Certain YA books will hold a special place in my heart, and this is one of them. Our heroine Story is brilliant, plucky, and only afraid of opening herself up to friendship and even love. Luca is a hero that comes along quite nicely due to Story's positive influence, and I found myself smitten with him too. The scenery is dynamic and a Roman Holiday whirlwind, with lots of education on the history and monuments. Smart heroines are delightful and Story grew so much during her pretend-romance to Luca. I was thrilled to see the author is a lawyer as well, so many of my favorites are!

After a month of reading YA romance (normally not my favorite genre) for an assignment, I ended with All Roads Lead to Rome. I had saved it for last because Rome is one of my favorite cities. (Seriously, you must try the gelato at Giolitti!) However, I thought the book failed to soar quite as high as I expected, given the Eternal City as a background. I expected a 5-star book and this might only be 4.5 stars (which is still impressive). To be fair, this might be the fact that I read six other YA romances right before this. That may have colored my opinion. But I thought this fake dating story lost some of the pacing and character development around halfway through the book. Astoria is a fine main character who learns to stand up for herself and Luca grows throughout the book. The book addresses some serious topics and ends exactly as expected. This is a better-than-average book that teen readers will flock to. It also, after I have time to reflect, might be one of the better romance books to have crossed my desk lately.

I don’t think I actually know what happened in this book. But I enjoyed it.

A y-a fake dating/celebrity trope.

3.5 ⭐️

What happens when an introverted daughter of a diplomat gets swept up into a fake dating scheme with a Scottish celebrity all to protect his relationship with a pop singer? Well, in All Roads Lead To Rome you’ll find out!

This book reminded me of a Disney Original movie in all the best ways. From the setting of Rome to the “fake date me to protect my relationship with a pop star” story-line it all felt like the perfect blend of delightful and slightly out of the realm of possibilities. So basically, I ate it up. ;)

Overall, I found Story to be an interesting and engaging character to follow, although I did feel like she was giving “i’m not like other girls” energy on occasion. Luca was the perfect Scottish boy to sweep Story into a hot mess of a situation and I really enjoyed having a story center around a Scottish character rather than the typical British royalty. Mostly because the Scottish slang was so entertaining to read. Luca’s best friend, Andy was an especially fun addition to the story and while i think he was a bit harder on Story than I would have liked at times, he really added an extra layer of humor.

I thought Story’s relationship with her parents was very beautiful and handled with care. The way the author wove her father’s story into everything was interesting and gave a level of depth to why Story is the way she is. I loved how much Story’s mom trusted her and that they seemed like good friends, as well as being mother/daughter.

There were a few parts of the story that I wished were giving a bit more time to create some emotional build up, but overall this was a fun and entertaining read.

3.5⭐️

I was excited to get this arc after seeing reviews saying The Lizzie McGuire Movie + Roman Holiday. It follows Astoria "Story" and Luca as they fake date to throw off the paparazzi from his relationship with his famous girlfriend.

This was a quick read. I loved reading about Rome and its history. The author did a good job making Rome an integral part of the story. I liked the commentary on the paparazzi and social media and how invasive both can be. And while it took a little bit for me to get into the romance, Story and Luca were cute by the end. It took me a while to warm up to Luca, but I could see his character growth. My biggest issue was how long the girlfriend plot dragged on for.

Okay, I'll be honest, I read this book because it was set in Italy and I have a soft spot for Italy. The cover also drew me in. I'll be honest again; I didn't love this book. It was cute and fun and had me wishing I could visit Rome again. I genuinely liked it. I have a few qualms, though. First of all, our leading lady's name being Story is a level of quirky I thought we left in 2014. I didn't love her name. Her as a character was great but she deserved a better name. Luca was a little annoying for the first half of the book. He was so oblivious to how working class people live and it peeved me. Some of the condescending things he says to Story had me fuming. He comes around in the second half of the book which is good. (Yay for character development!) This is definitely a well-written book and I enjoyed the majority of it (minus the qualms I listed) and it is such a solid YA novel.

