Read this book if you like: Dual POV, grumpy sunshine, small town, celebrity, Roman Holiday inspired, closed door romance

Amelia Rose, known as Rae Rose to her adoring fans, is burned-out from years of maintaining her "princess of pop" image. Inspired by her favorite Audrey Hepburn film, Roman Holiday, she drives off in the middle of the night for a break in Rome. Well, Rome, Kentucky.

When Noah Walker finds Amelia on his front lawn in her broken-down car, he makes it clear he doesn't have the time or patience for celebrity problems. He's too busy running the pie shop his grandmother left him and reminding his nosy but lovable neighbors to mind their own damn business. Despite his better judgment, he lets her stay in his guest room until her car is fixed.

This is a fun light hearted read. I love Amelia and Noah. She's so peppy and he's grumpy but sweet. I was immediately drawn to them. The first scene was great. 🤣 Their banter is perfection. There's definitely some romantic parts like kissing though it's a closed door. I highly recommend this! Get this tomorrow!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Random House Publishing/Ballantine books for the gifted book!

I give this book a 4/5🌟 it was such a feel good book. The writing was amazing just the perfect amount of descriptive. I think my favorite part is I didn’t just fall in love with the characters I fell in love with a town too! The only thing I’d want or change is maybe some spice but for readers that don’t mind romance books not having spice I would definitely recommend this book in a heartbeat!!

This was just like a breath of fresh air. I loved it so much! Sometimes you wants something light, fluffy, and sweet, and this was all of those things. This book was my first Sarah Adams book, but it definitely won’t be my last (I have Cheat Sheet sitting on my shelf). First, I’d like to thank Netgalley for sending me an eARC of this book. I’ve been sitting on it for a few months now, and I wish I’d read it sooner. Fans of clean adult romances will love this book. While that’s not normally something I would pick up, I think my palate was in desperate need of cleansing, and this did the trick. This story follows Amelia and Noah. Amelia is a famous singer who runs away to a small town to decompress from celebrity life. She is also obsessed with Audrey Hepburn, and honestly, I love that because same. Noah is a grumpy small town guy who has an extreme soft spot for his family. When Amelia’s car breaks down in front of Noah’s house, he offers her a place to stay for the night. This leads to all the things we love— forced proximity, tension, fun banter. This book made me laugh, but also tugged hard on my heart strings. Such a fun and sweet romance. This is an adult romance, 16+ for some themes.

As a fan of Audrey Hepburn, I loved on this story was loosely based on Roman Holiday. Amelia needs a break from her pop career and decides to take off to the small town. Unbeknownst to her, she gets stuck in the town due to car troubles but meets grumpy, Noah who begrudgingly helps her.

There were a lot of cute moments in this story that transpire between Amelia and Noah. But I wasn't a fan of Amelia's over the top behaviour at times. It seemed a bit immature and distracted me from being invested in the story. I did like Noah's grump-sunshine demeanour and I enjoyed the dynamics within Noah's family and friend.

When in Rome by Sarah Adams is a sweet contemporary romance. It includes the tropes of grumpy meets sunshine, and a famous girl meeting an ordinary boy. There were also a lot of tributes to Audrey Hepburn’s “Roman Holiday”.

The story follows Amelia Rose, known as Rae Rose, who is a famous soulful pop singer. She is preparing for her next tour and is in desperate need of a break. She has a constant flow of rehearsals, costume fittings, and public appearances, with no one checking in on how she is doing.

She has a difficult relationship with her mother. Her mother used to be her best friend, but is now only taking advantage of her stardom and success. Her demanding agent, Susan, is hyper-focused on her career success and has control over every aspect of Amelia’s life. Ameilia has turned into a different version of herself who is always polite, sweet, and smiling.

Ameilia is inspired by Audrey Hepburn in “Roman Holiday”. She can’t fly to Rome so she looks for the closest Rome. It turns out to be Rome, Kentucky, a small town with a promising Bed & Breakfast. She decides laying low in Kentucky will be just the thing she needs.

Things take a turn when she finds her car broken down and smoking right on someone's front lawn. That someone turns out to be an intimidating, grumpy, yet charming man named Noah Walker.

Noah reluctantly lets Amelia stay in his guest room for the night. Noah recognizes Amelia as Rae as soon as she steps into his house. Even though Amelia is kind, beautiful, and witty, Noah has his walls up. He was brokenhearted by a previous city girl and will not let that happen again.

