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Verdict: A short, sweet opposites-attract romance: Maxine Saddler, 23 and autistic, has studied love her whole life without trying it, until a group project in her first grad-school class pairs her with Ruby Satterwhite, a former sorority president who is still pining for her ex. Readers find it adorable and quick; some wanted more depth, and autistic readers are divided on Max.
Best for: Readers who want a light campus romance with an autistic lead and a dual point of view.
Heat level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.6/5 — a 3.94 Goodreads average across 621 ratings, 3.43 on StoryGraph from 104 reviews, and 4.4 stars across 379 Amazon ratings)
Tropes: Opposites attract, bickering to lovers, forced proximity, grad school, dual POV, neurodivergent representation.
The Rules of Love is Cara Malone’s 2017 contemporary lesbian romance from Lisbon Press, the first of her Rulebooks and a 2017 Rainbow Awards honourable mention. Maxine Saddler knows exactly what love looks like; she has spent years studying it in other people.
It holds a 3.94 average across 621 Goodreads ratings, with 71% of them four or five stars, 3.43 on StoryGraph from 104 reviews, and 4.4 stars across 379 Amazon ratings.
What Is The Rules of Love About?
Max’s Asperger syndrome makes trying love herself far too anxiety-provoking, so she focuses on academics, content to ignore the world beyond her textbooks as she starts graduate school in library science. Then she meets Ruby, the consummate social butterfly.
Ruby is stunning and busy, and she kind of hates Max for blurting out whatever is on her mind. When they are thrown together for a project, sparks fly, but Ruby is still pining for her perfect ex. Can Max master the rules of love?
What Works in This Book
- Sweetness: Readers call it adorable, delightful and a happy, quick read.
- Max’s notes: Her detailed observations of how people flirt and date made readers smile.
- Dual POV: Seeing inside both heads helps the character development.
- Audiobook: One listener finished it in one gulp.
Book Synopsis
A grad student who has studied love like a science. A social butterfly who thinks she has had it and lost it.
Some rules are meant to be rewritten.
My Review
Malone’s premise is charming: a heroine who treats romance as a research subject, forced to test her theories in real life. Readers with autistic relatives praise how accurately Max is drawn, and many enjoyed her growth past social anxiety alongside Ruby’s recovery from a painful breakup. It is quick, cute and a promising start to the series.
It is not without problems. A couple of readers wished for more depth, one felt the Asperger’s portrayal was simplistic, and one autistic reader found Max’s angry, judgemental inner voice offensive. Another found Max read at first like a collection of symptoms before settling into a person. One did not understand the attraction and skimmed the middle, and a couple noted grammatical errors.
My honest note: A cute, quick start to a series worth trying.
| Element | In The Rules of Love |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Max Saddler (autistic grad student) & Ruby Satterwhite (former sorority president) |
| Core tropes | Opposites attract, bickering, forced proximity |
| Setting | Graduate library school at Granville |
| Heat level | 🌶️🌶️🌶️ |
| Length | 240 pages (Kindle edition) |
| Series | The Rulebooks #1 |
| Content notes | Social anxiety, recent breakup |
How Spicy Is The Rules of Love?
Moderate to high by our listing. One reader memorably calls it “sophisticated with a hint of slutty.”
Readers mention Max’s social anxiety and Ruby’s lingering feelings for her ex.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a sweet campus romance with an autistic lead. It is on our neurodivergent sapphic romance list.
You may want to skip it if: you want deep, nuanced autism representation.
In short: Research subject: love.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
On Goodreads the split is 33% five stars, 38% four, 22% three, 5% two and 3% one.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): Sweetness first. Second, Max’s observations. Third, the premise. Fourth, dual POV.
What readers argue about and complain about: The autism portrayal, above everything. Second, lack of depth. Third, the attraction.
The comparison worth making first: Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl, another romance with an autistic heroine learning the rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Rules of Love part of a series?
Yes. It is book one of Cara Malone’s Rulebooks series, and one reader notes it works as a prequel to her novel Love in the Stacks.
How is Max’s autism portrayed?
Max has Asperger syndrome and has studied love from the outside for years. Readers with autistic relatives found the portrayal accurate and warm, but one autistic reader found Max’s internal voice unrelatable and unkind, and another felt the portrayal was simplistic.
Is it enemies to lovers?
Loosely. Ruby initially dislikes Max’s bluntness, and much of the book is spent getting the two to stop bickering and actually talk.
Who is Megan?
Ruby’s ex-girlfriend, whom she is still pining for when the story begins, and a source of tension later.
Is The Rules of Love on Kindle Unlimited?
Not when we checked; the Kindle edition was listed at $5.99.
If You Loved The Rules of Love, Read These Next
Continue the Rulebooks series, try Malone’s Against All Odds, or read Margo Zimmerman Gets the Girl. Browse our neurodivergent sapphic romance list or the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
The Rules of Love sets out to be a sweet, quirky romance about an autistic woman learning love, and its charm and quick pace deliver. What holds it back is a thin, divisive portrayal for some. A light series opener. Check The Rules of Love on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, The Rules of Love ranks as a fair-to-good neurodivergent-rep pick — sweet, light.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ 3.94 average across 621 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 71% of Goodreads ratings are four or five stars
- ✓ 3.43 on StoryGraph from 104 reviews
- ✓ 4.4 stars across 379 Amazon ratings
Romance ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ Opposites attract
- ✓ Bickering
- ✓ Sweet
- ✓ Attraction unclear for some
Characters ★★★☆☆ 3.4/5
- ✓ Max
- ✓ Ruby
- ✓ Mira
- ✓ Divisive portrayal
Writing ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Quick
- ✓ Dual POV
- ✓ Short on depth
- ✓ Grammar slips
Emotional Impact ★★★☆☆ 3.4/5
- ✓ Growth
- ✓ Breakup recovery
- ✓ Happy
- ✓ Light
Heat Level ★★★☆☆ 3/5
- ✓ A hint of slutty
- ✓ Moderate
- ✓ Adult
- ✓ Romantic
Ending ★★★★☆ 3.6/5
- ✓ Happy
- ✓ Series continues
- ✓ Sweet
- ✓ Satisfying
Re-read Value ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ $5.99 Kindle price
- ✓ Audiobook
- ✓ 240 pages
- ✓ Reread by one
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