Member Reviews

This has all the makings of a super cute romcom!

Celebrity in hiding - check
Grumpy hottie - check
Small town perfection - check
Hilarious supporting characters - check
Witty banner & swooning - check

Romance fans, enjoy!

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When In Rome features Amelia Rose, famously known as Rae Rose the pop sensation. She is burnt out and wants a break. She takes inspiration from her favorite actress, Audrey Hepburn, and heads to Rome. Well, Rome Kentucky. Her car breaks down in the front yard of Noah Walker, a local pie shop owner and the grump to Amelia’s sunshine. The local lodging is booked so Noah lets Amelia stay with him while sparks fly. Yep. This is a sunshine-grump trope, also close proximity trope.
I have read many Sarah Adams books and she just keeps getting better with her writing. She really does a good job of bringing characters to life. I really enjoyed Amelia and Noah. Sure. Noah is a grump but he has a sweet heart and is only grumpy to keep people at a distance. He has a love for everyone in his small town. I was rooting for Amelia and hated that the people around her were not being supportive. The way she talks about she used to love what she did but almost feels obligated to keep doing it was sad. Love the townsfolk and how everyone was so colorful and memorable even if they were featured for only a short chapter. I am hoping there might be other Rome books since Noah has 3 lovely sisters and a funny best friend.
I would highly recommend this book. It was a cute read and once I got into it, I needed to finish it in one night. If you are looking for a closed door romance, Sarah Adams does a really good job of keeping the heat and spice but also keeping it respectable. I like a good raunchy book but it is nice to have ones where we don’t have to know everything that goes on in the bedroom (nudge nudge wink wink as Noah says).
Thanks to NetGalley, Random House/Dell, and the fabulous Sarah Adams for the e-ARC of this book. All opinions are my own 😊

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Going into this book I was not expecting a lot, much less to love it as much as I did. This is my first book by Sarah Adams and I still have to read "The Cheat Sheet" which will happen at some point. Nonetheless, I truly enjoyed reading "When in Rome" which was a fun, entertaining romance.

"When in Rome" is the world of Rae Rose and Noah Walker. Rae Rose is a grammy award winning artist, very much sunshine gal while Noah Walker is a grumpy country guy. The grumpy-sunshine trope shined bright within this book. Rae aka Amelia needs an escape from her life as a star so she takes a little trip to Rome, Kentucky where mister Noah lives. When her car breaks down in front of Noah's house, she has to stay in guest room while her car is being fixed up. Noah is obviously very unhappy with this and plans to keep his distance from her as he does not need another city girl coming to disrupt his life.

However, as one night turns into several nights, the chemistry cannot be ignored and you soon are on a heartwarming journey where they find their happily ever after with each other. This book was really cute and had so many feel good moments. If you're looking for something light and fluffy, this one is for you!

Thank you NetGalley, Random House, and Ballantine for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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This was a cute, light romance featuring Amelia, a hugely popular pop singer who has lost her spark and her joy in music. She’s about to embark on a world tour but she feels like she's drowning and no one around her seems to notice. She adores old Audrey Hepburn movies, so one night she turns to Roman Holiday for inspiration and decides to ditch her constant security detail and “run away” to the nearest Rome, which just happens to be Rome, Kentucky, 2 hours away from her Nashville home. Just outside of the village, her car breaks down on the front lawn of Noah, an outwardly grumpy, inwardly cinnamon roll of a baker who owns the local pie shop, which he took over from his grandmother even though he hates pie. Amelia ends up taking up residence in his home temporarily when she has to wait for delayed car repairs. These two proceed to bicker and banter in equal measure, while fighting a powerful attraction to each other. The problem is that there’s no way Amelia can stay past her two week break, and there’s no way Noah will leave. He did that once for an out of towner that he fell in love with and 3 years later, he is still not over the collapse of that relationship.