Her car will end up taking much longer than a day to fix, so it looks like Ameilia will also be around longer than planned. Noah and Ameilia are stuck together after there is no room at the Bed & Breakfast. Will they be able to resist each other's charm as they get to know each other? Will Amelia be able to return to her normal life after her time in Rome?

This is a sweet and heartwarming contemporary romance. The plot is a mix of slow and fast. Once they get to know each other better the pace picks up. I liked watching Noah and Ameilia find a stable place with each other to be vulnerable and open.

The setting of Rome, Kentucky is a sweet small town with loveable local characters. You can’t help but fall in love with the cozy town. One of my favorite things about this book was the side characters. They added to the story and helped you see different sides of both Amelia and Noah.

When in Rome is perfect for anyone in the mood for a charming romance with characters you are rooting for from the start!

Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC.

Summary:

Opposites certainly attract for the stranded pop star and small-town baker in this charming slice of romance from the author of the TikTok sensation The Cheat Sheet.

Amelia Rose, known as Rae Rose to her adoring fans, is burned-out from years of maintaining her "princess of pop" image. Inspired by her favorite Audrey Hepburn film, Roman Holiday, she drives off in the middle of the night for a break in Rome . . . Rome, Kentucky, that is.

When Noah Walker finds Amelia on his front lawn in her broken-down car, he makes it clear he doesn't have the time or patience for celebrity problems. He's too busy running the pie shop his grandmother left him and reminding his nosy but lovable neighbors to mind their own damn business. Despite his better judgment, he lets her stay in his guest room--but only until her car is fixed--then she's on her own.

Then Noah starts to see a different side of Rae Rose--she's Amelia: kindhearted and goofy, yet lonely from years in the public eye. He can't help but get close to her. Soon she'll have to return to her glamorous life on tour, but until then, Noah will show Amelia all the charming small-town experiences she's been missing, and she'll help him open his heart to more.

