When in Rome | ARC Review

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 patience for celebrity problems. He’s too busy running the pie shop his grandmother left him and reminding his nosy but lovable neighbors to mind their own damn business. Despite his better judgment, he lets her stay in his guest room–but only until her car is fixed–then she’s on her own.

Then Noah starts to see a different side of Rae Rose–she’s Amelia: kindhearted and goofy, yet lonely from years in the public eye. He can’t help but get close to her. Soon she’ll have to return to her glamorous life on tour, but until then, Noah will show Amelia all the charming small-town experiences she’s been missing, and she’ll help him open his heart to more.

Amelia can’t resist falling for the cozy town and her grumpy tour guide, but even Audrey had to leave Rome eventually.

Adams continues to deliver exactly what I’m looking for. This book was witty and funny, as I’ve come to expect from Adam’s other books, but also surprisingly mature.

I feel like I have to elaborate on the mature bit because I was pleasantly surprised by it. I’ve read Adams’s self-published and traditionally published previous works and this one had the same spirit, but in a more mature way. By that, I mean, Adams’s writing feels like it’s improving and getting better. The characters feel more rounded, the voices are more true to their age, and the dual povs feel like different people. It was really great!

During the entire book, I had the warm and fuzzies. Noah was this grump of a man from a small town trying his best not to fall for the very woman that he knew could absolutely shatter his heart. His every interaction with Amelia had me swooning and wanting to lock them in a room together until they worked out their problems. Alas, I can’t complain with a slow burn as they’re my favorite. And there was plenty of angst to go around which I also loved.

This was another closed-door romance from Adams which I personally prefer. That doesn’t mean there weren’t some heated moments, but she doesn’t write everything out.

There were lots of side characters to love in this book. For some reason, small town settings open up the possibilities for more cooky characters. We had Mabel, who was very good at meddling in love lives, Noah’s three sisters who were protective yet so quick to tease, and a poor small town lady who was scandalized at the idea of Amelia and Noah even looking at each other the wrong way.

Overall, this was another great release from Adams with all the pining and small town antics you could ask for.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating

To check out my other reviews, click here. Or to check out more books by Sarah Adams, go to her Goodreads profile.