There were plenty of tropes I loved in this book and lots of fun banter, but for some reason, I wasn’t able to connect to the characters and found that I wasn’t fully engaged in the story. Once I put it down, I didn’t feel compelled to pick it back up, but I can’t put my finger on why I didn’t love it. I do think that other readers will love it. I did love all of the family and friends that Noah was surrounded with, especially his three sisters who didn’t hesitate to pull Amelia into their orbit when she so clearly needed some sympathetic friends. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

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When In Rome is a standalone rom-com by Sarah Adams. It's told from POV with a HEA
Tropes:
✔️ small town
✔️ forced proximity
✔️ grumpy-sunshine
✔️ insta-love

When pop star Amelia Rae Rose realizes she’s too tired and disillusioned with her career, she does what Audrey Hepburn did and went to Rome. That is Rome, Kentucky without much of plan and then finds herself stranded in middle of nowhere, without cellphone.

After Noah Walker, the small town’s cantankerous pie shop owner, finds Amelia in his front lawn and convinces her he’s not a serial killer, he offers her to stay at his place while her car gets fixed.

Even though the attraction was instantly mutual, they never imagined they’d feel so deeply about each other, but can their completely different lifestyles blend together?

I’m a bit conflicted about this book. It really was a sweet and pleasing story with lovely meet cute, incredibly charming side characters, a grumpy hero who’s really a sweet cinnamon roll and a heroine you can’t help but love. Their banter was fun and the happy ending was swoony.

I feel like I was never able to fully connect with the Noah and Amelia’s romance. Yes it was slow burn and closed door, but I was ok with that. Mostly I believe it was because I was told about their chemistry and connection rather than actually see it developed. I also felt like the ending was a somewhat rushed.

Overall though, I did love how Amelia rediscovered herself and enjoyed the light and sweet story that made me smile.

By the numbers quick review:
★ Hero: 👤👤👤👤
★ Heroine: 👤👤👤👤
★ Plot: 📚📚📚📚
★ Romance: 💕💕💕
★ Overall Rating: 3.75
★ Sexiness: 🔥 <-- I'm not including this since it's a "clean romance." Just thought you'd like to know

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Big town, famous Amelia runs away from her life for a quick solo hiatus to the middle of nowhere. She drives away in a beater and, as one would expect, breaks down in front of a house in the middle of nowhere. What could be the perfect setup for a horror film leads to her meet-cute with semi-reclusive Noah (which is the highlight of the book for me).
The strong beginning had me utterly delighted and ready to read another fun romcom from Sarah. Fairly quickly though, I lost the urge to binge. The characters came across as shallow and the writing was repetitive - constantly mentioning the way characters looked or dressed, for example - with little substance. I expected more and was sadly disappointed. I read half about six weeks before pub day, set it aside, and then just barely picked it back up through audio just to finish it.
The narrators, Karissa Vacker and Andrew Eiden, are always a delight to listen to and the main reason I returned to the novel and finished it. I think I could read almost anything from this duo.
Thank you to Ballantine and Netgalley for the advanced copy and PRHA for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

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When in Rome has everything you could want in a small town romance. Sarah Adams is the master of the opposite attract, grumpy/sunshine and ordinary/pop star romance tropes and readers will fall in love with Rome, Kentucky and the people there.

When pop star, Rae Rose, feels burned out and in need of a break, she decides to go to Rome; however, Rome, Italy is too far away so she heads to Rome, Kentucky. When her car breaks down in his front yard, Noah Walker, invites her to stay in his guest room, but makes it clear he isn't interested in any type of relationship. Rae Rose, whose real name is Amelia, ends up staying longer than anticipated and starts to fall in love with the small town and the people there. Despite Noah's resistance to relationships, he can't help but get closer to Amelia as he learns more about her, but are their lives too different for anything to last when it comes time for her to leave?

When in Rome is a funny and cozy romance that will make readers laugh, swoon and crave pie and pancakes! Thank you NetGalley and Random House Books for the opportunity to read and review this book!

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I love Sarah Adams and was extremely excited to get this as an ARC! If you're looking for a lighthearted romcom read then definitely pick this book up! Loved the chemistry between Noah and Amelia was perfectly written. Would absolutely recommend this book!

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🥧 Review - ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🥧

📖 When in Rome by Sarah Adams
🗓 Pub Date: September 20, 2022 (out now!)

Amelia Rose, better known as Rae Rose, is a famous singer with an extremely successful career. On the outside, it would appear that she has anything and everything she could ask for. On the inside, Amelia has never felt so alone, is exhausted, and just needs a break from her famous life.

