When in Rome: A Novel (Rome, Kentucky)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really loved When in Rome! Such a cute, cozy romance and just an all-around feel-good read. I loved the small-town setting, the banter between Amelia and Noah, and watching their relationship slowly develop. It was sweet, funny, romantic, and had just enough emotion without feeling too heavy. I especially loved the whole small-town/found-family feel and how easy it was to get attached to the characters. This was one of those books that was simply fun to read and left me smiling when I finished it. Definitely recommend if you love small-town romance, forced proximity, great banter, and a sweet slow burn. ❤️

This was so cute!! The most perfect, swoony rom-com for the summer. I loved both Amelia and Noah, they were total opposites but they worked so well together. Also, I loved how fleshed out these characters were! For a short 300 page book I wasn’t expecting to get to know the main characters too well but I was surprised by how much detail we got and felt like by the end, I understood them. I will say, towards the end I had to not think too much about the timespan of this book because, if you look to closely, it is super insta-love but also technically its slow burn if you take it at face value😅 Lastly, the town was adorable! When in Rome was truly a great feel-good, adorable romance 🧡

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 stars) When in Home was entertaining, but it didn’t fully pull me in or leave a lasting impression. It’s a light read, but not especially engaging or profound. What really kept me from becoming invested was how unrealistic the setup felt. A famous, millionaire singer breaks down on a dark road and somehow ends up stranded in a small town for an entire week waiting for her car to be fixed? In a more grounded scenario, she would simply call an Uber, a driver, or one of her assistants and be on her way. It was also hard to believe that a well-known public figure would choose to stay overnight in a stranger’s home rather than arranging professional transportation or support. That choice felt odd and made the story harder to swallow. While the audiobook itself was fine and didn’t drag outright, it still took me longer to finish than most “okay” books I listen to, which says a lot. The pacing felt a bit slow, and I never became truly invested or eager to see what would happen next. Overall, an entertaining enough listen, but the lack of realism and slower pace kept it from being more enjoyable for me.

Really enjoyed the way the romance between Noah and Amelia developed, and it was great to meet all the characters that make up the greater Rome family!

The first thing you have to know about this author is she writes sweet and innocent romances, and if that’s not your thing, you wouldn’t like this book. It’s essentially a pop star falls for a small town hero, who happens to own a pie shop. These stories aren’t deep nor have much angst, they are mostly insta love with closed door bedroom scenes. I did enjoy this change of pace from my normal type of rom-com and loved the banter between Amelia and Noah. Do I think a celebrity can have a lasting relationship with someone not in the business? Yeah, for sure. It can and does happen, but it needs a lot of work and total commitment which I can see these two doing. There were other elements that I felt were out of place, like having that time off before a major tour… really wouldn’t happen with a professional and a few other things felt more like conveniently placed to fit the storyline. And it was somewhat repetitive on the why they couldn’t be together. For the most part though I was happy with this book and loved the ending. I will be reading the next one, one of Noah’s sisters gets her own HEA.

Amelia is Rae Rose, pop star. She is finding she is not happy with her life, so she decides to take a vacation without telling anyone. Audrey Hepburn is her go-to movie star. She decides to go to Rome like Audrey did in Roman Holiday, but Italy is too far, so she goes to Rome, Kentucky. Her car breaks down on the outskirts of town. A man knocks on her window, but she will not unwind the window or get out of her car. He gets frustrated and walks back to his house where her car is parked on his front lawn. Noah, the man, decides it is too hot for her to stay in her car, so he asks Mabel, his grandmother's friend, to vouch for his good character. After talking to Mabel, Amelia gets out of the car and stays in Noah's extra room for the night, figuring she will get to the bed and breakfast in town the next morning. She finds it will take two weeks to fix her car, so Noah reluctantly offers his spare room. Both are attracted but know she will only temporarily be in town, so they make rules and build walls to keep from getting close. Will it work? I enjoyed this book. It was fun watching Amelia get under Noah's skin as she imitated him, discovered things about him, constantly chattering at him, and all the other little things she does. Noah's been burned by an ex-fiancée. He does not trust easily. Even knowing she's only temporarily in his life, he still falls for her. Amelia also falls for Noah. She has been spoiled living the pop star life and knows little of how to take care of herself. But with Noah, she knows she is safe. I liked watching them set up their rules and walls and seeing them fall. I liked the vulnerability each brings to their relationship. Amelia learns a lot about herself while in Rome. She starts to find the joy of music again as well as the comfort of safe people in her life. Noah also learns about himself while trying not to fall in love. I loved the town and its people. A bunch of gossips who have good hearts and protect those they see as theirs. I loved Noah's sisters. Each was different in personality, but each backed the others, The characters were quirky. They were fun. They saw love when it hit their town. I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

This was such a warm, tender, and big-hearted book...and a fun and modern take on the Audrey Hepburn classic, Roman Holiday! All the tropes I love are present here --slowburn, enemies-to-lovers, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine and forced proximity - and I can't help swooning over it. The development of the romance, the small town setting of Rome, Kentucky, the individual characters' growth, everything...it was all top notch. This story, these characters, their romance…the perfection of it all snuck up on me. The writing was so playful, so enjoyable to read. Both these characters were ridiculously relatable: Noah with his grumpiness, and his reluctance to people-ing. And Amelia with her unfiltered rambling had me choking on my laughter. The humour in this book straddled the line of ridiculously funny and downright relatable. The author really aced the sunshine/grump trope in When In Rome. I loved Amelia’s constant positivity in stark contrast with Noah’s grumpy demeanor. Together, as these lovable characters got to know each other, supported each other, and broke down defences, they just made me swoon, gave me butterflies, and made me grin like a maniac. I loved how understanding and empathetic they both were. I rooted so hard for them individually, and as a couple because this was also about Amelia and Noah finding themselves, being brave and taking risks despite their fears. I absolutely adored this as a romantic piece. The slow-burn was subtle but the payoff was so deliciously romantic. This was a beautiful and feel-good story. Although, I found the ending too abrupt for my personal tastes and I was desperate for an epilogue, there’s no denying that this book was lots of fun and the touching moments throughout this book kicked off the trifecta of snicker, smile, and swoon. A total joy to read.

