Amelia Rose, superstar known to the world as Rae, decides to get away from her demanding life and take a little time out to connect back to herself. Unfortunately, her car breaks down two hours away in a little town called Rome, Kentucky, in front of the house of the world's grouchiest man, Noah. Noah has been through heartache before and is closed down and wants nothing to do with Amelia. However, seeing s she gets stuck in town for a while, of course, he starts to change his mind.

Okay, I am a sucker for these kind of stories- cheesy, predictable, and just make you feel good reading them. Nothing about this book was surprise, but there was comfort in that. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and am giving it 3.5 stars for keeping me entertained. The romance is SLOW, but that is okay, also. It was a cute story.

A runaway celebrity meets a grumpy guy in his quaint small town in this adorable rom-com. This book was well paced and jumped into the plot straightaway. All the characters were well developed and lovable, reminding me of the town people from the show "Gilmore Girls". I also appreciated that I was unable to figure out exactly how this love story would end. A great and refreshing read for any rom-com lovers!

Rating: 4/5 stars

4.5
This was just as good if not better than the author's previous books. The book is about a worldwide famous singer and a small town pie shop owner. It was a cute, small town romance with the grump- sunshine trope. The story had dual POVs so you can read from both Noah's and Amelia's perspectives. It was a slow burn contemporary romance with so much anticipation because of their tension. Would definitely recommend to anyone who wants a fun, cute quick read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine for the ARC!!

Sarah Adams brings all the small town charm in this funny and sweet story of a country singer and the town grumpy pie baker.

When in Rome is so hilarious, sweet and a little steamy with the sunshine and grumpy dynamic. She is forced to stay in the small town when her car breaks down and needing a break from her life, he begrudgingly agrees but the more time we spent together the harder it’s gonna be for them to say goodbye. I loved how the town just embraced her as their own and protected her. I love the way his family instantly loved her when she felt like she had no one in her corner. The banter and tension between them was so hot and fun to witness. It has opposite attract, forced proximity and roommates, a famous country singer and a pie Baker and hilarious side characters that you get to know and love.

This book gives you all them warm fuzzy feels and will have you fanning yourself from all the banter which was one of my favorite things from the book. The only thing is I wish the epilogue was a little longer because it felt a little bit rushed but maybe that’s just me wanting more content because I was not ready to let them go

When In Rome - Sarah Adams /// REVIEW

4.5 stars

Princess of soulful pop Amelia Rae Rose sets out on a journey to Rome in an effort to take a break from her buzzing popstar life and her controlling manager before she must hit the road for her international tour. However, unlike her favorite actress Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, she doesn't end up in Italy; rather, she finds a getaway closer to home - Rome, Kentucky. Ending up in the front yard of the small town's pie shop owner when her car breaks down, she must find shelter in his home until it is fixed. As Amelia begins to open up and get settled in, she begins to fall for the town and everyone in it. But what will happen when she must return to her life of stardom?

This novel is the perfect fun, modern take on a classic film, and I honestly did not want to put it down. As per usual, Sarah Adams delivered with lots of witty banter and an amazing storyline that had me hooked until the end. The banter and conversations between the two literally had me laughing out loud. One of my favorite parts of the book was how well Amelia and Noah communicated and their emotional intelligence throughout the novel. It was so refreshing to see! If you are a fan of small-town romances, this is the perfect read for you because the people of Rome truly made the book for me - I just loved how welcoming and accepting they all were. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!

I am a sucker for a grumpy-sunshine trope and small town romance, lucky for me this had both! I loved the way the author was able to set up the small town vibe/characters. It really added to the book for me.

The communication between Noah and Amelia was refreshing for a contemporary romance. I enjoyed that they were upfront about different worlds in attempt to stay apart.

I would recommend this book to contemporary romance readers and anyone who loved Gilmore Girls!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballantine.

Amelia aka Rae Rose the pop star finds herself stranded in a tiny Kentucky town. She needed a break from her life and now is stuck stay at the house of Noah Walker aka a pie shop owner while her car is fixed.

Such a cute story! I love the small town stories where everyone knows your business. It's pretty predictable, but it's in a cute way and there's plenty of character development. I read it, enjoyed it, and it left me in a good mood.

I have been a fan of Sarah Adam’s books for awhile now! She always delivers funny, heartwarming, and the most romantic stories! This one was just that. Big time pop star, Amelia, meets small town boy, Noah. At first they don’t hit it off. Noah is a grumpy man, but yet has a heart of gold. I loved the small town feel and all the towns people in this book. I also really loved Amelia and how she was so sweet even for being a huge celebrity. My only complaint is that the story felt dragged out. We didn’t see any real steam or romance between Amelia and Noah until almost 75% into the book. I also felt a lot of the story was repetitive and boring.

