Wow, this book was fantastic! It had everything i would want in a rom com and more. Amelia is a pop icon who needs a break from her celebrity lifestyle which leads her to take a trip to Rome, Kentucky which was inspired by her love for Audrey Hepburn. There she meets a grumpy pie shop owner named Noah who reluctantly lets her stay at his home when her car breaks down and the bed and breakfast is full. She develops a love and friendship with him and the town and maybe a little more.

Over the course of the book you get to see a grumpy sunshine romance take place in a small, quaint town. If this book doesn't make you want to up and move your life to a small town I'm not sure what book will! The characters are funny and have some great banter and you can feel the love this town has for Noah and Amelia. I have read all of Sarah Adams books and this one has to be the funniest and most heart felt.

I think this book is different from other romances because not only does the break in Rome give Amelia her love with Noah but she also finds herself again without the spotlight and learns to love who she really is. She finds out that she is more than just a popular singer and actually a girl who loves people in a small town, spontaneously swimming, trying to make pancakes and helping her friends with anything they need. Amelia has an amazing heart and as a reader I saw that from the beginning but was swallowed by the expectations and pressure that were put on her. Something I loved about this book is she found safety and support through Noah and Rome, Kentucky.

While this book is not overly spicy and is kind of a slow burn I still loved the steam and romance that was in this book. It was sophisticated but still playful without taking away from the heart of Noah and Amelia’s relationship. We got to see a genuine relationship between Noah and Amelia trying to figure out the boundaries they had in their friendship and then to a romantic relationship. And what a beautiful story to tell.

If you are looking for a funny, small town, strangers to lovers romance when in Rome is the one for you! Not only will you fall in love with the main characters but also all the people in the town are just as lovable.

I really enjoyed this book! The main characters seemed a little over the top at the beginning, but eventually settled in. I also appreciated that it was relatively clean.

When music star Amelia (aka Rae) gets burnt out with her hectic lifestyle she turns to her constant companion, Audrey Hepburn films. Upon choosing Roman Holiday she immediately decides she needs a trip to Rome, but with an upcoming tour she cannot go that far from where she is so she chooses the next closest Rome! Rome, Kentucky!

Noah is a local business owner in Rome, Kentucky who leads a quiet and solitary lifestyle after getting burned in his last relationship. One quiet evening someone's car breaks down and begins smoking in his front lawn.

This is where the fun starts!

This is my first novel by Sarah Adams and I could not put it down! Notice all the exclamation points. I started this book one morning on the beach and had it completed by that evening. I was immersed in the writing and humor in this book. Our FMC (Amelia) is our witty and adorable sunshine, while our MMC (Noah) is your classic grump.

I gave the story 4 stars overall because of the closed door love scenes. After being this fully immersed in the characters inner dialogue I anticipated an open door love scene. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely place it on your TBR list.

When in Rome by Sarah Adams is about a famous singer, Amelia “Rae” Rose, escaping her busy life for a self care journey. After being used by the people in her life for her fame and money, she decides to take a page out of Audrey Hepburn’s movie in Roman Holiday. However, since Rome, Italy is too far, she goes to the next best thing; Rome, Kentucky. The journey doesn’t start out so good as she gets stuck on the small town grump’s front yard. Noah walker is not looking for any responsibilities or love, especially with an out of town women. He did that once and it didn’t work out well for him. This book is so cute and I could not stop smiling while I was reading it. This was my first Sarah Adams book and it won’t be my last. This book is for fans of small town romances, sunshine city girl and small town grumpy pie owner, forced proximity, and cute nicknames. This was a wholesome, sweet romcom and I gave this book 5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for sharing this ebook arc of When In Rome in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you to Sarah Adams, NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Book is out September 20 2022!!

When singer Amelia (aka pop star Rae Rose) becomes overwhelmed with the loneliness and pace of her upcoming tour she runs away to the small town of Rome, Kentucky. Before Amelia is able to get to the town's bed and breakfast her car ends up breaking down in the yard of grumpy pie shop owner Noah. Even though Noah doesn't want anything to do with Amelia, he allows her to stay in his guest room for the night. Well one night turns into multiple night after the meddling of the town, and the sparks start to fly.

Even though I loved the two main characters with all my heart and rooted for them from the start, my favorite part of the book was the people in the town especially Noah's sisters. Yes the towns people turned meddling into an art, but they did it from such a place of love. It created this place where Amelia was able to heal and find herself before fame tore her down.

When in Rome was such a cute story about a pop singer finding her voice again and a grumpy pie shop owner finding it in himself to trust and love again. It had everything I want on a romance novel: grumpy/sunshine, force proximity, and found family. Even though I don't usually read closed door romances, I didn't feel like I was missing anything. I hope you pick up this heartwarming book!!

🥞Big thanks to Sarah Adams, Random House, and Netgalley for sending me an ARC of When in Rome, in exchange for my honest review! Out 9/20/2022!!🥞

Gah what can I say other than I freaking loved this book. When in Rome was such a sweet read. The perfect combination of grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, small town charm, “I promise I won’t fall in love with you” but total insta love book.

