I read The Cheat Sheet when it was first released and absolutely ADORED it, but I didn’t get on with this one as much as I had hoped and I am so sad!

As always, Sarah Adams’ writing was great, easy to read and very humorous. but unfortunately the characters drove me crazy. I didn’t connect to them personally and they felt very immature for an adult novel.

However, I will be reading the rest of Sarah Adams books in the future, because I usually get on really well with them!

i love sarah and stand by everything she creates. when i saw this one being announced i knew i had to get it. and boy oh boy did it not disappoint

I loved this book! It’s the perfect sequel to a perfect book.. I love a good second change romance. Great dyslexia rep!

“Because when we kiss, it feels right. Because when you smile at me my world feels whole.”

I have so much to say, but I can't find the words.

The author's writing is fantastic, I love the way she narrates things and how easy it is to read her books and it never gets boring.

I loved the ‘I'm going to be the agent of my high school ex who I broke his heart’ drama, honestly it's a delight, but I feel like she added a lot of mini-dramas as the pages went on, and I felt like she was pulling them out of her pocket.

However, Nora's personality is brilliant, I've never read anyone like her, I like that sometimes she's a bit of a hippie with her outfits and her bad phrases, but what I love completely, is her attitude, she doesn't let anything hold her back, I want to be like her, I wish I could say when I'm older, but I already am and I don't have that positivity.

Oh Derek, this man is PERFECT, too perfect for my taste, I feel like the author has created someone completely imaginary, usually the men in the books are wonderful but they always have something that makes them human, NOT THIS ONE, THIS ONE IS PERFECT, no one can be so understanding and kind and agh, I find this man too tender.

I definitely loved the book, and I can't wait to read this author again.

Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this book.

"The Rule Book" by Sarah Adams is a delightful romantic comedy that expertly plays with the concept of love defying all rules. Adams' writing is sharp, witty, and full of heart, creating a fun and engaging story about what happens when you throw out the rulebook in matters of the heart. The protagonist, someone who thrives on structure and order, finds herself in a situation where love—and life—refuses to play by the rules.

With charming characters, sparkling dialogue, and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, "The Rule Book" is a thoroughly enjoyable read that balances humor with moments of genuine emotion. As the story unfolds, it becomes a heartwarming tale about embracing unpredictability and letting go of rigid expectations. Adams crafts a feel-good romance that reminds readers that sometimes, the best love stories are the ones that break all the rules. Perfect for readers who enjoy light, breezy romances with a dash of charm and plenty of heart.

I was so happy to go back to this series after The Cheat Sheet came out a while ago, and this sequel did not disappoint! I absolutely loved revisiting the characters from the first book, the banter I loved between them was even better in this new instalment!
The romance was top notch and I really liked that Sarah decided to add a little spice to this one, it felt like we got the whole picture of the the relationship!

Overall I really enjoyed this and would love to see more books for the rest of the secondary characters!
The perfect sports romance!

As much as I loved the Cheat sheet I just can’t get into this one. I don’t know why cause I usually love S. Adams books but it’s probably because I switched to thrillers so no suspense is not fun to me.

I haven't read Sarah Adams' first book in this connected standalones' series "The Sheet Cheat", though the internet loved that one. But the blurb of "The Rule Book" spoke to me a bit more, so I decided to give it a try. And truth be told, I thought it was okay. Unfortunately, I didn't care much for the characters after a couple of chapters since the story is predictable. At least it is to someone who spends a lot of time reading. For fans of this author, this might be a great plot, a great expression of the idea in general. This is probably proof to myself that I am not a fan of second chance romances and shouldn't attempt any further. But I really don't want to rate this book any lower because of that. I don't want my taste to display into my rating too much. I can definitely see this one being turned in to a movie, however. Even though this story line probably already exist as a movie, already. As mentioned, it just wasn't for me. Some parts seemed a bit dragged, I couldn't really care for how things turned out between the characters if it was totally obvious from page one. The writing was great, though and I'll definitely check out other books written by this author, hoping I'll like those more.

