#(the book is when in rome by sarah adams!)

[deiumjeito]

aesthetic | Practice Makes Perfect - Sarah Adams

[lolzqa]

Noah Walker and Amelia Rae Rose | When in Rome by Sarah Adams

[vintageseawitch]

as a Trekkie & a Beanie Baby hoarder i'm feeling pretty attacked right now ☠️

[jessread-s]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

✩🏴‍☠️💐Review:

Adams proves that guys with tattoos named Will make the best heroes!

“Practice Makes Perfect” alternates between Annie Walker and Will Griffin’s points-of-view. At first glance, Annie is a kind and sweet woman who lives a happy and quiet life in the close knit town of Rome, Kentucky where she opened the flower shop her mother had always dreamed. Deep down, however, Adams reveals that Annie’s life isn’t as perfect as it seems. She feels as though something is missing and with the help of her future sister-in-law’s bodyguard and dating tutor Will Griffin, she learns that it is not a perfect someone, but actually her sense of self. 

Through her actions and mannerisms, the reader discovers that ever since the death of her parents, Annie has been willing to prioritize the needs of her siblings over herself. As a result, she feels pressure to maintain the goody two-shoes, angelic persona thrust upon her, adding depth to her character. 

Luckily, Will gives Annie the space to be her unapologetic self on their practice dates. What starts out as an arrangement to help Annie alleviate her social anxiety while she is looking for her dream guy quickly turns into something real and mutually beneficial.

Like Annie, Will put his needs in the backseat to provide his brother with stability growing up in a household that was anything but stable. He initially swears off love and shies away from establishing connections, romantic or otherwise, with people, but Annie manages to break through his walls. She is the first to fully know him like he is the first to fully know her. 

I loved watching Will and Annie come that realization and slowly give into their feelings. Their development from strangers to friends to lovers is beautifully written and enjoyable to read!

➤ 4.5 stars

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[alice-rose-fontaine]

When In Rome by Sarah Adams

[jannianni]

Practice Makes Perfect (When In Rome #2) by Sarah Adams - a 5/5 Star Review!

The first 15% was especially difficult to get through as it just hammers in the sweet innocence of the main character, Annie, who is a virgin and needs practice with dating.  The innocence is drilled in so much so that she keeps a running tally of each person's cursing around her, as a grown adult.  And she has exclamations such as "What the helicopters were you two doing here?" and "What in the Mary Poppins do you think you're doing?!".   Along with the overwhelming amount of the innocence of Annie, the small town drama over non-issues also irritated me.  For example: there is a scene where Will is running shirtless and almost gets run out of town for the "scandal".  

While on the subject of Will, he is the reason why the book makes a turn for the better.  Swoonworthy is an understatement and he gives other book boyfriends a run for their money.  His character is so well written and I have a major crush on him.  He finds the pirate romances that Annie secretly reads and not only reads them himself, but highlights parts he wants to play out with her! His character development is so strong and he finds a new family with this small town while battling scars of his childhood in a dysfunctional family.  I absolutely adored him and I will read more stories in this series just for glimpses of him.   I also loved the playful banter and mischief that he and Annie got into and I was hanging on every word hoping for their Happily Ever After.

This book is great for those with siblings as the sibling dynamic overcomes miscommunication and finding their own individual voices with their combined support.  It also shows their sibling group expanding with the addition of their new sister-in-law with Amelia's upcoming wedding to their brother Noah.

I was not aware when I started Practice Makes Perfect that it was the second book in a series.  I read it easily as a standalone and it does make a lot of suggestions of another couple in the book (Amelia and Noah) whose storyline is continuing on the side in this plot.     I will definitely be reading their story, When In Rome, based on Noah's character in this book and how completely smitten he is with Amelia. I can't wait!