When Amelia(known as pop star Rae Rose to the world) comes crashing(literally) into Noah’s life, he takes some pity on her and let’s her stay at his house while she takes a much needed break for her superstar life.

Noah is your typical grump who doesn’t talk about his feelings, is reluctant to love after having his heart broken, and can not wait for Amelia to get out of his hair. Or so he claims.

Amelia just wants to breathe a little bit. She lives a busy life and as she prepares to go on a huge world tour, she just wants to take a step back in hopes to fall in love with singing again. Taking inspiration from one of her favorite movies, she finds herself in Rome, Kentucky and quickly falls in love with the town and its people.

I found myself laughing, blushing, crying a little bit, and wanting these two get over themselves and just choose love. When in Rome was such a cute and fun read. Closed door romance isn’t always my go to but it is when it comes to Sarah Adams. This book had everything I was looking for. Such a fun refreshing read to get me out of a tiny reading slump! 👏🏼

Now let me go make a huge stack of pancakes and some pie. 🥞🥧

♥️♥️♥️

This was so cute! I have to say, miscommunication/refusal to communicate is one of my least favorite tropes, but it did actually make sense in this one, so I’ll allow it 😂 The side story of her relationship with her manager and mother was important but felt like it could have been elaborated upon - the discovery and subsequent fix was so quick and I feel like it could have had a bigger punch if it had been delve into more. But overall: loved the banter, loved the cuteness, loved the growth.

Wow!! This was the cutest and fluffiest romcom I’ve read in a long time. Amelia “Rae” Rose is an international pop star who decides in the middle of the night that she wants to pull an Audrey Hepburn and run away to Rome due to the stress she’s experiencing in her life but Italy is a little out of reach so she ends up in Rome, KY but when her car breaks down in front of local pie shop owner (and known grump) Noah Walker’s house she ends up stuck in Rome, but maybe that’s exactly what they both need. We have all the best tropes here, sunshinexgrump, forced proximity and (kind of) enemies to lovers. Really just one of if not the sweetest books I’ve read ever.

This book was a winner! I loved Noah and Amelia so much. This book gave me warm fuzzies and definitely gave me Gilmore Girls feels! Noah was grumpy, Amelia was sweet…read this book!!! Sarah Adams always delivers!! I’m just sad I’m already done reading it.

Oh my goodness. Sarah Adams has done it again.

Picture this: A classic, hometown man. Not just any classic, hometown man. This one not only runs a pie shop (ironically doesn't like pie), is an avid reader, writes in cursive ladies and gentlemen, and has a private pancake recipe that he refuses to share. While seemingly perfect on the outside (if not a *bit* of a grump), Noah harbors a deep rooted fear of falling in love and getting hurt.

Amelia, on the other hand, is a ray of sunshine currently being overpowered by domineering clouds in her life. Taking advice from her favorite cinematic heroine, Ms. Audrey Hepburn, she decides to get away from her hectic, pop star life for a much needed break. Landing in our heroes life, and front yard.

Filled with heart, comedy, overbearing sisters and nosey elderly women, When in Rome took my heart, filled it to the brim with happiness, and made it grow 3 sizes like the grinch's.

Thank you to NetGallery and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

When a famous pop star named Rae Rose tries to sneak away for a little R&R, she winds up broken down in the yard of Noah Walker. Now Amelia is forced to stay in Rome, Kentucky, an off the grid town for 2 weeks while her car is repaired. She quickly comes to realize that Rome is exactly what she needed. And Noah, an easy on the eyes pie shop owner, is an added bonus! But after being hurt in the past, Noah has major trust issues and fears being hurt by another career driven woman. Is two weeks enough for these two to work things out?

This hilariously sweet story is full of sexy banter, sarcasm and oh so much love. It’s one of those books I could immediately start over right after finishing.

If you love Audrey Hepburn, you will love this book loosely based on the movie Roman Holiday.

Sarah Adams will forever be an auto read author for me!

Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhousepublishing for this ARC.

When In Rome is available now for preorder on Amazon and releases on 9/20/22.

Overall rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice: 🌶 (more steamy than spicy)

-small town setting
-famous singer
-grumpy/sunshine
-pie baker/shop owner
-strong family bond
-deceit & lies
-dual POV
-broken engagement
-plot twist
-Audrey Hepburn vibes
-Roman Holiday
-off the grid

TW:
*broken engagement
*lies and deceit
*death of a parent
*Alzheimers disease

Thank you netgalley for this book. I absolutely enjoyed this book right from the start. This book had me laughing from chapter one. It isn't a fast paced romance which I'm glad. I adored Noah so much. If your looking for a fun light romance that you can't put down this is it. This book was beautifully written would Audrey do #pancakes # poptart.

This was such a cute romance! It gave me serious Star’s Hollow (from Gilmore Girls) vibes, and for that alone it deserves a solid rating. I don’t read a lot of romance novels, but when I do, I tend to prefer enemies to lovers or grumpy/sunshine tropes. This one is definitely a grumpy/sunshine read, and I loved it!

