Bree runs a dance studio and loves her longtime best friend Nathan, a famous NFL quarterback. When a drunken confession goes public, three weeks of fake dating ask them to act out the feelings they have been avoiding. Penguin Random House / Dell
The strongest attraction is everyday loyalty dressed as a public performance. GoodeyReads enjoys Nathan’s care and the teammates’ involvement, while Moreaux questions whether so much delay can survive one honest conversation. GoodeyReads Common Sense Media / Moreaux
Consider it for closed-door best-friend affection and supportive teammates; less suitable when prolonged avoidance or chatty exposition frequently annoys you.
Provisional Eikna score: 3.4/5. Four core dimensions cover 85% of the quality weight. Ending satisfaction and reread appeal remain unscored; heat is excluded. Researched editorial assessment; no firsthand reading claimed. Evidence confidence: moderate.
A numeric heat level has not been established. Read the review’s heat and content discussion for attributed descriptions before choosing. An unknown level is not a closed-door or no-spice promise.
The heat-level guide explains detail and frequency; the glossary entry for spice separates sexual content from quality.
Happily ever after (HEA). Reported by The StoryGraph / maddieaboutbooks. Checked 2026-10-06. This describes the outcome, not its quality or the closure of every wider plot.
For the difference between romantic commitment and wider plot closure, compare HEA, HFN and cliffhangers.
Standalone or continuing-series status is not established in this summary. Read the existing format and series guidance for any available context; do not assume a missing series entry means the book stands alone.
The series-order guide explains what to check when a complete romance belongs to a connected world.
| Title | The Cheat Sheet |
|---|---|
| Author | Sarah Adams |
| Inspected edition | Dell · Paperback |
| Publication scope | 26 April 2022 |
| ISBN-13 | 9780593500767 |
| Edition page count | 336 pages |
The author or publisher evidence identifies the work. Publication dates refer to the stated edition or release scope, not automatically the first appearance of the story. Unknown identifiers and formats are left open.
Dell establishes long friendship before the confession and staged relationship. Dell
A famous partner creates an audience for choices that might otherwise stay private. The appeal lies in watching familiar care acquire an openly romantic meaning.
GoodeyReads enjoys their supportive plotting and comic antics. GoodeyReads
Readers who prefer friendship around sport to detailed game action may find this useful. A team can matter as an emotional support network rather than only as a competitive setting.
Moreaux finds the conflict contrived because the pair could resolve it through honest conversation. Common Sense Media / Moreaux
Fear of changing a friendship is credible in principle. The question is whether the story keeps giving that fear enough substance as the public relationship progresses.
Maddieaboutbooks likes the premise and some romantic moments but finds the prose juvenile and the backstory overexplained. The StoryGraph / maddieaboutbooks
Choose it when an immediately chatty voice is part of the fun. If you prefer motives emerging indirectly from scenes, that same intimacy may feel intrusive rather than inviting.
Moreaux and GoodeyReads independently describe closed-door romance with kissing and attraction. This supports a reported closed-door description, not an assigned numeric heat level. Common Sense Media / Moreaux GoodeyReads
Reported notes include panic attacks, anxiety, alcohol use and a past car accident. The inspected accounts do not constitute an exhaustive warning list. Common Sense Media / Moreaux The StoryGraph / maddieaboutbooks
Best for readers who enjoy public fake dating, best-friend care and a sports team helping with romance. Avoid it if indirect communication or a deliberately informal narration is likely to feel exhausting.
GoodeyReads values the warmth and lively pace. GoodeyReads Moreaux finds the conflicts and closing overly convenient. Common Sense Media / Moreaux Maddie likes the basic story but objects to the prose. The StoryGraph / maddieaboutbooks These assessments are compared, not averaged.
The recorded 2022 Dell paperback includes new material relative to the earlier ebook. Edition-specific publication facts should not be confused with the work’s first appearance. Dell
A direct US product edition has not been verified. The Amazon link is a title-and-author search, with no specific format or availability promised. A verified Bookshop or Libro edition link is not yet available for this review.
We may earn a commission from purchases through our links, at no extra cost to you. Search Amazon for the title and author.
Quality scale: 1 substantial weaknesses; 2 weaknesses outweigh strengths; 3 mixed; 4 strengths outweigh limitations; 5 exceptional sustained strengths. Half points are allowed. Weights: romance 30%, characters 20%, writing 20%, emotional impact 15%, ending satisfaction 10%, reread appeal 5%. A provisional overall score divides the supported weighted sum by its supported weight and rounds once to one decimal. Heat is descriptive and excluded. These scores express the evidence-based judgment explained in this review.
Affection held up by avoidance
Provisional dimension score: 3.5/5.
Loyalty and support, uneven credibility
Provisional dimension score: 3.5/5.
Easy pace, divisive voice
Provisional dimension score: 3/5.
Warmth with a neat-resolution caveat
Provisional dimension score: 3.5/5.
Descriptive evidence, unscored
Outcome and satisfaction kept separate
No demonstrated rereading evidence
Yes. Dell calls Nathan Bree’s longtime best friend.
Two inspected independent sources describe it that way; it still includes attraction and physical affection.
Maddieaboutbooks explicitly calls the outcome a happily ever after; that is a reported outcome, separate from our unscored ending satisfaction. The StoryGraph / maddieaboutbooks
Move from a famous athlete’s publicity problem to two adults whose professional identities and family duties shape a more private attraction.
For a different relationship built around practical kindness, compare messages and shared domestic space with years of unspoken friendship.
Compare attraction that grows through a negotiated creative arrangement rather than staged public dating, with greater emphasis on family revelations.
The friends-to-lovers guide includes this book among other choices. Compare those options if its premise appeals but a limitation gives you pause. The Explore the different risks of falling for a friend explains the surrounding reading route and what to check before choosing.
Consider it for closed-door best-friend affection and supportive teammates; less suitable when prolonged avoidance or chatty exposition frequently annoys you. Best for readers who enjoy public fake dating, best-friend care and a sports team helping with romance. Avoid it if indirect communication or a deliberately informal narration is likely to feel exhausting.
Search Amazon for the title and author when this balance matches what you want to read.
Checked October 6, 2026. The How this assessment was researched preserves attributions and research limits. Unknown details do not establish absence. Purchasing links use our account.
As an Amazon Associate, Eikna Romance earns from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Penguin Random House — Friends to Lovers list: The publisher introduces the selections as contemporary romances and explicitly includes The Cheat Sheet. Its individual title page supplies only the broader Romance category. Classification verified; checked 2026-10-07.
Dell — The Cheat Sheet: Bree hides her love for longtime best friend Nathan. A public confession and his publicist’s proposal result in a three-week pretend relationship. Friendship-to-romance mechanism verified; checked 2026-10-07.
The contemporary friends-to-lovers collection compares this arrangement with reunions, performed relationships, intimacy arrangements and changing assumptions about familiar partners, so you can choose the particular relationship friendship you want to read about.
The yearning romance reading collection explains the longing evidence and relationship context for this choice and compares it with other reviewed books.
Slow-Burn Friends to Lovers: Friendship, Yearning and Confession includes this book and explains the verified relationship boundary.