Book Review of
The Off Limit Rules
Lynn's Review
The Off Limit Rules by Sarah Adams is a rom-com that was published in 2024.
Lucy is a single mom who has to return to her hometown to live with her brother while she and her son start over again.
While living with her brother, she meets Cooper, but her brother says they are absolutely not to get involved.
I have often seen Sarah Adams on lists of clean or closed-door romances. I have been wanting to try one of her books, so when I was looking for a book to read while I was sick, it seemed like a good time to read one of hers.
When I am sick with a cold or virus, it usually flares up my asthma and respiratory issues. I end up on Prednisone so that I can breathe, but the Prednisone totally messes with my sleep. As in, I can’t fall asleep until 1 am, or I wake up at 4 am completely wide awake and unable to go back to sleep.
The trouble is, my mind doesn’t focus well at 1 am or 4 am. A nonfiction, historical fiction, or even a complicated mystery is not something I can read when my mind is not fully functioning. It is during these times that I often read a cheesy, clean romance book.
This book worked for exactly that. I read it over two nights, wide awake. It was a very quick read.
There were also some fun rom-com moments I enjoyed. And I can see why many people enjoy her writing.
However, most of the characters in this book seemed shallow and immature. I think the plot had potential to be a great book, but I just think she could have gone a lot deeper with the characters.
I also thought this book had way too much romance for what people consider a closed-door romance. Yes, technically it was not open door because there was no graphic romance scene, but there was everything but that.
There were shirts off, and clothes off, kissing and making out in bed, and then sleeping in the same bed, without actually going all the way. There were tons of things that the two main characters were thinking about each other.
Some of my thinking might just be my age. I am at an age where I don’t think I like these types of books as much as I used to, but I am also not sure I would have liked this book ten years ago either.
This book had so much romance, kissing, and what the characters wanted to do to each other, that I thought it took away from what the characters could have been. If the author had taken out just a bit of the romance, she could have gone more in-depth with the characters and the plot.
I know I am in the minority on this view, but after reading the Amazon reviews, I am not the only one who found the characters a bit shallow and immature.
I don’t like to give books bad reviews, but I am also about keeping it honest and real, so those are my honest thoughts. If you have read it, I would love to hear yours.
This was a 2-star read for me.