Please note: an Advanced Reader Copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

[bookthorns]

The Hoemance Book Club’s August 2024 botm: When in Rome by Sarah Adams

Hey friends, welcome to or welcome back to my blog! It’s been a hit minute since I’ve talked about my book club on here so I thought I’d pull my head out of the sand this week and finally start talking about it again!! I’ve been reading romances (or… hoemances as we like to call them 😆) with the book club since 2021 when Rebecca and I decided to bite the bullet and build a community all about…

[jobazzle]

not me reading a book where a celebs car breaks down in a small town and as i tell my brother parts of the story he just goes "hey wait a min....THAT'S THE PLOT OF CARS" i'm-

[goodbooksonly]

When In Rome

By Sarah Adams

Noah = perfect book boyfriend 😍😍

… “My mom used to be my best friend — but she only likes me for my money now. Susan only care about my success. And the world only wants me for Rae Rose.” There’s a long pause as she signs deeply. “I’m drowning and no one sees me.”

It’s not infatuation. Not even lust. It’s the worst of all the feelings … care. Care is reckless because it doesn’t come with the self belt that selfishness offers. Care has so much to lost, and almost always ends in heartbreak.

I push Amelia’s hair from her ear so I know she can hear me. “I see you.”

[genieinanovel]

Review: When in Rome

Amelia Rose, known as Rae Rose to her adoring fans, is burned-out from years of maintaining her “princess of pop” image. Inspired by her favorite Audrey Hepburn film, Roman Holiday, she drives off in the middle of the night for a break in Rome . . . Rome, Kentucky, that is.When Noah Walker finds Amelia on his front lawn in her broken-down car, he makes it clear he doesn’t have the time or…

[jokerreadsbooks]

[dilawrosas]

[BOOK REVIEW] When in Rome by Sarah Adams

This Sarah Adams book is AVAILABLE NOW! ✍️✍️✍️✍️✍️ The heroine is experiencing burnout from her career and spontaneously decided to take a break to Rome, Kentucky. When she arrived, her car broke down at the front yard of the hero’s home. The hero let the heroine stay with him until her car is fixed. Until then, the hero and the heroine cohabitated and began to fall in love with each other.…

[candidcover]

(via Review: When in Rome by Sarah Adams)

When in Rome by Sarah Adams is a heartwarming story that will leave readers with a smile. This modern retelling of Roman Holiday is fun and upbeat and contains a cast of fantastic characters. If you enjoy rom-coms, this is one to watch for.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🦇 Book Recommendations for Your Fall TBR

✨ Good afternoon, witches! Most of us are organizing our fall TBRs with witch lit, horror stories, cozy mysteries, and everything in between. Looking for a few recommendations? Save this post and add a few of these amazing books to your TBR!

🦇 Spookily Yours - Jennifer Chipman @jennchipmanauthor 👻 My Roommate is a Vampire - Jenna Levine @jennalevinewrites 🐈‍⬛ Hex and the City - Kate Johnson @k8johnsonauthor ✨ Hex Appeal - Kate Johnson

🦇 You, Again - Kate Goldbeck @kategoldbeck 👻 When in Rome - Sarah Adams @authorsarahadams 🐈‍⬛ The Pumpkin Spice Cafe - Laurie Gilmore @lauriegilmore_author ✨ A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon - Sarah Hawley @mssarahhawley

🦇 Payback's a Witch - Lana Harper @lanalyte 👻 Not the Witch You Wed (Supernatural Singles series) - April Asher @novelsbyapril 🐈‍⬛ The Ex Hex - Erin Sterling @erinsterlingbooks ✨ The Kiss Curse - Erin Sterling

🦇 Big Bad - Lily Anderson @mslilyanderson 👻 Bloody Fool for Love - William Ritter 🐈‍⬛ The Lost Girls - Sonia Hartl @hartlsonia ✨ With Love, From Cold World - Alicia Thompson @aliciabooks

[writerownstory]

✨we will fight to shine together✨

HEAVILY inspired by When in Rome by Sarah Adams. I will always always ALWAYS recommend her books. also shoutout to @bex2313 for not only encouraging me to read When in Rome but also being my go-to to talk about Sarah Adams related anything☺️ (if you’re looking for a sunshine pop star x grumpy small town baker—this is the book for you)

~

Luke notices Julie isn’t beside him just as they’ve passed the town’s hair salon.

He typically doesn’t pay it any mind, usually just because the women always try to talk him into getting haircuts he doesn’t actually need. But Julie stares at it like she’s lost something inside.