Amelia can't resist falling for the cozy town and her grumpy tour guide, but even Audrey had to leave Rome eventually.

~~~

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC

The number of times I was made fun of while reading this book is unreal. It wasn't because of the book but because of the stupid grin plastered on my face the ENTIRE time I was reading!

Sarah Adams is an auto buy author for me and this latest book was once again a success! Her goal is to leave us readers happier than when we started her book and my goodness does she deliver every dang time!

Amelia and Noah are so good together and not only did I enjoy getting to know them, but the side characters are just as fantastic and I cannot wait to get my hands on their stories next!

If you need a book that will bring you joy and a permanent goofy grin then pick this up next!

I enjoy reading small town romance books. It’s just a cute read, and it’s the perfect read for the summer/fall time. And When In Rome fits the mold.

I know people are raving about this book, but I have some feelings about it. The main issue I have is the boundaries that are crossed. I understand that Noah may be a grump to everyone, but it doesn’t mean pushing him to Amelia when she comes into town. He is alone for a reason. And it’s up to him to work through it without people pushing him, too. That's a big boundary to cross.

And don’t get me started on Amelia crossing the boundaries with Noah. I know she is having a hard time in life, but it does not mean to crash his place and space when it’s apparent he doesn’t want you around. I find it pretty rude. I am big on not crossing people's space and respecting their space. Amelia has no regard for Noah's space. Let him be who he is. I wanted better for Noah. Amelia just irritates me so much.

When In Rome is a cutesy, sugary sweet small town romance between Amelia (aka Rae Rose), an international pop star, who is looking for a break from the spotlight. She takes a cue from Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday and travels to small town Rome, Kentucky to get away. Her car breaks down in grumpy pie shop owner’s Noah Walker’s front yard, and he offers her his home to stay in until her car gets fixed.

Crafting a plan to stay away from Amelia during her time in Rome, Noah fails miserably as he gets to know Amelia and her adorable quirkiness. Amelia begins to fall in love with the charming small town and its cast of busybodies, and works hard to break down the tall walls that Noah has spent so much time building.

I loved the small town of Rome, Amelia’s bubbly and quirky personality, and the strong family ties Noah had with his 3 sisters. However, there was a spark that was missing between Noah and Amelia for me. It also felt a little insta-lovey to me, since they said “I love you” to each other within 2 weeks of meeting. Normally I am a huge fan of Sarah’s books, and this so far has been my least favorite. I’ll still read the other books in this upcoming series, but I was slightly let down by the missing spark in the romance.

This book was all levels of ADORABLE. While I don't know a lot about Audrey Hepburn/Roman Holiday, this book really felt like it did a retelling really well. I really loved both Amelia and Noah, they were just the best to read about, and again, the whole famous person/not famous person trope strikes again and brings me a really just cute and wholesome book. I thought that Sarah Adams really did the small town feel really well. Amazing job.

I love a good celebrity romance or forced proximity, and this is just the most fun, cheerful I’ve read recently! Amelia/Rae Rose has that Hannah Montana vibe, a burnt out pop star hitting the road in search of some much needed R&R, and Noah Walker owns the pie shop in the small town where her car breaks down - specifically his front yard during the middle of the night. With no where else for her to go while her car is being repaired, he reluctantly offers her his spare room. Despite his grumpiness, Amelia finds herself attracted to Noah’s generosity and kindness, especially his protectiveness over his three younger sisters. And Noah is reluctantly drawn to Amelia and her charming personality. But knowing that she’s destined to return to her big glamorous life as soon as her car is fixed, Noah guards his heart against the inevitable heartbreak if he allows her a place in his and his sisters’ lives.

Much like The Cheat Sheet, When in Rome is a sweet, charming, wholesome romance. It has the following tropes: forced proximity, grumpy x sunshine, and celebrity dating. And the town’s residents are funny and heartwarming personalities, especially Noah’s sisters! Looking forward to reading Annie’s book!

Small town romance with a celebrity lead. Loved the family dynamics and character development! My second books of Sarah’s and I loved it!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Ballantine, Dell for providing an e-arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first read by Sarah Adams and although I loved the premise, I was a little underwhelmed by the writing and the whole story just felt very vanilla to me.

This was a slowwww burn that didn't actually get good until 70% of the way in...only after the main characters discover that setting the same boundaries that you just broke is not only an uninteresting plot point, but also doesn't work. The pacing just felt off throughout. Thinking back, I couldn't really tell you what happens in the middle of this book, but the ending felt very rushed to me.

There were points when I thought the MCs had good chemistry, and many points where it felt forced. I think the reason for this inconsistency was Adams' tendency to lay their attraction to each other on very thick. I felt like she was telling me that there was chemistry more than showing it. The progression of their relationship felt very unnatural to me. There didn't appear to be a catalyst that resulted in each step that they took towards being together.

While I loved that this book was loosely adapted from Roman Holiday and thought the setting of Rome, Kentucky was very clever, I was disappointed by the lack of descriptions of the town. We got to know a lot of the citizens and got to see some of the businesses within the town, but I would have enjoyed a more vivid picture of what Rome actually looked like.

Amelia's character was the saving grace of this book. I enjoyed the duality of her personas and thought her disconnection from her true self was a great basis for this story. Although, an obsession with Audrey Hepburn does not a personality trait make.

This book was a little too light and a little too fluffy, much like the pancakes that Noah never teaches Amelia how to make. I mean seriously, Amelia's obsession with those pancakes was mentioned at least once a chapter, how was this not addressed at the end of the book?

