Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 5/5 stars

I loved this book so so much. As a huge Audrey Hepburn fan, this storyline is a dream. Amelia Rose, a pop superstar, takes a page out of Audrey’s Roman Holiday playbook and decides to take a holiday - to Rome, Kentucky. There she meets grumpy baker, Noah, and sparks fly. Will her fame keep them apart like it did with Audrey and Gregory Peck in the movies?

This book was just a hug in book form. I loved the characters, the town, the story, the banter, every single thing. This is grumpxsunshine perfection. Amelia and Noah are so sweet together and you instantly become invested in their love story. A top 2022 favorite already.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Full review to be posted closer to release date.

Sarah Adams can do no wrong in my book!! When In Rome is absolutely charming & the newest book by Sarah Adams! Rae Rose is in desperate need of a break from her pop star life. So she asks herself “what would Audrey do?” and finds herself in Rome, Kentucky on the lawn of the handsome but surly pie shop owner, Noah.

This book is everything you’ve come to love and hope for from a Sarah Adams book: swoony, hilarious and filled with moments that warm your heart & put a smile on your face. Put this one on your TBR if you love the grumpy/sunshine trope or if you just want to be transported to the most endearing town there ever was.

Huge thanks to @Netgalley & Random House for an early copy of this one - I literally feel like I won the lottery when I got it!! And HUGE THANKS to Sarah Adams continuing to write just the best books 💛 Look for this one coming out 9/20/22 🥧

I was not expecting to enjoy this so much but this was so good!! this was the first book I read with this trope and it was written amazingly. Adams did such a good job with these characters, I can definitely see a change from her previous books.

Sarah Adams kills it again with a kick-ass, lovable heroine in Amelia who is relatable and reads as a normal person despite being an international superstar, but also has tons of admirable qualities, and some real genuine sadness that isn’t a stretch to understand. As an avid rom/com reader, I’ve become really tired of the whole “socially awkward but beautiful girl who really doesn’t seem to have much else to offer, lands the hot, suave, alpha male who somehow thinks it’s adorable that she lacks the ability to function in society” trope. Sarah Adams repeatedly delivers the opposite: two complicated and well developed characters without needing to exaggerate their traits, along with a really lovable support cast. She has developed a style that is uniquely her and it is so much fun to read. When in Rome falls in line with all of her other fantastic books. When in Rome is laced with nostalgia, several laugh out loud moments, the sweetest love story between Amelia and Noah, an adorable cozy hometown, and so many characters that you grow to care about so deeply. Noah is not your typical romance hero who swoops in and saves the day, but he does give Amelia exactly what she needs. 5 stars, read this and all of Sarah Adam’s books. Now Sarah, give the people want they want and give James a book with one of Noah’s sisters? Please and thank you.

Sarah Adams is an automatic buy for me. She writes sweet, charming, fun books to get lost in. When in Rome was no exception. Life is hard and I needed an escape to Rome, Kentucky to spend time with Amelia and Noah. I too love Audrey Hepburn and am in need of a Roman Holiday, and this book delivered. Full of fun, witty dialogue, a small town cast of quirky characters, and one swoony book boyfriend made this book an absolute delight.

When in Rome by Sarah Adams is a closed-door/fade to black romance. Very small town Hallmark-like. If you enjoy a clean romance with a sunshine/grump trope this may be for you. It was a little too clean for my liking, that's just a personal preference. I loved the qualities of our male MC, Noah and even ended up adoring a secondary character, Mabel. Amelia Rae wasn't my favorite female lead, but it worked and I liked it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read early!

When in Rome is expected to publish on 9/20

A few of my favorite quotes:

"𝘕𝘰𝘢𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘥. 𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨."

"𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴...𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦. 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬."

"𝘕𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘚𝘦𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩."

I absolutely love Sarah Adams’ books so when I found out I had been approved for an eARC of When In Rome, I was beyond ecstatic! I would love to thank Netgalley and Dell Publisher for approving this!

I love the grumpy sunshine trope and also I just love Noah. I would 100% feel safe around that man.

I absolutely loved this book! It had everything that I love in a romance and nothing that I don't love. The characters, setting, plot, and style of writing overall were wonderful. Highly recommend!!

This book was like a warm hug.

I read it all in one sitting and repeatedly found myself grinning at my Kindle. The characters are impeccable, the banter is dynamite, and the romance is the cutest thing ever. This is everything you could want in a rom com.

This made my heart so happy and I'm so excited to go read all of Sarah Adams' books now.

thank you netgalley and the publisher for giving me this arc in exchange for an honest review!
4.5/5. oh my gosh i’m gushing. this book was so cute. small town grump and a sunshine celebrity literally chef’s kiss. noahhhhhhh the surly grump, my man. he was so funny, yet so sweet gaaaa. and amelia was so sweet, yet sadly she often let people take advantage of her, but eventually was able to hold her own and i loved seeing her progress. i definitely recommend this book!

*ARC review of When in Rome by Sarah Adams thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group.

