"𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧?"
"𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧."

THE WAY I AM SCREAMING AT YOU TO READ THIS BOOK! OKAY, HOLD ON.

I got ahead of myself.

Alright, So our sweet “Angel Annie” runs a floral shop in her small town of Rome, Kentucky. She is the youngest of her siblings, raised by her grandparents after a fatal accident when she was a very young child. Her soon to be sister in law Amelia is mega famous, and her hot, tatted and lethal body guard, Will Griffin, is everything you’d expect him to be. Foul mouthed, dark and handsome, and low key hilarious. Amelia ropes Will into teaching our innocent Annie the ins and outs of dating, so she can find the man of her dreams and finally settle down.

The problem? Will has a past he’s not too keen on sharing— with anyone. And as the days go by, he’s finding it harder and harder to keep his secrets from Annie. Unfortunately for her, the more time she spends with Will, the harder it is to remember they are just “practicing.”

Let me tell ya, there are some of the best tropes in this one!
💐Small Town (with a wild cast of characters to match!)
💐Introverted FMC
💐Bodyguard
💐Opposites Attract
💐Dysfunctional Families
💐Pirates? Listen, you just have to read it. And it’s so worth it!

First of all, we LOVE when our MMC can say 👏🏻 what👏🏻 he 👏🏻means! Will is a pretty good communicator, and I love that for them both. Despite his “I don’t do relationships” motto, he is basically a fluffy cinnamon roll beneath all those tattoos. When I tell you there were so many little moments between Annie and Will that had me absolutely screeching in feral delight… it was the best kind of madness.

I binged this absolute gem of a book in one sitting and I absolutely plan on doing it again! The fact that there was no unnecessary conflict, no ridiculous fight or breakup, just two characters trying their hardest NOT to do those things to one another while their friendship blossomed into the sweetest romance I’ve read in some time. Ugh ugh ugh. This was kick-your-feet-screech-to-the-heavens-and-throw-your-kindle cute. Yeah, that was a lot, but so was this book, in the best way. Five stars really weren’t enough!

🎉HAPPY PUB DAY !!🎉

Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams is out now! Everybody run to your nearest bookstore and get your hands on a copy NOW! It’s literally a must read!

Sarah is the queen of writing romantic comedies with lovable characters, swoon worthy men, badass side characters, and feel good moments. Reading one of her novels provides me with so much serotonin that I could die a happy girl 🤣

Anyways, I’m getting ahead of myself. Long story short - this was one of my most anticipated reads for this year and it was everything I had hoped for! This book follows Annie Walker who is Noah Walker’s sister in the When In Rome series. Definitely recommend reading When In Rome first, but you could totally skip it and just dive into this one and still be fine. Soooo yeah, back to Annie. Annie is on her search to find love and finding love in a small town isn’t the easiest, especially when you’re an introvert and surrounded by meddlesome people… I don’t want to say anything more because I want you to just enjoy the journey. But I will add one little spoiler here - there’s a sexy tattooed man in this story who actually knows how to communicate 😎 did I convince you to read it yet?!?

Thank you so much @authorsarahadams and @netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. It was an honor to be chosen to read and review this book. 🥰 Can’t wait to get my own physical copy to go with the rest of my collection!

TL;DR
Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
Genre: romance, contemporary romance
Avg. Goodreads rating: 4.36⭐️
Loved it, Liked it, or Meh: LOVED IT!

Sarah Adams books are the best and PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT is no exception. You will grin the entire time while reading this book. The writing, the characters, the plot, the dialogue.....everything is perfect. While reading about a lovely romance, you'll realize the unknowing harm you're doing to people when you categorize them into boxes and keep them there.

Okay so I was excited and hopeful for this book. I had really enjoyed Sarah Adam’s indie published books so I wanted to see how I would feel about this one. Picture Makes Perfect is the sequel to When in Rome. Unfortunately I had to DNF it. I was expecting her book to be closed but it was more like a cracked door. Although it is not really my style I would still recommend it if you don’t mind a more steamy closed-doorish romance.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.

I posted my review on Goodreads and Bookbub on 05/02/2023

Sarah Adams books are my happy place. I absolutely adore them! The characters in this book are fantastic, I love the town, and the slow burn was top notch!

Annie Walker, the small town sweetheart and flower shop owner. Will Griffin, the hot, playboy bodyguard for singer Amelia Rose who is living in Rome, Kentucky. Annie goes to Will seeking a dating coach to help her prepare to find the nice guy who wants to have a family and a white picket fence and he says yes. But when fake dating and small town gossip meet, they are forced to address the elephant in the room aka their feelings for each other.

Will and Annie were so good for each other. Annie needed encouragement to be her true self and Will needed to be shown that not all love is toxic.

I loved this small town, grumpy x sunshine story. It made me giggle, it made me sad and it was just incredibly sweet.