Very very cute celeb fake dating romance! Our protagonist was so fun and our li was so cool, and the discussion of celeb culture is great! Thanks for the arc

I’m torn over All Roads Lead To Rome. It sounded adorable and charming. I love the cover and the first few chapters set it up to follow through, but it declined after that. I didn’t feel grounded in who Story was, most everything happened to her instead of her pursing something.
3.5 stars

I have very complicated feelings about this book. I requested the ARC because I studied in Rome for a semester and was excited at the prospect of revisiting a city that I love dearly. The first half of All
Roads Lead to Rome was a delight. I read the first half in an evening; I could not put it down! Our main character, Astoria (Story for short), captured my heart with her genuine desire to be ethical and her appreciation for the classics (Keats! Roman Holiday!) The set up of the fake dating scenario was a little fast, but I was compelled enough by the narrative and characters to overlook that. Luca was a swoony male lead, and Andrew was a great and vital side character. I enjoyed the little details about Rome that showed the author’s familiarity with the city. The Keats-Shelley House in particular owns my heart. As well, the author tries to address some very serious social issues (addiction, the ethics of fame and social media, greed, etc) that I appreciated. She plants the seeds of those themes very well in the beginning.

However, I struggled to get through the second half of the book. It felt almost as if I was reading a completely different novel in terms of pacing and plot. The second half dragged on with very low stakes until the last 15%. So much of the action happened off the page without Astoria having any agency over what happened. Aside from her choice to participate in the fake dating scenario, most things happened to her rather than stemming from choices she intentionally made. She is often told about what is happening rather than uncovering it for herself. I appreciate that Astoria’s character development hinges on her learning to stand up for herself, but there should be a way to accomplish that while still keeping the plot moving.

I truly think this book has the potential to be excellent, so I want to be gracious. This 3-star review does NOT turn me off from reading any of the author’s future novels. I would love to see what she writes next! It has really good bones, but I believe it would benefit from another round of editing for the themes to truly hit home and for the plot to make more sense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love a sweet romance, especially one that using the fake-dating trope so well! This was such a fun story with the bonus of learning more about a fabulous city like Rome.

All Roads Lead to Rome features the fake-dating theme and shy protagonist of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han with a social media focus. With subtle storytelling that showcases the darker realities as in Jenna and Jonah’s Fauxmance by Emily Franklin, All Roads Lead to Rome likewise wraps a fun and light romance around the solid substance of celebrity culture, substance abuse, and staying true to who you are.

So charming and delightful, with likeable characters, sweet romance, and a rich setting that had me wanting to visit Rome. It was the perfect summer romance read!

I didn't super enjoy this after the 40-50% mark? It was too reminiscent of Gilmore Girls' Rory trying to fit into Logan's "rich" world in the latter seasons (if you've watched the show, you'll know how much anguish she faced because of it) 😭 I was really hoping for some wholesome fake dating to love themes, but it was more of paparazzi/rich societal expectations and the cruelty present in social media (especially surrounding celebrities and who they date).

TWs - parent who died of drug addiction (also subsequent grief and judgement faced by the kid), invasion of privacy by media

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy.

All Roads Lead to Rome is a fun YA book that everyone will want on their shelves. It reminds me of an old movie recreated into a current day story. The characters are fun and the whimsy adventure has you hooked.

What a fun read! Well drawn characters, dream locales-this book had it all! A satisfying ending made this extra enjoyable.

All Roads Lead to Rome follows the trope of fake dating leads to real romance, but it was Story's character that made all of the difference in this story. Astoria "Story" Herriot is a "Dip kid" living in Rome while her mother works for the American Embassy. She is smart, introverted, and a loner, not quite fitting in with the other kids in her grade. She winds up fake dating a rich Scottish tabloid kid who himself is secretly dating a pop icon whose ex-boyfriend was just admitted to rehab. Story has high ideals and values and doesn't pay attention to social media or tabloids until she unintentionally gets tangled up in them. You know that she will fall for Luca, and vice versa, but the process is handled well and feels different from many of the others out there. What I really appreciated was how Story helped Luca see himself better while also gaining a great knowledge and personal sense of self. She was unwilling to back down from being who she was and expected those around her to behave in similar manners.

