Amelia Rose is burnt out. Her love of music has been overshadowed by the business side and the loss of close relationships. Her mother seems to only need her for her money, and she has no friends. As a lover of all things Audrey Hepburn, she decides to take her own "Roman Holiday" to Rome, Kentucky. Unfortunately, her beater car that she drove to be inconspicuous dies on the way and she is stranded just outside town. When Noah Walker find her and tries to help, she is more scared than relieved. But things change as she gets to know him.

Noah has taken over his mother's pie shop in the small Kentucky town. He is happy with his choices and loves being close to his sisters. As Amelia gets settled into his home, he fights to keep his emotional and physical distance to save his heart that is still bruised from a past relationship.

This was just adorable. Loved the small town, loved the slow burn of their relationship, loved the characters. Would recommend for a light, beach read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dell for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A cute little romcom, super easy read and could totally be a Hallmark movie!

Amelia Rose, aka Rae Rose, is a big popstar that is crashing. She's headed out on a worldwide tour, but she's losing herself and wants to take a break - so she takes inspiration from her favorite Audrey Hepburn film, Roman Holiday, and heads to Rome....the closest Rome is in Kentucky.

Along the way, her car breaks down, she meets a cute local pie baker and ends up staying with him. The townsfolk are trying to get them together, even Noah's sisters. It's a cute story of will they or won't they.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

I enjoyed this book, especially the grumpy/sunshine aspect to it! I didn't really get the connection between Amelia and Noah at first, but I started getting behind their romance more toward the end of the book. At the beginning, it felt like the characters were just saying that they were attracted to one another but I wasn't really seeing it. I loved Noah and how much he loved his family. I also loved that Rome gave off strong Stars Hallow vibes. This book is perfect for when you want a kind of cheesy romance to binge read, and it's perfect if you like closed door romances.

I honestly had no idea what this about when I started it because I don’t need a synopsis to pick up a Sarah Adams book. Imagine my delight when I realized this had a famous pop star trying to escape fame and stumbles into a small town…where she meets Noah, a grumpy, small town guy who owns a pie shop.

I mean!!!!

Let’s just break down all of my favourite things here.

CELEBRITY & REGULAR PERSON.

SMALL TOWN!!!

A GRUMP!?

Need I say more? No - but I’m going to anyways.

Sarah has witty banter, and the best inner monologues that there are. Her writing is charming, unputdownable and laugh out loud funny.

Amelia and Noah made me swoon. You know I love my steamy hooks but somehow Sarah makes me forget her books are closed door. The tension and chemistry is so good that it makes up for the open door, although I wouldn’t have been sad to have that door open a bit with these two. 🥵

The town of Rome is perfection. Everything you want in a book small town is here - meddling, nosy townsfolk, big personalities, everyone knowing everyone - the part I loved the most was how they stood up for the people they love.

Noah’s sisters added another fun, sweet relationship to this book and I loved having them around and their bond with Amelia as well.

I am overjoyed that there are going to be more books in Rome - because I cannot wait to return to this town!!

This is a very light, cute, fluffy romance with minimal plot and lots of mutual pining. For me it was a bit too saccharine, and I found the slow burn very much based solely on attraction and very little else. For the first half of the book Amelia and Noah are avoiding each other yet all their inner monologues are lusting after one another. I prefer a bit more depth and emotional connection in my romance. I think those that like an obsessed hero who is fighting his feelings will like this! Just not my favorite. Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book - an A-List celebrity’s car breaks down in a small town when she is running away to take a hiatus from her larger than life music career (all influenced by the movie When In Rome). She then has to stay with the grumpy local bachelor until her car is repaired.

Unfortunately this book was just not my favorite. The small town and its quirky characters were enjoyable, but I didn’t believe that the main couple would be together at all. Noah and Amelia had some fun, cute banter, but overall not a great match.

Noah is absolutely horrible to Amelia from the beginning, and it was honestly just really toxic. I don’t think the “aw he loves his family” factor was enough for him to be forgiven and given any chance at a relationship with Amelia. Even with the whole town rooting for him. He was rude, insensitive, and just a jerk for a good part of this book. Having a bad breakup doesn’t give you the right to act like that to a total stranger who has done nothing to you.

Amelia wasn’t a very deep character either. The major vibe from her was very much: “Oh he doesn’t treat me like the amazing celebrity I am, so it’s okay that he’s mean to me. In fact I love it.” No thank you.