This was a very very slow-burn romance. Amelia is a pop star who needs a break and takes inspiration from her favorite Audrey Hepburn movie, Roman Holiday. She decides to drive to the nearest Rome, and lands in Noah's front yard when her car breaks down.

Noah has lived in Rome, Kentucky for most of his life, other than that one time he fell for a tourist and got his heart broken. When Amelia lands on his doorstep he vows to help her, but nothing else.

I enjoyed this story, it was cute and I really loved Noah. He was sweet and genuine. Amelia was fun once she figured out she could be herself. What was lacking for me was the ending. This was an extremely slow burn, with fade-to-black love scenes. That wasn't an issue for me, but they worked so hard to get to a point at the end that it felt rushed, and like this couple deserved more at the end. It was a sweet read, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves tension galore, and sweet small-town characters that make you laugh.

This book was a delightful, fun read, that made me laugh out loud several times. I fell in love with every character and the town of Rome, Kentucky. This book was full of romance and reminded me of a hit 2000's romantic comedy. Amelia is a burnt out pop star that finds herself stranded in the small town of Rome, Kentucky, home to the surly Noah Walker. Noah has been burned by love and has sworn off women when Amelia is dropped literally in his lap. This was the best romance book I have read this summer and would highly recommend.

This title was ok and library patrons will like it. However, I was hoping for more. There's not a lot that happens in the book and the connection between the characters falls short of Audrey Hepburn/Gregory Peck levels. Still, people will enjoy this. It's just not one of my favorites.

Ok I think this one is my favorite Sarah Adams one yet!

Thank you NetGallery for the ARC! A grumpy sunshine trope is always a fun read and Sarah just hit it out of the park! I loved the small town setting and Noah is perfection. The writing, banter, romance was SO GOOD and I can’t wait for this book to be released!!

This book legitimately got me out of a reading slump. I love the characters, small-town vibes, and supporting characters like Noah's sisters. I felt like I kept wanting to keep picking up and reading this book.
The scene while Noah and Amelia went fishing was one of my favorite scenes in any romance book I have read.
The only thing I would change about this book was at points, I thought the book was repetitive, but even that was rare. Overall I really liked this book!

<i>thank you netgalley and dell for an eARC of this book!</i>

<b>rating:</b> 5 stars

i had VERY low expectations when i started reading this, mostly because the last time i tried reading a sarah adams book i ended up DNFing,
but this plot stuck out to me and i just knew i wanted to read it.

i could NOT put this book down. i started it a day ago, and i genuinely flew through it because of how hooked i was. adams builds this adorable world and this cute small town romance that honestly just had me swooning.

amelia and noah were so cute, and i loved their opposites attracted, close proximity romance and the way everything in this book ties together. it's the epitome of a romcom, and its definitely leaving me thinking maybe i should revisit sarah adams' works

I was given this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Prior to reading When in Rome, I had read Sarah Adam's The Cheat Sheet, and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I thought I would give this book a chance.

It has the trope of sunshine meets grumpy put into small town charm with a plot twist of a famous singer. Amelia "Rae Rose" leaves Nashville in search of her own Roman Holiday and heads to Rome, Kentucky, where her car dies in front of the home of Noah Walker, the town grump. While waiting for her car to get fixed, she stays at his home and tries to unwind from her life in the spotlight and her and Noah find a very easy rhythm. The two main characters are surrounded by well thought out supporting characters, who not only go to bat for Noah, but Amelia, as well, as they realize they could have something great together.

I am a big fan of dual POVs and Adams provides that by having the chapters flip flop from Amelia to Noah's perspectives. It felt like you got to know them more personally through this and understanding the fact that every story has two sides to it. Throughout the book, you can tell that there is a whole lot of love in the story. It has a slow-burn romance for Amelia and Noah, and while I usually enjoy that, it personally came to be too much. I felt like I had to force myself to continue to read at times because it got redundant of "I like him/her but I know I shouldn't".

It was a cute story and while I really like Adams writing, I personally had a hard time getting through it. I would recommend this book to those who love the slow-burn, sunshine meets grumpy, and small town charm!

Read if you like:
✿ Sunshine x Grump
✿ Forced proximity
✿ Friends to lovers
✿ Small town charm
✿ Closed door romance

★3.5 rounded up

Summary: Burnt out in the midst of an uber successful music career, Amelia “Rae” Rose decides to follow in Audrey Hepburn’s path via Roman Holiday, and take a trip to the closest Rome to her, Rome, Kentucky.

After he saves her from overheating in her broken down jalopy, and then gives her shelter while her car is being repaired, local pie maker Noah Walker becomes the closest thing she has to a friend. And as she begins to meet and interact with the townspeople, she finds that for her, unlike Audrey, leaving isn’t so easy.

