Preview
  • Rules at the School by the Sea

  • Little School by the Sea, Book 2
  • By: Jenny Colgan
  • Narrated by: Jilly Bond
  • Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (85 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Rules at the School by the Sea

By: Jenny Colgan
Narrated by: Jilly Bond
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.49

Buy for $22.49

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

It’s summer, but school is in session in the delightful second book of New York Times bestselling author Jenny Colgan’s utterly charming School by the Sea series, set at a girls’ boarding school in Cornwall.

For the second year at Downey House, it's getting harder and harder to stick to the rules . . .

Maggie Adair’s first year as a teacher at Downey House was a surprising success. After making the leap from an inner-city school in Glasgow, she’s learned to appreciate the mellower pace of the girls’ boarding school by the sea.

Now engaged to her longtime boyfriend, sweet and steady Stan, Maggie’s just got to stop thinking about David McDonald, her colleague at the boys’ school down the road. Well, hasn’t she? Can Maggie take a leaf out of the Well Behaved Teacher’s exercise book and stick to her plan for a small but elegant wedding and settled life of matrimony?

Even as Maggie tries to stay within the lines, rules are being broken all around her. Maggie’s boss, headmistress Veronica Deveral, has more to lose than anyone. When Daniel Stapleton joins the faculty, Veronica finds herself forced to confront a scandalous secret she thought she’d carefully buried forever. How long will she be able to keep her past under wraps?

What does a new year of classes, rules, and camaraderie hold for the students and faculty at Downey House?

©2022 Jenny Colgan (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Rules at the School by the Sea

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    58
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    60
  • 4 Stars
    11
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    56
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Clffhangers in a romcom? no thanks

I am not happy with this one! Save yourself. Wait 4 #3 before listening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun book. Series for educators!

I love Jenny Colgan and her fun, life lesson books . Her characters are all unique and I interesting. She makes me feel as though I’m in Cornwall and sitting with theses people at a cafe.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

even better than first in this series!

enjoyed the first in this school by the sea series. it was good. I tried this book, and it was even better. It was great! can wait to start the next book!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

rules at the school by the sea by Jenny Colgan

this series builds on the complex relationship between students and teachers, in their respective personal life.
it's underlying them, is the age old question, do I choose what is safe?or follow my heart?
it also deals with several minor themes including,, peer pressure, self acceptance, and the complex bond of female friendships.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A little disappointed

I am usually a fan of Jenny Colgan books but this one seems that it might have been written too quickly and left itself too open for the next book. Filling the final 15 minutes or so with poetry, in my opinion, seemed to be a way to stretch the time and make it longer. The plot was definitely missing some thin at the end. Suddenly having the book end (without any type of satisfying ending) and then poems read was a disappointment. Audible books aren’t cheap and I don’t feel this one was worth it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not a fan

I normally love Jenny Colgan’s novels. This one is off the mark, though. The story is okay but frustrating. David is a wet noodle and Maggie is getting harder to like. Her selfishness and wallowing is wearing thin!

For what it’s worth, slow down the speed in this one. The narrator talks too fast and does a horrible American accent! Especially when she tries to add a drawl.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Very disappointing.

I have loved many of Jenny Colgan’s books so if she’s new to you, try an earlier series! This one was terribly disappointing - shallow with unenlightened undertones concerning serious life struggles. The narrator’s desire to bring the characters to life unfortunately diminished several of them because everything (except make characters) was overly dramatic, making that sort of person the norm rather than adding color here and there. By contrast, make characters were made to be dull and lacking depth. I hated the ending; it seemed contrived and calculating - something I feel Colgan has been able to avoid in the past. I didn’t love the first book in this series either so perhaps I am finished with this author?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Transphobic and more

I am a big Jenny Colgan fan however this book is transphobic and contains all sorts of weird messages about body image. Why bother describing the female sports teacher as very male for example? Why can’t she just be a strong sporty woman? In a book that is supposed to be dealing with issues of anorexia and body image, why describe one of the interviewers as dumpy and fat?

I feel like the author was trying to tackle some important issues but has so much subconscious prejudice that it just leaked out. Very disappointing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Frustrating

Storyline of Maggie and David and Stan were frustrating, drawn out, we’re like teenagers not adults. Very disappointing for a Jenny Colgan novel.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!