“Alexa, add all of Sarah Adams’ books to my shopping list…”

Book at a glimpse:
😐☺️Grump/Sunshine
🏡Forced Proximity
🔥Slow Burn and worth it!
🥞Pancakes
🥧Pie
💐Flowers
💤Cozy pa-ja-mas
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steam: 🔥 Kiss to closed door

This is my first read of Sarah Adams and definitely not my last. This book felt like a warm hug and a comfort read. Rae Rose (Amelia, to those who she trusts and wants to keep close) is a pop star looking for a break. Based on her love of Audrey Hepburn movies, she decides to go to the closest Rome…In Kentucky. After breaking down on the side of the road, she is rescued by (not a serial killer hillbilly) Noah Walker.

This book is absolutely adorable and such a feel good read. It has small town charm at its best and amazing supporting (and hilarious) characters in Noah’s sisters and friends. Their banter is effortless and their chemistry, undeniable. Thank you for the opportunity to preview this book! This is one you’ll want to preorder and have for a comfort read 🤗

Once again, Sarah Adams creates the ultimate feel good romance. I could not get enough of the juxtaposition between Amelia's sugary sweetness and Noah's grumpy but kindhearted vibes. They were the perfect pairing. This book had me smiling the entire time. I wish we had gotten a bit more detail into Amelia's story with her mom and manager as well as Noah's family history but I am hoping we might get a story on one of his sisters at some point. This was an absolutely adorable take on the grumpy MC, small town charm tropes. Sarah Adams is an auto-buy for me from now on!

i loved every second of this book, seriously. we all need a noah walker in our lives now. THIS WAS SO PERFECT

Such a charming read! Small town romance isn’t my favorite but I do love a grumpy leading character. The premise of this is a bit absurd but once you go along for the ride it is adorable. I liked both of the leads and thought they had good chemistry. Also enjoyed there was no unrealistic conflict or miscommunication. I would highly recommend this for fans of romance!

Plot: I loved the plot of this one! Reading about Amelia retaking control of her life, and finding happiness again was such a good journey, and I loved her relationship with not only Noah, but with the town of Rome.

Characters: The characters were all wonderful! Amelia and Noah were great narrators, and their banter was just *chefs kiss* perfection. I loved Noah's sisters, and I really hope we get more books about them! The quirky residents of the town were fantastic, and I loved how much humor and heart they brought to the book.

The Cover: I like it!

Overall: This was an absolutely incredible romance novel, and I loved it! Overall, I highly recommend this book!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

I cannot rave more about this book! I absolutely adored every part of this story. It is so fun to see Sarah's writing really take off in mainstream publishing. She writes romance like no one else. The grumpy sunshine trope is a favorite of mine and it fit these characters spectacularly. Amelia's obsession with Audrey Hepburn was so endearing, and I loved all of Noah's family connection. This book had just the right amount of spice for me and the tension was immaculate, Definitely a book I will be revisiting in the future!

Each new release from Sarah Adams continues to improve upon the last, 'When in Rome' now takes the top spot on my list of favorites!

Adams does an incredible job with world building and character development. Noah and Amelia are relatable and endearing main characters that keep you invested throughout their journey.

Amelia Rose, known to the world as pop-star Rae Rose, is burnt out. Taking inspiration from her idol Audrey Hepburn in 'Roman Holiday', Amelia sets off to the nearest Rome she can find. Her plans are derailed when her car breaks down in local pie shop owner Noah Walker's front yard in Rome, Kentucky. With nowhere to stay with no vacancy at the local B&B, Noah offers his guest room, but only for a few days. As Amelia begins to explore the town, she and Noah become closer and begin to develop honest feelings for one another.

This novel checks off several romance tropes: grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, small town romance, dual point-of-view, and don't forget the meddling old ladies!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the eARC and opportunity to review!

Review posted to Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4718117561). Will also post to Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/bookmarkedbymegan/) in the coming days.

I Loooooved this book! I loved how the MC grew through out the book and learned to stick up for herself to make herself happy in the end. And loved Noah! Def a keeper and book boyfriend. Great book!

Sarah Adams never fails to deliver a sweet and swoony love story, and "When in Rome" was no exception. Noah and Amelia were insanely sweet together. Their relationship was adorable and I really enjoyed watching it progress. I appreciated that both MCs (and even a few of the side characters) went through their own individual growths as well as growing together as a couple. Amelia's struggle with her identity was so tangible it hurt. I loved watching her find a part of herself and finally be able to breathe in Rome. I loved that Noah was a solid safe space for her, and that he helped her feel safe and seen for the first time in a while. I think my favorite part of the story was that there wasn't a major conflict between the MCs. There wasn't a 3rd act breakup, and I was really okay with it. I did feel a bit like the relationship between Noah and Amelia developed strangely, but in the end it was SO sweet and swoony that I couldn't care less how they got there!

I was given an ARC of the book by NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine. All opinions are my own.

Sarah Adams books never disappoint. This book was perfect from start to finish and I can’t wait to buy the book and reread it in September.