3.5 stars
I wasn't the biggest fan of the first book in this series, The Cheat Sheet but I was intrigued enough to request this.
Maybe it's because I've been reading a number of great romances recently or maybe it just lacked something special for me but this didn't really do much for me.
There were plenty of tropes that I love but it took a while for me to get into it and then when I did, it didn't really capture my attention the way that it should have.
This was a sports romance in the loosest term, so I wouldn't pick it up thinking it was going to be like similar stories.
I also found Nora to be quite cringe and annoying at times. And some of the dialogue didn't gel for me either.
I would still be up for reading more from Sarah Adams in the future but this story wasn't for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️

I always appreciate a good cameo of previous characters in series like this, and this one doesn't disappoint. It's nice to see the boys continue with their found family vibe while adding wives and children to the mix.

I really liked Derek and Nora together. It was quite clear that they were very well suited and matched each other's energy. The sexual tension was palpable, and they way they wind up together is both entertaining and sweet

I wasn't a fan of the terrible one-liners and jokes, but the continued mentions of the pant leg were hilarious. I would have liked to see a little more of Nora at work and maybe some of Derek's recovery from his injury.

Sadly, the book just lacked a little for me in terms of the tension you would expect post bad breakup. Not that it's enemies to lovers, but it never really felt like they disliked each other.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read but didn't quite reach the level that I was hoping it would.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, Sarah Adams, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I just want to start saying this book was read just after I had had two 5 star reads (Just for the summer & Business Casual) so that may have effected the way I felt about this book. I was really excited for this book leading up to the publishing date and it ended up just feeling flat and I adore Sarah Adams writing usually so this was disappointing.

Over all I just didn't connect with this story/characters, It just did not feel that their relationship as adults believable & there was no true chemistry between Derek and Nora, Derek clearly loved Nora but the way Nora talked to him was just as she was a teenager not as an intelligent woman with an Incredible career! I enjoyed Derek as a character more purely for his banter and his love for Nora - that is all. I appreciated the OCD & Dyslexic representations throughout the book.

The so called honey moon photos made me cringe and skim read these in the end - I just didn't get it unfortunately,

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review . *review on goodreads*

This was an adorable read. Never have I read such an infectiously happy narrative! By that I mean Nora I suppose - the extremely loveable FMC. She ends up with her ex boyfriend, super famous NFL tight end, Derek, as her first client when she’s promoted to a sports agent. They struggle to settle into this new dynamic and accidentally get married when they are drunk in Vegas - whoops. Sounds ridiculous, but my god it works.

I loved how right these two seemed for each other, despite all their differences. There was such an ease to them as a couple. And as with The Cheat Sheet, the friendships in this are cute and funny. It was lovely to return to these characters!

What to expect:

- kind of sequel to The Cheat Sheet
- opposites attract
- second chance romance
- accidental marriage
- fake romance
- sports romance
- optional closed door

If you love:
🏈 Sports Romance
🏈 Second Chance
🏈 Fake Marriage
🏈 Forced Proximity
🏈 Cinnamon Roll MMC

This book is for you! This is the sequel to The cheat sheet (my fave). She is the girl that broke his heart and thought he’d never see again. Except that would be boring, so when Derek shows up to sign with his new agent Mack, she was the last person he expected to see. Now he is determined to make her job impossible until she quits. The tension, the memories, start to make it hard to keep the lines from blurring. He still loves her but is she willing to let him in again? This was so good.

i loved the cheat sheet and was so excited to read this and it did not disappoint!
This was such a cute book that was fast paced. Sarah Adams will remain an auto-read author for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Rule Book' by Sarah Adams.

'The Rule Book' is a companion novel to Adams' famous book 'The Cheat Sheet' but honestly you do not need to read that book to understand and love this book - only the characters from that book do crop up a lot. Derek and Nora are such a good relationship and honestly they are really perfectly matched for eachother. Adams has been well renowned for her romance for some time now and this book just fits perfectly into her collection of dreamy romances.
If you would like to read a sports romance but with not too much sport that you'll get a headache, this one's for you.