A dismissive comment floats through her brain that sounds suspiciously like Caleb, “Think of the maintenance with natural curls! This looks so much cuter on you!! You don’t want to look like a puff ball, do you?”

At the time, Julie vaguely remembers questioning it, but trusting Caleb and his professional opinion. He knows this business better than anyone. Why would he do anything to hurt her? But now Julie realizes her mistake. Caleb only cared about how much money she could make him, not about her as a person.

Luke backpedals until he’s standing beside her again, but she doesn’t move. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she says immediately, but once she realizes what she’s said, she tries again. “I just… I haven’t worn my hair naturally in years because…” She reaches up to play with the end of a smooth, loose curl. Luke’s not sure she’s aware she’s even doing it. “Caleb always said it wouldn’t be good for my image.”

And it breaks Luke’s heart because he can’t imagine anything about Julie being anything less than perfect. Not that he’d ever admit that to anyone, especially not her. Not right now. It’s not fair to either of them. “That can’t be true,” he finds himself saying. “If your fans care about you, they’d want you to do what makes you happy. This Caleb guy can screw off. If you want to do it, Jules, I say do it.”

Her head whips around at the nickname and Luke fears he’s overstepped.

But as Julie looks up at him, eyes wide and full of hope with a tinge of fear, any worry immediately goes away. “Will you stay with me?” She knows she could walk in there by herself—Ray and Rose didn’t raise a wimp of a daughter, when a Molina woman set her mind to something, that was it!—but if Luke is there, it certainly makes things a little less scary.

Now Luke truly has no business in a hair salon. He’d be wildly out of place and usually cannot sit still for his life, and he knows that if he really didn’t want to be there, Julie would let him off the hook. But for Julie Molina? He wants to be on the hook, for everything, always, as long as she’s involved. It drives him nuts, how easily he’ll bend over backwards for this girl, but he can’t bring himself to stop. “Anything for you, Julie, you know that.”

Luke is rewarded with the warmest, brightest smile and he’s pretty sure the sun has some competition. He guides her inside with a hand on the small of her back, totally unsurprised when Carrie perks up immediately, like she hasn’t been watching them through the window.

“Hey Luke, Julie! What brings you two in here?”

He looks at Julie, who seems frozen in place. She must feel his gaze because after a beat she turns to him. “I don’t… I don’t think I can do it.”

“Hey, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, okay? Not here.” Luke’s voice has dropped to a soft whisper to afford them the slightest privacy in the otherwise busy salon. “But if you’re still worried about what Caleb or anyone else thinks—that’s not what’s important. What matters is how you think and feel about yourself.”

Julie nods resolutely, his words giving her the final burst of courage she needs before turning to Carrie. “I want to try to restore my natural curls. I’m sure there’s damage from the amount of heat over the years but—“

Carrie holds up a perfectly manicured hand. “Say no more. You’ve come to the right place.” She pats the empty chair in front of her and Luke has to give it to Carrie. He doesn’t know a thing about hair, let alone what to do with curly hair but Carrie handles the whole thing with practiced ease.

For only having met her a handful of days ago when she and Luke were shopping together at the grocery store (Luke insisted Julie accompany him grocery shopping to prevent her from burning down his house—you start a small fire cooking pasta one time!), Carrie talks to Julie as if they’ve been friends for years instead of days, and it absolutely warms Julie from the inside out. She isn’t treated like world renowned pop star Julie Molina. She’s just… Julie. Just the way she likes it.

At some point, Luke ends up falling asleep with a magazine covering his face until he’s awakened abruptly by the smallest tap on his shoulder. He startles, sitting upright and causing the magazine to fall haphazardly into his lap, but the sight that meets him threatens to knock him right back down.

Julie stands in front of him, looking exactly the same as she did before except now she has a halo of the most beautiful curls Luke has ever seen—he’s probably a bit biased, but sue him. They’re much tighter ringlets than he’s used to seeing on her, but he’s fallen more in love with her already. What he’d give to have the ability to play with those curls while Julie rests her head on his chest while they—wait. Whoa. What? This is not protecting himself or his heart!!! He shakes his head at the thought, focusing back on the girl in front of him. He can tell the time in Carrie’s chair has had an effect on Julie already.

