I honestly cannot get enough of Sarah Adams! The town of Rome, Kentucky has everything a small town could need. Busy bodies, nosy neighbors, and sexy teachers!!! Sarah has such a way with writing comedy in a way that isn’t forced and feels natural. All of the dialogue in this book felt like I was taking part in it, and it was so much fun re-visiting Rome!
You don’t need to read the other books that take place in the “series”, and I like that a lot because series can make some people stress about timeline order. This book however does not need to be read after any other book. You can still enjoy the story and fall in love with the town and the character fresh and new!!!

Sarah Adam’s has done it again! Back in Rome, Kentucky, two feuding second grade teachers. Emily and Jack have to team up and it is SO SO GOOD!!! Rivals to lovers, humor, romance, the banter!

So good. Highly recommend!!

Ahhh Sarah did it again with the charming feels Rome, Kentucky. I loved the witty banter, amazing chemistry that will make you swoon and squeal, the sunshiny perspective of her writing and just very relatable characters. This book will have you plastering a mega watt smile throughout and I absolutely adored every minute of it. The personal growth and relatability of the characters is such a great addition to the story / plot with their rawness. You will love this!

It's so great being back in Rome, KY! Especially with Emily and her obnoxious neighbor AND coworker, Jack. Gosh, I love how much he infuriates her.

If you enjoyed When in Rome and Practice Makes Perfect, you must add this book to your list! It's full of witty banter between two authors who love to hate each other. It's like they've never heard of enemies to lovers.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC.

Sarah Adams is a must read author for me and Beg, Borrow, or Steal solidified it. Her books have the perfect mix of tropes, humor, and chemistry. I think Emily and Jack just might be my new favorite When in Rome story. I loved the enemies to lovers vibes and all of their little escapades.

I do HIGHLY recommend reading this series in order.

4.5/5

Sarah Adams has a magic touch. Her stories are so immersive and additive. I guess because we already have the context for Rome, I was sucked in even faster here. And teacher rivals? My fave. Their split POVs were so good, too. Bravo, Sarah, and thanks for the ARC NetGalley and Dell Romance!

𝒜𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝐵𝑒𝑔, 𝐵𝑜𝓇𝓇𝑜𝓌, 𝑜𝓇 𝒮𝓉𝑒𝒶𝓁?

@authorsarahadams has done it again. I have yet to meet a book by Sarah that I didn’t absolutely devour, and this is no exception. ✨

This book unlocked things in me I didn’t know were hiding in the first place, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be the same. 💅🏻

Jack Bennett is quite literally the blueprint for the perfect MMC, and Emily is the confident, fierce, secretly soft FMC that you’re sure to love. It’s rare for me to feel such a deep connection to not just one, but both characters in a book. I am obsessed with these two individually, but my love for them together is on a totally different level. 👏🏼

While this book covered some pretty heavy topics, I was also literally shaking with laughter or giggling and kicking my feet during the majority of it. 🥰 I honestly can’t remember the last time I felt this giddy reading a love story.

So much of my heart lives within the pages of this book, and I am beyond grateful to have been given the privilege of getting to receive an eARC from @dellromance & @authorsarahadams. It was seriously a dream come true. 🥹

This book set the bar HIGH for 2025 and deserves all of the love it’s about to get from all of you. ✨

You can purchase a copy anywhere books are sold Tuesday, January 7th, 2025!