Amelia decides to get away to Rome, Kentucky where she ends up in Noah Walker’s front yard after her car breaks down. Noah, the grumpy local pie shop owner, doesn’t seem to care about Amelia’s celebrity status and just wants her car out of his yard. He offers to let her stay in his guest room until her car is fixed since it won’t take long, or at least that’s what he thinks.

Over the course of Amelia’s stay, Noah gets to know a completely different side of her that no one else gets to see. Amelia also gets to see the softer, less grumpy side of Noah…and she likes what she sees.

After being burned by his past relationship, Noah has made it abundantly clear he isn’t looking for a relationship and Amelia obviously doesn’t have time for one. But their chemistry and feelings for each other are undeniable. Will Amelia go on tour leaving Noah and his sweet small town behind? And will Noah relent and finally allow himself to have a relationship with someone again?

I LOVED this book. This is the first book I’ve read by Sarah Adams and it will not be my last. I immediately fell in love with Noah (hello new book boyfriend) and I found Amelia’s character to be really sweet and quirky. I really enjoyed that this was a Dual POV so we got to see both Noah and Amelia’s side.

I found myself smiling and laughing throughout this story. The banter between all of the characters was funny and sarcastic. I thought the relationship between Noah and his sisters was so perfect and hilarious. The small town of Rome, Kentucky absolutely gave off all of the Stars Hollows vibes, which made me love it even more.

I would give this all the stars if I could. This is definitely my favorite romcom for the year, so far. Noah is absolute perfection and who wouldn’t love a man who can bake/cook?

🥧 Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, small town romance, forced proximity

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Read or Listen if you Like:
🧈 Small Town Romances
🧈 Grumpy/Sunshine Trope
🧈 Opposites Attract
🧈 Forced Proximity/ Roommates
🧈 Slow Burn Romances
🧈Clean Romances

Sarah Adams is the queen of wholesome clean romances and I am totally here for it! Do I like steam in books, yes! Does she give those feelings? Absolutely, but they are clean and so well done that honestly her scenes often are more steamy than some outright steamy scenes in other books.

I love how this one built the slow burn and kept you pining and building that relationship between the characters!

Please check this and her others out if you haven’t yet as it was so well done as were her others I’ve read so far!

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Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Sarah Adams for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Small town, grumpy/sunshine? YES PLEASE! Prior to her 9-month tour, she needs a break and a lot of rest. So when her car breaks down and she meets Noah, you know this is going to be a good one! The small-town aspect felt relatable in certain ways. I really liked Amelia Rose aka Rae Rose (can I just say how much I love that name!). The grumpiness from Noah was on point and made me laugh. The chemistry between the two of them is amazing. I want more. Can we please have more? Pretty please?

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A book that showed me light when I was stressed out at my maximum, a book that made me smile and laugh for quirky little characteristics we all carry with us but don’t like to share, a book that truly just makes your heart settle back smoothly, when in Rome was love at first sight.
Thank you netgalley and penguin random house for this ARC!
The cute cover tells half the story in itself. Noah lives in Rome, wait a minute not in Rome, Italy but in Rome, Kentucky and is a happy baker loving his technology free life. Haven’t we all wanted to get a technology detox but it’s never possible in this day and age right? But seeing Noah live this comfortable life made me want to do the same just for a while as well. In enter Amelia Rose, she’s a famous singer and with the showbiz her every movement is monitored closely. Wanting to take a break before her big international tour, she decided to come to Rome, Kentucky (I know you guessed it now!) and wink wink, meets Noah. Their relationship is from strangers to lovers trope and it beautifully illustrates the downside of long distance relationship. After having your heart almost trampled by previous experiences, at one point in life, long distance is the most feared word and most of the people give up by just hearing it. The way we see the characters growing themselves to this word because when it’s meant to be, it is, is absolutely ravishing!
A wondrous, wondrous tale, when in Rome stole my heart!

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5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. (But if I could give it 10, I would)! When I say “I love this book” that is an understatement! This may now be my favorite romance (romcom) to date! I don’t even know where to start because I just loved EVERY SINGLE THING about this book!

Characters: Well first off, I want Noah Walker to be my “book boyfriend”. His character with Amelia (aka Rae Rose) were so adorably cute together. His grumpy, “I won’t get close to anyone” attitude mixed with her sweetness were just the perfect blend! I loved Mabel (Noah’s grandma’s best friend), James (Noah’s best friend) and all three of Noah’s sisters (Emily, Madison and Annie)….I literally enjoyed each of these characters!

