And there we have it, folks. My new favourite Sarah Adams book, with a new book boyfriend to boot!

Practice Makes Perfect was pure perfection. Sarah has a way of building tension between her characters that makes her closed door romances so stinking HOT. The chemistry between Annie and Will was blistering. I loved their banter, how they opened up to one another, and how honest they were with their feelings.

Sarah really settled into the small town setting with this book and I can’t wait to see her develop it further in future books. I love how all of the townsfolk became fully-formed side characters, especially sweet, sweet Mabel.

And Will. Ugh. What can I possibly say about this delicious, tattooed stern brunch daddy (iykyk)??? I loved how soft he was with Annie, that he saw her in a way that not even her family did. The way he took care of her when she was sick, how he coaxed her out of her shell, and allowed her the space to truly know HIM? Ugh. I couldn’t get enough.

This is a second in the When in Rome series, but can be read as a stand-alone, focusing on Annie, the youngest of the 4 siblings. It digs a little deeper into the friendship between the siblings and Amelia that you got a glimpse into in When in Rome. I love how Annie came out of her shell with Will and trusted him in a way that she only does with Amelia – and how they both helped her feel more comfortable in her skin and change the perception her siblings and the town had of her.

I still cannot stop laughing about what happened at the little league game 🤣 I was reading this scene at a local book shop/café and didn’t realize I was laughing out loud until I saw the looks people were giving me… oops, oh well!

Also, if my mind wasn’t playing tricks on my I think we get a tease into what could be the next book??? … please let it be Maddie and James 🤞🏼

SA you have outdone yourself with this one! I could not put this down!! I caught myself smiling and giggling throughout a lot of the book. This was such a fun and easy read, and might be my new fave of her books – which is hard to imagine since Nathan from The Cheat Sheet is one of my top book bfs

It was a refreshingly lighter read that I’ve come to love with Sarah Adams writing. Just the perfect mix of closed door spice, romance, small town vibes, and likeable characters. Also, the cover is beautiful!!! 🌸

ᗷOOK ᖇEᐯIEᗯ 💐
𝙿𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝙼𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝
𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛: 𝚂𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚑 𝙰𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚜
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙳𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙼𝚊𝚢 𝟸, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟹
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 𝟻

“𝑻𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂 𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘.” — 𝑨𝒖𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒚 𝑯𝒆𝒑𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏

If you thought When In Rome was good, then you have to check out Practice Makes Perfect! This is the second book in the When In Rome series, but could be read as a standalone.

Annie has always been the “good girl/ angel” and that’s how everyone in Rome, Kentucky refers to her. But when tattooed bodyguard Will comes to town he helps Annie break out of her shell and become the person she truly is and at the same time she shows Will that he deserves love and to be loved.

Annie was such a relatable character and Will was just perfect. This book had me laughing, smiling, and all around just swooning while reading it. You have to add this book to your TBR! 💕

Also, I’m really hoping that Sarah gave us a hint that there will be a next book about James and Maddie!

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 @netgalley , @penguinrandomhouse 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.

Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams is a small town fake-dating romance that is so sweet and heartwarming that readers will finish it in one day. The novel follows the fake-dating adventures of the main characters—Annie, an introverted flower shop owner and Will, an executive protection agent in town on an assignment. The emotional and physical build-up between the Annie and Will as the book progresses is perfectly timed. The secondary characters in the town are endearing. The relationship between Annie and Will is filled with banter and playfulness combined with an emotional element that will draw readers in. Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams is a hilarious and romantic novel that will have readers smitten over soft kisses, pirate romances, and banana pjs.

Just when you think she can’t possibly get any better, Sarah Adams goes and writes this beauty of a book. This is, quite assuredly, her best work yet. In the author’s note, she says she wrote SEVEN nearly completed drafts of this book before Will & Annie felt right. I can’t imagine the frustration that had to have accompanied all of those drafts, but am I ever glad she waited for the characters to speak to her. Every last detail in this book was perfection.

Will & Annie are both mature, well-written characters. They don’t really have one specific trope. There’s a little bit of several tropes in here…grumpy/sunshine, friends-to-lovers, and fake dating off the top of my head. What made this book so fun and unique was the eclectic use of these tropes…something that I wouldn’t have thought would work until I read this. It kept the story moving & invested you in their story. While they were fictional characters, I assure you they will be living rent-free in my head for the foreseeable future.

