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When in Rome #2
Practice Makes Perfect
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Romance (2023)A small-town sweetheart and an emotionally unavailable bad boy try to find some common ground in this chemistry-filled romance from the author of The Cheat Sheet and When in Rome.
Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match—someone who complements her happy, quiet life running the local flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. But finding her dream man may be harder than Annie imagined. Everyone knows everyone in her hometown, and the dating prospects are getting fewer by the day. After she overhears her latest date say she is “so unbelievably boring,” Annie starts to think the problem might be her. Is it too late to become flirtatious and fun like the leading ladies in her favorite romance movies? Maybe she only needs a little practice . . . and Annie has the perfect person in mind to be her tutor: Will Griffin.
Will—the sexy, tattooed, and absolutely gorgeous bodyguard—is temporarily back in Rome, providing security for Amelia Rose as excitement builds for her upcoming marriage to Noah Walker, Annie’s brother. He has one personal objective while on the job: stay away from Annie Walker and any other possible attachments to this sleepy town. But no sooner than he gets settled, Will finds himself tasked with helping Annie find the love of her life by becoming the next leading lady of Rome, Kentucky. Will wants no part in changing the sweet and lovely Annie. He knows for a fact that some stuffy, straitlaced guy won’t make her happy, but he doesn’t have the heart to say no.
Amid steamy practice dates and strictly “educational” tutoring lessons, Annie discovers there are more layers to Will’s usual stoic attitude. As the lines of their friendship become dangerously blurred, Annie reconsiders her dream guy. Maybe her love life doesn’t need to be perfect—it just needs to be real.
Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match—someone who complements her happy, quiet life running the local flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. But finding her dream man may be harder than Annie imagined. Everyone knows everyone in her hometown, and the dating prospects are getting fewer by the day. After she overhears her latest date say she is “so unbelievably boring,” Annie starts to think the problem might be her. Is it too late to become flirtatious and fun like the leading ladies in her favorite romance movies? Maybe she only needs a little practice . . . and Annie has the perfect person in mind to be her tutor: Will Griffin.
Will—the sexy, tattooed, and absolutely gorgeous bodyguard—is temporarily back in Rome, providing security for Amelia Rose as excitement builds for her upcoming marriage to Noah Walker, Annie’s brother. He has one personal objective while on the job: stay away from Annie Walker and any other possible attachments to this sleepy town. But no sooner than he gets settled, Will finds himself tasked with helping Annie find the love of her life by becoming the next leading lady of Rome, Kentucky. Will wants no part in changing the sweet and lovely Annie. He knows for a fact that some stuffy, straitlaced guy won’t make her happy, but he doesn’t have the heart to say no.
Amid steamy practice dates and strictly “educational” tutoring lessons, Annie discovers there are more layers to Will’s usual stoic attitude. As the lines of their friendship become dangerously blurred, Annie reconsiders her dream guy. Maybe her love life doesn’t need to be perfect—it just needs to be real.
335 pages, Paperback
First published May 2, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 22,500 reviews
May 1, 2024
➳
4.5/5 stars
✶࿐
"I realized that leaving this town without you was the scariest thought I’ve ever had. I need you in my life like I need air, Annie. You have wrecked me in the best way I could ever imagine, and I’ll never be the same. Never want to be the same.I love you. And I know marriage is something that’s deeply important to you—and what you want is deeply important to me, so…marry me, Annie. No one else.”
This book wasn't just good; it was an enchanting bundle of wholesomeness that made me feel all giggly and blushy. The bond, chemistry, and undeniable sexual tension between the main leads were beyond perfection. As someone with high expectations, I can confidently say this book exceeded them, leaving me charmed by the delightful narrative. Each page turned was a testament to the author's storytelling prowess, solidifying my affection for the characters and the captivating world they inhabited.
The only thing i was scared off was that it might have a doormat fmc which i hate with everything in me but the fmc in this book was nothing like what i expected she was super adorable, fun although little shy and introverted but come on being introverted doesn't make someone boring or stupid it's just societal views which don't really make sense lol.
