This book, with its dating lessons, and the guy falling first and HARD, initially reminded me of Hallmark's 2012 rom com, How to Fall in Love, and I was easily hooked.

But then this bodyguard and florist romance got deeper. It became "I want marriage" vs "I'll never get married," and the refreshing thing is that this isn't a secret; Will and Annie are honest about their life plans....so the only miscommunication is because of failed tech. While I won't spoil what these two need to learn about themselves and each other, I will say their growth arcs are similarly heartbreaking, when you get to the root of their wounds.

It's a closed door romance, but these kisses are steamy and there's more on page than I'm accustomed to reading in Sarah's books (and I only have her historicals to catch up on). Not a complaint; I read across heat levels. It's just something for other readers to be aware of. Their chemistry is 🔥

There's a cast of hilarious meddlers, as you'd expect in a small town, and breadcrumbs as to the couple (possibly) featured in When In Rome #3. And I can't wait to read it!

I LOVED this book!! This was my first book of Sarah Adams that I’ve read and it definitely made me want to pick up another one. The relationship between Annie and Will was everything and I was so happy there was no third act breakup that so many books have nowadays. I really liked seeing Will finally open himself up to love after his past trauma and how he helped Annie bloom (no pun intended) into the most authentic version of herself. If you’re a fan of the bad boy/good girl trope - read this!

Yes super cute book from Sara Adams! I’m so lucky to be able to get an advanced reader copy of this book! It is a little predictable but I still enjoyed it!

This was such a cute and lighthearted romance set in an adorable small town! Annie owns a local flower shop and she's looking for Mr. Right. However, her dates have been all wrong... until she runs into her sister-in-law's bodyguard who's back in town for work. Will is Mr. Emotionally Unavailable and more than happy to help Annie learn how to date so that she can find her Mr. Right because he's not staying and she wants to settle down -- or do they? I loved the adorable, quirky romance with a great dating coach trope and stellar grumpy sunshine vides! Highly recommend this one for a great, fun romance read!

Thanks you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Ballantine for the early ARC of this book!

I absolutely loved When in Rome, and Practice Makes Perfect lived up to every single hype!! I cried, i laughed, I swooned over Will's tattoos. Annie is so relatable because I grew up trying to be *wholesome* but also loved spicy romance novels and just wanted more from my life than trying to fit into everyone else's mold of me. I loved this book so so much.

“Practice Makes Perfect,” much like the previous book in Sarah Adam’s series, “When in Rome,” is also super adorbs. The heroine is Noah’s sweet younger sister Annie, owner of a flower store, and she falls in love with one of Amelia’s bodyguards. I loved that it was practically romance genre fanfic, though I’ve not yet read in the pirate romance subgenre myself. I thought that the whole practice thing wasn’t thought through all that well, but Annie and Will made it work. I really appreciated that Adams gave such a multi-layered perspective on two characters who seemed simple, prototype-ish, side characters in the first book, but really came into their own here. Being a sweet and positive person really does have its downfalls of being misunderstood or not allowing oneself to articulate even reasonable, necessary negative feelings, and I thought Annie worked through such issues beautifully.
Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy!

“I would have committed murder for you just now.” “I do appreciate it,” she says with a laugh too.
We are both laughing and she’s crying and I’ve never experienced this kind of emotion with anyone else. It’s so fragile and vulnerable. I feel guilty that I’m the one who gets to experience it with her. And yet I’m greedy for it at the same time.

Will and Annie are the most perfect grumpy x sunshine pairing! She is a shy florist who wants to start dating. He is the “bad boy” bodyguard who isn’t looking for love. So when they strike up a dating coach situation-ship, they both start realizing that maybe they want something different…a chance to be in love with each other.

Sarah Adams’ romance books are such fun sunshine reads! I loved getting the chance to go back to Rome, Kentucky, and see another Walker romance. This is a perfect romance read for this summer!!

Sarah Adams did such a good job with this book, 4/5 for me!
The energy between Annie and Will is very youthful and fun. The banter is witty and we love that Will is such a good communicator.

Oh this one was fun! I really enjoyed Will and Annie!
I’m a sucker for a fake dating / teach me to date trope and this one didn’t disappoint!

I found myself smiling so frequently during this read, it just made me feel good and the vibes were top tier.

I really enjoyed the growth Will had during the story. He went from constantly cutting off everyone to putting down roots and allowing himself to connect.

The town was giving me stars hallow vibes! I felt like it gave alot of similarities to when Luke and Lorelei started dating and i just loved that. It gave me the same cozy vibes that Gilmore Girls did.

It was fun, i had a great time!

