I loved this book. Simple as that. The characters were so well written they felt like a friend in real life! I loved Nathan and Bree, friends to lovers might have jumped up a few spots on my trope o meter thanks to this book! Their relationship was so beautiful, their chemistry was fire, and their struggles so relatable and honest. Hallways will never be the same for me lol!

First of all, Thank you to Victory Editing and Netgalley for the ARC of The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams in exchange for an honest review.

Publishing Date: August 17th, 2021.

LOVED this one. I think sports romances are becoming a huge favorite of mine right behind celebrity romances. I also think I am just obsessed with Sarah Adams as a writer she knows how to write romance.

The best friends to lovers trope with a slow burn closed-door romance is legit perfect for anyone. Bree and Nathan had such a cute relationship, maybe a little cringe at times but hey who doesn’t love a little cringe.

I had a hard time putting this one down, which is a common instance for Sarah Adams's book, it's such a feel-good hilarious romance with no slow spots in the book.

If you like sports romances like Alexa Martin and Lyssa Kay Adams books, then I highly recommend this one!

This book made me so incredibly happy!!

It had the usual Sarah Adams charm, while also adding some more spice than her previous reads. I LOVE this new balance for Sarah and can’t wait to read her next books!

These characters were so easy to root for, and had the most adorable friendship. The side characters added so much entertainment to this book that I’m really hoping this gets turned into a series.

Sarah dealt with the topic of anxiety and panic attacks really well, and I appreciated the depth it added to this book.

If you’re looking for a book that will make you smile, look no further!

Friends to lovers combined with fake dating?! sign me up! I loved this book! It gave me everything I wanted and all the taylor swift feels. Bree and Nathan had great chemistry and I loved the build up of their romance, the sweet small touches that felt so big. I'd say the only thing I didn't like was how stubborn they both were when it came to confessing their feelings with one another. I do appreciate there was not some contrived plot point that drove them to separate at the end of the book. I really loved the other football players and I'm hoping we will get some of their stories soon!

Another 5 star read from Sarah Adams! She has a brilliant way of making you love her characters charm, quirks and humor. Nathan and Bree were a delight. I was particularly taken with Nathan’s vulnerability once he finally opened up about his mental health and I loved how Bree could be there for him. Also, how Sarah makes her closed door slow burns just as spicy as the open door romances? Who knows!? 🔥😍💛

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4121402966

This may be the best friends to lovers romance I have ever read. The Cheat Sheet tells the story of Bree and Nathan. They have been best friends since high school. Each of them secretly wishes for more, yet both are afraid to take things to the next level. Some of the things that make this book so special:

- It can be really tough to write a contemporary romance...especially friends to lovers. Very often, the feeling is that the characters could just solve the conflict with a quick conversation. And while this may be true for Bree and Nathan, Adams writes tension and internal conflict so well that you can completely understand why both characters are so truly afraid to admit their feelings for the other. Their friendship is so complete that it would be a devastating loss for both should something go wrong.

- All of this builds to serious tension and chemistry. This is a closed door romance that doesn't feel like one. Bree and Nathan have a slow burn with major heat between them. It is intense in the best way.

- Adams writes about anxiety and panic attacks with such care. As someone who deals with severe anxiety, I love finding books and authors who can treat it with respect. There is something so powerful and beautiful about being loved for all the pieces of who you are, not despite them.

- This is a romantic comedy that really hits the mark. I laughed so many times from the dedication all the way through to the epilogue. The writing is witty and fun and just gets it right.

Basically, this book is pure sunshine. It is the first book I have read by this author and guarantees her as a top spot on my must-buy list in the future. I would recommend this for absolutely anyone.

Only Sarah can get me to read “cleaner” contemporary rom coms that I fully expect I’m going to enjoy. This is probably some of her best work yet, and I’m definitely not complaining about the extra steam. Still closed door but juuust the right amount.

I adore friends to lovers romance. There’s just something so special about the Intimacy of two people who already have a special connection but would like to take it to the next level.

The cheat sheet explores two friends who have been secretly in love with each-other for years but don’t want to ruin their current friendship. But one drunken incident has them in a fake relationship that gives each of them the lee way to explore what it would be like to breach the friend zone.