╰┈➤ Annie Walker
In the charming town, she embodied the typical kind, introverted, and socially awkward character while gracefully managing her flower shop. Breaking away from the doormat stereotype, her loveliness extended beyond her personality. What I admired most was her kindness towards everyone in the town, her unwavering support for family and friends, which proved both a blessing and a curse. Because of this the townsfolks always saw her as an angel needing protection from all the world's evils.
I deeply resonated with her struggles, as it's disheartening when kindness is mistaken for weakness. The town's overprotectiveness, treating her like delicate glass, infuriated her, intensifying her social anxiety. Despite not showing it, she yearned to be seen beyond societal perceptions. Not that she showed all of that but it made her more socially anxious and made her feel that all she needs in her life is to marry and settle down with someone who would somehow see her for who she was, rather than what people thought of her. Her character development was a joy to witness – reaching a breaking point, she called out the town's condescension and decided to define herself. She emerged as a lovable, resilient ray of sunshine, spreading happiness and love to all.
"Will Griffin is absolutely not the kind of man I
need. Too bad he’s very quickly becoming the man I want."
╰┈➤ Will Griffin
The absolute love of my life like honestly im about to get his name tattooed on my forehead lmfaoooo. Meet Will Griffin, the epitome of the "no relationships, no love" motto, until he met Annie. This man, with more green flags than a parade, had the charm to melt hearts. From the moment his eyes met Annie's, he knew she was the ONE . Despite his initial reluctance and childhood traumas haunting him, he couldn't escape the gravitational pull of love.
Will Griffin is more than a character; he's a manifestation of perfection, adorned with beautiful flaws and a grumpy yet sweet personality. His exceptional communication skills elevate him in a world where such qualities are often scarce. This remarkable man not only knows how to take care of his girl but also actively supports her in embracing new adventures. In the realm of literary characters, Will stands as a dreamy figure, and attempting to find any flaws in him seems like an impossible task.
Despite carrying a considerable amount of baggage from a traumatic past, he never allowed it to spill onto others or taint his feelings for Annie. His recognition of Annie as the perfect match spoke volumes about his emotional intelligence. While my heart broke for him, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. Despite enduring deep-seated issues stemming from his parents' toxic marriage, Will refused to let that trauma dictate his life. Yes, he had struggles, but his approach to dealing with them showcased remarkable maturity.
"It was always difficult to not pay attention to the youngest Walker sister. The sweet one, everyone says. The quiet one. The cute one. I’ve heard folks in that town refer to Annie as every possible synonym of those words—but never once did they give her the adjective that always sprung into my head when I saw her: gorgeous. Something about her attracts me in an I-could-get-feelings-for-her kind of way. And I don’t do feelings."
╰┈➤ Will and Annie
Will and Annie, despite their differing views on love and life, turned out to be a perfect match. Will, who vowed never to fall in love, and Annie, who desired stability, discovered a beautiful connection with undeniable chemistry and seamless communication. Their story proves that sometimes opposites not only attract but also create a magical and harmonious bond.
Their story ignited when Annie, stung by rejection, sought a dating coach. Enter Will Griffin, not just a guide but a swoon-worthy companion in the dance of romance. Their practice sessions weren't just about rules; the charged tension was palpable through the words. This tale unfolds as a testament to every girl's dream – a partner like Will, who not only cares deeply but also crafts a haven of safety and love.
°˖➴ Overall, if I were to recommend a single book to the entire world, regardless of your preferred genre or age, it would be this one. Don't dwell on the plot, genre, or reviews; just pick it up. You're gonna thank me for this 💌
౨ৎ QUOTES ✧˖°.
⚘ "I wanted to talk to her all night. Hell, I would have settled for sitting and watching her read her book."
⚘ “It seems to me, Annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud.”
⚘ "You’d do that for me?"
"I’m quickly learning I’d do anything for you."
⚘ "And even more, I don’t want to see any part of Annie change. Not a single thing. I’ve never met anyone like her before—and it would be a damn shame for her to morph into some popular social construct of what a woman should be like on dates. "
⚘ “If I waited until I felt confident to live my life and do the things I want to do, I’d never live. This lesson is one as old as time: Fake it till you make it. If you want something, pretend you’re the kind of person who’s not scared of it"
°˖✧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚✧˖°
ᥫ᭡ pre-read review ✧˖°.
another dayy, another rom-com 🤭💘
"I realized that leaving this town without you was the scariest thought I’ve ever had. I need you in my life like I need air, Annie. You have wrecked me in the best way I could ever imagine, and I’ll never be the same. Never want to be the same.I love you. And I know marriage is something that’s deeply important to you—and what you want is deeply important to me, so…marry me, Annie. No one else.”