I loved seeing all our friends from When in Rome in here. It was just the right amount of cameos. Fans of Noah & Amelia will be thrilled to see them as fantastic supporting characters in Practice Makes Perfect.

At the end of this book, I wanted to hop in my car & drive to this fictional town of Rome, KY. I wanted to sit in the diner and eavesdrop on Will & Annie’s “first date.” I wanted to share popcorn with Noah & Amelia at the town meeting in the back of the fabric store. I want to see what sale Phil was running at his hardware store. Sarah Adams brought this small town to life & I am SO glad she’s not done with this series! She beautifully set up the third installment…that I’m sure I’ll be waiting on tenterhooks to read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and it was a true joy to read this story. Be sure to pick this up when it releases in May!

A big thank you to @netgalley for this ARC! Publication date for this gem is 5/2/23 and trust me, you’re gonna want to snag this.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨/5

I ate this book UP. It was so easy to read and kept me engaged and wanting more the entire time. At about 350 pages, it was a quick read. The perfect palate cleanser when you need something sweet and wholesome.

The characters in this book were well rounded and felt very real to me, like I’d love to be friends with Annie! One of my biggest indicators for a 4-5 star rating is good banter in the book and this one had it! Annie and Will’s inner monologues were also very relatable and LOL inducing.

Their story was as sweet as cupcakes and honestly, we all need more of those romances in our lives. The small town vibes were impeccable and reminded me perfectly of some of the smaller towns I grew up in.

Absolutely recommend this to anyone! 🤍

Sarah Adams sure knows how to write books for the softhearted and introverts out there. I saw myself so much in Annie it was freaky. Adams also knows how to write a good, cozy, anti-anxiety book that makes you want to jump in and wrap the words, banter, and pages all around you when life feels like too much. This book, this series, and this town is a literal hug as a book. Adams has truly carved a niche of comfy, cozy, romance reads that are closed-door with just as much sexual tension and love as an open-door romance.

I loved this book!! It was sooo good! I read When In Rome and thought that was great and this one was even better!!! Such a cute story of Will and Annie who were both so sweet and you couldn’t help but root for them!!! This book drew me in right for the start and had me not wanting to put it down!!

This was a cute romance with a dual POV storyline. It was a fake romance opposites attract and I was all here for it. It was a great story that I can not wait to own so I can read it again. I loved book one and can't wait for more.

. Annie the romance reading, introvert has a huge crush on Will, Amelia's bodyguard or EPA. After Annie's date totally failed, Amelia talks Will into being Annie's dating coach. The two grow closer, but Will doesn't think he can settle in a small town and Annie doesn't want to go anywhere else. He helps her realize what her life goals really are. We also get to see the wedding of Noah and Amelia as well.

Loved, loved, loved this book. There are times when a story just speaks to you. I felt like Sarah wrote this book just for me. I admit I shed a few empathetic tears and happy ones. I don't give a lot of five stars, but this one has them from me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Dell for this ARC!

I didn’t think there was any chance that I would love this book more than I loved When in Rome. How do you improve on such wonderful, cozy, lovely perfection? Well - guess what? She did it. Practice Makes Perfect is quite actually perfect.

Grumpy bodygua- Sorry, “executive protective agent” who maybe isn’t as grumpy as he seems meets perpetual sunshine flower shop owner whose sunshine may not be as perpetual as everyone thinks. The two come together and start practice-dating to get her experience when they both are already attracted to each other….Surely that will work, right?

This book was just so delightful. Will is the perfect “would do anything for his girl” main character (WOW Sarah Adams sure knows how to write those men), while Annie is such a perfect embodiment of “would do anything for her family - even if it is at her own expense.” I absolutely loved watching these two grow as characters while falling in love with both each other but themselves.

I cannot wait for more people to read this book. I hope everyone loves it as much as I did.

As a lover of small-town romances and When in Rome, I thoroughly enjoyed Practice Makes Perfect!

It provides a different take on the fake dating trope by having anti-relationship bodyguard Will coach inexperienced/in search of a long-term relationship floral shop owner Annie. I liked the romantic tension that built the two characters through their sessions and looked forward to scenes where the two were together.

