I was thrilled to receive this ARC! I absolutely love Sarah Adams’ books, and the When in Rome series is definitely my favorite. It’s always a joy to return to Rome, Kentucky. There wasn’t a single thing I didn’t enjoy about this book—Sarah’s writing is captivating from the very beginning.

This story made me laugh, brought out so many emotions, and the chemistry between Emily and Jack? Absolutely PERFECT. The character development was incredible, and I can’t wait for release day to grab my own copy!

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Dell Romance, and Sarah Adams for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The banter in this one is so good!

Emily has a prickly exterior, but she loves her family and her job and her town. And she's always loved to hate Jack Bennett - her nemesis, since he spilled coffee on her in college. But when Jack moves back to town...and into the house next door, they end up finding themselves on the same team.

I love Emily! Maybe it's the oldest sister in me, but I related to her so much. Her struggles with perfectionism and struggling to hide her hurt really resonated with me. I just loved how fiercely she loved her siblings. Also, Ducky was just adorable, and I love her so much.

Jack was a delight, and their banter was top-notch. I love a good rivals-to-lovers story, and this one did not disappoint.

The Walker family is so much fun, and I love seeing how the couples from the previous two books in the series are doing.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC. All opinions are my own.

Sarah Adams is an auto-buy author for me since starting with When in Rome early in my re-ignited reading journey. I have since read through her entire catalog and have been patiently waiting for the 3rd installment of the series that got me into her stories. I feel very fortunate to have received an ARC through NetGalley and get to read Beg, Borrow, or Steal a little bit early.

And all I can say is so, so good. I devoured this in one sitting. Maybe the fastest I've ever flown through a book.

Jack Bennett, the cutie patootie that you are. And my empathy girl, Emily... Ugh! Love them. Love this!

Sarah Adams you did it AGAIN! Absolutely LOVED this one. This series has been nothing but hits for me and fan favorites for my shelf. Such a sweet and gently love to get all the feels in your heart.
I have a difficult time picking who my favorite couple has been and this book definitely has made that choice harder! Although Emily and Jackson may have pulled me enough with the feels and giggling that they are my top favs!

I fell hard for the love story and these characters all around. I can’t wait to see what happens next in this series.

I’ll be highly recommending this series and continuing to support Sarah’s work! She is a wonderful author!

This is my favorite of the series! I knew where it was going but I enjoyed every page along the journey! Thank you so much for allowing me to read an advanced copy!

⭐️ ALL. THE. STARS. ⭐️ @dellromance #partner @prhaudio ⁣
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💭 what was your last five star read?⁣
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𝘉𝘦𝘨, 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸, 𝘰𝘳 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭 by Sarah Adams get all the freaking stars! ⁣
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Typically this time of year I am swimming in holiday romances (sorry not sorry) 🧑🏼‍🎄 but of course when @authorsarahadams upcoming romance Beg, Borrow, or Steal (out 1/7) hits my mailbox I do as my 4th grade reading teacher taught me and Drop Everything And Read! ⁣
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I started out with my physical copy, then switched to the audiobook so I could devour it every possible second. The narrators were phenomenal & I couldn’t get enough! I loved this book SO FREAKING MUCH! You can really feel the care and intention Sarah put into every word of Emily’s story. It was done so incredibly well. Beg, Borrow, or Steal is fun and beautiful and swoony and y’all are going to love it so dang much. ⁣
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Head to my stories to pre-order it now! 💕

I absolutely loved this book!! It is definitely my favorite in the series so far. As an eldest daughter myself, I deeply related to Emily and admired the depth of these characters. I loved that they knew each other for so many years and got their second chance.

I was SO EXCITED to return to Rome, KY and finally hear Emily's story. I love how self-aware she is. Is she the most mature? No. But she knows that, and there's something charming about that. She was so layered in a way that I really appreciated, like a lot of thought had clearly gone into her character. Jack, a smidge less so (but to be fair, we haven't known him as long), but he was still lovely. Their chemistry was good, and both of them grew a lot. I can't wait for the last book in the series!

I love Sarah Adams, and I love Rome, Kentucky. I thought there were points in this book that were super cute, and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Especially the book writing part !!!!

However, there were more than a few comments that condescended the Bible, Christianity, and faith in God. The crazy townspeople were Christians and all the cool characters were too cool for that. The other two Rome books built a small town vibe without the degrading other people’s faith.

