Sarah Adams is one of my favorite auto-buy authors. Her romances are the perfect balance of sweet and sexy. Practice Makes Perfect takes us back to Rome, Kentucky. Annie Walker is the sweet younger sister of Noah (from When in Rome), owner of the local flower shop, and avid romance reader (she especially loves pirates). Unfortunately, her quiet nature and her awkwardness make dating difficult. Enter Will Griffin--bodyguard to her famous almost sister-in-law Amelia. He's the quintessential tattooed bad boy, and Annie has decided he'll make the perfect romantic tutor.

They embark on a series of practice dates, and even though she knows it's just practice, it starts to feel all too real. For both of them. But her family, her business, and her life are here in Rome, he doesn't want to settle down in a town...could a real relationship between them work?

Sarah's writing is so genuinely delightful. Her characters are full of life, and I absolutely love all the quirky small-town side characters. Small town romance is one of my favorite tropes. I grew up in a small town, and Rome, Kentucky feels a little bit like home.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance review copy.

“Fan blowing slow burn”

If you love a touch of steamy but not overly graphic Sarah achieved it perfectly in Practice Makes Perfect! LOVED this book and the small town. Mabel was by FAR my absolute fave. If you like polar opposite, angst, banter, and hilarious siblings then you will love this story!

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the Sarah Adams books I have read, and I have been looking forward to Practice Makes Perfect. Unfortunately, it fell a little short for me. While I liked both of the main characters, something was missing. I had a hard time believing Annie was almost 30 years old, as she seemed much younger. And while I adored Will, I didn’t pick up on the bad-boy bodyguard vibes. Is this because he had a sleeve tattoo? I have no idea.

Was this a bad book? No, it’s perfectly average. Would I recommend it? Sure, to people who enjoy the genre or who have read the previous book, When In Rome.

Despite not loving it, I am looking forward to the next book, which I hope is James and Maddie’s story.

This was an amazing read about a woman who wants to find a man to marry quickly but is not good at dating and a bodyguard decides to become her tutor. I have wanted to read this book for a while now and let me tell you that I very much enjoyed it. The story was so cute and I loved so many things. Adams is a great writer with a fantastic storyline and amazing characters. I loved how majority of this book took place in a small town in Kentucky where everyone knows everyone. This is the second book in the series but Adams made sure to include information about the previous characters is no one is confused. Readers will be spoiled for the first book though. I enjoyed the conflicts thrown at the characters and the pacing was perfect. This book is written in dual perspectives which many readers will enjoy.

Annie is the most sweetest person ever but has a hard time getting a man that is perfect for her. I do have to say that there wasn't much development with her. Though she is the kindest person, I would be her friend. Will is the bodyguard with tattoos but is also a cinnamon roll. He's a broody, softy who has a crush on Annie but doesn't want to be married. I didn't see much of a development for him either was I was disappointed. Though both characters were very well written. There were many side characters and some very involved with the story to keep things interesting. This is a clean romance so there's kissing and closed-door sex. As the story was great, I didn't mind that this book wasn't spicy for an adult book. The tropes were small-town romance, friends to lovers, and teacher/student dating.

The ending was well done and I enjoyed how the story ended with this couple. I would totally read the other books in the series and Adams's upcoming books. I do wish that the characters had more development or a powerful moment where readers feel connected with them. This was a well-written book and I would recommend that you check this out, especially for fans of Sophie Sullivan and Lynn Painter.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡-𝙩𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙪𝙣𝙖𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮-𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚.

📍 Read if you like:
• Small Town
• Fake Dating
• Opposites Attract
• Dual POV
• Good Girl x Bad Boy

I absolutely loved this book so much. After reading When In Rome earlier this year, I knew I immediately wanted to pick this book up when it was released.

I fell in love with the small town setting of Rome, Kentucky. In this one, we follow Noah’s sister, Annie, and Amelia’s bodyguard (sorry, I mean executive protection agent), Will.

I loved Annie and Will’s relationship throughout the book. There’s fake dating and opposites attract tropes with them and it was so heartwarming.

Annie is a florist so I loved reading about her love for flowers. Also, the way Will was so understanding was adorable. I loved his character so much.

We also get a dual pov, which I always love in a romance. Will is your classic bad boy, but when it comes to Annie he is the absolute sweetest.

If you have yet to pick any of these books up by this author, I would highly recommend checking them out. They’re super quick reads and are such delightful romances with lovable characters.

I can’t choose a favorite between both of these books in the series. Both were so meaningful and adorable. I resonated so much with them and I’m dying to see who’s getting their story next in this small town.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Dell for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Death of parent, grief, bullying, child abuse, emotional abuse, infidelity

Sarah Adams has done it again!! I’ve never read a bad book by this women and I doubt I never will! Im so happy to be back in the town of Rome kentucky, and i’m so glad we got a book about Annie! Annie is no doubt my favorite sister and Will is such a swing character.
This book was easy to read but also deep and complex. There’s so much more to the two main characters than you’d think, and I loved getting to read about them. It was very cute and so funny, but also very real. I loved how the writer wrote about Annie and Wills vulnerabilities, because it made me feel less alone. The writing style is one of my favorites, it’s fast paced but not too fast to where you’re missing information. This book had some of my favorite tropes (Fake dating, grumpy x sunshine, and small town) and it made the book 10x better. If you’re looking for a book that’s the definition of true love, this is the book for you!