Another enjoyable story from Sarah Adams. Loved being back with the gang again after absolutely loving The Cheat Sheet. This was a great 2nd chance romance with a strong fmc although she needed to give her head a wobble at times but that's what I like about Sarah's writing, she writes floored realistic characters not just cookie cutter versions of people. I enjoyed where this story took us and it gave me some laughs along the way. A great easy read.

This was a fun, lighthearted romance that was easy to read. It was filled with a lot of cute moments, but I didn’t always gel with the writing style. I sometimes found it to be too cringey and the humour usually didn’t land. This was most noticeable during Nora’s POV chapters. I understood that her character was meant to be endearingly quirky, but to me, she often came across as just plain annoying. For this reason, Nora’s characterisation didn’t seem realistic. I couldn’t picture her in the real world. In a similar way, the friendship between Derek and his teammates felt contrived. I liked how they all wanted to help him find happiness, but something about their interactions just seemed too “tropey”, like the author had to tick a “found family” box. Once I suspended my disbelief, I could get on board with the aspirational world being created.

Even though Derek was surrounded by supportive friends, the same couldn’t be said about Nora. I wished there was a greater emphasis on Nora making friends, as it was obvious that she was lonely and lacked that kind of companionship. The dynamic between her and her boss was surprisingly understanding and compassionate in its own way, yet I still longed for Nora to build a solid support system outside her sweet mum and Derek.

I appreciated how the plot always felt like it was moving forward, even if I wasn’t always completely happy with the direction. Specifically, I wasn’t a fan of Derek’s early behaviour towards Nora, which definitely didn’t help endear me to him. Luckily, his grudge didn’t last for too long, but this didn’t mean there was no less angst. Derek and Nora clearly had feelings for each other (Derek was particularly obsessed), but they were so wound up with whether or not they were reciprocated. As it was plainly obvious, it got tiring the longer the charade was drawn out. Nevertheless, the novel was still a fun time.

OVERALL: This sweet, lighthearted read toed the line between being aspirational and unrealistic. I definitely had to suspend my disbelief in moments, but it was still a fun and easy time.

I haven’t read The Cheat Sheet (although I have heard of it, I don’t live under a rock) but I’ve heard so many great things about it, so I was looking forward to this, first off, love the cover. Snappy and colourful. I’m not always a fan of second chance romance but in this book it worked perfectly. Great chemistry and banter between Nora and Derek, and the whole waking up married in Vegas was a cool plot direction. It was a fun, easy read. Thanks Netgalley and Publisher.

When being perky and quirky is your whole personality.

Honestly this book was exhausting to read.
The MMC has zero personality and is angry and treats the FMC like crap because she broke up with him in college. Then in 5 lines he has forgiven her and is back to being madly in love.
This is your typical over hyped tiktok book for those who like romcoms.
This book offers absolutely nothing new or exciting to the genre
And it's sports romance in the loosest sense of the word concidering he is a NFL athlete and she is a sports agent.

Trigger warnings express 'spice' in a certain chapter and I didn't see any spice. At all.

This book was so much fun! I would call myself a huge Sarah Adams at this point, as this is the 3rd book of hers I have read, and they have yet to be a disappointment. I absolutely adored her When in Rome duology (and secretly wish for more!), and so despite the fact that I haven't read The Cheat Sheet, which this is set in the same world as, I knew I'd enjoy it regardless. I always enjoy a good sports romance, but I didn't even mind that this hardly featured any playing, as the chemistry between Nora and Derek was so palpable that I didn't want to be distracted by any sub-plots. You could tell that they truly cared for one another, and just wanted the best for them, no matter what that looked like. I also really enjoyed the interactions between Derek and his friendship group, and the little glimpses of the relationship featured in The Cheat Sheet, which I will be sure to read soon.