It took me a really long time to read it, and I was honestly just forcing it to see if the story got better. I definitely still want to check out other books by Sarah Adams though, but this one was just a bit of a let down.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Amelia is a burned out pop star trying to find herself again amidst an impending 9 month concert tour. She follows in her beloved Audrey Hepburn’s shoes and goes to Rome...in Kentucky. As fate would have it, she lands herself in the yard of the perfectly surly and wonderful Noah. He’s already lived the pain of a woman rolling through town, stealing his heart, and he won’t let it happen again.

This was so good!! I feel like when I read an exceptional novel, all I can say is WOW! And I sound like I don’t know how to review it...I was laughing, I was crying, and all of the characters are so perfectly developed! Dialogue is amazing 😭👏🏻🙌🏻

Heat level is perfect, closed door but enough heat that you aren’t left wanting to feel something for the couple.

No unnecessary drama, or love triangles. The whole town was amazing and hilarious. A million stars for this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC!

This was my first read from Sarah Adams and I don’t even know how to feel! Some parts were 5 stars all the way and some felt more like 3. If you’re looking for a cute, light, fluffy read — this is definitely it.

What I loved:
-multiple perspectives
-overall storyline
-forced proximity
-great supporting characters (what I would give for a hug from Mabel!)
-we love to see our MC stick up to the villain!! A nice lil twist that you can only kind of see coming.

What I didn’t love:
-some of the dialogue and writing felt a little forced or cheesy for me. Like teenage diary entries rather than grown adults falling in love.
-instalove. Overall I liked our main characters, but I felt like something was missing. I feel like most of the book was spent with them mentally gushing over the other, then pushing away. Back and forth, back and forth for about 2/3 of the book. Which is definitely typical for a many a rom com, but I felt like it went on for far too long.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of When in Rome!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC!

When world-famous pop star Amelia (or Rae Rose to the world) decides on a spontaneous break from her hectic and draining life, she finds inspiration from Audrey Hepburn's Roman Holiday and heads off to Rome, Kentucky. In this fun contemporary romance, her car breaks down in the handsome Noah's front yard and so begins their friendship. He is determined to stay clear of her knowing that she will have to leave soon enough but can only hold out for so long given how adorable and charming she is.

This was such a fun and easy read! I loved getting to know Amelia and Noah and the small Kentucky town which is filled with so many perfect small-town characters. There were so many fun and flirty moments that made me smile. This book would be the perfect vacation read!

Ugh this one was just 🥰😍 Sarah Adam’s really has just perfected romance that sucks you in with her characters and story lines! I absolutely adored Amiela and Noah.

This was set in the small town of Rome Kentucky. When pop star Rae Rose’s car breaks down in front of grumpy pie shop owners Noah’s front lawn, the rest was history. I loved all the side characters and just wanted more.

Highly recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ahhhhh!!!
This book had me at GRUMPY HERO!! Gah! I am a sucker for a grumpy/sunshine trope and Noah and Amelia are per👏🏻fec👏🏻tion!!

Amelia, aka Rae Rose, famous princess of pop is burnt out. She needs a break from it all, her career, her manager, her mom, all of it. She gets in her old high school car and takes off for Rome, Kentucky. The closest Rome she can get to from her favorite movie, Roman Holiday. Her old car can’t manage the trip and she ends up in Noah’s front yard.

To say I loved this book would be an understatement!! Just the perfect amount of pining and romance, an amazing small town, and pie and flowers. ♥️ I just want to hug this book. I can’t wait to get a physical copy.

You LOVE this book if you like:
Grumpy/sunshine trope
Small town romance
Celebrity romance
Second chance romance
Audrey Hepburn
Sibling love

This is a must read for all romance fans!!

I love a small town romance with an extended cast of characters. I loved Amelia and Noah (did I picture him a Ryan Gosling in The Notebook? Yes), and would love to see future stories with the characters in Rome, Kentucky. Noah's sisters would be perfect for a series!

I am a huge fan of Sarah Adams books. When I saw this one on here I knew I had to read it! I always fall in love with her characters. Let’s just say she definitely did not disappoint with this new book either. It is one of my new faves!

I love a good rom com that takes place in a small town. Everytime I read them it makes me wish I lived in one. When you read this book you will fall in love with all the characters not just Amelia and Noah. I feel like that happens to me every time I read on of Sarah Adams books.

Noah and Amelia come from two different worlds, but like they say opposites attract. They try so hard to fight their attraction to each other but of course eventually give in. They’re both hurt by people in the past but with each other they make it through their past hurts.

I found myself laughing out loud so many times while reading this. I love a book that makes me laugh and has me falling in love with the characters too. If your a fan of a good rom com book or small town romances, this should be your next read. Sarah Adams has done it again and wrote another great book. I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next! Hopefully some of Noah’s sister will have a book coming out soon!