When picking up a new novel written by Sarah Adams, I’m expecting a few things: effortlessly fluid writing, a hilarious inner dialogue, and characters that have me swooning. When in Rome did NOT disappoint!!! This story follows Amelia, a.k.a Rae Rose, a famous pop star who is the face of an industry. Amelia is tired of being “perfect” and is begging to be seen as the person she really is. Begging for help, but drowning from the lack of, she needs an escape and needs it fast. Her only problem is that she has no time since her next album tour is happening soon…

Inspired by her favorite person, Audrey Hepburn, she’s decided she needs a Roman Holiday. Since there’s no time to travel to Italy, she settles on a road trip to the nearest Rome she can find… Rome, Kentucky.

Rome, Kentucky is a small, sparsely populated town, located in the middle of no where. Once she arrives (stranded actually), this is where the magic of the story happens. This story is filled with southern charm and heart wrenching feels. An instant classic that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Not only did I fall in love with the characters, I also fell for the town of Rome and it’s community.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sarah Adams for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. I feel honored to review a book of such quality and look forward to purchasing my own physical copy soon.

I had a great time reading this. Noah and Amelia are so cute together! Noah definitely had some things to work out for himself. This book was so enjoyable to read! I need to read more from this author!

Ahhh I adored this!!⁣
I was lucky enough to get an eARC from netgalley and an audio ARC from @prhaudio and went back and forth reading and listening and LOVING this. ⁣
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This was such a sweet and funny grumpy sunshine, celebrity romance filled with belly laughs, so much small town love, meddling sisters that were HILARIOUS and wonderful, pies and pancakes that made me so hungry, and the best banter, with swoonworthy moments. ⁣
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Sarah Adams always writes the best heart felt closed door romances, that as much as I love steam in a book, I never need it in hers because she just makes me love the characters and their banter and growth as a couple. ⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I absolutely adored this.

The past several months have been pretty hectic in my life so I really needed a book that was happy and cozy and calming. When In Rome was just what I needed. Reading it was like being wrapped up in a big book hug.

I related so much to Amelia and her struggles since so many of mine are the same. (You know...aside from not actually being a famous pop star. 😉) And I loved Noah and all his grumpiness and how he didn't want to like her but couldn't help it. Their chemistry was amazing.

I also loved the whole small-town vibe. It was so well done. I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series.

Inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s ‘Roman Holiday’, and seeking a break from stardom, famous pop singer, Amelia ‘Rae’ Rose, heads out of town and drives to the nearest city of Rome she can locate on the map. She finds herself in Rome, Kentucky, where her car breaks down on the front lawn of pie shop owner, Noah Walker. He begrudgingly allows Amelia to stay with him until her car is fixed. As Amelia settles into life in Rome, can she turn Noah’s feelings towards her around? And will she be able to keep the paparazzi from finding her?

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw the title of this one, I thought for sure it was going to be set in Rome, Italy and was totally surprised that it actually took place in Rome, Kentucky. Who knew there even was a city of Rome in Kentucky?!
Anyway. . . I really enjoyed this opposites attract, small town, Contemporary Romance, which I can’t believe is the first from Sarah Adams that I’ve read.

There were so many special aspects of this book that I loved: Noah’s baking skills, Amelia’s connection to Audrey Hepburn, the bond Noah has with his three younger sisters, and how much they grow to care about Amelia. There are also some funny scenes involving the paparazzi and members of the town who try to hide Amelia from them.

If you love a good rom-com I highly recommend checking this one out when it debuts this Tuesday, September 20!

OB. SESSED.
This book, people. This freaking book.

Yes, I have loved a lot of Sarah Adams' books, but WHEN IN ROME is my absolute favorite. It's got everything: small town charm, grumpy+sunshine, hilarious hate-banter, a hot hero who is a pie baker, snort-laughs, insane chemistry, and a swoony hea.

Okay, not EVERYTHING, since this book is Rated PG. There is kissing and the awareness that the main characters sleep together, but it is a Closed Door romance. But even if you usually prefer an open door romance, I highly recommend giving this book a chance because this author absolutely succeeds in infusing so much chemistry that the closed-door scenes won't give you Cranky Kootch™️ (the girl version of blue balls).

Amelia is a sunshiny people-pleaser with so much heart that I fell in love with her! And Noah is the grumpy-but-secretly-sweet hero I needed in my life.

WHEN IN ROME is so perfectly, sweetly satisfying. I almost never re-read books (my TBR list is too ridiculously long for that), but I will 1000% be re-reading this book in the future. It's just so damn good. You NEED this story in your life.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗟𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟: Rated PG / Kissing and awareness that characters sleep together. Closed Door.
𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗦: cheating ex, past death of parents, past parent abandonment
𝗙𝗘𝗘𝗟𝗦: 2/5 - A bit of drama, but still a pretty light

When in Rome could easily be a movie! Such a sweet romance between a pop star with a fun and spunky attitude and a very grumpy pie shop owner. Amelia aka “Rae Rose” is on a getaway to Rome (Kentucky not Italy). She has car trouble late one night right in front of Noah Walkers house. He tries to help and she is worried he’s a murderer. The banter is quick-witted and filled with so much angst and tension. It’s an adorable and funny meet-cute that made me smile- it set the tone for the entire book. Definite Doc Hollywood movie vibes with a little Notting Hill thrown in. Closed—door romance with lots of heart and two very lovable MC’s. Don’t miss this one!! 4/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A MASSIVE Thank You to The author, The publisher and NetGalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
How can a book mean so much to someone? I don't actually know how to explain it, but I sure do feel it!
This...this is something I can't put into words. I cannot fathom how any reader would not fall in love with this from the very first page like I did. I'm so glad and feel blessed to have actually read a masterpiece from Heaven, brought by amazing Sarah Adams.
I will forever love you.
This book is perfection. I hope you always stay, Sarah.
I hope you never EVER go away. You hear me?
(It's cause I can't live without you!)

not to be creepy, or anything