Only Sarah Adams will get me to read a closed-door romance. My absolute favorite of the When in Rome series mostly because enemies to lovers is my favorite trope. It gave Emily Henry vibes, but still was from Adams' distinct voice.

Thank you @dellromance for the gifted copy!

𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Beg, Borrow, Or Steal (When in Rome, 3)
𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿: Sarah Adams
𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀: Brittany Pressley, Nelson Hobbs
𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: January 7, 2025
5⭐️

📕 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 📕
Sarah Adams is an auto-buy author to me for a reason! She knows how to get to the heart of a character and make you fall in love with them. Her characters are heartfelt, endearing, and people you root for.

In the third book in the When in Rome series, we have Type A perfectionist Emily Walker, a teacher who has been working on writing a book on the side. She lives in the cozy Rome, KY town near her siblings that we have already fallen in love with. Also, her nemesis now lives there, Jack Bennett. Emily thought she’d never see Jack after he left with his fiancée but he has returned to town, and Emily is all up in arms!

We get the full force Rome, KY fun with the lovable side characters who love supporting Emily. When Jack and Emily are reunited, Emily is mad that Jack has returned. However, Jack can’t seem to get Emily off his mind and enjoys his ability to get under her skin.

I love how relatable Emily is, the type A personality, trying so hard to keep everything together and not let life get to her when she’s struggling. I enjoy her siblings support and fun interactions.

Jack has an interesting background as well. He seems like he would be an adorable Clark Kent character. I loved seeing his relationship with Emily develop. They seemed to complement each other well, and it was funny to see Jack interact with her family!

This book is so sweet and is an amazing addition to the series. I can’t wait for book 4!!

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
♥️ Jilted Groom
♥️ Enemies/Neighbors to Lovers
♥️ Hidden Identity
♥️ Audrey Hepburn Inspired
♥️ Small Town Romance

I have said it twice already and I will say it again... I love Rome, KY. I love the Walker family so much. It was so fun getting to read about Emily and Jackson! The banter and bickering was incredible. I love that there are so many relatable feelings and struggles with perfectionism and suppressing feelings in the book. I loved to see how Emily learned and grew through out!

I also want to add that I appreciate when there are any warnings at the beginning of books! Thank you Sarah for the thoughtfulness behind that!

Now I just need Madison's story! (but I also don't want the series to ever end haha)


Thank you NetGalley and the publisher—Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine for the ARC!

This book was absolute perfection. Emily was every oldest daughter ever, filled with anxiety and a fear of disappointing people. And Jack was witty, obsessed with clothes and tattooed. Sign me up!

Lots of banter and flirty teasing. But it also has a serious side that will give you all the feels. It was done so well!

I’d say this is a 2/5 for spice! There are two open door scenes, but she includes the chapters to skip at the beginning of the book if you would like it to be a closed door book.

🥹

What a cute story! This is my favorite so far in the series. Beg, Borrow, or Steal is the third book in the When in Rome series and follows Emily (Noah’s sister) and Jack, her arch-nemesis from college, who is also a teacher at the same school as her. *insert eyebrow wiggle*. Emily and Jack have been bickering since he spilled a coffee on her in college, but their paths are determined to keep crossing.

I just love the way Sarah Adams writes her characters; you really feel like you are in their head and thinking everything they’re thinking. I actually came into this a little skeptical, because I hadn’t been particularly drawn to Emily while reading the other books, but OMG I love her. As an oldest daughter myself, I found her character so incredibly relatable. I also thought the characters felt more mature in this one and I appreciated that. I loved the quick wit from both Emily and Jack.

The author definitely knows how to write tension and this book was no different. Ahem… the scene-blocking… 🌶️. It’s a little steamier than the other two in the series, but scenes can easily be skipped if you prefer! It still feels a littttttle insta-lovey (if I have to be nit-picky), but I don’t think this will be an issue for most readers.

I love the addition of texts and emails throughout the story. It really helps you see their playful dynamic. Definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to Netgalley, Sarah Adams, and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for providing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Content warnings: (moderate) grief, sexual content, narcissism/gaslighting/emotional abuse, depression/anxiety, (mild) alcoholism, infidelity

For the type A, mildly chaotic girlies who bottle up their emotions (aka me). The way this love story unfolded was perfection and by the end I truly believed Emily and Jack were made for each other. Both have strong personality traits that are in complete opposition to one another, but this helps them perfectly balance each other out and they are the exact same in all the ways that matter. I love how the conflict centers around them helping each other overcome their traumas/issues rather than contrived relationship problems. There are some objectively cringe scenes in the first half, but honestly I still had fun reading them. My new favorite Sarah Adams book and I can't wait for the last one!