My thoughts:
•The Monica wedding scrapbook reference was perfect
•Am I the only one who didn’t know what a Stern Brunch Daddy was? 😂
•Annie being a reader was perfect for multiple reasons that I can’t share because I don’t want to ruin anything. But if you’ve read it please message me because I need to talk about it with someone LOL.

This is the steamiest closed door romance I've ever read and I absolutely loved it. Sarah gave us a MMC to rival our fan fav, Nathan. Will was absolutely amazing and I loved his character development. Annie was so relatable to me and I loved that in the end they both found happiness but also grew to be themselves. I will recommend this book until the end of time.

3.5 ⭐️

I liked this one more than When in Rome but less than The Cheat Sheet. The characters were drawn out with cute quirks and emotions. There was an actual connection between the love interests and I longed for the drawn out glances and the accidental touch of fingers. I would recommend this book for someone wanting a fade-to-black, short, cute romance! Perfect for younger readers trying to get into older romances!

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 ⭐'s

Annie is the girl next door, the little sister, the one every one passes over… She’s innocent in every way the word can mean it and frankly, she’s over it. Annie is hell bent on one thing: having a marriage as perfect as her parents. She just needs a little practice to help her come out of her shell…

Here enters Will. He’s the returning body guard to the pop star Annie’s brother is getting married to. Amelia, said pop star, hatches up a plan to have Will help out Annie in the romance department… Only problem is Will does not believe in love and even hung up on his own brother when he announced his engagement…

Practice Makes Perfect above all else was such a cozy✨read and I probably should have read the first installment first...

All-in-all, I enjoyed this rom com a lot. Fake dating is one of my top tropes and I kinda wish we got more fake dates however, the swoony moments were top tier. There were so many cute moments I almost couldn’t stand it. It was also really rewarding to see Annie grow within herself.

The downside… I’m a sucker for small town romances AS LONG as that small town isn’t made up of a bunch of obnoxious townspeople 🫠

I also really missed the spice. Don’t kill me...

LIKES
•Introverted FMC
•Bodyguard MMC
•Good girl & bad boy
•FMC finding herself

DISLIKES
•FMC being very childish
•The townspeople
•Needed more fake dating

"𝐵𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝑒𝓉 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝒾𝓈, 𝓌𝑒'𝓇𝑒 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓋 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝑒𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒷𝓇𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝑜 𝒷𝓊𝓈𝓎 𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔."

𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: Annie Walker has always lived a quiet life in Rome, Kentucky. Will Griffin has built a reputation as a flirtatious bodyguard. When Annie and Will agreed to fake date, they never would have imagined where the road would take them!

𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄:
I LOVED IT 💗

Sarah Adams can do no wrong in my eyes with her sweet closed door romances! I am head over heels for Rome, Kentucky and all it’s residents. Going back was like a warm hug. Written as a dual POV, we follow Annie and Will (whom I love!) as they fake date. I related so much to Annie in When in Rome and I’m glad we got a book focused on her because we get to see her growth. As an introvert, I understand the fear of going out of your comfort zone but sometimes a small step can lead to world of possibilities and that’s what Annie did. I loved seeing Will’s growth and ability to open up to new beginnings. He’s a total cinnamon roll that must be protected at all costs. As always Sarah does a fantastic job at incorporating characters from the previous book and allowing us to further fall in love with them. Along with fake dating lessons we get my favorite thing in books: Banter!! I cannot wait to read about Madison and Emily and pair their books with Audrey Hepburn movies!

𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀:
- Small Town
- Fake Dating
- Friends to Lovers
- Opposites Attract
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Closed Door Romance

𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲: Special thanks to Sarah Adams and Random House for providing me an ARC copy to share my honest review.

✨𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩✨ by Sarah Adams

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥/5 (closed door)

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
-Dual POV
-Bodyguard (or executive protection agent😉) x flower shop owner
-Small town
-Friends to lovers
-Practice dating
-2nd in the series (can be read as standalone)

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦.”

*Spoiler Free*
She has done it again. Sarah Adams exceeded all of my expectations with this one and I’m not even surprised.

First of all, the fmc, Annie, is my new favorite female character to ever exist. She just makes me feel seen in all of her introverted ways. So often, characters are super outspoken, but I adored this representation.

Then, there is Will. Will freaking Griffin. I love how I think he was supposed to be a “bad boy” but this guy is just a big teddy bear. I loved him so much, and I always appreciate main characters who are self aware and know how to COMMUNICATE.

All in all, I would recommend this to literally anyone who would listen to me rant about this pure perfection. I’m obsessed and cannot wait to read anything else that Sarah Adams ever writes💐

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrvbuzbtVvu/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Sarah truly writes romance books that make you fall in love with love, even for those who are completely against it *ahem, I’m looking at you Will Griffin* who is a tasty snack in and of itself. I loved watching their story unfold both individually and together. We stan a couple with good communication!

I loved watching Annie come into herself more and more and see her break out of her shell. The more she did, the more cinnamon fluff we got from our MMC and in a way it was a healing journey for him.

