My first introduction to Sarah Adams was When in Rome and I loved that book. When I found out about The Rule Book, I also listened to the audiobook of The Cheat Sheet. As a big fan of second chance romances and marriage of convenience in romance books, I knew I needed to read The Rule Book. So today I’m going to tell you about the book and what I thought. Keep on reading to find out more!
A big thank you to Netgalley and Dell for providing me with an eARC to read and review. This doesn’t influence my opinions in any way.
College sweethearts meet again years later, in this highly anticipated romance and companion story to the viral TikTok sensation The Cheat Sheet.
Nora Mackenzie’s entire career lies in the hands of famous NFL tight end Derek Pender who also 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’s 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 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 be the thing to save their careers?
Review
“Because when we kiss, it feels right. Because when you smile at me my world feels whole.”
If I’m being honest it took me a bit to get into The Rule Book. Nora was a character I had to get used to and I didn’t really love how Derek treated her in the beginning, but once I got to know these two characters a bit more, I couldn’t put this book down.
Sarah Adams gives us a strong female lead with Nora. She works in a male dominated environment, but doesn’t let that stop her at all. She’s willing to do the work and won’t let anyone tell her she can’t be an amazing agent. I have to say I loved the fact that we learned that her mother gave her this faith and confidence in herself and I adored the conversations we read between her and her mother.
Derek is recovering from an injury that has risked his career with the NFL. It’s brought a lot of insecurities back to his mind. He didn’t have an easy childhood and never felt like he was enough, so to possibly lose something that makes him feel accomplished is very scary. Derek is a very gentle guy and I loved how protective he was about Nora. He felt genuine and I really appreciated that.
Then we can’t not talk about their romance. It doesn’t start off smoothly, because they didn’t have the best break up in college and Derek is still really hurt. But it’s clear from the start they haven’t lost their chemistry or feelings. The banter was amazing, their chemistry jumped off the page, and they just cared for each other. Sometimes I just wanted to scream at them that they needed to talk and when they actually did, my heart was happy. These two are perfect for each other, but they just needed to realize it.
Also, I have to mention the side characters. Derek’s teammates and friends are the best and made me laugh a lot during this book. Nora’s boss Nicole seems a bit distant, but she’s amazing and fought for her spot in a male dominated field as well and knows what Nora is up against. All in all, I really enjoyed The Rule Book and recommend it to any reader who loves sports romances.
The Rule Book was a romance that I really enjoyed and I’ll definitely be reading more by this author. Practice Makes Perfect is one on my shelves, so that will most likely be the next one I read. Have you read anything by Sarah Adams? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