I loved the professional athletes and dancer dynamic. As someone who loves physical fitness and was once upon a time a dancer it fell right into my wheelhouse

It’s cute, silly, downright flirty and addictive. I do have to say that I do love more serious tones in romance so once it got about half way I was definitely more invested with these characters because of certain developments.

Overall a really fun read. Thank you to Netgalley and Sarah for the early reading copy.

Nathan is such a swoony male lead. I loved the many layers of his personality. Bree is so fun-loving, you can’t help but wish she was your real life best friend. The friends to lovers storyline was simultaneously fun and incredibly romantic. Although that isn’t usually my favorite trope, this one sold me! There were so many laugh out loud moments, and once again, Sarah Adams is a masterful narrator- each point of view is so well matched to the character, and so refreshing funny. There are always moments of depth as well, and as someone who struggles with anxiety and depression, I appreciated the trigger warning the beginning of the book, and the tasteful way in which those elements were portrayed. It was very realistic and relatable to me. I loved the ending- such a perfect way to end their story! This is definitely one of my favorite reads this year!

I guess I'm one of the "half of America" who loves Nathan Donelson, and I'm not mad about it. Sarah Adams has written a delightfully witty story, oozing with charm, swoon, and electrifying chemistry that will knock your socks off.

Nathan and Bree have been best friends for years, never being single at the same time, and the way they read each other is almost eerie. Bree's larger-than-life personality is packed into a ballerina package, while Nathan's pro-football stature houses an incredibly sweet, gentle soul. This dynamic duo made me laugh, dreamily float, and roll my eyes in disbelieve as they each try to hide what they truly feel.

Finally both single, Nathan and his teammates come up with the ultimate challenge--the cheat sheet--and if I wasn't hooked before then, I was totally captivated with that. With high stakes, these best friends were in for the adventure of a lifetime and I was all over that.

The thing I loved most about this book was the fantastic escape it created. Adams captures pride, independence, reliance, attraction, selflessness, hope, humor, and most of all, romance, in this perfectly perfect story. I just can't say enough, but if you love football, ballet, fake relationships, running, starbursts, and tide stain removal pens (don't we all wish?!), you're definitely going to love this one!

Content: closed door (steamy clean kisses, some innuendo); mild+ language; very mild sports violence. I'd give it a PG13 rating.

*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through Netgalley. All opinions are my own and were voluntarily given.*

authorsarahadams has quickly become an auto read author for me 😍 her books are always the fun, pick me up, lovey romance books that just make you feel good!

The Cheat Sheet was no different. I absolutely loved this one. I laughed out loud and thought Nathan and Bree were the absolute cutest 🥰😫 Nathan is seriously a DREAM! I didn’t want it to end but hope that we eventually can get a book on the rest of Nathan’s teammates (🤞🏻)

If you love a good romance or friends to lovers this definitely is for you! Highly recommend. Make sure to grab this when it comes out on August 17th 🤩

Thank you @netgalley and @authorsarahadams for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Shockingly, The Cheat Sheet is my first Sarah Adams novel. But it won't be my last! Adams has such a heartwarming and endearing writing style that you can't help but fall in love with as you fall in love with the characters she's created.

In this instance, we're falling in love with Bree and Nathan - best friends who have been secretly in love with each other since high school. But when dance studio owner, Bree has too many drinks and accidentally tells a reporter she's dating Nathan, an NFL player, his agent convinces them to make the most of the situation and fake date. Nathan asks his fellow players for help in creating a Romance Cheat Sheet, to finally discover once and for all if his feelings are reciprocated.

In The Cheat Sheet, we get the pleasure of dual perspectives, so we see the situation from both sides. While I'm sometimes too impatient for slow-burn romances, I loved this book's build-up and all the little romantic moments leading up to the amazing ending! Nathan and Bree are also just fantastic characters. Adams knows how to create a book boyfriend - Nathan is so kind and passionate but then she added a layer of vulnerability as he begins to experience panic attacks.

Now, I never use the word swoon, but this book makes me want to because hello all the swoon-worthy moments your heart won't be able to handle 😂. Like when Nathan first realises Bree might share his feelings - swoon! Or the way Bree cared for him through a panic attack - it will make your heart swell, seriously. Add in undeniable chemistry and witty banter and The Cheat Sheet = rom-com goals.

So, if you like slow-burn romances, the friends-to-lover trope, fake dating, cinnamon roll heroes, expert banter and closed-door romances, you need to read The Cheat Sheet immediately!