Every time I think I can't fall more in love with the Walker family and Rome Kentucky, Sarah Adams knocks it out the park. As a teacher myself, I was really drawn to this one as it was blurbed as a teacher romance. I related so hard to Emily's character, I laughed, I cried, I swooned. I can't wait to attend Sarah's book tour and hear her talk about my new favorite in the series!

A thousand and one thank yous to NetGalley and Random House Ballentine/Dell for the opportunity to read an early copy

In this third volume set in Rome, Kentucky, we follow the second-oldest Walker sibling, Emily. Emily is a type-A control freak who is struggling with not being needed any more - her brothers and sisters are all in relationships (Annie and Noah) or off in NYC having adventures (Maddie). So when Emily's nemesis moves back to town, and directly into the house next door, Emily finally has a new project: get rid of Jack at all costs.

Jack is fresh off of a cancelled wedding and feels an inexplicable pulled back to Rome and the woman who drives him absolutely crazy. Everyone always falls for Jack's charm and charisma, but Jack never has to worry about pulling his punches with Emily - they've competed in every arena since college and were always evenly matched. Jack is ready to put down roots and get back to writing and teaching.

When Emily accidentally sends a copy of her raunchy romance novel to her school's conservative principal, she knows that Jack is the only one who can help her delete it from his inbox before he returns from vacation. Jack readily (suspiciously) agrees, and Emily and Jack's truce leads them to discovering that perhaps their rivalry was actually them dancing around their feelings for each other unbeknownst to either of them.

I absolutely adored this book, which was no surprise since I've enjoyed all of the Rome, Kentucky series. This book can be read as a standalone, but I would highly suggest reading the others to learn some of the Walker backstory and about some of the side characters mentioned. Jack's struggle with a narcissistic father was close to home, so I can say with certainty that the experience rings true. Additionally, Emily's struggle with being a fixer and someone whose needs come last was very realistic and added a lot of depth to the plot and Emily's character. Emily and Jack's bickering was A+, and I adored them as a couple. This one will make you feel all the feels!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
I loved being back in Rome, KY. This series is so cute, fun and emotional! I’m a KY girl so I always enjoy series based in KY and I love all of our familiar characters in this book and our new MMC. This book may be my favorite of the series which is saying a lot because this series is fantastic. I loved their rivalry, how they fell in love, and their story. Highly recommend!

So I struggled with rating this book. I really enjoyed it and love that Sarah Adams is branching out to more open door romance. It was great to be back in Rome and see another Walker sibling. Emily was very relatable and I felt seen with some of her struggles. As always - I love the updates and peeks of other characters from Rome.

Why I struggled? Sarah starts the book by saying this book can be turned into a closed door for her non- explicit loving fans. I did not feel like that was true. The whole book seemed very sexual and had underlying tones. Also the open door scenes were not at places you could skip without missing parts of the story.

If you are looking for closed door, I would skip this book. If you don't mind open door, I would recommend. I would have rated this 4 stars but took 1 off because of the issues for closed door readers.

I was given an Advanced Reader Copy by NetGalley for an honest review.

I am so honored I got an ARC of this book. I have been dying to go back to Rome, KY and it did not disappoint. Emily and Jackson may be my favorite couple yet. The enemies to friends to lovers trope was so well done here, I wish there was a tad more enemies because it was soooooo good, I just wanted it to go on forever. I wish we saw them “fight” during the school year 😂

Over all great addition to the series and has me craving the last book even more.

This is by far the best book by this author I’ve read so far. Each character felt nuanced and layered. As a teacher myself I was worried about the main characters being teachers but found myself smiling at the perfect dash of teacher life being included. The tension between our two love interests was absolutely perfect. I thought the grief backstory was incredibly well done without being over the top.

5 stars all around ⭐️Sarah Adams’ best book yet!! I loved this a ridiculous amount and cannot wait for the world to get their hands on this. Beg, Borrow, or Steal is everything that I want in a romance book: sassy banter, palpable tension, dual POV, and a fun, unique plot. Oh, and a perfect, swoony MMC. Jack Bennett the man that you are.

I knew I would relate to Emily on a personal level based on the synopsis alone; like Emily, I am the oldest daughter, an elementary school teacher, and an aspiring romance writer. But I did not anticipate how quickly (literally page #2) and how deeply her words and her experiences would resonate with me. Reading about her struggles hit hard at times, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her growth throughout this story, and I loved having Jack’s POV along with it.