Thanks NetGalley for the arc.

Happy Pub Day! 🥳 4.5 stars. I absolutely loved this just as much as the other two books in the series. The banter between Emily and Jack is so so good, and they have such great chemistry! I also love that the author is so good about writing flawed yet relatable characters. Hoping there’s another in this series about Madison!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah Adams has firmly established herself as an autobuy author for me. Her writing consistently feels like a warm embrace—safe, engaging, and brimming with charm. She masterfully weaves wit, humor, romance, and meaningful depth into every story, creating narratives that linger long after the final page.

This particular story about Emily and Jack made my heart absolutely sing. After over a decade of being at odds, fate—or perhaps something more—places them back in each other’s orbit. One of them clings to their frustration, but how long can anger hold its ground when something softer, something more profound, begins to take its place?

I adored every moment of this book and feel so grateful to have received an advanced copy from Dell. Thank you so much!!!

"I'll be so careful with you, Emily." -Jack
Love Emily & Jack's banter, their history, and them as a couple!

They're such a great couple that they somehow have me convinced that I can write a book, too! (I'm not even sure how that happened but somewhere around 50% I decided, I want to be a writer, too!) LOL!

My only real complaint is there is a bit too much of the mental anguish and how the characters are so-called evolving. Sometimes it really is okay for people to just fall in love without it changing everything about their past or learning a lesson from it. It's okay to be simple, too.

Also, I just can't leave out the part where Emily's sister tells her she can do hard things. I tell my kids that daily!

Thank you so much for the opportunity given by Sarah Adams, PCH-Ballantine, and NetGalley!

✏️ Small Town Romance
✨ Rivals to Lovers
✏️ Hate to Love
✨ He Falls First
✏️ Hidden Identity
✨ Adorable kitty- Ducky
✏️ 30s MCs and both Teachers
✨ MMC with glasses and tattoos
⚠️ Narcissistic Parent

This is the 3rd book in the When in Rome series that follows Emily and Jack. Emily is an elementary school teacher and aspiring spicy romance novelist. Jack is her longtime work rival and a secret best-selling mystery author. He has just returned to town following a broken engagement and unknowingly becomes Emily’s new neighbor. Their animosity towards each gets ramped up until one day Emily needs Jack’s help and their collab marks a turning point in their relationship.

Umm excuse me, this book is so FREAKING GOOD! The rivals to lovers dynamic between Emily and Jack is absolute PERFECTION! This book has everything you could want in a hate to love, nemesis romance book - comical quips and jabs, mutual pining, and undeniable attraction! I was kicking my feet over their interactions! Jackson is the epitome of a book boyfriend and I loved how he was able to get under Emily’s skin at every turn. I love them both separately but together they are magical! 😍

Both characters have so much depth and I absolutely loved seeing both of them peel back the layers of each other. Emily is seen as cold, utilitarian, and rigid - a role and demeanor she fully embraces and encompasses as the oldest sister. She has to make sure everyone else is taken care of and, in turn, knows she will always be needed by her family. She had her heart broken and vowed to never let it happen again so she intertwined herself in her family and town’s needs. I could see myself in Emily and completely understood her ways! Jackson Bennett has my whole heart! He’s the charming and charismatic teacher who is harboring a big secret and family trauma. He’s apprehensive about anyone finding about his private life and does everything he can to put on this facade yet Emily seems to break down all his barriers. They’re literally perfect for each other!

Sarah Adams does not miss and this is my favorite one yet! 💖

Thank you so much to Dell Romance for the gifted copy! ❤️

Thank you Netgalley and Random house for the delightful third installment of Sarah Adam's Rome. KY series! If you are new to Sarah Adams, this series follows three siblings and how they fall in love. The third installment is about Emily, a lovable but high strung second grade teacher who is feeling lonelier than ever. Her only single sibling has moved across the country and she is missing her deeply. When her arch nemesis( who she thought moved away to get married) comes back into her life as her neighbor and coworker, she flips! However, she soon realizes that Jack might be exactly what she needs. While this novel was beyond predictable, it made me happy and I fell in love with both Emily and Jack even with all their quirks.