This book wasn't just good; it was an enchanting bundle of wholesomeness that made me feel all giggly and blushy. The bond, chemistry, and undeniable sexual tension between the main leads were beyond perfection. As someone with high expectations, I can confidently say this book exceeded them, leaving me charmed by the delightful narrative. Each page turned was a testament to the author's storytelling prowess, solidifying my affection for the characters and the captivating world they inhabited.
The only thing i was scared off was that it might have a doormat fmc which i hate with everything in me but the fmc in this book was nothing like what i expected she was super adorable, fun although little shy and introverted but come on being introverted doesn't make someone boring or stupid it's just societal views which don't really make sense lol.
╰┈➤ Annie Walker
In the charming town, she embodied the typical kind, introverted, and socially awkward character while gracefully managing her flower shop. Breaking away from the doormat stereotype, her loveliness extended beyond her personality. What I admired most was her kindness towards everyone in the town, her unwavering support for family and friends, which proved both a blessing and a curse. Because of this the townsfolks always saw her as an angel needing protection from all the world's evils.
I deeply resonated with her struggles, as it's disheartening when kindness is mistaken for weakness. The town's overprotectiveness, treating her like delicate glass, infuriated her, intensifying her social anxiety. Despite not showing it, she yearned to be seen beyond societal perceptions. Not that she showed all of that but it made her more socially anxious and made her feel that all she needs in her life is to marry and settle down with someone who would somehow see her for who she was, rather than what people thought of her. Her character development was a joy to witness – reaching a breaking point, she called out the town's condescension and decided to define herself. She emerged as a lovable, resilient ray of sunshine, spreading happiness and love to all.
"Will Griffin is absolutely not the kind of man I
need. Too bad he’s very quickly becoming the man I want."
╰┈➤ Will Griffin
The absolute love of my life like honestly im about to get his name tattooed on my forehead lmfaoooo. Meet Will Griffin, the epitome of the "no relationships, no love" motto, until he met Annie. This man, with more green flags than a parade, had the charm to melt hearts. From the moment his eyes met Annie's, he knew she was the ONE . Despite his initial reluctance and childhood traumas haunting him, he couldn't escape the gravitational pull of love.
Will Griffin is more than a character; he's a manifestation of perfection, adorned with beautiful flaws and a grumpy yet sweet personality. His exceptional communication skills elevate him in a world where such qualities are often scarce. This remarkable man not only knows how to take care of his girl but also actively supports her in embracing new adventures. In the realm of literary characters, Will stands as a dreamy figure, and attempting to find any flaws in him seems like an impossible task.
Despite carrying a considerable amount of baggage from a traumatic past, he never allowed it to spill onto others or taint his feelings for Annie. His recognition of Annie as the perfect match spoke volumes about his emotional intelligence. While my heart broke for him, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. Despite enduring deep-seated issues stemming from his parents' toxic marriage, Will refused to let that trauma dictate his life. Yes, he had struggles, but his approach to dealing with them showcased remarkable maturity.
"It was always difficult to not pay attention to the youngest Walker sister. The sweet one, everyone says. The quiet one. The cute one. I’ve heard folks in that town refer to Annie as every possible synonym of those words—but never once did they give her the adjective that always sprung into my head when I saw her: gorgeous. Something about her attracts me in an I-could-get-feelings-for-her kind of way. And I don’t do feelings."
╰┈➤ Will and Annie
Will and Annie, despite their differing views on love and life, turned out to be a perfect match. Will, who vowed never to fall in love, and Annie, who desired stability, discovered a beautiful connection with undeniable chemistry and seamless communication. Their story proves that sometimes opposites not only attract but also create a magical and harmonious bond.