Both Jack and Emily are interesting, complex characters that made for some messy conversations but there was never any miscommunication (thank you Sarah!!!), because they care about each other enough to take some space when needed, without running away from conflict or tough situations. I love how they support and uplift each other, they push each other to grow in all the right ways. Jack and Emily are made for each other and their story is truly a masterpiece, I cried my eyes out just about every 6 pages and I LOVED IT!

One of my favorite elements of Beg, Borrow, and Steal are the email chains between Emily and Jack over the years that are sprinkled throughout the book. They are such a fun addition to their story, especially since they have years of crossing paths behind them, and are great examples of the witty, flirty banter that you’ll find throughout Jack and Emily’s story.

The When in Rome series is the perfect small-town, interconnected series that gives us a glimpse into the lives of the Walker siblings, and their stories keep getting better! I loved Practice Makes Perfect, but Beg, Borrow, or Steal quickly surpassed it as my favorite Sarah Adams book. And I loved the little crumbs Sarah left hinting towards the final book of the series!

Thank you NetGalley and Dell for the opportunity to read the e-ARC of this perfect book <3

This was definitely one of my top Sarah Adams reads to date. It honestly had so many things I love and appreciate in a romantic read:

Rivals to lovers trope
Small town setting
Dual POV
Strong family / found fam / friends connections
An adorable fur companion 🐾
Banter and tension
An epistolary element (emails / texts)
Compelling, authentic challenges/ representation (grief, trauma from childhood experiences, anxiety, narcissistic parent)
An authors note that gave fair content guidance and also gave readers the option to have a closed door read if they preferred

I adored the story of Emily and Jack - I loved seeing things slowly unfold for them. I found their dynamic as rivals and transition to more to walk the perfect line for me. They had the banter, tension and snark at just the right level. I really appreciated the pacing of how their relationship evolved over time too.

I love a romantic story that manages to be funny and lighthearted while still having some depth and tackling real issues. It gives a story that extra edge that sticks with me and makes the characters and world feel more real.

I also have to complement the author on how including the brief authors note at the beginning of the book. I really appreciate when an author thoughtfully puts that in. I also love that in adding the option regarding spice level as well, it really opens up who I feel I can recommend the story to.

Overall, I just really enjoyed the story, characters and the chance to visit Rome, Kentucky again. I very much hope to return and hopefully see something of the Madison and James situation in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballentine / Dell for the opportunity to read an early copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own and freely shared.

4.5 ⭐️

I have loved and given almost every Adams book a 5 star in the past. Unfortunately, this one just didn't speak to me like all her others. That's not a bad thing, I can see how this will fully capture others, just didn't for me. I did however, love the characters, and the return of others. I did fell that this was just a bit rushed, and a little too cheesy for my taste. I do look forward to more work from Sarah, she will always be an auto read for me.

As I have mentioned multiple times, I am a big sarah adams fan. Her last book was my least favorite, because I felt like the story lacked any real feeling and I was just being talked at, but this book was much more her normal pace. While I wouldn't say it was as amazing as Practice Makes Perfect, the characters and the town and the banter were very cute. There were a couple times I felt some paragraphs at the end were very repetitive and unnecessary, and i would have loved to actually experience jack telling the world the truth about his dad, and was bummed we had the build up and didn't get to experience that moment. Overall though, the characters were very lovable.

You know when you read a book and the meaning and lessons within the book correlate to lessons you’re learning in real life and because this happens it just makes the book that much more special and resonates with you? That happened with this book! I absolutely loved this book and has become one of my favorites from this author!

This book is about learning to accept change and also to accept the messier parts of yourself that are harder to love. Emily and Jack are probably the most relatable characters I have read to date. They both undergo amazing character growth and deal with real life issues that obviously I can relate to.

The plot of this book was so much fun! I absolutely love a good rivals to lovers story and this book definitely hit the mark for me. The banter between Emily and Jack was perfect. I literally laughed out loud several times during this book!

This book does slightly differ than the rest of Sarah’s books by being an open door book and a lot more open intimacy talking but I feel like it fit really well with the book and I didn’t have an issue with it. The author also includes this in a note before the book which I really appreciate.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and definitely would recommend reading it. It is part of the When In Rome series which I would suggest reading in order to get the full effect but this can also be read as a stand alone.

You’ll enjoy this book if you like:
•Dual POV
•Rivals to Lovers
•Tension!! 🔥
•Small Town Setting
•Emails 😍

I’d like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced reader copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.