Having recently read When in Rome, it was nice to revisit Rome, Kentucky and its cast of characters. I like the small town setting and how everyone is in each others business. Reminds me of Stars Hollow a la Gilmore Girls. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did the first book. It was a little too cutesy for me. I wanted to love Annie; an introverted, flower shop owner who loves books. Unfortunately Annie was almost 30 but acted 14. I could not get past the immaturity. Because she read so young, the "steamy" scenes were cringe to me. This was a miss for me personally but I think Sarah is talented and one to watch.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars.

This book was a perfect romance. Light and sweet with just the right amount of angst (little) and conflict (also little). I really appreciated that these characters were so open with each other. There was no annoying miscommunication trope; they told each other how they felt and acted accordingly. The town of Rome was fun and amusing, and the other characters were fleshed out just enough to add to the story (especially Mabel and Harriet's feud).

This would've been a full five stars save for two issues: 1) I didn't appreciate how often it was mentioned that Will had tons of experience dating lots of other women and how he had lots of sex with those women. I got it after the first time, thank you. I'm really not a fan of the "manwhore/player" trope for MMCs, so that was a bit annoying for me to read. Also, I felt that The Sex Scene was too short and kind of glossed over. I expected some more...graphic detail, but we just kind of skipped over it, which to me was both unexpected and disappointing.

Otherwise, however, I really did enjoy this novel. I might go back and read Sarah Adams' first novel in this series since I didn't before starting this one.

I really wanted to finish this book but a lot of things bothered me during the process.

Practice Makes Perfect was the first Sarah Adams book I read. Based on her reputation with previous books, and all the stars this book got on Goodreads, I expect a masterpiece. So eventhough I was in a rush to dnf-ed this book, I still glued my eyes on this book, solely waiting for the butterflies people told me.

The book was about Annie, a friendly and kind florist in a small town, Rome-Kentucky. Annie was the kind, sweet and gentle girl we often meet in anime (or so I imagined). Annie had a slight attraction to Will, a bad-boy™ bodyguard of Amelia, her soon to be sister in law.

This book was supposed to be about Will and Annie, but instead, I had so much progress with Amelia and Noah's relationship. I couldn't focus on the main characters in this book because of this. While Amela and Noah were all about sweet, mature and warm kind of romance, Will and Annie were a childish, cheesy and annoying one. I swear I read ALOT of cheesy scenes: the scene in Annie's room? the pamphlets? The scene where Annie run for Will to prevent him leaving? I couldn't stand it.

The pace of the story was also slow, full of unnecessary boring scenes.

Nevertheless, in general, Practice Makes Perfect delivers your wild imagination for a badboy™ bodyguard you never knew needed. If you are in a need for a light-sweet story, this book is for you.

This book, Ms. Sarah I am a forever fan. I've been busy, but full review to come here and on my instagram! My in depth reviews are on insta!

I absolutely adored Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams! It is definitely my favorite of her books and my favorite romance I have read in a long time. Within the first few pages, I had really related to Annie- a socially anxious, converse-wearing, avid romance reader; that made me much more invested in the story early on. Overall, I thought Annie was a very likeable MC, and I liked getting her backstory and character development throughout the plot.
Will Griffin is the "bodyguard" for Amelia (aka Rae Rose, the MC from the first book in the series), and Annie has liked him since they met. You come to find out that Will reciprocated that interest as well but is hesitant to act on it. Typically, I don't like the whole "I don't do relationships" trope, but in this book I thought it was well done.
The plot had a lot of moments that actually made me laugh out loud. I was dying in the scene where Amelia and Will crash Annie's date at the baseball game!
Likewise, I loved the tension between Will and Annie, and how it worked within the premise of the story.
There were several times I found the writing to be redundant; however, the other great parts of the story outweighed those instances for me.
Practice Makes Perfect was a wonderful, swoon-worthy romance! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

Sarah Adams has done it again! I have loved every single one of her books, and this book was no exception. This book is absolutely adorable. Annie is the sweet, quiet flower shop owner. Will is the grumpy, strong bodyguard... Together they are perfection! Read it!! You won't regret it.

This book was a quick, fast, light hearted read. I wasn’t aware that it was a second book in an interconnected standalone series so I am currently reading ‘When in Rome’ which is the first one. This book was a cute, small town, slow burn, closed door, romance with a shy, date awkward, sweetheart, florist & her sister in law’s hot, bad boy, dark & adventurist bodyguard. He agree’s to help her practice dates so she isn't as shy & awkward. Things & feelings change during these practices dates resulting in them to figure out how they’ll work to be together.

This book was SO CUTE. I enjoyed it even more than When in Rome which I didn’t think was possible!

Grumpy X sunshine, fake dating, dual POV, bookish FMC, tattooed MMC, opposites attract, slow burn, small town!!

I loved Annie and Will and found myself relating to them both in different ways. From Annie figuring out who she is and what she wants to Will healing from his family trauma and learning to love and accept himself, I was in TEARS at the growth and the happy ending and didn’t want the book to end. 😭😭😭 I loved their chemistry and banter (literally SMIRKED during 75% of their interactions) and I was OBSESSED at how they pushed each other to be the best versions of themselves and see themselves through the others eyes.

“You’re just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud.”

Thank you for writing such a wonderful book, Sarah!!!

This book was so much fun to read from beginning to end. It's so cute and sweet. I love the dynamics between the characters. The banter is top tier and the romantic tension was off the charts. I love a plot where the bad boy has to teach the sunshine girl how to date, it never fails. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because this is a closed door situation and I really think this book could benefit from an open door, well at least I would benefit from it LMAO

But it was still absolutely worth the read and I would recommend this to all my friends. If you're on the fence, just read it. You'll love it.