Their story ignited when Annie, stung by rejection, sought a dating coach. Enter Will Griffin, not just a guide but a swoon-worthy companion in the dance of romance. Their practice sessions weren't just about rules; the charged tension was palpable through the words. This tale unfolds as a testament to every girl's dream – a partner like Will, who not only cares deeply but also crafts a haven of safety and love.
°˖➴ Overall, if I were to recommend a single book to the entire world, regardless of your preferred genre or age, it would be this one. Don't dwell on the plot, genre, or reviews; just pick it up. You're gonna thank me for this 💌
౨ৎ QUOTES ✧˖°.
⚘ "I wanted to talk to her all night. Hell, I would have settled for sitting and watching her read her book."
⚘ “It seems to me, Annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud.”
⚘ "You’d do that for me?"
"I’m quickly learning I’d do anything for you."
⚘ "And even more, I don’t want to see any part of Annie change. Not a single thing. I’ve never met anyone like her before—and it would be a damn shame for her to morph into some popular social construct of what a woman should be like on dates. "
⚘ “If I waited until I felt confident to live my life and do the things I want to do, I’d never live. This lesson is one as old as time: Fake it till you make it. If you want something, pretend you’re the kind of person who’s not scared of it"
°˖✧˚ʚ♡ɞ˚✧˖°
ᥫ᭡ pre-read review ✧˖°.
another dayy, another rom-com 🤭💘
April 12, 2023
In this house we stan a man who can COMMUNICATE. Goodness, this book. Will “I’m not gonna catch feelings” Griffin is peak book boyfriend with his tender heart wrapped in floral tattoos. And his desire for Annie to change absolutely nothing about herself in her quest to become someone different and more exciting. Sarah has written a tender, witty, emotional love story and I adore it to pieces.
BRB, going back to Rome to sit in a flower shop.
BRB, going back to Rome to sit in a flower shop.
February 13, 2024
SO FUN. I love Annie she was such a lovable character
July 28, 2023
it’s always a plain, dry 'i love you' and never :
~•~•~
we need cute and fluffy.. hope it delivers
❛ ❛ I realized that leaving this town without you was the scariest thought I’ve ever had. I need you in my life like I need air, Annie. You have wrecked me in the best way I could ever imagine, and I’ll never be the same. Never want to be the same.” He kisses my forehead. “I love you. And I know marriage is something that’s deeply important to you—and what you want is deeply important to me, so…marry me, Annie. No one else. ❜ ❜
~•~•~
we need cute and fluffy.. hope it delivers
August 15, 2024
5 stars
My review won't quite do justice to this gem because clearly, some words aren't enough to express how much i love this perfect book. This book just booked its place in my heart in a way other sweet romance books totally didn't book. It's literally so good and addictive. i went in with minimal expectations, just hoping for some cute scenes but now it's proudly sitting in my top 10 favorites ✨
✨ It started off in the cutest way – well, not the unseasoned individual Annie was on a date with – but with Will making sure she's okay and walked her to her truck and then simping about her. No matter what, the 'I don't believe in love' trope is superior. It always slays, and I'm always slapped with the truth that i should consider this trope more. Genuinely, it's the execution that matters mostly and this book delivers. I'm still honestly surprised how it gave the way other books didn't give lol nvm, Will slayed. It's always the blue-eyed, muscular, strong, handsome man – with BUTTERFLY (freaking butterfly 😭) tattoo – that makes me wanna say fuck it to the plot and just simp over him. Did I simp over Will Griffin? Yes. Will I continue to do so for the next years? OF COURSE. even after my partner? Absolutely.
✨ Will and Annie's relationship is adorable, cute, swoon-worthy, makes you want to cry, makes you want to sit on the roof, makes you want to sleep on the highway. It made me realize how single I am, and books are supposed to make you feel happy. It's not too much to ask for a man who's amazing at communication, makes you laugh, takes care of you when you're sick, takes candid pictures of you, and is hot as hell. Will Griffin, the man you are 🧎♀️ Annie compared to Will is definitely a wallpaper, but she vibes with him so I'm okayish. She's a regular shy, sweet, nice fmc who owns a flower shop, but nothing more.