Sarah Adams returns once again with her trademark banter and wit!! “Practice Makes Perfect” was the perfect blend of swoony moments and fun times mixed with some deep themes and heartfelt moments❤️ This book is perfect for readers who want a fade-to-black romcom with TONS of tension and sizzle🔥

First, I loved Annie’s character SO much and found her super relatable🥹(well, maybe except for her steamy reading preferences👀🤣) And Will, the bodyguard *whoops I mean Executive Protection Agent* with a sleeve of floral tattoos and a cinnamon roll center??? SIGN ME UP👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 The good girl/bad boy dynamic between these two was just so much FUN!! And the DATING LESSONS🔥 Wowza!!😍

What I loved most about this novel was getting to revisit the townspeople of Rome, Kentucky. The AUDACITY of some of these folks had me shamelessly CACKLING😂 The rivalry between Mabel and Harriet was alive and well, and Phil’s hardware sales were truly hilarious!! I also loved getting to see the continuation of Amelia & Noah’s romance❤️ Noah’s grumpiness always makes me laugh🤣 And don’t even get me started on the stunt Amelia pulled at the baseball game☠️😂😂 #iykyk

Lastly, I did want to note that this book contained a bit more mild language than Sarah’s prior works, but given Will’s whole “bad boy” persona I did understand why she amped up the language a little. The FMC also reads *spicy* books which played a small role in the story.

Overall, I adored this small town, fake dating, grumpy/sunshine romance!! I eagerly anticipate reading Maddie & Emily’s stories in the future😍

🚨TW: mentions of deceased parents, toxic upbringings, grief
🚨CW: fade-to-black romance with frequent mild language

💐 Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams 💐

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5

Genre: RomCom
Tropes: Practice/fake dating, small town romance, grumpy sunshine, opposites attract
⚠️ TWs: Difficult childhood/relationship with parents, divorce, grandparent with Alzheimer’s, loss of parents

📖 Read if you like 📖
🥧 Small town
💐 Innocent florist + tatted bodyguard
🗣️ Nicknames
🔄 Dual POV
💬 Texts on page
🧲 Opposites attract
☀️ Grumpy sunshine
👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 Practice/fake dating
🚪 Closed door (but steamy!!! 😮‍💨)
🔥 Slow burn

💭 Thoughts:
OMG THIS BOOK! Wowowow it was so good! I drove to target and bought it around 80% into the ARC because I just had to own it (since I got behind and it published already- oops). Will and Annie are complete opposites, but the he falls first bit coupled with grumpy sunshine was SWOONY. Especially when she got sick 🥹 IYKYK. I love how they both grew as characters throughout the book in completely different ways, and you know I love a good small town romance. I LOVED When in Rome, so going back to this setting was so fun as a reader. I highly recommend this book/series! Thank you @authorsarahadams for sharing your amazing writing with us!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine Publishing Group for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

If you are looking for a book with a woman who knows what she wants but is afraid to show others what she is looking for. And for a man who never thought he could love, but slowly learns that love with the right person is something that he never even knew he was looking for. You have found the perfect book. Annie has always lived her life in the image that her family has put upon her. She is angel Annie. So pure that when a tattooed body guard comes back to town to help protect her future sister-in-law, no one thinks that him and Annie would become an item. But Annie finds herself in need of someone to help her navigate the crazy dating world. Luckily for her with some meddling Noah finds himself being asked if he could be Annie’s coach. One thing leads to another and Noah finds that being Annie’s coach is not what he really wants to be. In fact, this once against love tough guy is finding that Annie is everything he never knew he wanted. This book is fast paced, sweet, and honest. I really enjoyed being swept up in their love story.
Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine, Dell and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

Literally obsessed! My first Sarah Adams book and it’s one of my top faves books for sure. The fmc is amazing. I felt like I truly related to Annie. And Will, who wouldn’t love that man.

I cannot tell you the love in my heart I have for this book. It’s in my top 5. Sarah Adams is able to bring those rom-com moments you expect on the screen to life on the pages of her books, and it’s magic! This book is laugh-out-loud funny and also brings So. Much. Chemistry.

Annie is known as a “sweet” girl, and is so bored with her image and the lackluster dates she’s found herself on lately. It’s in the middle of one of these dates that her sister-in-law to be’s bodyguard walks in.

“Will has the kind of face that dares you to cross him because he would adore the chase—craves the adventure of it.”

Seriously. How can you not fall in love right there? These two are friends to lovers with dating lessons thrown in and some seriously hot scenes. Sarah Adams is still fade to black, but she’s found her sweet spot in bringing the heat with the feelings in this book.