The story takes its title from the fact that it takes place in Rome but also dances around the story of Roman Holiday. Story is a lover of old films and Audrey Hepburn grace, something that we don't see a lot of these days. Her personal style harkens back to a different time and perhaps will bring a new group of teens looking at classic Audrey style. An excellent YA read.

Absolutely, all roads paved with romance lovers' full adoration lead to this book! The pathways to the strings of my heart also lead to this book.

I was expecting a sweet, soft, maybe a little cliche and cheesy read, but I couldn’t be more wrong! My romance-craving friends, please mark this book, not just add it to your list, but read and reread! It’s so refreshing, powerful, genuine, and epic! I wholeheartedly loved it!

Any mortal who thinks adoring romances can resist the charm of this gender-reversed Roman Holiday—nope, no one can do so with a logical mind and a romantic heart, especially those who've memorized the lines of 90s romcom movies like me!

This is not only opposites attraction, two people from different universes, social circles, fake dating romance; this is a thought-provoking novel criticizing social media shaming, restrictions of personal lives, the pain and dues of the mandatory trapped public image celebrities have to endure, the class differences, and the ugly face of addiction.

Plus, you get an amazing fictional tour around the dreamy sights of Rome, pushing you to buy a ticket at your most convenient time to visit those places realistically described. In your mind, you can walk down these places, hear the buzzing sound of Vespas, crowds cheering, the smell of Italian food, and the splashing sound coming from fountains. Descriptions transport you to the locations, and learning more about the history increases your appetite to explore them firsthand.

The characterization, the honest blooming friendship that slowly turns into something more intimate, couldn’t be told more genuinely. Both Story and Luca stole my heart.

The main story revolves around Astoria "Story" Herriot, the daughter of a diplomatic attorney, an American about to graduate from high school, spending and learning everything about Rome in a year. She’s an outsider, introvert, mostly getting bullied by other dip squad (her classmate diplomat kids). One day she stops at a gelateria to escape from her friend circle to order an ice cream. She has no idea that at the same time, a bad boy Scottish celebrity Luca Kinnaird and his pop star girlfriend Jasmine chose the same location to hide from paparazzi. She finds herself posing for the cameras, acting like she’s the innocent tour girl of Luca. But one thing leads to another, and the press speculates she’s his secret girlfriend. Luca offers her to play along the role to help complicate the love triangle between Jasmine—her ex-famous boyfriend in rehab—and him. In exchange, he can pay for a very generous fundraising under the name of Story’s father, who lost his battle to addiction.

Story reluctantly accepts the offer to play the fake girlfriend for a better cause, even though she finds Luca and his world pretentious, fake, and unrelated. But as they spend more time together and get enchanted by the beautiful atmosphere of Rome, she realizes he’s not what she’s thinking. As their love game becomes more reliable for the press and their inner circle, Story realizes her feelings keep changing and growing into something more intimate. But he’s still another woman’s boyfriend, and they come from different backgrounds, as the entire social media and the people around them keep emphasizing. What if, against all odds, they can create something special, conquering the obstacles and reaching their happy ending?

I loved this book! Especially when I was reading the last third, I didn’t count how many times I made these “awww” sounds! So adorable, heartfelt, and powerful! I added Sabrina Fedel to my auto-approved romance authors list, and I cannot wait to read more of her works.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/Delacorte Press for sharing this wonderful book’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Such a fun read that I will be thinking about for many moons to come. I love any book that transports you to another place and a fun retelling of Roman Holiday even more.

This book is for everyone who made The Lizzie McGuire Movie their entire personality back in 2003 and never fully went back to normal (raises hand.) A unique take on Roman Holiday with several tender moments of empowerment.