✨ The 'I don't know if I'm capable of love' and 'we spent half of our life in an emotionally unstable environment' trauma was heart-wrenching. It hits me hard. It's the kind of pain that cuts deep, especially when it's inflicted by those who should protect and care for you. The trauma Will got from his parents' toxic marriage is reason enough for him to be scared of marriage. It was comforting to see his brother find happiness and Will did too. None of his trauma felt like it was missing something. However, it all shaped him to be a good man rather than a copy of his parents. He's gentle, tender, emotional, and I admired how vulnerable he became at times. I love his character sfm.
❝The only difference in our upbringing is
that he had someone older to take care of him — to make sure he was loved and hugged regularly.❞
✨ APPRECIATION FOR OLDER SIBLINGS 🙌🏻 (I'm so happy mine doesn't know i own a gr account.)
The small town is never my favorite tho, they meddle too much that it's unfunny. Their random interference is boring and the OTT Karens make me want to bash my head and skip their scenes altogether. They can log out of the earth any moment, but they'd rather have all the time in their life to make poll petitions on a not-so-real couple because why not? The sibling relationship here was cute, and most of the problems of Annie were more of a YOU problem, but it's nice she sorted them out in the end. I'm excited for Emily's story tho, second chance romance 😗ིྀ
*:･ﾟCUTEST-FREAKING-QUOTES *:･ﾟ
❝Kiss me, Annie. Please.❞
❝I’m collecting all these photos and will send them to her when I leave town because the woman deserves to have pretty pictures of herself.❞
❝Do you like me, Will?❞
❝Yeah, I do, Annie. Do you like me?❞
❝Yeah. Against my better judgment.❞
❝Annabell, I need you to know, I’ve fallen madly in love with you.❞
❝But you don’t believe in love.❞ He brushes the back of his fingers affectionately over my jaw and down my throat. ❝It was easier to say I don’t believe in love, rather than admitting to myself that I was afraid I wouldn’t be loved back.❞
❝ANNIE: You’d do that for me?
WILL: I’m quickly learning I’d do anything for you.❞
My review won't quite do justice to this gem because clearly, some words aren't enough to express how much i love this perfect book. This book just booked its place in my heart in a way other sweet romance books totally didn't book. It's literally so good and addictive. i went in with minimal expectations, just hoping for some cute scenes but now it's proudly sitting in my top 10 favorites ✨
❝I’ve known since the moment I laid eyes on Annie that I needed to stay the hell away from her. Something about her attracts me in an I-could-get-feelings-for-her kind of way. And I don’t do feelings.❞
✨ It started off in the cutest way – well, not the unseasoned individual Annie was on a date with – but with Will making sure she's okay and walked her to her truck and then simping about her. No matter what, the 'I don't believe in love' trope is superior. It always slays, and I'm always slapped with the truth that i should consider this trope more. Genuinely, it's the execution that matters mostly and this book delivers. I'm still honestly surprised how it gave the way other books didn't give lol nvm, Will slayed. It's always the blue-eyed, muscular, strong, handsome man – with BUTTERFLY (freaking butterfly 😭) tattoo – that makes me wanna say fuck it to the plot and just simp over him. Did I simp over Will Griffin? Yes. Will I continue to do so for the next years? OF COURSE. even after my partner? Absolutely.
✨ Will and Annie's relationship is adorable, cute, swoon-worthy, makes you want to cry, makes you want to sit on the roof, makes you want to sleep on the highway. It made me realize how single I am, and books are supposed to make you feel happy. It's not too much to ask for a man who's amazing at communication, makes you laugh, takes care of you when you're sick, takes candid pictures of you, and is hot as hell. Will Griffin, the man you are 🧎♀️ Annie compared to Will is definitely a wallpaper, but she vibes with him so I'm okayish. She's a regular shy, sweet, nice fmc who owns a flower shop, but nothing more.
✨ The 'I don't know if I'm capable of love' and 'we spent half of our life in an emotionally unstable environment' trauma was heart-wrenching. It hits me hard. It's the kind of pain that cuts deep, especially when it's inflicted by those who should protect and care for you. The trauma Will got from his parents' toxic marriage is reason enough for him to be scared of marriage. It was comforting to see his brother find happiness and Will did too. None of his trauma felt like it was missing something. However, it all shaped him to be a good man rather than a copy of his parents. He's gentle, tender, emotional, and I admired how vulnerable he became at times. I love his character sfm.