The storyline was totally “Hallmark-like” with a touch of sexual tension. This book was not Christmassy but has definitely put me in the mood for “Hallmark Christmas movie” time. Change the time of this book to winter, throw in some Christmas trees, Christmas carols and a tree lighting and this would be the PERFECT Hallmark Christmas movie!

I honestly can say I had a smile on my face from beginning to end with this one! I was sad when the bottom corner of my kindle said “book complete”.

If you are in the mood for a feel good book, with characters you will adore, then I highly recommend picking up a copy. It was just released on September 20th! This was my first book by Sarah Adam’s but I will absolutely be reading more!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

To see other reviews I’ve left, check out my Instagram and Goodreads accounts:
*Instagram - bookworm_traveler808
*Goodreads - Cherihy808

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Has life ever gotten to be too much? Have people pushed and prodded you into what they think your life should be? That is what happen to Amelia, Rae Rose as her fans call her. Amelia is exhausted with her upcoming tour schedule and is tired of everyone telling her what to do and making it seem like her idea. So she watches a favorite Audrey Hepburn movie, When in Rome, and decides to up and leave her life in Nashville for a get away to Rome, Kentucky.

Noah wants nothing to do with the beautiful stranger whose car broke down in his front yard, in the middle of the night. Almost instantly he knows who it is and wants to make sure her staying at his place until her car is fixed will be strictly platonic. But is that ever what happens in a romance book?

This book was so fun, the spice was minimal, the banter was excellent, and Noah’s sisters were so much fun. This book was a great read. I listened along with the #gifted audiobook thanks to @prhaudio . The dual narration between Karissa Vacker and Andrew Eiden was so good and the story was truly brought to life.

If you are looking for a light read with some amazing characters and small town charm I would highly recommend this book to you. This is one I am highly considering purchasing.

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I read this back in June and of course I have reader’s brain (if that’s not a thing, it is now) and can’t remember much about the book…but maybe that tells you all you need to know. I remember thinking the story was cute enough but I also remember thinking it was a little too cheesy and innocent and that I didn’t love the writing.

I’m beginning to think that cutesy romances are not my thing. I saw another reviewer describe this book as light and fluffy and I completely agree. Which also makes me think about how it was kind of weird that there was simultaneously a lot of swearing and “oh my gosh” moments that felt contradictory.

I love a good grumpy/sunshine romance and liked this enough to finish the story but I definitely also felt like I just wanted to read it to finish it so I can’t give it more than 3 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

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*Update*

This book was not for me, personally. I think there were some aspects that could have taken center stage more or been more fleshed out (Noah’s relationship w/his gramma and Amelia’s relationship w/her mom). I think what was tough for me it was SUCH A SLOW SLOW SLOW BURN and i wasnt feeling this chemistry that made me really want to keep reading. However, I did keep reading and the parts where the characters give in are SO. SATISFYING so it makes me wish the slow burn wasnt SO slow.

Adam’s has charming characters and settings. I didn’t relare to Amelia all that much, but still enjoyed her story!

Adam’s also has quite the following so I know my opinion is in the minority. I may try another one of her books to give it another chance!

**original review below**

Thank you, Net Galley for the arc! I really wanted to love this book, but it was not for me. A very cute concept, but I could not finish it because I felt the pacing was too quick, the chemistry for the leads felt forced and I personally am not the biggest fan the of grumpy-sunshine trope.

However, I am sure many will love this story.

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First book of Sarah Adams
Would love to recommend her to everyone I know love romance books.
When in Rome is a small town romance with sunshine and grumpy leads.

The feels in reading the book makes me giddy.

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I really wanted to love this one because I loved the Cheat Sheet by the same author, but this one was just a dud. I was pretty bored the whole time. The premise was cute but the external conflict was rushed and unbelievable.

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Aww. This put a huge smile on my face. It was my first book from Sarah Adams and I will be checking out other ones in the future. Sometimes, the character dynamics stalled a bit for me, but overall I really enjoyed it. A breezy read.

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I loved the characters and plot. The romance was engaging and the details were believable and rich. I will definitely be rereading!

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