I loved returning back to this small southern town in Kentucky. Reading about the town dynamics truly gave off some Gilmore Girl vibes and I was here for it. And being brought back into this town, I loved getting snippets of our Amelia and Noah and whose story will be up next.

If you like a sexy tattooed body guard, wait I forget he prefers “executive protective agent” who is kind, thoughtful and will highlight spicy scenes in romance books to “reenact” put this one on your radar.

💋 fake dating trope
🗣️ meddling small town
🫀 “don’t believe in love”/ lover of love
💕 guy falls first
🫶🏻 grand gestures

This book is out today and if quirky Annie and her banana pajamas doesn’t make you fall in love, then maybe their love story will.

Congratulations Sarah! I can’t wait to dive back into the small town of Rome soon!

"It was easier to say I don't believe in love, rather than admitting to myself that I was afraid that I wouldn't be loved back"

“Practice Makes Perfect” made me feel all the feels. Will and Annie’s banter made me laugh and put a goofy smile on my face. Their vulnerability when the both talked about their childhood made me tear up. I loved the maturity from both characters. It was refreshing to read about characters that owned up to their insecurities and feelings, and then actually talked about them. Also, I love a man that isn’t afraid to read a romance book and admit that he likes it! This is the perfect romance to get you in the spring/summer mood. I highly recommend if you love friends-to-lovers, fake dating and small town romances!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️

Going in I already knew I was going to love this book because I love anything Sarah Adams writes.
Did this book made me feel so happy? Yes, it did!! I completely swooned for Annie and Will! I’m so happy I got my hands on a physical copy now I can annotate all my favorite parts of this book!!
If you love sweet rom coms this one is for you!

A book for all of us introverted readers!

Annie is a small town flower shop owner who loves escaping into her pirate romance novels. But when it comes to dating and finding her leading man, she’s been unlucky. In comes Will, the bodyguard of her future sister-in-law, who agrees to give her “dating lessons” before lines start blurring.

Loved both MCs (whose viewpoints we get with alternating chapters). Annie is very relatable for the quiet introverted gals who prefer to escape into a good book, while Will is that dream guy who knows how to communicate and is supportive, not wanting Annie to change anything about herself.

This was a heartwarming read that I couldn’t put down and loved every second of it. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC. Happy pub day!

This was such a great romcom. Will and Annie are just so perfect for one another. I love the practice dating trope because it’s always almost guaranteed that they fall in love. Will and Annie complement each other perfectly. Bad boy and good girl perfection. I highly recommend this book.

Quick Breakdown:

Small Town
Bodyguard Romance
Good Girl / Bad Boy
Opposites Attract
Teach Me to Date
Virgin Heroine
Stern Brunch Daddy
He Takes Care of Her
Dual POV
Closed Door Romance

Sarah once again proves herself a romance queen.

I fell in love HARD & I’m not surprised. Practice Makes Perfect, along with just about any Sarah Adams book, is a love letter to the hopeless romantics out there. It mixes the perfect amount of humor, sexual tension & swoony moments.

Will & Annie. These two & their perfect pairing had me in a chokehold from the very beginning. She’s the sweet yet misunderstood small town heroine, too shy to break out of the “good girl” image she’s been stuck with. He’s the tattooed commitment phobic bodyguard who’s made out to be a playboy. Add in the teach me to date trope & it JUST WORKS!

I love how Annie went into the arrangement with her eyes open, knowing Will wasn’t a possibility to date & he was leaving soon. I loved watching Will fight his obvious attraction to Annie, the first woman to make him consider settling down.

Now, let’s talk spice.

I will say that PMP features the virgin trope, which isn’t always a favorite of mine. Given Sarah is a notorious closed door author, I was very curious to see how she’s handle it. I was not disappointed 🙌🏻🙌🏻 She has a way of writing this palpable sexual tension that lets you share the intimacy between the MC’s without it being explicit. I was left smiling & satisfied. So much so, I felt the need to read the book again but this time on audio.

I highly recommend the audio. Will Peters & Jorjeana Marie gave amazing performances. Jorjeana’s voice has this soft innocence that felt like the perfect fit for Annie.

Thank you so much @randomhouse & @prhaudio for the gifted eARC & ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Easily my favorite romcom of the year so far and maybe top 3 of all time.

This book is so cute and heartwarming- i smiled, i laughed out loud and i cried.

I saw so much of myself in both Will and Annie. Their bickering and banter is unmatched as well as their jokes with each other that span the entire book.

I loved Mabel's character, she was so warm and there for Will and Annie at the exact moment they both needed her.

I loved that Annie is a book reader herself and the way Will connects with her through her books.

Will refers to Annie as sunshine more than once and that's one of my favorite things that an author can write.

I’ve never met a Sarah Adams’ book I didn’t love, and Practice Makes Perfect was no exception!! The chemistry 🔥 between Will and Annie was NEXT LEVEL. I also saw a lot of myself in Annie and loved the glimpses we got of Amelia + Noah too! I’d give this one six stars if I could!