WHEN IN ROME - SARAH ADAMS
4.5⭐

PLOT -
Grammy award winner Amelia' Rae' Rose is burnt out wanting a break desperately. She has always been inspired by Audrey Hepburn esp her movie Roman Holiday and hence drives to the nearest Rome in Kentucky.
On arriving her car breaks down in front lawn of Noah Walker a pie shop owner who let's her stay in his guest room till her car is fixed.
Noah has zero patience for city dwellers on a break but he sees a different side of Amelia and can't help but be drawn to her.
But will their limited time together be enough before Amelia has to go back on her tour ? Will Amelia fall for the small town experience and have second thoughts?
MY THOUGHTS -
I love Sarah Adams books! They are so bingeable, lifts up my mood bringing a smile on my face and a big warm hug.
The troupes ..celebrity romance where it's the female who is a celebrity this time around..quite refreshing.
Noah is perfect grumpy to Amelia's sunshine.
Small town romance with stong familial bonding (Walker sisters ..can't wait for each of their stories)
Sarah's domain closed door romance will leave you wanting more.
We are all burnt out from our jobs and routine and to read a story based on it was quite relatable too.
Next up will be Annie's story soon!!
Thank you Netgalley and Random House publishing for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Love!

Pop star falls for small town baker? Say no more.

This is a fun, adorable read that has you craving all the sweets. Noah and Amelia are hilarious and will steal your hearts.

The friends who are family people of the town also bring this book to life and make you fall even harder.

Definitely don’t skip it’ll warm you heart and having you loving the south and all it’s charm ☺️

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy in exchange for a review.

There is something about author Sarah Adams’ writing that makes her books such a joy to read. Her new book When in Rome features Amelia who is a pop star and ends up in Rome, KY in front of pie shop owner Noah’s house. Noah is grumpy and Amelia is all sunshine.

The small town atmosphere and secondary characters in the story were fabulous and so endearing. Noah’s sisters were hysterical and I wanted to join them while viewing When In Rome with Audrey Hepburn. The story had great romance and it was gratifying to watch Amelia and Noah work through their issues and become better people. I felt connected to them through their banter and the alternating POV of the story.

When in Rome has great chemistry, characters, and is laugh-out-loud funny. I thoroughly enjoyed reading and highly recommend it.

I was given a copy through the publisher and not required to write a positive review.

A good, low spicy romcom!
Loved the hero, your typical, conflicted, kinda grumpy man.

A celebrity falls for the small town man straight from a Hallmark film. If you love that storyline, this one is for you!

For my smut lovers, it is a fade to black.

QOTD: Do you have a pet?
My A: Yes! Two cats, Luna Mae & Felis Catus 😻
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I'm going to start by saying this is totally a It's Me, Not You, thing I think. I've never really been a fan of anst heavy romances or instant-love romances and those are two big components. I also think the MMC, Joe, came off too strong and slightly creepy at some points (why so many erections, dude?). I know it's fiction, but I kinda couldn't stop thinking that if this happened in real life, I'd be calling the cops. 🤣🤣 The FMC, Marley couldn't decide what she wanted or how she felt the entire book and the emotional whiplash was extreme. Honestly, she was a total bitch at some points and I don't know why Joe bothered.
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I liked it enough to get to 70% and then skimmed the rest because it just felt so fast, but so slow. Like so much happened and also nothing really happened. I can't tell if I just wasn't vibing with the book or what. You'll have to read this one yourself to find out!
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BLURB:
Marley Masters runs a successful chain of bikini barista stands, secretly supports her elderly neighbor, Alice, and has rid her life of bad boys.
She even deflected the advances of her new neighbor Joe, the ex-con. Okay. Lie. The lawbreaker is irresistible and relentless.
Hard as Marley tries to fight the attraction and protect her battered heart, Joe proves time and time again that he's playing for keeps.
***
Joseph Kaine struggled his entire life to ditch the family curse. Finally, after a stint in prison, he's ready to walk the straight and narrow.
Marley, his new neighbor, seems the perfect way to fill his lonely days. But that feisty woman is a magnet for trouble, and Joe is nothing if not a man who'll fight to keep his ladies safe.
Can he shake the Kaine legacy, or will an average Joe have to call on his inner thug and play dirty?

This book was EVERYTHING!!! Funny and swoony and electric and fast-paced and emotional and impactful and everything in between. Sarah took some popular and well loved tropes and made them completely her own, infusing them with her unique brand of humor and light and just enough realness to make your heart squeeze in the best possible way.

Where do I even start with Noah and Amelia? The chemistry? The banter? The way their instant attraction develops into something much much deeper? PERFECTION! I’ve always thought that Dual POV romances are superior, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the Grumpy x Sunshine trope, and this was a perfect example as to why! Nothing compares to hearing a heroine talk about how positive she is that the hero despises her and everything she does, only for it to switch to his POV where he’s thinking about how obsessed he is with her! UNMATCHED!

I’ve never wished for a fictional town to be real so badly in my life! Everything about Rome, KY is what small town dreams are made of! The cast of quirky, meddling, lovable side characters made the whole thing feel so real in a way that made me want to climb inside the story and live there myself.

