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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
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:
No
This was wonderful! Love, love, loved this! Flew through it because I kept wanting more of Nora and Derek. Enjoyed /so/ much more than The Cheat Sheet (which was also great!) - truly would enjoy a book around each of these football guys. Loved the longing and twists that pushed them closer. Also loved that it wasn't so drawn out, they acted on their feelings and got to spend more time together as a result of it!
I love how the book made me feel while listening. Love love love! I knew this would be a 5 star read before hitting the 50% mark.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This one wasn’t for me. It was dry and I didn’t care about either character. He’s a huge asshole for about 90% of the book and then suddenly realizes he’s a dick and does a 180 so there’s an HEA. I should have DNF’d but I’m bad about not finishing a book even when I’m not enjoying it.
Spoiler below for something that annoyed the absolute shit out of me:
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The dude tries to destroy the woman’s career because she didn’t want to be his girlfriend years ago when they were in college together. He acts like he doesn’t realize what he’s doing. She basically acts like this isn’t a huge deal.
Spoiler below for something that annoyed the absolute shit out of me:
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The dude tries to destroy the woman’s career because she didn’t want to be his girlfriend years ago when they were in college together. He acts like he doesn’t realize what he’s doing. She basically acts like this isn’t a huge deal.
The Rule Book was a real disappointment after reading The Cheat Sheet two years ago, which I gave 4.5/5. This started as a 4/5 read but descended to 2/5 by the end.
It felt like the book was trying to cram in every possible trope – sports romance, second chance, marriage of convenience, fake dating, forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, miscommunication, only one bed – and instead of being fun, it just came across as trying too hard. My biggest issues, though, were with the characters and the dialogue. Nora started off strong – she was quirky, determined in her career, and unapologetically herself but her “sunshine manic pixie dream girl” energy quickly became extremely irritating. Meanwhile, the endless reminders of how huge and muscled Derek was got repetitive fast, and so much of the dialogue felt cheesy or unrealistic.
The biggest problem for me was the romance itself. I never felt the spark between Derek and Nora, and their relationship ended up feeling flat and unconvincing. By the time I hit 90%, I was hovering on DNF territory.
Overall, The Rule Book had a cute setup, but between the forced tropes, over-the-top quirks, and lack of chemistry, it just wasn’t for me.
It felt like the book was trying to cram in every possible trope – sports romance, second chance, marriage of convenience, fake dating, forced proximity, enemies-to-lovers, miscommunication, only one bed – and instead of being fun, it just came across as trying too hard. My biggest issues, though, were with the characters and the dialogue. Nora started off strong – she was quirky, determined in her career, and unapologetically herself but her “sunshine manic pixie dream girl” energy quickly became extremely irritating. Meanwhile, the endless reminders of how huge and muscled Derek was got repetitive fast, and so much of the dialogue felt cheesy or unrealistic.
The biggest problem for me was the romance itself. I never felt the spark between Derek and Nora, and their relationship ended up feeling flat and unconvincing. By the time I hit 90%, I was hovering on DNF territory.
Overall, The Rule Book had a cute setup, but between the forced tropes, over-the-top quirks, and lack of chemistry, it just wasn’t for me.
So unrealistic, unprofessional, and unlikable lol. This was marginally better than The Cheat Sheet, but not by much. The writing definitely improved and I did like some moments, I like second chance romance and a woman working in sports is relatable to me. However, I absolutely cannot stand the “not like other girls” but ESPECIALLY when it’s paired with a quirky, bubbly, obnoxious woman, and don’t ever do that shit in sports because that is so annoying to me. It’s trying so hard to be feminist but it’s actually incredibly condescending to women that do work in male-dominated fields that genuinely do fit in and don’t want to wear neon pink sneakers to work or whatever???? The tattoo, the ring reveal at the end, him retiring after the first game of the season, and so much more was ridiculous. I also feel like Jamal was right there to have his own book, he was way more interesting and fun in The Cheat Sheet and Derek was the gross, misogynistic one, but of course another white guy gets to be the main character and the only Black character is relegated to comedic relief in the background. I’m over it and I probably will never read from her again.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-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:
No