💖 R E V I E W 💖

Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Happy, Happy Pub Day to Sarah Adams’s Beg, Borrow, or Steal, third book in the When in Rome series!

I’ve come to absolutely adore these books, but this one is by far my favorite. I love how feisty the FMC is and felt that this is one of the best enemies to lovers stories I’ve ever read.

The slow burn is so, so sweet, and I was basically drooling over these characters the entire time. 🔥 They both have very real and relatable flaws that are handled so beautifully, and the struggles they overcome are quite impressive.

I also greatly appreciate that Adams opens up the door a little bit in this one (this is listed in the content warnings at the beginning of the book), something I really missed in the first two books. 🌶️

Beg, Borrow, or Steal is available today, and I am so grateful to @dellromance for sending me an advanced digital copy!

I love love love this book! I was hooked from the beginning and being back in Rome, Kentucky was so much fun! Beg, Borrow, or Steal truly means everything to me! I related to Emily on so many levels and I loved watching her growth throughout the story! She deserves all the happiness! The banter was flawless! Both Jack and Emily were quick with the comebacks and I ate it up! Jack was perfection! So many swoon worthy moments between him and Emily! I also really enjoyed Jack’s story! We got to really know him. We seen his struggles and growth and it made his character that much more special.

I cannot write this review without talking about the town and the people of Rome, Kentucky! They truly all have my heart. The way they rally around one another and always there to love and support each other is so special. Sarah really built such an amazing community with these characters and I can’t wait to see what they are all up to in Maddie’s book!

Brb booking a flight to Rome, Kentucky

The dynamic between Emily and Jack was SO much fun. I loved how Emily didn’t hold anything back with her snark, and how Jack was always able to take what Emily threw at him. And don’t even get me STARTED on how DANG cute they were once they finally started to become friends. I stayed up until FIVE AM reading this book, and that’s because I was so hooked on these two and NEEDED to keep reading until they got their happy ending.

The supporting characters always shine. I loved getting to see more of Annie and Will, and the townsfolk are always SO entertaining. This book also had me SO excited to get to Madison’s story. I have always seen some part of myself in each of the leads of this series, mostly Annie, but I honestly think I’m going to connect to Madison the most, and I cannot wait.

I feel like I’m running out of space so here’s some other things I loved:

-Jack’s character description (so unique and 😍)
-Emily’s journey and how she learned to be vulnerable with her family
-the dual POV exposing how OBSESSED these two are with each other
-the “acting it out” scene (iykyk)

Beg, Borrow, or Steal was such a fantastic follow up to Practice Makes Perfect! I love how each book in the series has completely different characters and story arcs. It makes for a great reading experience since I never know where the story will go.

I went into this book a little bit nervous I wouldn't love it as much as the first two in the series. Emily is the sibling most different to me and I was worried I would have a hard time connecting to her. I was absolutely proven wrong! The discussion on loneliness hit so hard and was done so well. I feel this is a topic not often covered in books and it was refreshing to read about it.

This book was so much fun and I loved seeing the relationship between Emily and Jack progress. They had such a palpable connection and their banter was so witty and entertaining. I also adored seeing how much Emily and Jack both love their professions (both teaching and writing!). I also found the inclusion of Jack's relationship with his father provided the character growth necessary while also being handled with such care.

Both characters learn and grow so much throughout the book, which made the ending that much sweeter. I absolutely recommend picking up the whole series and especially Beg, Borrow, or Steal!

Sarah Adams! You Queen, You Vixen! Once again, Sarah delivers with a great couple and to make matters even better, this chapter in Rome KY has SPICE! Yes, this could be a stand-alone read but read books 1 and 2, they're great and set up this couple to make us even more emotionally invested. There's wit, there's banter, there are butterflies flapping. So glad I got to read this gem, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher. Happy publication day!

I absolutely loved Emily and Jack’s story. The beginning half or so when they were in their “enemies” stage had some of the absolute best banter I’ve ever read. I was genuinely laughing out loud and I really appreciated how well that helped establish the hatred between each other. Then to see the glimpses of Emily and Jack questioning their hatred, admitting more kind feelings towards one another, and then breaking down their walls to realize how in love they are with each other was so sweet to read. This might be my favorite of the series so far and I am so in love with Rome, KY. Can’t wait for the next chapter for the Walker siblings.