This is a story of love and loss and stress and burnout and adventure and family and the ways in which we all escape the hard, scary, and harmful aspects of our lives all wrapped up in a package that feels like a Taylor Swift song, and episode of Gilmore Girls, and the best, sweetest pie you’ve ever tasted. Also with some of the best kissing scenes I’ve ever read. Obviously.

I seriously don’t have words to express how much this book means to me. Y’all know how much I love The Cheat Sheet, and I genuinely didn’t know how I could love a Sarah Adams romcom as much as that one, but this story just filled me up in ways I didn't know a story could, and it has taken its spot right up there with Nathan and Bree as not only my favorite romcom of all time, but in my very top favorite books of all time. 5 stars. 1,000,000 stars. All the stars! ✨

This book is absolutely giving my Gilmer girl vibes. Absolutely adorable. Definitely read this book is you love:

•Grumpy/sunshine
•Small-town romance
•Famous person/regular person trope
•rom-coms with hilarious old women

Honestly this book did not disappoint.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

When in Rome - Sarah Adams

I have nothing but high praise for this one. When in Rome is the perfect light and fluffy romance between two adorable people.

I was sucked into this story from the very beginning and I was completely hooked. Such a cute and quick read, I literally read it in a day. The characters were everything - the sisters, Mabel, and all the townsfolk made you feel like you were apart of their world. I loved the witty banter between all the characters especially Amelia and Noah. Noah might be my favorite book boyfriend so far this year.

I highly recommend grabbing this one when it releases on September 20th!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Adams, & Random House Publishing Group for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is like a warm hug. That’s the best way I can describe the feelings I had while reading this adorable romcom!

Amelia “Rae” Rose, international pop star, is feeling burnt out and lost. In order to take some rest and find herself and her love for singing again, she escapes to Rome, Kentucky- inspired by her adoration of Audrey Hepburn and the movie Roman Holiday. Her car happens to serendipitously break down in the front lawn of grumpy local baker Noah Walker… you see where this is going, right? 🤭

What I loved:
•grumpy sunshine (Noah’s grumbling and surly personality was 🤌🏻 so good)
•forced proximity
•small town setting
•beautiful familial bonds (I LOVE the Walker sisters)
•sweet slow-burn romance (no spice but lots of romance)
•Amelia- she was such a fun main character to root for. Watching her slowly unwind and relearn who she is behind that celebrity persona was a beautiful and emotional journey that I loved being on with her. Her teasing and dorky personality was just adorable 🥹
•James, lovable, snarky sidekick and Noah’s childhood best friend

I really don’t have anything I disliked about this book! It was a very sweet, endearing and lovable romance from start to finish.

Noah is one of my favorite male MCs of all time. The banter between Amelia and Noah was fantastic. Witty and right on point, had me laughing out loud multiple times. I loved Amelia's internal dialogue too. She was quite funny and I really enjoyed her.

This is the second book by Sarah Adams I've read and she's got me hooked. I'll be reading more of hers for sure. I'm a sucker for a small town romance and love the grumpy/sunshine trope. This one didn't disappoint on those two fronts. Shoutout to Noah's 3 sisters and Mabel also. She has great side characters that really add to the story.

I personally would have liked to have seen a little more conflict and higher stakes at the end, but it was still a great read despite that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Ballentine for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. Pub date 9/20. Highly recommend!

Sarah Adams strikes again!! It’s no secret that Sarah Adams is an auto-buy author for me and When in Rome was just a DELIGHT.

⭐️ small town romance
⭐️ grumpy/sunshine relationship between a famous singer and a pie shop owner
⭐️ Forced proximity & mutual pining - the chemistry was just 💯
⭐️ delightful side characters, including our MMC’s 3 sisters

There is so much to enjoy about this book! The plot is great, the romance is swoon worthy, there are some sweet and tender moments that will make your heart happy, and so much great witty banter that Sarah is known for (and that we love!).

Please read this book and thank me later 🥞 🥧

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sarah Adam is the queen of heartfelt fluffy romances. She makes so easy to fall in love with her characters in the most pure form. This is romance at it's best. Rome is the perfect setting for these two

Oh, Sarah Adams, I’ll forever read what you write. And your books just keep getting better and better! This is such a good sunshine/grumpy celebrity romance and just dang perfect.

Amelia Rose is pop star sensation. Every minute of her life is planned out and needs a team of people to approve. But when she gets inspiration from Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday to go to Rome, she packs up and leaves town and heads to Rome…Kentucky. Where her car breaks down in front of grumpy pie-shop owner, Noah.

The whole cast of characters were lovely. The banter is so cute. And in true Sarah Adams fashion, I was smiling from ear-to-ear the whole book. One of my favorite things about Sarah Adams’ books is that she doesn’t follow the typical “romance book formula” and I’m a huge fan of writers who break free from that mold.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5
Genre: RomCom
Tropes: Grumpy x Sunshine, Forced Proximity, Small Town Romance

📖 Read if you like 📖
🚪 Closed Door Romance
👩‍👧 Gilmore Girls
🎤 Hannah Montana
🥞 Pancakes
🥧 Pie
🏡 Forced Proximity
☀️ Grumpy x Sunshine

ARC Review:
When in Rome is beautifully written and reading it felt like a great big hug 🤗. I loved the banter, blossoming relationship between Noah and Amelia, and how they both developed and worked through their personal struggles throughout the book. I would suggest this book to anyone who is looking for a sweet feel good romcom with small town romance, forced proximity, and grumpy sunshine tropes.