OH MY HOPELESS ROMANTIC CHEESY HEART!!!!!!! Beg, Borrow, or Steal is the third book in the When In Rome series written by Sarah Adams and by far my FAVORITE book in this series. I couldn't have chosen a better book to start 2025 off with and let me tell you, I just kicked off this year with a banger. This book was deeply personal and relatable for me, as an older sister but also as a middle child, this book spoke to me on so many levels. Sarah Adams has a way with words that just leave you in a choke hold, but also leaves you feeling giddy. Beg, Borrow, or Steal is the type of book that tugs on your heart strings, but it also makes you go back into your personal story and reflect on your own life experiences. I'm honestly scared to post this review because my words and review will NEVER give this book the justice it deserves. This book was one of my many anticipated books of 2025 and if I could go back and give this book an infinity star rating, I totally would because it was that flawless and beautifully written. I know this book was supposed to be a cutesy romance, but honestly it was so much more than that for me. As I was reading this book, it felt like Sarah was right by my side holding my hand, telling me to be vulnerable, telling me it's okay to be myself, and telling me and her readers that it's okay to ask for help when it's needed. Being vulnerable is not a weak trait, it shows you have a big heart. I can't recommend this book enough, please please do yourself a favor and grab a copy immediately, because this book was absolutely a favorite for me.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND RANDOM HOUSE PUBLISHING GROUP-BALLANTINE FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!!

Rome, Kentucky is my home, it's my safe place, and it's my favorite community.

"No one needs me. And when they don't need me, they don't come around anymore either because I am a utility sponge. I am useful. And if I'm no use to someone anymore, they throw me under the sink".

"I want to hug each other when we are sad and help each other find the bright side of things when all we can see is the dark".

"The best thing to hold onto in life is each other". -Audrey Hepburn

"Jack Daniel's just isn't the same without a splash of sweet tea".

"Maybe not everything will end in hurt, but we will never know if we don't try".

Emily Walker is Rome, Kentucky's Queen Bee. Emily tends to speak her mind and have it bite her in the ass too often. Emily has been teaching second grade at Rome Elementary School of over twenty-five years and absolutely loves her job. Emily is happily single because she thinks she's an unlovable porcupine that got tired of the constant rejection. After her grandma passed away, Emily became a romance author as a side hustle because she couldn't deal with the depression and the darkest days of her life when she feared her siblings didn't need her anymore because they were all dealing with their own grief. Did I mention that Emily has a cat named Ducky? Oh my goodness, I just want to hold Ducky so close to my heart and get in some kitty snuggles, because that was just so adorable. Emily is the type of woman who seems to single handedly carry the world on her shoulders way better than Superman ever could dream of doing. Emily is also tenacious, strong willed, and protective of those around her. It was so precious to reconnect with Annie and Amelia for their annual girl's night, Noah and Will were also reunited, I was just the happiest woman ever to be reunited with these characters.

Jackson Bennett is Emily's archnemesis since college when they first met and Jack spilled coffee all over Emily and then proceeded to flirt with her. Just before winter break, Jack moved to Nebraska with his fiancee, they were supposed to get married but not anymore, so Jack decides to come back to Rome, Kentucky because he felt like it was his calling and he definitely owed it to Emily. Jack is also a second grade teacher at Rome Elementary. Jackson Bennett, this man is so freaking hot, he has several tattoos, but they are all cute sticker style designed tattoos such as an adorable worm with glasses popping out of an apple. As a side hustle, Jack goes by the pen-name, AJ Ranger, a New York Times and Sunday Times best selling mystery author. The e-mails between Jack and Emily were absolutely hilarious, their banter was just the best, I couldn't stop kicking my feet in the air and giggling. Jack had a nickname for Emily and it was Goldie, ugh, it was just so stinkin cute and I couldn't stop swooning over this man. Let me be honest, at first I thought I would hate Jack by the way he was acting, but oh my gosh, this man was so hot and made me swoon like crazy.

In Beg, Borrow, or Steal we meet Madison who is another one of Emily's sisters. Madison and Emily are thirteen months apart in age, so they were the closest and the very best of friends, but Madison is getting her culinary degree in New York City, but anyway I just need the next book to be Madison and James who you will also meet in this book, so be prepared to swoon all over again. One night, Emily drunkenly sent her very explicit romance novel to the principal of Rome Elementary instead of to a publisher, Jack and Emily decide to put their differences aside and work together so the principal can't read Emily's story because of Lord that would just be embarrassing. I absolutely loved and adored watching Emily and Jack work together, they were just the cutest ever. By the end of this book, I was insanely proud of Emily for coming out of her shell and asking for help when she was too scared to do something on her own. It also felt like after this book was over, Emily was right there in my corner holding my hand and telling me to be myself and accept myself for who I am. Beg, Borrow, or Steal will forever hold a personal place in my heart for years and years to come, possibly forever. I can't express all of my love I have for this beautiful, yet heart tugging book. Jackson Bennett and Emily Walker will be my very best of friends for a long time to come.