To be real, it’s a bit of an insta-love story, where the characters meet and sort of immediately fall in love (inside a week or so), which seems crazy unrealistic to most of us — but this is fiction, people. It’s cute, just let it happen. Amelia is an international celebrity and Noah a small-town baker, each instantly attracted to the other but unwilling to form a romantic attachment. Obviously they progress past that hurdle, I don’t think that’ll be shocking to anyone!

But really, this is a cute read with fun banter and hilarious characters. I definitely enjoyed it, and would recommend it as a great light summer read!

Thank you to Sarah Adams, Random House, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

Truly I don’t even know where to begin with this review, this book was absolute perfection. Sarah Adams can truly do no wrong when it comes to writing, her characters (main and secondary), the plots, the romance… All perfection.

There isn’t a single interaction between Amelia (Rae) and Noah where I wasn’t feeling all the feels, smiling or giggling, This felt like such a sweet story of fate & everything happens for a reason for me.

Though it’s a little hard to describe Amelia, felt so insanely relatable and like a reflection of myself. (Minus the pop star part.), She’s clumsy, awkward at times, and handles the feeling of having the weight of the world on her shoulders with absolute grace. Noah freaking Walker, talk about absolute heart throb. Noah is all things someone could only dream of finding in a man one day. He cooks, reads, has an absolute heart of gold, perfection all wrapped up in one grumpy bundle.

While I know it isn’t everyones cup of tea, the whirlwind romance of it all was so beautifully done to me, when you know you know right? You could really feel the moments when they were falling in love with each other before either of them even knew it.

I also really enjoyed how I couldn’t quite get a firm grasp on my prediction of if they would get their happily ever after or a Roman holiday ending.



I found out about this release a little over a month ago and had been obsessively wishing for it to be September 20th already, I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to go on the journey that is Amelia and Noah earlier than anticipated! Thank you netgalley, Sarah Adams, and Random House ❤️

Sarah Adams is an amazing author and her books just draw you in to the story. This one did not disappoint. This felt totally new and fresh in the concept and romance story was adorable. Put this one of your list, famous star gets stuck in a small town and finds herself and a guy whom she falls for fast. It also just might make you want pancakes as well. Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for the advanced copy!

A cute modern retelling of Roman Holiday. Overall this was an enjoyable and fun summer read for me. I've always been a fan of Audrey Hepburn and Roman Holiday so also enjoyed this book. I loved the acknowledgment that it was a retelling and paying homage to the classic that it was based on. And while I don't need a happy ending in a book, it was a nice way to tie this one up.

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group for approving my request for When in Rome via NetGalley.
I don't know how she out did herself, but Sarah Adams, you did, again!
I am obsessed with Amelia and Noah
😭🥰 🎤🥞🥧🍪🌻📚 All the feels!

Pre-order this book!!

This author knows how to write! She's overwhelmed with her tour schedule as a well loved pop singer who accidentally drives on to his lawn oopsies! He's a lonely grump who's well loved and respected in Rome. Rae gets under his skin and brings out his emotions and feelings. To her, he's honest which she values tremendously. Read it to find out the aww moments and more. I give this a solid 3.75 stars.


****************I received an ARC for NetGalley for my honest opinion. ******************

Pop star Amelia 'Rae' Rose has a burnout and escapes to a small town after being inspired by her favorite movie 'Roman Holiday'. Except instead of Rome, Europe she ends up in Rome, Kentucky. And when grumpy baker, Noah finds Amelia on his front lawn, both of them are thrown into a whirlwind romance neither of them expected.

Never in a million years thought I'd get the arc but WOW.
Wholesome. Purely wholesome this story/book was. I loved the Audrey Hepburn inspiration & how beautifully it played out in the story.
A low-key grumpy×sunshine pairing of Amelia & Noah was EVERYTHING. The romance was sweet, subtle & explosive. Had the slowest burn ever.

The small town vibes were just perfect & I could picture myself there. AND the side characters were amazing, who should all have books of their own. That's the magic of Sarah's writing; they'll just bring joy & happiness.
Not usually a fan of celebrity romance, but I'll recommend this everytime & anytime.

Thank you Netgally & Random House for the arc, all thoughts are my own.

When In Rome by Sarah Adams

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 5 stars
Pub Date: 9/20/2022

Ok but like this was such a cutesy hallmark love story that just hit the spot. I loved this feel good book! Reminded me so much of the Hannah Montana movie. Lol.
Amelia Rose, AKA Rae Rose, heads to small town Kentucky to take a break from her famous hectic pop star life. She finds herself with a broken down car in front of Noah Walker's house. Noah is a small town guy who runs the local pie shop (how cute right?). They don't exactly hit it off because Noah is a major grump, and Amelia is just wanting to fit into small town life and escape her reality. Eventually, Mr. Grumpy realizes he is attracted to Amelia, and she realizes that she wants more with Noah as well.

-dual pov
-grumpy/sunshine
-pop star/small town boy
-mutual pining
-small town romance
-super charming community & side characters
-HEA

This book was such a cute and fun read. I really did love it and left me with all of the feel good feels. This book would make the perfect rom com movie, too. I'd love to see it come out as a film adaptation!!

Brb going to read the rest of Sarah Adam's books.