I especially loved the small, Southern town charm that gave off 💫 Stars Hollow 💫 vibes from Gilmore girls!! Excuse me while I go read every book Sarah Adams has written, because this was so beautifully done.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Ballentine for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is possibly my favorite book of the year so far.

I'm a fan of Sarah Adams anyway, but this book wrapped me in a blanket and held me tight. It is a true rom-com, with both the romance and the comedy present. I had a hard time keeping a smile off my face while reading.

Grant and Amelia are just such great characters and their relationship is just so wonderfully written. I loved Rome and its citizens. Lately I have been craving small-town romances and this one just took the cake. Or the pie.

Grumpy pie shop owner falls for pop star in this cute opposites attract, small town romance.

Noah runs his family's pie shop in Rome, Kentucky and is perfectly happy with his small town living until one night Amelia, aka Rae Rose, breaks down on his front lawn. Amelia is on the run from her celebrity lifestyle and needs a break. She ends up finding the break and friends she needs while in Rome.

There was quirky townspeople, meddling sisters and all the sweet grumpiness ini this one. I will say for a pie owner main character I wanted more time in the kitchen, more pie, more sweets a little just more something. I enjoyed this story but I did start to lose a little bit of interest halfway through.

I will say the conflict ended up being interesting to me and I could have had that play out even more. Noah and Amelia teaming up to take down the man sort of vibe.

If you like closed door, small town romances you'll enjoy this one too. I am looking forward to returning to Rome with Annie's story!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Entertaining, bingeable and so much fun!!

Synopsis: Pop star Rae Rose, or rather Amelia, is in need of a break and ends up in Rome, Kentucky after being inspired by her favorite Audrey Hepburn movie Roman Holiday. When her car breaks down, local pie shop owner Noah Walker comes to her rescue and lets her stay in his guest room despite making it clear that he has no time for celebrities. As the two get to know each other and break down barriers, a deeper connection forms but both are afraid to act on it knowing that Amelia's stay is temporary.

Thoughts: The "celebrity meets normal person" trope is one of my favorites, and I was glad to see the female MC is the celebrity as it's usually the opposite. While the plot itself wasn't anything unique, Sarah did a great job with all of the small details

Read if you like:
-Celebrity romance
-Grumpy/ sunshine trope
-Small town romance
-Pie shops

Thank you so much Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: 9/20

Sarah Adams knows how to write a romcom that you won’t be able to put down! When in Rome is about Amelia (Rae Rose), a pop star who needs a break from the limelight and her demanding team who have not realized that she is struggling. She takes off for and gets stranded in Rome, Kentucky after a hit of inspiration from Audrey Hepburn. Rome is a charming small town full of nosy neighbors who are in everyone’s business but who would also have your back in a heartbeat. It is also home to the local baker - Noah Walker, single and a little jaded from previous relationships. Noah offers his spare bedroom to Amelia but wants nothing to do with the pop star. What happens between the two “When in Rome?”

This was a sweet, slow burn, opposites attract rom com that had me laughing, swooning, and falling in love with the characters. Amelia is a pop star but her struggles are relatable. She’s been struggling in silence while everything around her just continues to move. I was swooning over Noah! He’s a grump but has so much love in his heart for the ones he cares about. His relationships with his sisters and the townspeople were so sweet. The nosy neighbors were hilarious and exactly what I would expect in a small town. The relationships, character growth, funny moments, and struggles all came together perfectly.

I would absolutely recommend When in Rome! It was a hit for me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Sarah Adams has done it again!! Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is such a cute romance! Fans of closed door romances and Sara Adams will love this! The heroine finally being Abel to take the time off and be herself with the hero was great!

I also loved the family rep as well as the rep of the hero owning a bakery! The small town vibes were also pretty great and sweet!

Tropes:
- Forced proximity
- Small Town
- Found Family
- Grumpy x Sunshine

Overall this was a great read and I do recommend it if you are down for closed door romances!

Than you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to review! All thoughts are my own.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

Amelia (Rae) Rose is a celebrity pop star. She became famous at 18 and is burning out. So she takes inspiration from Audrey Hepburn and takes off in the night to Rome, but the one in Kentucky. And she breaks down in Noah's yard.

Noah is so sweet. He's traditional and a gentleman. And he loves his small town and his family. He is the perfect, grumpy hero. And he is almost as addicted to coffee as I am. I really enjoyed their banter and seeing them fighting their attraction to each other.

I laughed out loud so much at the start. As the book continued, it dragged a bit for me in the middle. But overall, the book made me smile.

Sarah Adams writes the funniest, sweetest rom-coms. This felt a bit steamier than her others, which I was happy to see. And I loved Rome, all the characters, and especially Noah's family. So I am super excited for more romances in this world.