I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I love the When in Rome series, and have been eagerly waiting for this book. This book had me feeling all the feels. The chemistry between the FMC and the MMC is top tier as well as the character’s growth. This book had some heavy topics but had a great balance between the heavy topics and light heartedness. I love the way that both the main characters balanced each other out and saw one another as an equal.
I hope we get a future story of Maddie and James!

✨ Genre: Contemporary Romance
✨ Stars: 3.5/5
✨ Spice: 1/5

At this point, I have read all of Sarah Adams books and have really enjoyed them, but unfortunately this one fell a bit flat to me. I absolutely loved Practice Makes Perfect and really enjoyed When in Rome, but this book just didn't hit the same. From the beginning, I was not a fan of Emily, not her character herself (at first), but the way she was written. I wasn't a fan of the fourth breaks that happened early on, so it was good it was not a frequent occurrence.

The more I read enemies-to-lovers books in the contemporary romance subgenre, the more I find myself annoyed by how often the two characters are enemies because of one small incident or miscommunication that happened years ago, and they've just stuck hating each other. I understand being embarrassed by getting coffee spilled on you, but to then declaring that person to be your enemy and hating them to the point you get their contractor to quit is a little absurd.

While reading, I found myself caring a lot more about Jackson than I did Emily until she really started opening up, which wasn't till around 40% in. Around 25% in I really had to evaluate whether or not I was going to finish this book, and honestly a lot of the reason why I continued reading was because of Jack's character. I think more incorporation of Emily's anxieties and fears about being alone and how because she felt unlovable, that's why she was so focused on making sure everything was perfect for each other earlier on would have made her character more well rounded and easier to understand her actions.

On the positive side of things, I did like how the characters progressed. The development of the romance between Emily and Jackson felt more believable than I initially thought it would, and the scene where they were blocking a part of Emily's book was phenomenal. I love the subtlety of Sarah’s writing with spicier scenes. Even though they don’t actually have sex, it still shows the intimacy that is maybe even more important than having sex itself.

Overall, this was a cute weekend read but just not for me.

Emily and Jack have been rivals since college and through teaching at the same school, but when Jack left town with his fiancé Emily thought her days of being overshadowed by the guy everyone loved were over. When he returns, as her newly single noisy neighbor, the banter and bickering gets going again!

As the oldest of the orphaned Walker siblings, Emily is used to caring for everyone and pushing her own feelings down. Her biggest fear is not being needed, and being left alone while everyone else moves on with their lives. Jack Bennett is a secretly successful mystery writer, keeping his identity a secret so as not to stir the pot with his narcissistic father who also tops the writing charts. When Jack discovers Emily has been writing a spicy Highlander romance novel in secret he offers advice (and some 🥵 scene coaching) to help her get her career as an author going. In the process they learn about each other and themselves, and realize they’re a lot more alike than either would have ever wanted to admit when they were younger.

I loved getting to go back to Rome, Kentucky and hang out with some of my favorite characters. One of the things I loved so much about the first two books was the little spats and banter with the townsfolk, and I felt like there was a lot less of that in this one, which I missed. Harriet and Mabel are some of my very favorite side characters. Their bickering (“you old kook”) is the best! 🤣

The banter is so good in this one, and the way they soften to one another is just so sweet. Even though it wasn’t my favorite of the three so far I still enjoyed it so much, and Sarah Adams is quickly becoming an auto-buy for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group- Ballentine, and Sarah Adams for allowing to me read a complimentary advanced copy of Beg, Borrow or Steal. All opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I can’t wait to meet her in person this week to pick up my purchased physical copy!