She’s positively glowing, looking much more comfortable in her own skin. Luke doubts he’s ever seen her with her natural curls, but he can just tell. This is the Julie everyone deserves to know and see. This is the Julie he wants to—alright, this is getting ridiculous.

“Luke? What do you think?”

The words come tumbling out of his mouth before he can give it a second thought. “I think you look perfect.”

She laughs in disbelief, like she thinks he’s just being nice (he’s not) but the blush to her cheeks tells Luke his words had their intended effect. Julie turns back around to face the wall of mirrors where Carrie is cleaning up her station. She swishes her hair around, back and forth over her shoulders like she doesn’t quite believe that this is her reflection she’s looking at. “Carrie, how much do I—“

“Absolutely nothing. Well, if someone asks you where to go…”

“I’ll tell them to come see the one and only Carrie Wilson,” Julie finishes. “But seriously, I can pay you for—“

Carrie shakes her head. “Julie, please. Don’t you think if I wanted your money by now I’d have taken it?” She glances over Julie’s shoulder where Luke now stands, talking with another one of the stylists, but his eyes keep floating back to Julie. “Between you and me, you’re doing the whole town a favor by making that boy happy.”

Julie glances back at Luke who shoots her a wink. She turns back to Carrie. “Trust me, I’m the lucky one.” There’s really no use in hiding it at this point. So what if she’s kind of really in love with Luke Patterson and his stupid flannels and his moody expressions or the way his eyes give away his every emotion even if his expression tries to show something completely different? So what if she knows they can’t be together because she doesn’t want to go off on tour and hardly see him for months on end because she knows it how much it would hurt him? He’d explained as much when she finally admitted her feelings to him anyway. He said he wasn’t looking for a relationship, and he wasn’t ready to have one as potentially complicated as theirs. And Julie respected that.

Which is why when it comes time to say goodbye, Julie is really proud of herself for not crying… until she gets in her car. A weight settles on her chest all the way back to LA, and it gets heavier with each passing day she’s away from Luke, Reggie, Alex, and everyone she’s met. She does feel some excitement for the tour—definitely more than she did before escaping LA—and she does love performing, seeing her fans, and getting to see in real time how much they love her music. But as more calls to Luke goes unanswered, Julie feels a sense of dread settle in her stomach. Maybe he no longer wants to pursue anything with her, platonic or romantic. Maybe she will just have to tuck the memory of him and her trip away, only to bring it out when she needs to remember why she loves music in the first place. This realization doesn’t really lend itself to the bright stage presence that she usually likes to have, so when it comes time for soundcheck she plasters on a smile that satisfies Caleb and everyone else except for Flynn. (She’s also really good at dodging Flynn.)

It isn’t until she gets back to her dressing room after the opening night of her tour that she feels like she can finally let herself relax. Julie collapses into the chair in front of the vanity, glaring grumpily at her reflection.

“Hey Molina, why so bummed?” She hears his voice before she sees him appear in the mirror behind her. “You’re making this face.” Luke contorts his face into an overexaggerated pout and if it were any other time she’d roll her eyes at him, but instead she jumps out of her chair, throwing herself at him.

“What are you doing here??”

Luke catches her easily, and his chuckle vibrates through her chest, loosening the heaviness she’s been carrying around. “I needed to see you.”

Julie pulls away just enough so she can see his face. “Yeah?”

Luke grins down at her, his hands holding her face gently as he takes her in. His eyes trace over her stage makeup and the glitter left on her face. Her curls have been pinned into some half up do, with colorful butterflies placed within it, but beneath it all she’s still Julie.

His Julie, he hopes.

“I made a mistake. Letting you go was the dumbest idea I’ve ever had. And I’m never doing it again.”

Her face falls, shaking her head slightly, but Luke doesn’t let her pull away. “I won’t let you give up your life for mine. That’s not fair. What about the band? Or the boys? What about you? What about your dreams?”

“All I want is to play music with the people I love. Reggie and Alex can meet us sometime while you’re on tour. But you, Julie, you’re part of my dreams now too.”

Her hands cover his, but she still doesn’t move. “But you… you hate the city. And traffic. And most modern technology.”

