Nora Mackenzie’s entire career lies in the hands of famous NFL tight end Derek Pender, who 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 and spark the romance of a lifetime?

This was my second Sarah Adams book, and while I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as The Cheat Sheet, it was still a fun and sweet romance. I appreciated the author’s note at the beginning, pointing out which chapter to skip for readers who want to avoid the open-door bedroom scene. However, there was more profanity in this book compared to the first, which I felt took away from the story a bit. I also wasn’t a fan of some of the feminist commentary, as I didn’t agree with certain messages.

Overall, I enjoyed getting to know Nora and Derek better. I remembered Derek from The Cheat Sheet and didn’t particularly like him then, but this story takes place two years later, and it’s clear he’s matured since the last book. He’s no longer the typical cocky NFL player with an arrogant attitude. Instead, he’s sweet, kind-hearted, and really endearing, which made me appreciate his character more this time around.

As for Nora, her tough childhood and family struggles explain a lot about her personality. She’s strong, independent, and ambitious, holding her own in a male-dominated industry, and she’s great at what she does. I really loved the dynamic between her and Derek—their banter was sharp and fun, and the romance felt swoony, spicy, and heartfelt. The deeper emotional moments and character growth were also a nice touch.

That said, I could’ve done without the constant descriptions of how hot Derek was from Nora’s perspective. It became repetitive, and all the lusting after him got a little tedious after a while. We get it—he’s hot!

I have to admit, I was disappointed to see this author shift from closed-door romances to open-door scenes. She was one of the few romance authors I could rely on for clean, spice-free stories, so it’s unfortunate for those of us who prefer closed-door love stories that she’s taken a different direction.

I was also a bit disappointed that this book used a similar romance trope as the first one. The Cheat Sheet had a fake dating plot, and this time it was a fake marriage. While I do enjoy these tropes, I was hoping for a more distinct storyline. There was also a hint of enemies-to-lovers, which isn’t my favorite trope, but it was tolerable since the characters didn’t truly hate each other—they were just dealing with past hurts. I did appreciate that there was plenty of communication between them though, which added depth to their relationship.

That said, one of the highlights of the book was reuniting with Nathan, Bree, and the football player friend group. I love these characters, and it was such a treat to see them make appearances throughout the story!

Even though this second book fell a bit short of my expectations, I still really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who loves sports romances. I plan to keep reading more from this author and am definitely interested in exploring her backlist, which I know is sweet and clean.

**This book is part of a fall romance real-time reaction episode, which you can listen to here.