Well this was my first Sarah Adams book and it won’t be my last :) I know I know… I started reading the series with the third book, but like other people said, this book can be read as a standalone.

The story takes place in Rome, Kentucky where we meet our 2 main characters: Emily Walker and Jackson Bennett! Both teachers and both authors (without their knowledge), this is a great enemies to lovers book! The witty banter is pure perfection and the chemistry between the character is off the roof. Beg, Borrow, or Steal has an amazing flow that captures you right away!

Can’t wait to read the first two books about Noah & Annie Walker’s stories! Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for the ARC.

I LOVE Rome, Kentucky.
 
I have been patiently waiting for Emily’s book and it delivered. Emily Walker is your typical Type A girly who seeks routine and hates when it is disrupted, especially by her long-time nemesis. Jack Bennett has a standing feud with Emily, so you could imagine her excitement when he announced he was moving out of state with his fiancée. However, the excitement was short lived. The last thing Emily expected was for Jack to call off the wedding and move back to Rome as her neighbor. The two go back and forth trying to reach the limit of each other’s patience. During their fighting, Emily makes a grave mistake of sending her secret spicy manuscript to their school principal and she is desperate to get it back. Jack is the best man for the job, and she knows it. Surprisingly, he agrees. It’s even more surprising how these long-time enemies work together so well.
 
My thoughts: Initially, I was getting really turned away by Emily’s attitude with Jack coming back home. It’s normal to be upset over the situation, but the way she turned the town on him was too much. Once they got past the petty feud and got to the flirty bantering is when my opinion changed. Thankfully the switch happened early on in the book. Sarah has a way of making me laugh even in the high stress moments. I cannot wait to read the fourth Walker sibling book, Maddie! I really really hope she gets her happy ending with you know who 😊

Absolutely love this book! And Sarah, oh my goodness your spicy level is rising girl and I do not hate it. I appreciate how much respect went into those scenes. I have never read an enemies to lovers trope with so much sizzle and laughs. Perfection! Seriously. And above all else, thank you, THANK YOU for excluding those third act breakups, I truly love you for that.

The first in this series hooked me and I've been eagerly anticipating each book since. Thankfully, this one didn't disappoint. Adams' signature charm and lovable characters were the highlights, as well as the town and its quirky cast of characters. While this one wasn't my favorite in the series as of yet (Practice Makes Perfect takes that spot), I was utterly delighted once I got into it. One note: I did both audio and print, and the male narrator didn't work for me on audio very well, which might have hindered some of my enjoyment in the beginning.

4.5 rounded up.

Sarah Adams books are always so much fun for me. They bring a lightheartedness that picks me up and holds me close. I was so happy to be back in Rome, Kentucky with these characters and this one felt like it squeezed my heart in all the right ways.

Emily is the oldest sister in the Walker family, and even though her brother, Noah, is older, she's been the one to take care of everyone around her since their parents' death. Now that her siblings are moving forward, following dreams, etc., now that she's no longer "needed" what will she do with her life? She's secretly started writing a romance novel. Her sworn enemy, Jackson, (a college rival and former fellow 2nd-grade teacher at the local elementary school) has returned to Rome and has some secrets of his own. What follows is an enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity ("ugh, we're neighbors now?!"), story that has a whole lot of humor and heart.

I loved When in Rome when I first read it, but Practice Make Perfect didn't land as well for me (it still got 4 stars). This one brought my love for the standalone series back. I appreciated that Emily and Jack both have strong personalities. Emily takes orders from no one. Jack accommodates everyone. Both of them act in these ways due to patterns set in childhood. But, the thing they've had in common since college is that they don't pull any punches with each other. This is easy for them because they've spent a decade as rivals. This was believable for me because both of them have never seen it any other way. Sometimes in these types of stories there's one character who has secretly been in love. Not so here. Both of our main characters have a slow awakening to their attraction and the fact that deeper feelings may have been simmering under their years of bickering. I wanted a bit more of an epilogue and a tad more resolution between Jackson and his family, but otherwise, this was a big hit in my book.