Beg, Borrow, or Steal is the third book in Sarah Adams “When in Rome” series, which centers around the Walker siblings in the cozy small town of Rome, Kentucky. I had already read the first two books (When in Rome and Practice Makes Perfect) so I jumped at the chance to snag an ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This newest volume centers around Emily, the eldest Walker sister that has for years acted as a pillar of support for her siblings, while internally hiding her own heartbreak and grief. Truthfully, I wasn’t looking forward to Emily’s tale based on her character interactions in the previous books, as she always came off a bit abrasive when things didn’t go according to plan (ultimately she was always supportive of her siblings, but she would start off very set in her ways where each of them was concerned). Needless to say, it was nice to see her internal struggles and better understand the losses that she dealt with in life and how she hid her feelings to always play the motherly figure to her family.

Our leading man is Jack, who for years has acted as Emily’s rival in all aspects of life. While he often comes across as the more sociable and likable of the two, Jack has his own past traumas and secrets that have affected his ability to form real relationships with people. The enemies to lovers tension is pretty much palpable from their first interaction, which I absolutely adore and the snarky banter and attempts to sabotage one another are comical.

Overall I would say I ended up really adoring the dynamic between Emily and Jack, especially after Emily’s secret romance novel is accidentally sent to the Principal of the school where they both work and they agree to work together to get it back. For the most part the romance is very PG-13, with a few mildly spicy scenes - while very tame compared to other books I read I enjoyed the way their relationship developed.

I would definitely recommend this series to my romance loving friends (maybe not my dark romance girlies as this may be a little too vanilla for their tastes). I look forward to the final tale, as there were more hints towards the dynamic between Madison and James that needs to be revealed!

I don’t think I can sing the praises of this book enough. Going in I had high expectations because I have loved all of her other books thus far but this one completely blew those out of the park. Finding out if Emily would learn to love again and watching the banter play out between her and jack was truly an honor to witness. This book was perfectly paced and so quotable. It touched on the harder topics of grief and dealing with a narcissistic parent really well in my opinion but if those topics are hard for you I would tread lightly. Overall I really enjoyed this book and would 100% recommend to anyone.

This is my favorite book of Sarah Adams. I thought it might be Noah’s book or even The Rule Book, but Beg, Borrow, Steal has edged them out. It takes true talent to write two deeply complex characters, especially a heroine that could’ve been so unlikeable, but as Mabel says, “she’s my favorite” (and of course will deny deny deny). I felt so connected to Emily. She’s a strong woman, the eldest daughter, the perfectionist glue that keeps her family together, someone who really struggles with showing vulnerability, but who is the most amazing person behind her fearful façade. And I loved how it took someone just as strong, her work nemesis Jack, to show her she is valuable and worthy of being the main course and not the afterthought.

I think I keep coming back to Sarah Adams’ books because she writes attraction so well. As a foray into the rivals-to-lovers trope, I knew from the beginning that Jack and Emily would have unbelievable chemistry, but it’s the path they take to get there that is so satisfying. Possibly the most erotic moment Adams has ever written occurs when Jack and Emily block out a romance scene fully dressed (yes, you read that correctly). I could feel how much they wanted to rip each other’s clothes off, and yet neither would directly cross the imaginary fragile line of friends-who-fight into the friends-who-f**k. Don’t worry, they eventually cut that line later, and readers who want less explicit love scenes are given the options of which chapters to skip over in the author’s note.

Not only is romantic innuendo steamier than in any prior book, but this is possibly the most vulnerability I’ve felt from Adams’ MCs. Jack has a narcissistic and alcoholic father whom Jack has thrived in spite of, and Emily has hidden her insecurities and fears under a blanket of carefully crafted nonchalance. What originally begins as competition between them devolves into them seeing similarities mirrored back and recognizing a shared struggle for being needed and desired. It goes without saying that I highlighted half the book in my love for the MCs internal dialogue just as much as their banter. I can say without a doubt that I will come back to Rome, KY for Madison and James’s book not only to reunite with the Walker family, but to feel drawn into the escapist small-town romance where everyone is family. I received an early copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Steam: 🪭.5
Emotional Steam: 😰😰😰
Interconnectivity to other books: 💯 but can be read as a standalone