Practice Makes Perfect is a sweet romance. While there is cursing, the intimate scenes are fade to black. It was a little less salacious than my normal romance reads but the plot and characters were still enjoyable. I will certainly read the first title and any future titles in the series.

Florist Annie has had a series of bad dates and is lusting after her brother’s fiance’s hot tattooed bodyguard Will, who is in town to provide security for Amelia and brother Noah’s upcoming wedding. Will kindly offers to help Annie with practice dates to boost her confidence, and they fall for one another along the way…but convince themselves the other would never actually be interested. After all, Annie loves romantic books and movies and has a thing for pirates. Will is a thrillseeker who fears not being loved back. She wants a committed relationship and white picket fence, and he hesitates to put down roots and is unsure of his assignment once this gig is done. They do hit it off, and the kissing and foreplay is luscious (the consummation happens behind closed doors). A misunderstanding about what the other really wants is their undoing.

I really loved the whole cast of characters, though they mostly seemed to good to be true. The small town setting is charming, but it’s not wholly believable the whole town would vote on the future of Annie and Will’s prospective relationship. There’s a nice sibling moment with Annie and Noah where they process the loss of their parents. The wedding happening in the background adds color and drama and alluded to When in Rome, the first book in the series.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #PracticeMakesPerfect from #NetGalley.

I'm a big fan of Sarah Adams and it pains me to say this book wasn't one of my favorites...
Practice Makes Perfect was a really lovely book and I'm sure some people will love it, but unfortunately it just had a few too many of my personal pet peeves. Annie is sweet, but almost annoyingly so. I am not a fan of grown adults using alternatives for cuss words. I get not wanting to curse, but the use of silly alternative words just isn't necessary. I wanted to like Annie, but at times she felt too immature... and because I knew she was an intelligent, worldly woman, her innocence came across as stupidity (*covers face*).

Will, on the other hand, had no problem dropping a four letter word - which was in direct contrast to Annie. The good girl/bad boy differences felt too exaggerated and unnecessary. I liked Annie and Will together, but the storyline and subsequent character development felt rushed and underdeveloped. I do think this book was a bit more edgy than Adams typical books. Still closed door... but a little more cracked. :)
Like I said, I'm sure some will love this sunshine/grump forced dating trope, but this one missed the mark for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. .

This follow-up to When in Rome features Noah's youngest sister, Annie, owner of the town's floral shop and considered by all to be a sweet and almost angelic girl. Annie feels that something is missing in her life, and she tries to move past her introversion in order to date and find her true love. What she finds is a "pirate" -- Will Griffin, the sexy bodyguard for Annie's future sister-in-law and pop star, Amelia.

Annie gets the opportunity to realize that her irritation over being called "sweet" stems from her hiding her true self even to her family, and the "bad boy" Will turns out to be the warm-hearted friend who opens her eyes to the adventures she really wants to have. I like that Will is written as a feminist hero, one who listens to and respects women, and one who has no qualms about reading a romance novel and learning more from it than sex tips. I do question Annie's declaration that she has social anxiety as the only place she seems to display it is on the disastrous date at the beginning of the book, but as I'm no therapist, I admit I could be stereotyping how social anxiety disorder presents itself.

A pleasant enough and comfortable sort of romance. 3 stars.

Thank you, Dell Books/Penguin Random House and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

I really enjoyed the characters and cozy setting of this story. I am from KY so I love seeing KY described in its true form! The characters not being able to stay away from one another was intoxicating to read. My grin was across my face every time I picked up my ereader.

Thank you for writing this story. Can’t wait to see it on shelves.

Typo remark: Mabel is spelled two different ways throughout the book.

I really enjoyed this book! I flew through it on one afternoon and I am so sad that it's over. The author did a great job with the plot and keeping the story moving with no stagnant parts. The characters were very relatable and fun to learn. Great read!

I loved this book it was so good I literally had to just tell myself to stop reading and go to work will and Annie are my favorite couple I was shipping them hard will had a rough childhood and didn't want a relationship Annie wanted to get married and have kids she needed a dating coach cause someone told her she was boring and and he was in town bored protecting Amelia so he said yes but they promised to not fall in love but we all know that never happens they both find themselves while they practice dating he finds love she finds herself and they both live happily ever after

You guys! This book was everything. I didn’t super love when in Rome but practice makes perfect was even better. I related to Annie so much. With her perfectionist traits, her people pleasing characteristics, and her anxiety. I am an oldest sister and felt like I was always doing the right thing just because of that in life. Lately I’ve stepped away to do something different then the rest of my family and it’s been so good. I love how Annie discovered that about herself through out the book and being with Will. I love how Will helped her feel safe and capable of doing things she always wanted to. Not Enough space to write the rest of my thoughts for this book but it was worth the wait.