Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

The Rule Book by Sarah Adams

11 reviews

thisbookisbananas's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

5.0

It’s official: I absolutely love Sarah Adams. 
Nora and Derek’s relationship had way more substance to it than any other characters I’ve read so far from this author, which made me love it all the more. This is a second chance romance trope, not usually my favorite because you never know if the relationship initially ended because of cheating( a nope trope of mine). Happily, this was not the case. It was so nice to see characters actual work through real issues that can come up when you have a complicated past.
As a literacy coach, I love that Derek is diagnosed with dyslexia late in life. It is a neurodivergence disorder which isn’t portrayed much, especially in books! Glad to see a light being shined on it.

If you pick up Sarah Adams books because she writes closed door romance, this book has one chapter of on-page steaminess. However,Sarah Adams has a preface at the beginning of the book and the audiobook letting readers know which chapter it happens in if they want to skip the chapter. This makes me respect Sarah Adams even more for wanting all readers to feel comfortable when enjoying her book. All in all, a damn good time that made me laugh and tear up. 
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laheath's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted 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? Yes

3.0

Sweet romance with a male lead pining for the girl who broke his heart in college. When she was being an adult, the story was great, but there were so many times that she was immature in various ways.
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carlyjoann's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

I usually love books by this author but the alcohol induced mistake trope in this series is not for me. Also the randomly getting married in Vegas trope. To have those same storylines in this one after having them in the first book of the series jumped out at me since I read them back to back. I didn’t love those storylines in the first one and really disliked them in this one.
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katedahl's review

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5.0

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justsmileandread's review

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fast-paced

5.0

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kaelynbyers's review

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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. 
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kshertz's review

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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.
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booksbystephanie's review

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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 🌶 
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katebrownreads's review against another edition

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4.0

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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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! 
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