Practice Makes Perfect is funny, and I loved the awkwardness of Annie’s first date with the banker right off the bat. I laughed throughout the book.

If you enjoy a small-town closed door dual POV romance that will make you laugh, this is the book for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC.

Sarah Adams does it yet again: Practice Makes Perfect is… well, perfect! 💐

Annie, the youngest Walker sibling, is tired of being known in Rome, Kentucky, as "Angel Annie."

After her first date in years goes downhill fast, she enlists Will, Amelia's charming bodyguard and globally-recognized tattooed bad boy, to show her the dating ropes so she can find a husband and live happily ever after by 30.

Will has spent his adult life chasing adventures, not relationships, and so he can't understand why he's drawn to the sunshiny flower shop owner, and when she asks him to help her get better at dating, the man who doesn't do relationships can't seem to stay away from the girl who ONLY does relationships.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Much like When In Rome, Practice Makes Perfect is a story you can’t wait to get lost in!

Annie and Will's relationship is everything, and their "will they or won't they" back & forth made for the sweetest slow-burn romance. Filled with tender moments and plenty of laughs from the town of Rome — which is a character in and of itself — this book is a cozy summertime romance that I couldn’t put down, and even now that it's over, it isn't likely to leave my mind anytime soon.

Do yourself a favor and add Practice Makes Perfect to your TBR, and get ready to visit Annie & Will at the flower shop on May 2nd! 💐💕

A massive thank you to Sarah Adams, NetGalley, and Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is very much a book 2 that reads as a book 2 with info-dump summaries of sections from book 1 that probably don’t matter to the story but leave you feeling like you’ve missed something.

I found myself skim reading at the 13% mark and decided to call it. I think I just got kicked out of the story too many times.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

<b>“Do you like me, Will?” I hold her gaze and squeeze her fingers as her words tug the truth from me like they always do. “Yeah, I do, Annie. Do you like me?” “Yeah. Against my better judgment.”</b>

Annie & Will. William! I mean, Wilson. Wildon! Tender sweetheart of a man 🫠Romance readers will be reading this with hearts in their eyes! My face hurts from smiling so much. Like obscene surge of butterflies that rush through your stomach! <u>THIS BOOK IS CATNIP FOR THE SOFTIES!!</u>Buy it five times. And then read it ten times. Consecutively.

Ps. DID YOU SEE IT?! James and… 👀 chapter 39. Is it true?!

🌸 THINGS AND STUFF 🌸
-dual pov
-opposites attract
-Audrey Hepburn in funny face
-friends who pine
-bodyguard & florist
-small town romance
-historical romances of the piratical genre
-nicknames
-joint grocery shopping excursion
-first date anxiety
-dating coach: the bad boy tutoring the good girl
-banana print pajamas
-stern brunch daddy: dude who looks scary is actually all soft and sweet to the person he loves
-oh no, you’re wounded (sick)!
-#IsThisAKissingBook: closed door but this one is HAWT. Spicy. Somebody call 911. IM ON FIRE. It’s still a pg-13 show. “Will hooks his finger under my chin and tilts it up. Before he says anything else, he bends down and kisses me. Long and slow. It’s not an obscene kiss, but it’s so tender my stomach quivers. My heart swoons.”

Thank you Penguin Random House for an advanced copy!

Song: Magnolias by Leon Bridges

Set in Rome, Kentucky, Annie Walker owns a flower shop and has always been known as the innocent and sweet little sister of her whole small town. It makes sense, considering that said whole town raised her after her parents died. But she’s in her late twenties now and is struggling to find fulfillment. Knowing her parents’ perfect love story, she thinks she’ll find contentment in marriage. The hard part is that she feels socially awkward, an introvert who doesn’t date well or much at all. Enter Will Griffin, bodyguard (excuse me, executive protection agent) of her pop star future sister-in-law, Amelia. Amelia cooks up a scheme to have Will coach Annie in dating. Practice could make perfect, right?

I loved When in Rome and a big reason was the Walker siblings, so I was excited to read Annie’s story. It delivers the same heartfelt, feel-good, lightness as the first title on this world. I liked Will and Annie. He made her braver. She made him more vulnerable (in the good, open kind of way). There were quite a few cameo moments with well-loved characters. The girls are still having Audrey Hepburn movie nights. The siblings are still having game night. The town is as invasive as ever.