Annie is a 30-year-old small town florist who dreams of getting married and having children, but fears her social awkwardness may prevent that dream from coming true. Will is the badass bodyguard to pop star Rae Rose, also known as Annie's soon-to-be sister-in-law Amelia. Nobody expects "angel Annie" and bad boy Will to belong together, but sparks fly whenever they're together. This is actually a fake dating story, the idea being that Annie needs lessons from the more experienced Will if she's ever going to have a successful date. That premise strained credulity, but that's okay: I liked this for its small town setting, ongoing conversations about Annie's cherished pirate romances and their tropes, and thoughtful examination of family dynamics.

𝙎𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙝 𝘼𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙍𝙤𝙢-𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙮.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙮, 𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚.
𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙯𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣.

⭐️ Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ (5/5)

Look, I'm about 6 months out from reading When In Rome, but I'm about 99% sure I like this better, and When In Rome was also a five star book for me.

I love the way Sarah Adams writes, it's the way I think in my own head. I identify so much with Annie, which is why I think this book hit it out of the park with me. Her social anxiety, her pent up until she explodes energy, her quiet complicatedness. It's just ALL. SO. GOOD.

And, Will? Holy bejeezus, was I love with his character. Slightly tormented bad boy running from his feelings? Ugh. That's right where a MC in a romance should fall. 🤣

Overall, I had such a nice time watching their story play out. I laughed, a lot. I cried a couple times. I enjoyed the nostalgic getting to watch Noah and Amelia's relationship play out and getting a hint as to the next book.

AN ULTIMATE FEEL GOOD ROM COM.


I'd like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and Sarah Adams for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was very cute! The characters had a great dynamic. Sarah Adams's writing style is very addictive. It's refreshing and a wonderful read for the summer. I believe this is her third novel. I liked her latest one, but with this one, you can tell the writing style has improved! Which is normal, I believe, when it comes to writing. My point is you can tell that writing is something Sarah Adams loves to do, and it shows in this book.

Sarah Adams has become one of my favorite authors. She delivers consistent amazing reads and I'm so fortunate for the oppty to read her newest Practice Makes Perfect. Thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Favorite Will Quote: “Annie did something to me- she scrambled my brain.”

Favorite Annie Quote: “I am convinced dating was created by an evil villain to torture humanity. Dramatic?”

Tropes:
🌷 forced proximity
🌷 found family
🌷 bodyguard MMC
🌷 sunshine FMC
🌷 touch her or die

This was such a fun closed door read! Sarah Adams knows how to write a lighthearted and fun romance! I loved Annie from the start. She’s a book loving people pleaser & I have not related to a character this much in awhile. Will’s sexy tattoos and too-cool but damaged demeanor had me swooning in multiple places.

If this one isn’t on your TBR, add it ASAP!

So glad to be back in Rome, KY! Practice Makes Perfect is the second book in the When in Rome series. This book follows Noah's little sister Annie who owns the floral shop in town.

I really liked Annie as a character. She had true growth throughout the book and I was definitely rooting for her. I also loved Will, Amelia's tattooed bodyguard. Their chemistry was fantastic.

The little glimpses of Amelia and Noah was a nice touch too. Hopefully we will get two more books in the series for the remaining sisters.

This was so damn sweet. I loved every minute. I laughed,I cried. Will and Annie were just the sweetest.

I love all of sarah adams books and this one was no different! This is book 2 in a series, but could also be read as a stand alone.

This is your typical good girl that the town loves paired with the tattooed bad bodyguard who works for her sister in law. He is her dating coach and of course that ends up with them falling in love.

Very cute summer romcom!

Thank you netgalley for this arc!

Sarah Adams DOES IT AGAIN! I discovered Sarah’s books earlier this year, starting with the Cheat Sheet. As of now, every single one of her books has given me butterflies the entire time. I feel like I’m falling in love as I read these! I loved the two main characters. This is the best spin on the “good girl, bad boy” trope that I’ve read. Annie is the “goody two-shoes” of her family, and desperately wants everyone to take her seriously as she dreams of finding someone to marry and settle down with. Will is the broody and mysterious bodyguard of Annie’s sister-in-law. Fake dating ensues and the romance takes off. I loved the two MC’s banter and I really appreciated that the romance is “closed door” , meaning there is no explicit sex scenes described. The ending was very satisfying. I’ve recommended it to all of my friends!

The fake dating trope done correctly with clearrrrr communication and admitting feelings! Thanks goodness.

I love how Annie broke into her own person and that will learned to be loved!
Some of the jokes and nicknames were a little corny and cringey but I think that’s how Annie has been made to feel from her siblings and I felt it for her too!
I wish we saw a tad more from wills past like his brother coming to town maybe.

Sarah Adams never disappoints with a closed door romance where you don’t even need the spice to know it’s amazing and to see the connection between to mc’s😍
I love Rome, Kentucky and can’t wait to see the next book, I assume it’s about James and Maddie!