how weird and unrealistic his whole friend group is. They do not talk to each other how people actually talk to each other. It felt super unnatural. The story dragged in the beginning and then flew through every TikTok trope that could be jammed in at the end. I truly rolled my eyes at several parts. The chemistry and banter between the two main characters was great and I wish that more time had been given to their happy ending and much less to the drawn out miscommunication. This book had a lot of potential and the writing itself isn’t bad, but I just couldn’t connect with the characters. This was not for me.

Thank you for the opportunity to review - I was a little disappointed in the pacing of this, especially after the first book in the series - I felt like there were editing opportunities to tighten the flow of this and they could've been more true to the characters.

I loved Derek and Nora they were such a cute couple and so quirky. One less star because it was a big miscommunication trope which isn’t my fave.

This was my first Sarah Adams book. It's a second chance romance book. Nora and Derrick used to date, she dumped him and he was still upset about it. Now Derrick is an NFL player and Nora is a sports agent. She finally gets her first client and it just happens to be Derrick. They set boundaries to not think about their past and he lets her be his agent. They take a business trip to Vegas, they go out drinking, then wake up married. It was spicy, funny, and really good.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

Nora and Derek didn't end their college relationship well. Now as adults they are working together but off to a bumpy start.

Just didn't grab me.

"The Rule Book" was an absolutely adorable, easy-to-read book that kept me giggling and looking forward to what awkward thing was going to be said or happen next.

Nora and Derek's constant banter, especially Nora's wit and silly sayings, was so entertaining with every turn of the page. I couldn't wait to keep reading the book but, also, didn't really want to reach the end and have to leave these two behind in the pages of this work by Sarah Adams.

I appreciate Sarah's accurate management of teammates (both on the field and in the office) as well as other relevant issues that women -especially- face.

I respect the move that many authors are taking to place a note at the beginning of the books to empower readers with the choice of what to read/skip in their best interest; I particularly found Sarah's note to be well-said and perfectly tasteful.

This is an easy book for me to recommend for beach bags this summer!

I discovered this book comes after "The Cheat Sheet" but I did NOT read "The Cheat Sheet" first. I had a wonderful time reading "The Rule Book" and did not feel like I was missing out on any details/back story.

The Rule Book is a continuation of a series of sports romances but for the most part it can be read as a standalone, although it is nice to revisit the old couples and see where they are in their relationship journey. This book is fairly lighthearted and fun with good chemistry and minimal complications/miscommunication outside of the flashbacks to their college days. It was a nice palate cleanser to more intense books and could see this as a nice summer read, especially since some of it takes place in Cancun.

The Rule Book
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Sarah Adams

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Random House Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Nora Mackenzie’s entire career lies in the hands of famous NFL tight end Derek Pender, who happens to be her extremely hot college ex-boyfriend. Nora didn’t end things as gracefully as she could have back then, and now it has come back to haunt her. Derek is her first client as an official full-time sports agent, and he’s holding a grudge.

Derek has set his sights on a little friendly revenge. If Nora Mackenzie, the first girl to ever break his heart, wants to be his agent, oh, he’ll let her be his agent. The plan is simple: make Nora’s life absolutely miserable. But if Derek knows anything about the woman he once loved—she won’t quit easily.

Instead of giving in, Nora starts a scheme of her own. But then a wild night in Vegas leads to Nora and Derek in bed the next morning married. With their rule book out the window, could this new relationship save their careers and spark the romance of a lifetime?

My Thoughts: This is the second book in The Cheat Sheet series. I loved that first book and this one did not disappoint either. Nora is in the agent world, as an assistant. She has the opportunity to prove herself with her first client, a football star. Well, the famous football star ends up being her college ex-boyfriend, it is troublesome. When she ended things in college, she did not do it well and it has come back to bite her. Derek is holding a deep resentment against her and almost walks to find a new agent, but decides to take this an opportunity as payback/revenge. His plan is actually quite simple: to make Nora’s life a living nightmare. He establishes a rule book as the guideline for the agent relationship, which is all fine except when they get very drunk and end up getting married in Las Vegas, throwing the rule book out the door. Will this re-spark their romance? Or will it put their career’s in jeopardy? This follows the tropes of enemies to lovers, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, second chance, fake dating/marriage, and sports romance.

This has a dual narration by both Nora and Derek, in their respective perspectives. Nora is a bright, intelligent, sassy, woman who is trying to make her mark in the sports agent world. She has this amazing sunshine attitude, corny knock-knock jokes, and creative catch phrases that make you shake your head. Derek is a charming, sexy, intelligent man who is making a comeback from a bad injury. Their chemistry is OFF the charts. The banter is truly fantastic. Nora is trying to make a name for herself in a male dominated profession, and while her boss is a woman that fully supports her, her male colleagues ridicule her. I love the growth we experience for her personally and professionally, it was inspiring. The characters were created with depth, witty banter, chemistry, passion, and were intriguing. The supporting characters really elevate the storyline, especially, Nora’s boss. The author’s writing style was complex, spicy, engaging, thought-provoking, and just brilliant.