First, reader must know that this is the second book in a novel series. Because I did not. So, after a couple of chapters I began asking myself if I’ve missed something and came back on to find that I did. Not enough to make me stop reading, especially when I went to order the first book and it wouldn’t arrive for almost a week. No thanks! The hot bodyguard with a slight obsession to the flowershop girl was intriguing. I wanted more. The interactions between characters made you think, this is it. It’s about to rev up. And then it would not. With all of that, I did buy the third book, it did take a week to arrive. So, I enjoyed it enough to want to read the next sister’s story.

Ho le lacrime agli occhi. La storia è dolcissima. Amelia è un popstar e Noah un pasticcere. Cosa potranno mai avere in comune? Decisamente Rome in Kentucky. Un libro perfetto per chi cerca una lettura divertente e romantica.

how cuteeee is this boook!!!! 😭😭 had me giggling and swooning since the start!!! such a cute rom-com. I lovedddd both amelia and noah's characters, they fit in so well🥹 . they both had soo many wholesome moments it was perfect💕 I also love how amelia is a pain in noah's ass🤣 it is a perfect small town romance with grumpy sunshine!🥹❤️ ALSO something to take note of? Noah is grumpy but he is not mean🫶

Warm, fuzzy and witty everything you want from a light summer rom-com. Maybe not my top of the top, but still good enough to smkle to myself while reading

AHHH, I never know where to begin from when it comes to Sarah Adams and her precious, precious books! They always render me absolutely speechless and turn me into a hooman puddle of mush and When in Rome is no different. 🥺😍 God, this deeply beautiful, heart melting, soulful, gentle, hopeful, endearing, wholesome and tenderly woven story is EVERYTHING! I cannot express how much I needed to read it and how deeply it made me feel. It was beyond words. 😭🥰 Noah and Amelia are truly a dream come true! They're SO warm, wholesome, genuine, loveable, golden hearted and soft. They exude such comfort and sunshine. I love, love, love how beautifully and meaningfully they come together! Watching them fall in love with each other was an absolutely delightful, swoony, emotional, heart touching and precious journey. It touched my soul, made my heart swell with love, soar with happiness, squeal with excitement, burst out out of sheer warmth, smile endlessly, swoon, feel from the deepest depths of my being, cry, laugh, melt away with the purest of joy, feel seen, understood, accepted and so deeply loved. Ahhh, I cannot begin to express how wholeheartedly Amelia and Noah made me feel! They enveloped my heart in the softest big bear hug ever and never let go. ☀️ I didn't know just how much I needed to read their story and get to know them. Their story is genuinely going to be my MOST favourite ones ever and I'll always, always hold it the closest to my heart. I cannot get over the care, sensitivity, fondness and tenderness radiating from them. It's everything. Watching Noah and Amelia get to know each other was a like watching a dream come true. The way they loved, cared for, supported, respected, understood, accepted, stood by and truly saw each other makes me want to cry for an eternity. 🥺😭 The thoughtfully and gently woven details in their story are to die for!!! Truly. Be it pancakes, flowers, books, sweatshirts and god, SO much more. Just so much more. The affectionately, adoringly, compassionately and carefully crafted moments between them had me smiling endlessly, bursting with giddiness, melting away with love, sobbing out of happiness and just floating on a fluffy cloud. They are soothing, heart melting, joyful, radiant, magical, soulful, emotional, evocative, crackling with chemistry and tension of the best kind (trust me, it'll have you squealing), heartfelt and BEAUTIFUL. Please give their story a try, I promise - you will not be disappointed! And there is SO much more to their story. We've got the most delightful grumpy x sunshine awesomeness, an absolutely endearing family and friend group who are SO much fun and will make you laugh constantly, beautiful, dreamy and hilarious descriptions which will make you dissolve into a big puddle and giggle endlessly, scenes wherein they take care of each other with such softness you will sob, moments which will make you feel SO seen and understood, god. Those moments made me cry out of sheer relief and resonance. The way the sweet and vibrant town of Rome, Kentucky and all the moments, people and adventures it brought nursed Amelia back to her feeling like herself again have every bit of my soul. Her vulnerable and emotional journey of slowly and gently recovering from a burnout was so affirming. It is endlessly comforting to see someone allowing themselves to break down, to be seen in all of their humanness, to be loved for being themselves, just themselves, learning what is it that lights up their soul from within after years of it being robbed from you. I love how sensitively and honestly it was spoken about. The dialogues really hit home. And through all of it, I LOVE how Noah's safe, steady, gentle, calming, honest and caring presence nurtured hope for her. I adore how become a secure base for her to land and her supportive cheerleader! I cannot express how much I appreciate that he never spoke on her behalf, instead he stood by her side unwaveringly as she fought for herself and found herself again. That was SO beautiful and emotional to see! The way they treasured, valued, adored and cherished each other's presence in their lives had my heart giving out. Every page of this book is pure sunshine and comfort - all wrapped and sealed into one. 🥺💛🌻🥞✨

Good one