“Guess I’m gonna have to learn to live with it, if I want to date the greatest musician of our time.” Luke succeeds at hiding his smug grin for all of two seconds.

Her eyes widen, beautiful brown orbs shining up at him. “You mean…?” Her brain can’t comprehend it, it’s too much, too good to be true.

He leans in, brushing his lips against hers once, twice, before the third turns much more passionate, both of them pouring their hearts into this one exchange.

When Luke pulls back, Julie’s eyes are still closed, and there’s a hint of fear in her voice when she says, “I need to hear you say it.” She’s already declared herself once, and the feelings still stand, but she won’t put her heart on the line again.

“I want this, Julie. I want you. I know our lives are different and that we’ll have a lot to figure out. It might be complicated and maybe messy and sure, we’ll be apart sometimes. But I want to know you’re always coming home to me. And I’ll do the same for you.”

Julie’s eyes flutter open, glossy with tears now. “Really?”

He nods. “I love you, Julianna Rose Molina. And I want everyone to know it.”

Her hands have slipped around his neck without him noticing but it makes it easy for her to pull down him down to her in another heated kiss.

When they finally pull back, their foreheads touching and heavy breaths between them, she says, “You Googled me.” Her mind is still caught up his earlier comment. A title some random entertainment reporter probably gave her that she rolled her eyes at when Caleb or Flynn presented it to her. But when Luke says it? It sounds genuine. Like the best honor she can receive.

Luke doesn’t seem very ashamed to admit, “I missed you.”

“I love you too.”

[austennerdita2533]

Hi friend-miss you!!

Really random but do you have any recs for just like fluffy happy fun books (or Klaroline fics). Feeling very sad (I’m fine I just finally moved and my mom came over to help me but she flew out today) so just need some joy but for some reason none of my tbr is screaming joy right now 😅 probably because most of the books on my “really want to read” tbr are angsty 😂 so just looking for some other options!

-ACOTAR anon

Hello there, lovely! I miss you, too! Between working like a maniac and traveling a lot this summer, I have been the world's worst correspondent. My inbox still is overflowing with unanswered messages from months ago because I. am. awful. haha. 😬😇

I'm so sorry to hear you're feeling sad, though. :/ That's completely normal after a big move when you're away from everything and everyone that's familiar to you. It'll take some time to adjust, but I know it'll end up being a great experience for you and you'll blossom in all sorts of ways. 💖 That said, in the meantime, if I can help take the edge off your sadness with some fluffy book and fic recs then I absolutely will!

Book recs:

-When in Rome and Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams (These are the two I've read from her so far and they're in the same series. So cute! Honestly, I feel like you could pick up anything from her and it'd be adorable.)

-Funny Story by Emily Henry (Don't know if you've read this one yet but I feel like it's one of the wittiest of all her books. And Miles is a golden retriever boyfriend)

-Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross (It's a fantasy series that's set during a war between gods BUT the main characters fall in love over letters they write using a magical typwriter. It's cute, I think you'd like it.)

-The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center (I got an ARC of this a couple months ago and I absolutely FLEW through it. She writes a lot of cute romcoms) You could also check out The Bodyguard and Hello Stranger by her, too.

-Next-Door Nemesis by Alexa Martin (This one's fun because the main pairing have a history but then they decide to run against each other to be HOA president.)

-Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries and Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett (Another fantasy series, but it's more of a cozy fantasy. Emily and Wendell have THE best banter)

-Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren (I read this years ago, but I remember giggling and kicking my feet.)

-A Lot Like Adiós by Alexis Daria (Friends to lovers, fake dating, and second chance romance)

-I also currently have Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez and This Summer Will be Different by Carley Fortune sitting on my bedside table. Haven't read them yet but the summaries sounded the right combo of fluffy and summery to me

Fics Recs:

-Tbh, I haven't read any Klaroline fic in a while and I haven't bookmarked as many as I thought I did on AO3. (SHORTSIGHTED OF ME, AHHHH.) Let me have a think on this and I'll get back to you. Or, if anyone in the KC fandom sees this post and wants to drop a rec or ten in the comments then I'd be grateful.

Anyway, I hope a few things from this list will help cheer you up! *all the hugs*