I'm eternally grateful to NetGalley and Sarah Adams for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

The perfect friends to lovers story. Bree Camden is hopelessly in love with her best friend, Nathan Donelson. They end up fake dating and the rest is history.

I love the relationship that Nathan and Bree have. Their story is adorable and I really enjoyed the ending.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is one of the sweetest friends to lovers romances ever!!

Nathan & Bree have been in the friend zone since high school so nearly the entire book is this epic will they / won't they tug of war until FINALLY they both succomb.

Nathan is this perfect football player in the NFL who has been pining for Bree since high school. He is surrounded by this really adorable cast of teammates that egg him on and help him make his dating cheat sheet. Bree for her part has been doing as much as possible to draw very clear lines around herself so that she doesn't misread signals from him. This leads to endless hilarity as then engage in a fake dating adventure.

This is one of those perfect romcoms that truly gives the reader a light hearted, fun, and uplifting story complete will an over the top swoony happily ever after.

I really didn't think Sarah could endear me to her writing more after The Off-Limits Rule and The Temporary Roomie. I was wrong. There are so many good one-liners!
This dual POV romcom shows Bree and Nathan years into best friendshiphood (that's a word, even if I just made it up). Both love the other and want more. Both can't stand the idea of losing the other by pursuing a relationship. But Bree's lack of filter and tequila-gate open the door to a fake relationship during the playoffs leading up to the Super Bowl. Their chemistry is amazing and the cheat sheet antics hilarious.
It's official. I can no longer say friends-to-lovers is not for me. Sarah crushes this trope! I can only hope we see more of these sports romances from her in this vein. I think his teammates could use their own HEA's. Gimme! :)
This book is completely huggable. My heart swelled up like The Grinch. It just feels so big and sappy that it's bound to burst.
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Bree and Nathan are PURE GOLD. Their friendship, their banter, how they take care of each other, and their romance, all fantastic. The anxiety representation made me feel so seen, and I love how it was portrayed! You can be tough and have anxiety.

Bree’s inner dialogue had me laughing like a crazy person. I just want to be her best friend. She’s fierce, loyal, and funny. I really love characters that can be fun/goofy, but also be hardcore and strong. They don’t have to be one or the other.

Nathan is my new book boyfriend. I want to steal him (sorry Bree) and keep him forever. He is a cinnamon roll character, but also those kisses 🔥. He is hard to describe, but you will love him.

The football and ballet aspects of this book only made it better. Get ready for the slowest burn, sweetest characters, and swooniest romance. Read this book!!!! You won’t regret it.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★/5
TW: panic attack
🔥🔥🔥/5

I fell in love with Bree and Nathan from the first page. Friends to lovers is not usually a favorite trope of mine, but this was so well done! It probably doesn't hurt that it was layered on top of a fake relationship which IS a favorite.

Nathan is the perfect cinnamon roll hero - he is sweet and caring and funny and supportive and thoughtful and basically just the perfect man. The friendships with his teammates (and them with Bree as well) were so fun to read. They reminded me of the Bromance Book Club guys. Bree is the kind of quirky heroine that I can't help but adore. Her inner dialogue was downright hilarious.

Like Sarah Adams other books, this is a closed-door romance, but don't let that fool you. There is more chemistry and steam in this book than many of the open-door romances I read. I'm not sure how she does it, but let me assure you, this book is not at all lacking in that area.

This isn't a book with a lot of major conflict, it's just a light, happy, feel good romance that was so fun to read. I've liked all of the books I've read from this author so far, but this one just might be my new favorite. If you like witty banter, sarcasm, swoony football playing heros, offbeat heroines, crazy chemistry, mutual pining, and amazing friend groups, this is one you need to read.

There is something so unique about Sarah Adam’s romances. She has such a clear voice in this genre. It’s relatable, laugh-out-loud funny, and it’s sincere. While all her stories are very different, the tone and the heart is the same. Her forthcoming release, The Cheat Sheet, delivers similar humor and romance as her other books, with the intimacy kicked up a notch. While this is still a closed door, there are more moments and implications than what you may have experienced in her previous work if you’ve read those. I always love and appreciate an artist who takes creative liberties to branch out and evolve!