Here are a few other loves:
1. he wears glasses
2. I teared up and laughed out loud
3. other siblings and characters from WIR and PMP get pagetime

Note: I originally read this completely skipping the chapters the author points out are open-door. This was an experiment of sorts, and I found nothing lost at all by avoiding these scenes. I may return to them and skim to see if my experience changes, but at this point, with a solid 4.5-star rating, I feel very satisfied.

This was favorite book in the Rome series and my favorite of her traditionally published books! I loved Emily and Jack - the enemies to lovers was spot on! It was so fun but had depth. I definitely found myself laughing and smiling while reading. I absolutely loved it!
*has a couple open door scenes but there’s a note at the beginning telling you which chapters to skip if you’d like it to stay closed door.

This was my first Sarah Adams book, and it will not be my last! I loved Emily and Jack’s story so much. Though it is a romance, it was equally a story about family, loss, and friendship. And chapter 16?! So so good!! Thank you to Random House, NetGalley, and Sarah Adams for letting me read this early in exchange for an honest review. My honest review, add this book to your TBR!

📖 𝑩𝒆𝒈, 𝑩𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘, 𝒐𝒓 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝑨𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒔

♾️✨ This book was actually PERFECTION. I absolutely adored Emily Walker’s character. I found her so dang relatable and her connection to Jack was next level. The dose of low spice towards the end was also a wonderful surprise! 🫶🏼

“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝑬𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚. 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆.”

EXCUSE ME WHILE I FREAKING SWOON. That man had me in a freaking chokehold in the BEST possible way! ❤️‍🔥

Both Emily & Jack have carefully crafted their self image so that everyone around them thinks they are perfect. However, inside they are both a mess.

Emily is hyper vigilant in everything she does and always needs to be in control of her world. She’s always been the rock her siblings could lean on after their parents died. Now her siblings have all moved on with their lives and she is lost. She picks up writing as a way to cope and she loves it. When her college nemesis moves to her small town she can’t help but notice that maybe their rivalry could be something more.

Months ago, Jack moved away because his ex-fiancé wanted to. Now he’s back in Rome, Kentucky because he can’t stop thinking about Emily Walker, the woman who loves to hate him. He’ll face meddling townsfolk, and even commit a few crimes just to be close to her! 🤭

“𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆.” 𝑰 𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆. “𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆.”

Everything about Jackson was swoon worthy. He’s charming, funny and a man with a secret. There’s a scene involving a motorcycle that literally had me overheating! 🥵 DON’T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON HIS GLASSES! 🔥

“𝑵𝒐𝒘 . . .” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒔. “𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅? 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆?”
“𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒉,” 𝑰 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒖𝒈.
“𝑰 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒉.” 🫠❤️‍🔥

If you love enemies to lovers stories FULL of the best banter, go add, 𝑩𝒆𝒈, 𝑩𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘, 𝒐𝒓 𝑺𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝑨𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒔, to your TBR today!

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
💞 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴
🐈‍⬛ 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘊𝘢𝘵 𝘍𝘔𝘊 𝘹 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘺
✨ 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦
👀 𝘏𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘐𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺
🏘️ 𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘴
❤️‍🔥 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 & 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮
🤭 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘛𝘰𝘸𝘯
🔥 𝘓𝘰𝘸 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘦

This was my very first Sarah Adams novel and I can now officially call myself a fan. I loved escaping into her Rome, KY world! Jackson and Emily have A+ banter as feuding elementary school teachers. Just when.I think the enemies to lovers trope has been done to death, a story like this emerges and proves there’s more to be told. I found these characters to be very endearing and possess more depth than you’d expect from this lighter genre. I bought this book to 3 of my friends so that they receive it on publishing day, I’m dying to discuss it with them. Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for the ARC.