I didn’t love this. It was fine, just …. Forgettable.

I’m not a fan of second chance romances, so my expectations weren’t high going in since they aren’t usually the book for me. But I was willing to try since I’ve enjoyed other Sarah Adams books. The Rule Book was cute and an easy read, there just wasn’t anything overly special about it to me.

Nora Mackenzie never expected that her first official client as a sports agent would be her college ex but fate has an interesting sense of humor.
Derek Pender has no plans of making Nora’s life easy. In fact, he plans on making it so miserable that she quits and he can hire an agent that didn’t break his heart. What he doesn’t know is that Nora has a scheme of her own. She plans on wearing him down until he comes to his senses and takes her on as his agent.
But what neither of them expects is a wild night in Vegas which lead to them waking up in bed together… married. Now all their plans are derailed and they have to face the feelings they’ve been trying to ignore.

Tropes:
Marriage of convenience, second chance romance, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, sports romance, one bed.

This book has everything I love about romance. Two people who clearly love each other but have a complicated history, an MMC who is utterly obsessed with the FMC, and hilarious banter.
The chemistry between Derek and Nora was authentic and deep. Their transition from enemies to lovers felt seamless and I really enjoyed all their heartfelt conversations and confessions.
If you want a romance that will make you swoon and laugh, and main characters who grow with each other, The Rule Book is for you.

4 stars! this was my first sarah adams book and it was so stinking cute! it was so fun and fast paced while also having important conversations.

one thing about me is i’m going to eat up a second chance romance and i absolutely loved derek and nora. it was such a unique take on a second chance plot!

nora was so quirky and fun while also being a girl boss. derek was down so freaking bad and it was so perfect. the banter and tension between them was tooo good!

i especially loved the dyslexia representation in this book and i thought that conversation was so special and important 🥹 especially as a special education teacher, i was super moved by it and hearing about his struggles is something so many people face.

rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
spice: 🌶️🌶️
tropes to expect:
✨sports romance (nfl x sports agent)
✨second chance
✨marriage of convenience
✨forced proximity

I absolutely loved this book! These characters are so well written and I didn’t want this book to end. I am a huge football fan so that was just an added bonus but you don’t need to even like football as it’s so much more than that.

Nora is so relatable and real it’s like a friend you just want and wish the best for her, she is funny and Derek is amazing and such a sweetheart. Loved it!

What a super sweet story! Nora was definitely quite the character, and Derek was ever the gentleman. Both dance to the beat of their own drums carrying baggage with them. It was awesome to read a second chance romance where the miscommunication didn't cause more turmoil but instead propelled them further to where they were supposed to be together.

I think this is the first book the author has done with an open door scene. (Ch.34) For those readers who are unsure if it is for them or not, I will say Sarah wrote a very tasteful open door scene. Very sweet, respectful, and tender moment between them. Not at all raunchy like other romance novels.

Tropes:
Pro Football player MMC/ FMC Agent
Second Chance Romance
Love in your 30's
Neurodivergent inclusions
Found Family
Marriage of Convenience
One Bed
Golden Retriever vibes.

I love Sarah Adams! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! I have loved almost all of the Sarah Adams books I’ve read. So far my favorite are her small town romance novels but she really does well with sports romance as well. At first I was a hit skeptical about this book because of all the tropes involved but I did end up loving it. I feel like I liked it way more than the Cheat Sheet.
Tropes:
• Accidental Marriage
• Second Chance
• Enemies to Lovers
• One Bed

This is my first Sarah Adams read and I thought it was so much fun. Her characters are fun - so much so that you’d like to hang out with them! It was exactly the read I needed to relax.

This book was so incredible cute and I found it way more engaging than the Cheat Sheet. I enjoyed the second change/marriage of convenience relationship between Nora and Derek. The bricking between these two characters was hilarious but at the same time the way they supported each others careers and feelings was heartwarming.

I enjoyed that Bree and Nathan from The Cheat Sheet were featured in this book and has me guessing if there will be another book in this series about another member of their core group.

