When In Rome (Book 1)

When in Rome by Sarah Adams
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

When In Rome by Sarah Adams is a small-town romance story of the forced proximity and opposites attract tropes. This is the first book in the When In Rome series.

My Overview

Amelia Rose, AKA Rae Rose to her fans, is a successful yet overworked pop star. Overwhelmed with her responsibilities and the demands of her career and upcoming tour, she decides on a whim to escape to Rome, Kentucky for a few days. Why Rome, Kentucky? Amelia loves Audrey Hepburn (a lot!) and was inspired by her movie Roman Holiday. Since it’s more practical for her to drive to Rome, Kentucky than to fly out to Rome, Italy she drives there in the middle of the night.

Soon enough, the relaxing getaway Amelia envisioned turns anything but, when her car breaks down. Lucky for her, it breaks down in front of Noah Walker’s home. She’s apprehensive about the help he offers with the car, but eventually accepts his assistance. He lets her stay in his home until the car is repaired. As it turns out, the car will take a couple of weeks to complete.

Amelia immediately starts feeling more relaxed and at home in Rome, than anywhere else before. The more she explores the small town and meets its charming residents, the less she wants to get back to her pop star life. She also begins to take an interest in Noah. Unbeknownst to her, Noah starts having feelings for her too. They’re complete opposites: Amelia’s a pop-star with an upcoming tour looming over her, and Noah’s a well-established pie shop owner who has no plans to leave Rome. So, neither knows what the next step should be.

My Recommendation

Having enjoyed The Cheat Sheet so much, I expected to love this one as much. As it turns out, that wasn’t the case. The storyline is too formulaic and the characters are heavily based on stereotypes. Overall, it’s enjoyable enough but lacked the great banter and storyline I was hoping for.

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration, as read by Karissa Vacker and Andrew Eiden. This is Book 1 in the When In Rome series, and I’m still planning to give Book 2 (Practice Makes Perfect) a try.

What are your thoughts about this book?