When Nora broke it off with Derek in college, it was to focus on her career, and now he holds the fate of her career in his hands with this contract. Derek goes out of his way to try to make Nora quit, like making her pickup dry cleaning during rush hour, have her film workouts at odd times, cooking for him, or just requesting her to come by to do something minimal. Nora is very stubborn and is determined to not quit. The surprise drunk marriage is the best, they have to either ride it out, or Nora faces very stiff career ending possibilities. They decide to ride it out and have to “honeymoon” in Cancun for ten days, and have to make the camera and the public believe that this is a real marriage.

This is funny, sweet, heartfelt romance romcom that will set your heart on fire. I loved that The Cheat Sheet couple makes a few cameos in this book. I also love the message that this book portrays on male dominated professions, that no matter what the profession, as long as you’re reaching for your dreams, you will find your way. Adams really has an amazing storytelling ability to loop you into the story and keeps you on engaged until the end. I highly recommend picking this book up.

*ARC Review*

What a joyful book. This second chance romance (and enemies to lovers) finds college lovers Nora and Derek now face to face. Nora is a newly appointed full time sports agent and Derek is an allstar NFL tight end who is coming off of an injury. Derek is Nora's first client and it brings up old unfinished feelings stemming from their breakup. They create a 20 item rulebook to keep their new relationship professional. The rule book is thrown out the window when on a drunken night out they elope and go viral on social media. Chaos ensues and relationships are tested. This book is funny, sweet, and well thought out. Each character is more delightful than the next. One of my favorite Sarah Adams for sure. She has come into the territory where if she writes it, I read it. Definite recommend.

If you love sports and rom-coms this is a great book for you! An excellent follow up to The Cheat Sheet, this book does not disappoint! The characters were well developed and the author did an excellent job of hitting on some heavier topics while also maintaining the feeling of a sporty rom-com. I cannot wait to see if there is another book that includes this cast of characters woven into the story!

“I’ll gladly lose to you every day of my life because for me the prize is just being near you.”

I’m usually not one for second chance lovers, I’ll read it, but it’s not going to be my favorite. But if Sarah Adams writes it, I’m going to read it…and she truly did say “hold my earrings” with this book.

The build-up of the hate tension, the not-so-hate tension, and then the straight up love tension was so beautifully done that it alone could have captivated me the whole book. But add it quick witted characters and broody male characters and I was a goner.

The integration of the team, past characters, past events, and even the FMCs job was flawlessly done and you won’t convince me otherwise.

All that to say, I have a new favorite Sarah Adams and it’s this one. Read it ASAP!

I really enjoyed the heroine in this story. I laughed out loud many times at Nora and her adorable charm. This was a sweet, quick read for me. I have loved all the sports romance books lately, and this was perfect for that trope.

I am a HIGE fan of Sarah Adams and was so excited to get this book! I don’t read sports romances but for Sarah, I would read anything!! I love second chance romances, and this one didn’t disappoint . It was full of banter which I love. There was competition, tension, anticipation, and more! My only disappointment was that it was closed door. I prefer open door, but the characters were developed well and the chemistry was certainly there so it makes up for it. The book in general was pretty clean with no profanity which in a sports romance you see often. Overall great read!!

Dear Sarah Adams,

You know that I’ll read anything you write, right?

I LOVED The Cheat Sheet, and it was so fun to return to the world of the LA Sharks in The Rule Book! Nora and Derek are the cutest, and I loved getting to check in with Bree and Nathan 🥹

Some things you might love about this book:

✨ Quirky MFC
🫶 Learning disability rep
🕺 Vegas!
💞 Second chance romance

Sarah’s books are sweet and cheesy and FUN — AKA all of the things I want when reading a romance/romcom — and I’m so grateful to have received an early copy of The Rule Book 🌴🏈💚

A big THANK YOU to NetGalley, Random House (Ballantine), & Sarah Adams for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Nora has finally made it as a sports agent. What she didn’t expect was her first client to be her ex-boyfriend and NFL player Derek. In order to work together they decide to make their own “Rule Book” in order to keep things strictly professional. But when a business trip to Vegas ends up leading to a drunken marriage and tattooed wedding rings, the only way Nora and Derek can save their careers is to make it seem like it was an intentional elopement. Nora and Derek slowly reconcile their past during their public honeymoon and can’t deny they still have feelings for each other. But will Derek’s NFL career survive his injury? Will Nora’s career be done before it’s even started?

With Sarah Adams staple banter, humor and sweetness this was a highly enjoyable sports romance!