This was definitely a great read. The characters were fun to read about, the banter was good, and the premise was great. I really enjoyed The Cheat Sheet so it was fun to see all these characters again. My only critique of this book would be the story pacing was a little off in my opinion. I think the idea to combine a few great tropes (workplace, marriage of convenience, and second chance) seems great on the surface, but I wasn’t 100% convinced that they all flowed together naturally. This is definitely a fun, easy read that I would recommend.

This book is pure sunshine! Nora and Derek were college sweethearts, completely and madly in love until the day Nora broke if off without another word, breaking Derek's heart. They did not see one another again until, years later, Nora finally gets the break she was looking for at her job in landing her own client only to find out that it's Derek. This second-chance romance turned marriage of convenience is full of banter, grown-up conversation, and swoon-worthy moments.

Nora is energetic sunshine. She is colorful and unashamed of who she is. Derek is cautious. He does not want to be hurt again, especially as he is dealing with a stressful time in his career as an NFL tight end. Derek's job with the Sharks means we get to see all of our favorite characters again from The Cheat Sheet. I loved being back in this world. Derek and Nora had chemistry and a good reason to not be together all those years. Adams has her characters working through very real situations at a crossroads in their life and the conversations they had surrounding this were refreshing. I laughed several times while reading. It felt like I was smiling for days.

If you like a happy romance with lovable characters this book is great. While it is in the same world as The Cheat Sheet, it can be read on its own without issue. I recommend this one and look forward to more from this author in the future.

Sarah Adams just knoooooooows how to write a great love story. Absolutely adored this one!

Derek is .. chefs kissssssss! And Nora is the badass I’ve always wanted to be. I absolutely loved how Sarah wrote these characters. A perfect mix of characteristics and flaws that make you fall in love with them individually and together.

As in The Cheat Sheet, I was obsessed with the male friendships and how much they cared for each other. This was a perfect complement to that book!

I think this was Sarah’s first officially open door romance book and she did such a great job! I even think her readers that strictly prefer closed door scenes will find this enjoyable to read.

4.75 stars from me! Who doesn’t love a football player and his agent with a messy past finding their way together again?!

Thanks Netgalley for this digital advanced readers copy! I can’t wait for all of yall to get your hands on this one.

I absolutely loved this book! The dynamic between Nora and Derek is funny, sweet, complicated and everything in between!

Great character development and even better plot! Can't wait to read more from this author!

The Rule Book-a companion novel to The Cheat Sheet

By- Sarah Adams, I read TCS and Practice Makes Perfect - both 4 ⭐

Publication date 4-2-24, read 4-12-24

📃 Page count: 368 kindle

Quick Summary: Once college sweethearts, Nora and Derek reconnect because of their love of sports. Nora is a newly promoted sports agent and Derek is a NFL tight end on the LA Sharks. Derek wants to get a little revenge on Nora for breaking up with him, so he tries to make her job so impossible she'll quit. With Nora's "can do" attitude, she grins and bares his would be "sabotage," while all the old feelings and regret resurface

🤷🏾‍♀️ What to Expect:

⭐ ️2nd chance romance
⭐️ rom-com
⭐️ enemies to lovers
⭐️ fake dating
⭐️ forced proximity
⭐found family
⭐matchmakers

Setting: LA

HEA/HFN ending: HEA

Epilogue Included: yes

Character(s)POV Spoken: dual H/h

M/F-M/M-M/M/F-etc: M/F

Representation: sports-football

Contains Cheating: no

Contains Children: no

Flashbacks: yes, H/h meeting in college

Jealy/Possy/OTT H/h : both a little


CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

Hero: Derek Pender

Hero Description: NFL TE. Had a hard time in school due to learning disability. He felt like a failure in comparison to older sister Ginny, now a Dr. Just back playing after ankle injury

Hero Likability Rating: 4

Heroine: Nora "Mac" Mackenzie

Heroine Description: just promoted to sports agent @ Sports Representation Inc.