Thank you to Sarah, Dell, and NetGalley for sending me an ARC for an honest review!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review and thoughts.

I hate being in the minority group of readers that just cannot seem to vibe with the most popular books at the time.

The majority of Sarah Adam's books are a low star rating for me because of how immature the characters are. Here we have a nearly 30-year-old woman who can't even bring herself to say the word "hell"

When she's not inflicting conflict upon herself for her first-grade vocabulary and verbiage, she's instilling horrible ideas into her friends about how she wants to do this, do that, but here's the thing. She never does anything really.

Essentially Annie is just a character that flies by the seat of their pants and never really gets anything done. She's lazy, boring, and too indecisive with her feelings for Will.

Will was pretty great for the first half of the novel. He had communication skills which actually eventually angered Annie because it made her uncomfortable coming to terms with her own immaturity.

I tried two other Sarah Adams books before this one and I can safely say I never want to try another again because I cannot keep doing these carbon copy stories of Wattpad mixed with childlike ideas that honestly have no substance of anything real and organic.

And Sarah Adams has done it again with gushing my heart and making dreamy men I can only fictionalize.

In this second book to her When in Rome, we follow Annie this time as she prepares for the previous characters wedding. She owns a flower shop and is on a quest for love. When she’s told she boring, she enlists the help of Will Griffen, the tattooed, sexy, bodyguard of Amelia. He’s a flirt and the perfect person for help. But little does Annie know, Will likes her the way she is and isn’t in any way wanting her to change. The both start to fake date so no one catches on to what Will is really doing, but can we really ever say no to someone when we get closer?!

I love the way Sarah writes her characters. They’re sweet and realistic. And I love how Annie and Will tiptoe the line without each other feelings known. Fake dating is such a fun read in romance to me. I mean who can’t help but fall for the one they get close to. And like always I laughed and gushed at the story.

Now if only I can visit Rome, Kentucky and be a flower in that shop and watch it really unfold!

Such a sweet, feel good romance with extra depth in the characters. This sweet story had me smiling and giggling all throughout. Whether this is your first Sarah Adams book or you are already a loyal fan this is one you are sure to love!

I really wanted to like this book, but I found myself overly focused on the writing which in turn, caused me to not enjoy the book as much. While Adams develops her plots well, her writing leans heavily on telling rather than showing. About 100 pages in, I was tired of being told what each character was wearing everyday (while we observe people's attire in real life, I don't really want to read about it). She also relies heavily on transitions (i.e. an hour later, now, after, etc.). I would have really enjoyed to have read the scenes that were cut without being told they happened. I also didn't really connect to the characters so that caused me to not enjoy the story as much, either. All in all, I don't think Adams's books are for me because I do focus more on the writing; however, if you just want to read a cute and fun romance and aren't overly concerned with how the writing is, I would definitely recommend her books.

The first book I read by Sarah Adams was When in Rome. Practice Makes Perfect takes us back to Rome. Kentucky. Annie Walker is determined to find her perfect match. Of course it’s hard to do this in a town where every knows everyone. She has a horrible date where she hears the guy referring to her as boring and she realizes maybe she isn’t the greatest at dating. She decided that she needs practice. Her tutor ends up being Will Griffin, the bodyguard to her soon to be sister in law Amelia Rose. Nothing could go wrong with practicing dating with the guy she has a crush on.

I really loved When in Rome so I was excited to read this book. Sadly I didn’t enjoy this book as much as When in Rome. I didn’t feel like I connected with the characters. I still enjoyed the book but was just a little disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. I absolutely loved this book, it was full of swo0n-worthy romance and characters that I was truly interested in their personality progression. Will certainly be reading more of this author's work! A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

I loved Annie Walker’s story! I was a huge fan of When in Rome, and this follow up did not disappoint! Hoping for another book in this series!

I absolutely adored this story centered around quirky and sweet Annie Walker and presumed bad boy Will Griffin. Will’s heart for Annie was absolutely swoon worthy and I loved their growth together and on their own as the plot went on.

*Book 2 in Rome Series but can be read as a standalone, but book one is amazing as well*

*While this is a closed door romance there is some firey heat during some intimate moments. *

Where do I start with Will..... He doesn't believe in love. He doesn't believe in marriage. He's not the settling down type. Yet when it comes to Annie suddenly he's obsessed..... She gets sick and he's there to take care of her. Learns the recipe for her favorite soup. He even acts out her favorite moments from her historical pirate romance books.

"Sweet" Annie is tired of being a goody two-shoes in everyone's eyes and she's ready to start dating and find a husband. She ends up with Will as a dating coach who's going to help her *practice*...

Ugh I couldn't have loved this more. Laugh out loud many times. The small town quirkiness is perfect and so are so many of our main characters.

A perfect feel good *healing* laugh out loud romcom.

I can't wait for the next books 🤩🤩🤩

Thank you @netgalley
And @penguinrandomhouse for this arc

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT is exactly what it was meant to be– it’s sweet, it’s romantic, and it’s even a little witty. It was a fun, quick read that gave me the tiny butterflies you get when reading a love story.

I didn’t love Annie’s tendency to curse like an eight year old, but the communication between her and Will was stellar (as was the chemistry).

The perfect addition to any beach bag, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT will be sure to delight anybody on their summer break.

Annie is a self proclaimed introvert. She loves her family, loves her flower shop, but what she really wants is a man to love and settle down with. When her soon to be sister in law asks her body guard to “practice date” Annie, all Annie can see is embarrassing disaster. What she doesn’t expect is the level of attraction she feels for Will. Will is the opposite of everything Annie has ever wanted, but is he everything she didn’t know she needed?

I am not usually a romance genre kind of girl and this is a common plot, but goodness, I loved it. I cheered for Annie and Will and wanted them to find all the happiness in the world! I will definitely recommend this one!