College exes break all the rules when they reunite years later in this enemies to lovers, second-chance romance, the highly anticipated companion novel to the TikTok sensation The Cheat Sheet—from the New York Times bestselling author of Practice Makes Perfect.

Spice rating: 3/5 open door.

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 has 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 simple: 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 save their careers or spark the romance of a lifetime?


Don't just take our word for it...

“Sarah Adams writes books with heart and soul. They speak to the people finding their way and being unapologetically themselves in the process. I love her style; this a really fun, chemistry-filled sports romance you don’t want to miss!”
– Hannah Grace, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Icebreaker

“If Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce didn’t ignite my football era, Sarah Adams sure did. She has a true gift for crafting compulsively readable, endearing characters that are so lived in, they feel like your real-life besties. The tension is achingly good, the writing sparkles, and the romance is sublime. Adams’s books are my ultimate happy place.”
– Amy Lea, internationally bestselling author of Exes and O’s

“The Rule Book is the swoony, second-chance romance of my dreams. It’s slow-burn sexy, achingly tender, and with enough heart to leave you clutching your chest. I’m obsessed with Derek and Nora.”
– B.K. Borison, author of Lovelight Farms


Taste the very first page

Sometimes life is like a box of chocolates, and sometimes life is like a box of chocolates left out in the sun all day.

Today, it turns out, is a melty, disappointing chocolate sort of day. Not only did I step in gum while wearing my favorite shoes on my way into work, but I also fired up my email to find some wonderfully disturbing information.

“Knock knock,” I say to my boss, Nicole Hart, as I step hesitantly into her office to address said email.

Truthfully, I’m always a little hesitant to step into her office because, whew, this woman is a force to be reckoned with. There’s a reason she’s CEO of the agency. She’s kind to me (in her own way), but she’s like a tornado of confidence. You need a helmet and a safe place to take shelter when she focuses her attention on you.

Like now, she’s sitting at her desk in her immaculate gray pin- striped skirt and silk blouse—red lipstick painted perfectly on her full lips, blond hair pulled back into a sleek, perky ponytail that has a magical flip on the end. But all those surface-level attributes…