I really enjoyed this book, but I did feel Annie was a little naïve (she grows) and Will was very closed off (he grows, too). The ending felt a little rushed, with the growth and change coming too much too soon with very little time spent exploring/overcoming their relationship hurdles on-page. Nonetheless, I had a lot of fun reading about Annie and Will and look forward to seeing their cameos in whatever comes next (Madison and James, anyone?).

🚪 Two non-descriptive, fade-to-black scenes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5 (5⭐️ on GR)

Thoughts: 💭

Welcome back to Rome, Kentucky!

For those that read When In Rome, Practice Makes Perfect is set in the same little town. We now get a glimpse into the life of Noah’s shy baby sister, Annie, who has had enough of being the angel of the family and failing awkwardly at dating.

With the help of Amelia’s tattooed body guard, Will agrees to be her dating coach to get her out of her shell and help her gain more confidence with dating. Now you may wonder, how bad could this arrangement possibly turn out….. it may even lead to town wide petitions 🤣

Safe to say I love anything Sarah Adams writes and have already preordered my paperback copy only halfway in to reading this one!

Sarah is the 👑 Queen of closed door romances and I will forever recommend her books. I can’t wait to hopefully see more stories come out of the little town of Rome, Kentucky (allllll the Stars Hallow vibes 🥰)

𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆…

🌼 Dual POV
🌸 Acquaintances / Friends-ish to Lovers
🌼 Fake Dating
🌸 Small Town
🌼 Closed Door Romance
🌸 Sunshine FMC
🌼 Flower Shops
🌸 Tattooed Body Guards
🌼 Dating Coach

Thank you @authorsarahadams @netgalley and @randomhouse for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Make sure to add this one to your preorder list and mark your 📆 Publication date is May 2nd, 2023!

Fake dating, forced proximity, and friends to lovers

Great simple romance read without a lot of smut. Literally the smallest romance sex scene I’ve read in a while.

Sarah Adam’s is a decent romance author however I felt like this book was a slow burn. It felt like it was going to heat up about 30% in and then the steaminess dropped off until the last 3 chapters.

Will and Annie made a great couple both having reservations and coping mechanism but ending up together anyway.

Practice Makes Perfect is the PERFECT spring romance! Sarah Adams has done it again. I think this might be my second favorite book of hers, after The Cheat Sheet. I loved Annie and Will and the charming town of Rome, Kentucky so much, I couldn’t help but smile all the way through. This is truly happiness and sunshine in a book. I can’t wait to spend more time with these characters in the next 2 books of the series!

Reading vibes:
-bodyguard romance
-grumpy (with a cinnamon roll core) x sunshine
-pining. So much pining!
-AMAZING tension/chemistry 😍
-lots of focus on family (plus we get so much more of Amelia and Noah from the first book!)
-he takes care of her
-sweet banter & texting
-Annie’s alternatives for swear words were so darn cute 🥰
-the nosy busybodies of Rome made me laugh 😂

PMP is definitely going down as one of my top reads of 2023 so far. If you’re a romance fan (especially closed door/fade to black), add this to your tbr immediately!

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I want to give this book a hug! It’s so sweet and cute and relatable!

I love the “practice dating” trope. I don’t know what about it is so appealing, but I love it. And I love that Practice Makes Perfect doesn’t beat us over with the trope.

Will and Annie are such delightful characters, and watching them grow into their relationship was a delight. Their inner conflicts were present but not excessive (which I whole heartedly appreciate— to date or not to date gets real old real fast.)

My only complaint about this book is the juvenile jokes in the grocery store— putting condoms, menstrual pads, and diarrhea medication in a shopping basket isn’t funny or embarrassing. And it’s really not a complaint about the book as much as society should just… get over itself. People use those things regularly and it’s not funny or a joke, it’s just part of life. /rant

Anyway, PMP has some seriously delicious tension between Will and Annie, and Will is my favorite type of sad dude who doesn’t believe he is capable of/ doesn’t deserve love, and I really enjoyed seeing both Will and Annie come into their own.

I received this arc through netgalley for review, this is my own opinion.