Sarah really delivered a fun friends-to-lovers with this one. There was so much mutual pining and history from these two besties that it created the best and most rewarding slow burn! Bree gave me major Kate Hudson via How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days vibes. The silly and sweet personality mixed with Nathan’s steadfast unwavering loyalty to Bree was the best combination. Nathan was a total sweetheart!

Hope was a constant theme in Bree and Nathan’s story. I love how they always had each other’s back- It was beautiful to see them as each other’s number one fan. There was really such a tenderness to Bree and Nathan that it countered the humor so flawlessly.

If you love Kate Hudson style romances, with lots of humor and heart, you simply must read The Cheat Sheet which comes out August 17!

Thank you Sarah & netgalley for providing me an arc in exchange for my honest review.

I’m a huge fan of Sarah Adams and suggest you go and grab her series this summer. Perfect characters for your getaways! Full of laugh out loud moments, the best friends, and the sweetest romances.

Bree and Nathan are no different. There is no huge conflict between the two, just missed opportunities and miscommunication. Light + fluffy + sports references = perfection.

Sarah Adams has done it AGAIN! Y'all don't even know how close to my heart this book is. Having a 7 year old son that is so passionate about football/sports, while working harder than anyone I know.... truly Nathan made me think of his dreams for the future and hope that I can be a better parent than Nathan's parents were for him. 

Synopsis: Nathan a successful, charming, professional football player has always been in love with his best friend..... but Bree has been FRIEND ZONING him for 12 years...... until Bree (while hammered) spills her guts about her bestie Nathan to a lovely journalist, who of course films it and it GOES VIRAL! In an effort to keep their friendship but give the media what they want, they enter into a fake relationship..... but..... is it fake after all?

Review: READ IT READ IT READ IT! The hype is real, it is a steamy, sexy, closed door contemporary romance with so much freaking amazingness. It has the fake relationship and friends to lovers trope done PERFECTLY! The character development, the dive into their pasts, and steamy moments are truly some of the best I have ever read. Sarah has quite literally given you everything you could ever dream of in this book! I am just waiting for this book to be purchased by Netflix for a movie! I need it like TOMORROW! @netflix you better get in quick because holy freaking moly you will not regret it! SO in conclusion..... READ THIS BOOK! You will absolutely love it! 

I would recommend this book to anyone that can read.... well maybe adults only though.... truly one of my favorite books of all time..... Not only because I am obsessed with sports, dancing, and the NFL, but because it is so perfectly written I could not put it down.... I walked into a wall and tripped several times. 

Content Warning: Rough Relationship with Parents
Romance Rating: Closed Door Romance... mention of nudity.... No Hanky Panky:)

Thank you to netgalley and Sarah Adams for this amazing book for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

Nathan and Bree have been unlikely best friends since high school. Now living in LA, Nathan is an NFL quarterback and Bree runs a dance studio for unprivileged youth. Each are madly in love with the other, but they don't know it, keeping themselves firmly in the friend zone. But a drunken confession that lands on TMZ forces the pair into a fake dating scheme that might just be the thing to push the two together for real.

I simply loved this friends to lovers, closed door romance. Sarah Adams is the queen of slow burn, sexual tension. She constantly brings Bree and Nathan to the edge of pulling the trigger and then quickly backs them away, building massive chemistry. I was rooting for the pair the entire book and loved how they just got each other. Together they made each other happy and complete.

Bree's character has the biggest heart and just wants to give back to the community. Having her own future ripped from her, she wants to give others a fighting chance that she didn't have. She also understands how Nathan ticks and the way she comforted him and knew exactly how to make things better was touching.

Nathan is the most tender and vulnerable man ever and I freaking loved him. He loves Bree with all his heart and the way he shows up for her, sometimes without her knowing, melted my heart. I LOVED his teammates and how they pushed him to just go for it with Bree. Their interactions were hysterical and I can only hope that we get another book for one of these men, because they are the absolute best.

I beyond appreciated the real and frank depiction of panic attacks and anxiety. As someone who struggles with this, I felt the portrayal was spot on. Nathan seems strong on the outside, but he doesn't understand that even though he's strong, he can still struggle with his mental health. He's used to taking the weight of the world on his shoulders and being the provider, the doer in his relationships. He pushes himself to be perfect, and that can be crippling. I related to Nathan in this regard on a deep level and appreciated the sensitivity note from the author at the beginning of the book.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the advanced copy!