Thoughts: This is my first book by Sarah Adams, but going in I had very high expectations given the hype surrounding “The Cheat Sheet.” Ultimately, I feel like that did this book a bit of a disservice, especially since this book is a bit different than her previous ones. Overall I liked it, and will read other books by her, namely the aforementioned Cheat Sheet, however, it didn’t blow me away like I was so hoping it would.

As a lover of classic movies, I have seen Roman Holiday, the movie this book is a loose retelling of, multiple times and am also a huge Audrey Hepburn fan like Amelia. I really enjoyed this aspect of the book and it kept me hanging in even when I struggled to connect to either of the main characters.

I also really loved the small town vibe Adams creates. Rome, Kentucky is the closest I’ve seen to the beloved Stars Hollow in book format (the Gilmore Girls setting for the 3 people who won’t get that reference) and I give Adams a lot of credit for recreating that special vibe. I found myself chuckling at Mabel, Harriet and the other busy body townspeople as they snooped, gossiped, and did everything else I imagine is a crucial part of small town living.

What I struggled with was the inability to connect to the story in any meaningful way, nor the MC. This confused me a lot because it has all of the ingredients I love. Why would I not love this book then?

In part, the MCs dialogue got to me. In general, I’m not a fan of internal dialogue that’s repetitive throughout the book. I mean, I get it, you can’t want her. It wouldn’t work. Okay! I think this was what kept me at a distance throughout the book never fully connecting with either Noah or Amelia. I must have felt something for them at the end, however, because I did shed a tear during the epilogue so there’s that.

Adams is a huge BookTok sensation and I have read many rave reviews on this one, so take my opinion with a grain of salt and check it out for yourself if you are on the fence.

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

I’ll admit I’m not a huge romance reader but this one looked interesting. It was definitely cute and cheesy with a capital C. It also was a little too far fetched for my taste but I think lovers of the romance genre would enjoy it for sure. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

When in Rome is a charming small-town romance with a big-town cast of characters. The story begins by international pop sensation Rae Rose attempting to escape her lavish and seemingly glitzy existence for the quaint town of Rome, Kentucky (the nearest Rome available, since the Italian edition is out of the question). Much to her dismay, her car breaks down in the front yard of someone she’s sure is hellbent on murdering her. Instead, she finds grumpy-but-endearing Noah Walker, who for all of his bluster and frowning is really quite nurturing. Queue Nicholas Sparks falling-in-love montage.

I loved this book and read it in approximately four hours from start to finish. If you love Gilmore Girls, think of this as a Luke Danes and Lorelai Gilmore love story in an alternate universe. I honestly did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I found the dual-perspective of Amelia/Rae and Noah a compelling insight into both of their psyches, and I wasn’t annoyed by either of them, which is shocking since their final conflict basically boiled down to: TALK TO EACH OTHER. I also loved all of Noah’s sisters and found his relationship with James incredibly fun. Sometimes I think grumpy-sunshine tropes can be overdone, but Sarah hit it just right.

For me, the story did drag a little bit at the beginning, but other than that, a great beach read that will make you wish your car broke down in some hunky man’s driveway.

I liked this book a lot more than I expected. It almost read like a Wattpad story that was loosely based around the Hannah Montana movie, but in a good way. There was a lot of detail behind the characters and good development up to a satisfying end. I wish there had been more build-up to the characters' eventual relationship because it seemed they met and were quickly swept away with each other, but otherwise, this book was enjoyable. It’s a great summertime backdrop, and the family of characters is fun. Initially, I wished there was more about Noah's parents and otherwise loosely discussed past, although the focus on the present was somewhat refreshing.

Oh my gosh why is this the first time I am reading Sarah Adams? This book was small town, grumpy hero meets overworked, lonely pop star perfection! It was a wonderful closed door romcom and I was obsessed from start to finish.

This story starts off with a Audrey Hepburn obsessed Amelia, who is the famous pop star 'Rae Rose'. She feels lonely in her repetitive life. Everyone around her does not seem to be in her life for the right reasons and she feels overwhelmed and needs a break. On a whim, she pays homage to "Roman Holiday" and takes her old car to the closest Rome she could find in Google Maps.... Rome, Kentucky. In a turn of events, her car breaks down in the middle of the night, smoking in our dreamy hero's yard (Noah). And this is their story.

I loved this book! The chemistry between Noah and Amelia was incredible. I loved how grumpy but caring Noah is. He liked her, which made him a grump, which made Amelia like him even more. I loved how the characters didn't push each other away and how well they communicated. Even the extra characters were so well developed and added to the story. There was so much to love about this romance and I highly recommend it! This is definitely one of my favorite reads of the year.