5 stars. I’ll reread over & over and recommend to absolutely everyone 💕

It was hard to rate this one…it had some really adorable moments that I loved. Some of them funny, some sweet, some romantic. I related to and loved Annie 🩷 Will was of course swoony, as all Adams’ heroes are. Mabel was as delightful as ever…and I really hope the sisters get their stories next!
That being said, I didn’t love all the innuendo and inner thoughts. It honestly felt like the first half of the book, Will just wanted to do Annie and was thinking about how hot she was. It got a little old. I’m just disappointed because it felt way more than her other books.
But, the other parts were great! ❤️
Just my two cents!

Thanks to NetGalley. This review is my thoughts and opinion alone.

💐PRACTICE•MAKES•PERFECT💐
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Practice Makes Perfects follows Annie (Noah’s sister and florist) and Will (Amelia’s bodyguard). Annie is trying to break away from her good girl persona. Will is just the guy to coach her on all the dating ways. Too bad they both catch feelings.
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💐fake dating
💐opposites attract
💐small town romance
💐2nd in the series
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This is not a spicy book (it’s closed door) however this was still a steamy read, if that makes sense. I loved it. I’m hoping the sisters both get a book of their own!
I think you could read this book as a standalone, but reading book 1 first will add to the story in my opinion.
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Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!

I love Sarah Adams and her writing style. I really enjoyed this book but at times felt like some of it was a trying too hard. Overall, it was adorable, sweet, and a little frustrating in the best way.

What to expect:
-bad boy bodyguard (Executive Protection Agent)
-sunshine flower shop owner
-fake dating
-friends to lovers
-funny banter

Thank you, Netgalley and Random House Publishers for this ARC.

To be totally honest, I'm pretty devastated I only rated this 3 stars. If I'm being REALLY honest, it was almost a 2 star read for almost the first 3 quarters of the book. I struggled to connect with and really like any of the characters, even though I did like Will and found Annie fairly funny and relatable, I couldn't get into it. I found the plot very slow, overdone and mega cheesy, again if I'm being honest. However, around 65%, it really took off for me.

I will say that I loved the banter and the chemistry between the two main characters. Sarah Adams really know how to make closed door romances extra steamy! It seems that I'm pretty much the only one who didn't fall in love with this book, but I will say that the ending had me swooning and falling, I just needed so much more from the beginning. Will was absolutely amazing with Annie, and I did end up liking them both overall, but it took too long for me to get there to rate this one any higher.

Sarah Adams has been a favorite author of mine for awhile so when I heard about this book I was so excited! I wasn’t sure she could top When in Rome, but SHE DID! This is hands down my favorite book of hers. I LOVE Will and Annie SO much. You could tell that he was gone for her immediately- he tried not to be, but he was. I love a good fake dating/ teach me how to date trope and this was done so well!

Really enjoyed this book, thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy. I recently just read When in Rome, first book I have read of Sarah Adams. Both of these were quick, cute romance reads. Being from Kentucky I also enjoyed the small town setting. Also liked that it isn't a steamy read but still plenty of spice to make it interesting.
Will definitely be reading more of her books!

I requested an egalley copy of this book solely based on the cover art-- it's beautiful!

Overall, I enjoyed this romance. I was a heavy romance reader from about 2018-2021, but this one was unique enough that it kept me excited to pick it up and read it every night before bed. The only way it could have been better was more spice. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being "appropriate for tween readers" and 10 being "would make a porn star blush," it's about a 2. My preferred spice level is about 6-8, so I would have liked more on-the-page sex scenes.

Okay this was actually super adorable! Last year I received an ARC of Sarah Adams' When in Rome and thought it was a wholesome read. This one I enjoyed more! I loved the dynamic between Annie and Will - who had a good friendship dynamic that eventually, led to their feelings for one another at the end. Sometimes, these are just fun books to read when you need something sweet that also makes you feel good.

<b>Quick Stats</b>
<i>Spice Level: 0.5/5 </i>
Over All: 4 stars
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3.5/5

Sarah Adams’s books are the epitome of sweet, fun, and feel-good reads, and Practice Makes Perfect is no exception. Though the writing isn’t the strongest, it’s so easy to fly through this book, swooning every other chapter.
Though it isn’t strictly necessary to read When in Rome first, I highly recommend it. There are so many references, and the main characters from that book play a huge role in this one.
Annie is easy to love, Will is swoony as hell, and their story is one that will make you smile and squeal while still delving into important, emotional topics. I loved the discussions of grief, the lasting impacts of growing up in toxic family environments, and what its like to have a very set reputation that you’ve found yourself outgrowing.
This was definitely the steamiest of Adams’s books so far! The heat really started to ramp up in a couple scenes, I almost thought it might end up being open door! It’s not. It remains fade to black, and nothing more than some intense making out is shown on page, but I really enjoyed the discussions that were had about sex and relationships.
I’m crossing my fingers for more books set in Rome, Kentucky (or at least following the Walker family!) in the future.