Read this book if you like the sunshine/grump and famous/normal person tropes, Audrey Hepburn, and beach reads.

Amelia Rose needs a break before her upcoming 9 month tour, so she goes to Rome. Rome, Kentucky to be more specific. When in Rome, her car breaks down and she meets Noah. Noah (reluctantly) let’s Amelia stay at his place while her car gets fixed.

Noah had his heart broken by a big city girl before and he doesn’t want it to happen again so he keeps his distance. How does that turn out?

Another one-sitting read for me! I absolutely adored this book. I love the way Sarah Adams tells a story, and When in Rome did not disappoint. Grumpy/sunshine, which we definitely get here, has always been one of my favorite tropes, but after this one I’m also starting to realize I love a good small town romance! I definitely recommend for anyone wanting to add a sweet, heart-warming, romance to their TBR!

The absolute perfect summer read, or anytime read honestly! This was my first book by Sarah Adams, but will not be my last! I loved the small town feel, the characters, everything!! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review!

When a burnt out popstar takes a lesson from Audrey Hepburn, she ends up in Rome, Kentucky. For a book that seems like it would be straight out of Hallmark, it was so much less cheesy than I expected. Even the typically cheesy man who works in a bakery plotline was so natural. I especially loved how there was never a real conflict. There were so many potential issues I could have seen causing conflict in their relationship and I really appreciated how Sarah Adams didn't go that direction, and instead built up a very healthy relationship.

Another Sarah Adams gem. Full of humor, swoon worthy moments, witty banter and an adorable town full of characters.

My favourite quotes:
~I keep trying to tell myself it's only attraction, but I'm not sure that even I can believe that anymore. Not when she smiles up at me and it feels like my insides burst with light.
~To me, you're Amelia. Maker of shitty pancakes and a smile that rivals the sun. All I want is you.
Arc provided by @netgallery and @randomhouse💗
When in Rome by @sarahadams is a fun small town rom com which follows Amelia or Rae Rose a Grammy winner singer who needs a break from her glam life and decides to go to a small town in Kentucky called Rome where she has car troubles and end up living with the grumpy pie shop owner called Noah who wanted nothing to do with her or romantic feelings and relationship but ends up falling for her.
Oh My God! i wasn’t expecting the amount of cuteness when i read this book. The thing i love most about this book was that i didn’t know Noah was the pie shop owner i read a post on instagram about how this book was a small town romance and it had a singer and a pie shop owner as the mcs and it was such a wonderful shock😭💗

Amelia my poor baby she was one of the best female leads i’ve ever read about she’s such a pure and kind hearted person i can’t. I love her obsession with Audrey Hepburn and love why she is in Rome because she loves her movies, also i adore how she puts the sunshine in grumpyxsunshine💗💗
Noah is everything i would want in a boyfriend, i love that he’s a grump but has a soft spot for his family and kind of literally the whole town😭 his love/obsession for flowers and his tattoo about them made me want to cry so much🌻💗 also i loved how badly he wanted to stay away from her but he physically couldn’t😂🥹💗
Also i loves the whole damn town from mabel’s matchmaking skills to James’s ability to get under Noah’s skin to Noah’s sisters hanging out with Amelia all of them are such cuties🥹💗
also PANCAKES 🥞 iykyfk🥹💗
Release date- 20th September
~M☁️

I want to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying this book is more 3.5 than 3 stars. There were parts of this book that I really wanted to love, but I couldn't get fully invested in Noah and Amelia's story. Noah and Amelia were both really great characters, separately, but I didn't feel a spark between them and it ultimately felt a little too "insta-love" for me.

Amelia is one of the world's biggest pop stars and she just needs a break - understandable after working non-stop for years on end. I found her to be a little naive, which made since with her spending most of her life sheltered, and I really liked the person she became in Rome.

I really liked Noah and especially the fact that he owned a pie-shop. He really cared about everyone around him, from his sisters to everyone in the town. But, at times he felt a little too perfect, I'd say his one flaw was that he falls in love easily... which, if you know, you know.

The story is told from alternating perspectives - which, is one of my favorite story-telling methods. Most of the story takes place within a week of the two leads meeting each other. While I didn't dislike either character, I never really felt a connection to either one, or found myself rooting for them, separately, or together.

One thing that stood out to me was how often the main characters described, in detail what the other characters were wearing. I get why this was done, but I didn't love the execution and ended up skimming through most of that as I felt it took away from the book.

Overall, When in Rome, was an enjoyable, light read.