Heroine Likability Rating: 5

Secondary characters:
Jamal/Tamara, Lawrence/Cora, Jayon Price/Hope(pregnant), and Nathan/Bree(main couple from The Cheat Sheet)-teammates/found family. All married except Derek
Nicole- Nora's boss

CONTENT WARNINGS/TRIGGERS: Parental neglect, H has Dyslexia

Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley and Dell Books for this ARC 💛! I voluntarily give an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the EARC.

This book made me feel like the first hot spring day after a long winter, it filled my head with the smell of spring rain and freshly cut grass. It made me giggle like my first crush just sent me a message on MSN.

Sarah Adams is my new best friend. She doesn’t know it or that I exist but I stand by that statement. She is hilarious. I don’t often find myself laughing loudly to a book. Let alone giggling and kicking my feet like a 14 year old girl with her first crush. But I was laughing, giggling and smirking. This book is phenomenally written. It’s witty, quirky, and cute. It’s everything I want from a romance book without being cringy. Derek wasn’t overly needy or to macho. Nora wasn’t helpless or the typical “I’m so small and dainty”. Nora held her own as a fierce woman who wanted everything she deserved as a human. Derek was funny, sweet, and kind.

Do not even get me started on the football players. THEY ARE AMAZING. I love their friendship and how they were there for each other playing games and hanging with their wives. Yes. I need to find people like these fictional characters to be my friends.

I will be buying every single book Sarah Adams writes.

Many thanks to Random House Ballantine Books for access to a review copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
The Rule Book is an enemies to lovers, second chance romance, where college boyfriend and girlfriend Derek and Nora find themselves back in each others’ lives. Derek is a star football player, about to return from an injury, and Nora is his new sports agent, although he doesn't realize it's his ex until they meet in person at the agency. After Nora convinces him to give her a chance, since he is her first client, the two make a book of rules about how they can work together without bringing up the pain of their unexpected break up. Little by little every rule gets broken 🤣
Sarah Adams is becoming one of my favorite authors. I listened to The Cheat Sheet a few years ago, and I was worried that I might not remember enough about Nathan and Bree to enjoy The Rule Book. I was wrong - and I think even if you haven't read that one, you'll be able to enjoy this since they have some overlap of characters but can be read as standalones. I do hope that readers of this one will want to read The Cheat Sheet to find out how Nathan and Bree became a couple.
I usually read spicier romances, but I am happy to exchange the steam for the way Adams carefully crafts her characters. This book does have one open door chapter, a change from her previous work. This book is available everywhere now and I definitely recommend checking it out, especially if you're a sports romance fan.

I adored this book from start to finish. They did everything to protect the other person even if it hurt them too. Derek and nora we’re made for each other

This book was so stinkin fun and cute! It was exactly what I needed after some heavy, emotional reads.

Nora may be one of my most favorite FMCs ever. She is awkward and goofy, and she had me giggling throughout this entire book. I seriously loved her so much. And Derek is totally swoon-worthy. The way he loves Nora for exactly who she is is what we should all strive for in a partner.

Second Chance isn’t my favorite trope but this book may have changed my thoughts on that. It’s done so well and it is just so darn fun!

The Enemies to lovers and marriage of convenience tropes may be my fave combo after this one too!

This book left a smile on my face page after page. It’s fun, light-hearted yet has some wonderful, powerful topics thrown in. Loved it!

The rule book was genuinely one of my favourite books of 2024. I had so much fun getting into it. Second chance romance has been a favourite of mine for many many years. And this was no different. I loved the tension and the pining, I loved the romance and the love that you could feel between the characters. I loved Sarah Adam’s previous works and I loved this just as much. I can’t wait to see what’s in store next!

I loooooved this book. It's always the one you go into without any expectations that takes you by surprise. This book was beautiful, heart warming, inspirational, and even gut wrenching at times.This is my favorite book by her yet - it felt like it flowed better, was a little crisper and just overall the most satisfying of her books so far.

⭐️ 3.5 ⭐️ Super cute story! It was so lighthearted and meaningful all at once. Both characters were precious together. A Vegas wedding gets me every time and it was done so effortlessly.