Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - The Rule Book

You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

The Rule Book by Sarah Adams

17 reviews

justsmileandread's review against another edition

Go to review page

fast-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

kaelynbyers's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I have nothing bad to say about this book. I would give it 100 stars out of 5 if I could.

Everything Sarah Adams writes turns to gold. EVERYTHING.

I swear, every single time I read a new release from Sarah Adams it becomes my favorite book that she has ever written. And The Rule Book is no exception.

From start to finish, this book is perfection to me.
Nora is bright and completely herself but also tired of being too much for those around her.
Derek is strong and reserved but also terrified to lose the one thing he has always been good at.
And together, Nora and Derek are the perfect pair. Funny and honest. Competitive and loving. Confident and safe. I don't think I will ever get over them.

I love this book. It is my happy place. It is a warm hug on a cold day.
I will never get over my love for this book.

Content Warnings

kshertz's review against another edition

Go to review page

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This was adorable. You root for this second chance romance. The footballer is head over heels for this girl! I definitely was grumpy that the smut took forever to happen but it was nice. I feel like the whole story was so fun and sweet.

Content Warnings

booksbystephanie's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Rule Book, a novel by Sarah Adams, available April 2, 2024!

The sequel to The Cheat Sheet follows LA Sharks tight-end Derek Pender and his (new) agent Nora Mackenzie, who happens to be his college ex-girlfriend and the one who got away. These two were hot for each other starting on the first page, and I enjoyed this second-chance romance so much it is easily one of my favorites!

The character arcs for these two made me love them even more. Derek, who struggles with a career comeback after a devastating injury, needs to accept that he may not be able to play football anymore. This is particularly tough because his worth has been determined by his career since he struggled with an undiagnosed learning disability his whole life. Nora works in a field riddled with misogyny and an inner monologue that she is “too much” with her quirky need to organize and color-code everything. Despite all that, these two love each other inside and out and are a testament to the “if you love something, let it go. If it comes back, it was meant to be” (although that’s not the phrase…iykyk).

This book was so sweet, and I loved the found football family and their hijinks, as well as updates from Nathan and Bree from The Cheat Sheet. Nora’s work “friend” Nicole was hilarious, and there were several twists I didn’t see coming! (Full disclosure: I did not read the blurb prior to reading the book!). I’ve only read a handful of Sarah’s books, but I think this is the first time she’s included a spicy scene, and it was awesome (but can be skipped; see the trigger warning at the book’s beginning).

Thank you so much to Dell (Penguin Random House) and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced (e-)reader copy and a chance to rate and review this book!

4 ⭐️ 1 🌶

Content Warnings

katebrownreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Content Warnings

yvo_about_books's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

4.75

Finished reading: March 4th 2024

"We all make choices in life and some of them are necessarily more gray than others. This is one of those times."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Headline Eternal in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Sarah Adams' writing, so you can imagine that I was shocked when I discovered that my first Netgalley wish granted in years turned out to be for her newest story The Rule Book. I enjoyed the first book The Cheat Sheet back when I read it in 2021, although I admit it wasn't my absolute favorite among her books... Still, I was VERY excited to receive the opportunity to read The Rule Book early. And WHAT a read it turned out to be! I loved every single minute of this enemy-to-lover slash second chance romance, and it's probably one of my top favorites by her.

While set in the same world as The Cheat Sheet and futuring a lot of the same characters, The Rule Book can easily be read as a stand-alone without missing out on too much. This is because this very much Derek and Nora's story, which is completely new. I can't deny that I loved seeing the rest of the characters again though, and their banter and friendship brought back great memories of the first book. The banter in general is one of the things that makes this story stand out; the interactions between Derek and Nora are simply brilliant and especially Nora uses some extremely hilarious phrases.

The Rule Book is part enemy-to-lover and part second chance romance; while the enemy part was shorter than I hoped it would be, there were plenty of funny moments to be found along the way. The story does feel more like a second chance romance during most of the plot, as it is pretty obvious how the two main characters still feel. The building up of tension is really well done though, and I especially loved the whole fake honeymoon and scenes set in Mexico. The whole story seems like an Easter hunt for romance tropes!

Part of the reason this story works so well (and her books in general for that matter) has a lot to do with its characters. Sarah Adams has a way of creating the most fantastic, relatable, flawed and likeable characters, and it was SO easy to start rooting for both Derek and Nora. True, certain aspects of their appearance and personality are quite cliche, but I personally didn't mind as I was having too much fun getting to know them better. The secondary characters are great as well, and already knowing most of them only made me enjoy meeting up with them even more.

The writing is flawless, and I literally couldn't stop reading. The Rule Book isn't just about the romance though, as there are quite a few more serious topics incorporated along the way. I especially appreciated how the story shone a light on dyslexia, parental pressure and gender inequality in the workspace, although they aren't the only topics discussed. The more serious topics helped balance out the lighter moments and resulted in a richer and dynamic plot. The sports/injury recovery angle also made for a great addition.

I might be biased, but I consider Sarah Adams to be one of my favorite romance authors and The Rule Book is one of her best stories to date. There is so much to love in this book, and I cannot recommend it enough if you enjoy the genre!

Content Warnings

bookrecsbyjess's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Thank you to Random House Publishing for this ARC of The Rule Book by Sarah Adams. All opinions are my own.

Sarah Adams is my favorite author, and The Cheat Sheet was my favorite book I read in 2022. When I saw that she was writing a sequel to it, I knew that I wanted to read it as soon as possible.

The Rule Book is now my favorite romance book of all time! It’s THAT good!

I don’t know how she managed to top The Cheat Sheet, but this book just had everything I could’ve ever wanted in a romance: witty banter, shenanigans, romantic declarations of love, only one bed, and a hilarious and supportive friend group.

The entire time I was reading this book, I had the biggest grin on my face and was constantly giggling because of how it made me feel.

Derek and Nora are THE couple. They had amazing chemistry and hilarious conversations. Nora is so smart and great at comebacks. Derek is so charming and protective, and I just really enjoyed them together.

Derek’s teammates were so funny, and I loved how they reminded me of the Bromance Book Club from Lyssa Kay Adams’ series. Their constant barging in and advice added to the story so much.

I also loved how Nathan and Bree from The Cheat Sheet were part of this story as well. I loved how they kept trying to help Derek and Nora get together.

Overall, I would recommend this book to everyone. If you only read one book this year, it should be this one.

Content Warnings

More...