❝The only difference in our upbringing is
that he had someone older to take care of him — to make sure he was loved and hugged regularly.❞
✨ APPRECIATION FOR OLDER SIBLINGS 🙌🏻 (I'm so happy mine doesn't know i own a gr account.)
The small town is never my favorite tho, they meddle too much that it's unfunny. Their random interference is boring and the OTT Karens make me want to bash my head and skip their scenes altogether. They can log out of the earth any moment, but they'd rather have all the time in their life to make poll petitions on a not-so-real couple because why not? The sibling relationship here was cute, and most of the problems of Annie were more of a YOU problem, but it's nice she sorted them out in the end. I'm excited for Emily's story tho, second chance romance 😗ིྀ
*:･ﾟCUTEST-FREAKING-QUOTES *:･ﾟ
❝Kiss me, Annie. Please.❞
❝I’m collecting all these photos and will send them to her when I leave town because the woman deserves to have pretty pictures of herself.❞
❝Do you like me, Will?❞
❝Yeah, I do, Annie. Do you like me?❞
❝Yeah. Against my better judgment.❞
❝Annabell, I need you to know, I’ve fallen madly in love with you.❞
❝But you don’t believe in love.❞ He brushes the back of his fingers affectionately over my jaw and down my throat. ❝It was easier to say I don’t believe in love, rather than admitting to myself that I was afraid I wouldn’t be loved back.❞
❝ANNIE: You’d do that for me?
WILL: I’m quickly learning I’d do anything for you.❞
April 7, 2024
“It seems to me, Annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud.”
Tender, relatable, heartwarming and filled with delicious tension.
This book will always hold a special place in my heart and for so many reasons. It's true that sometimes books find their way to readers and I read this book exactly when I needed it. If I could describe my feelings for this book in one word it would be “ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ”. I was blissfully happy and excited while reading this book. My heart was full of happiness and joy and I was giggling and smiling throughout the book and even cried at times because the story broke me a little.
“I’ve known since the moment I laid eyes on Annie that I needed to stay the hell away from her. Something about her attracts me in an I-could-get-feelings-for-her kind of way. And I don’t do feelings.”
It all started it when Will the hottest bodyguard became a dating coach for Annie the socially awkward girl. I love the “I don't believe in love” trope a lot because the way one character ended up falling first and hard just hits different and Will Griffin literally slayed in this book. I have no words to describe how much I love him.
Everything about this book is perfect. The romance was swoon-worthy, both the characters were realistic and relatable to me and were written so beautifully, there are funny, cozy and wholesome small town vibes. I hate it when the people in small town romance meddle a lot in the main character's lives but even the side characters were adorable like Mable and Harriet, Amelia (I can't wait to read her and Noah's book).
It's not just a romantic story about Annie and Will. It's about Annie finding her true self, accepting it and trying to let others know how she truly feels about their perceptions of her personality. It's about Will moving on from traums and hurt and believing in love, happiness and family he never experienced in his life. It's about how two people made each other feel seen and completed and loved. It's about healing and growing.
“But you don’t believe in love.”
He brushes the back of his fingers affectionately over my jaw and down my throat. “It was easier to say I don’t believe in love, rather than admitting to myself that I was afraid I wouldn’t be loved back.”
This is my first book by Sarah and I can assure you she's now one of my favourite authors. I loved her easy writing and it kept me engaged in the plotline. The pacing was a bit slow but I liked how the things were progressing in the story. I liked how she focused on both the character's trauma and grief because I have read books where authors try to sympathise more with the FMC's trauma and ends up ignoring MMC. Will's trauma about not believing in love and marriage was dealt so well in this book.
➸ 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙂𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙣
Mr. “I don't do relationships and love fell first and fell hard.” If he were a real man I would've married him without even second guessing anything. He's perfect but also had flaws and insecurities. He is grumpy but also very sweet, kind, caring, playfull, mischievous and tender. His trauma and how he never wanted love was so real and it was heartbreaking to see how he had been through a lot in his life but has always protected his little brother. I get you Will. I liked how even though he was a bit scared of falling in love with Annie he didn't denied his feelings for her instead he wanted to be better for her. How even though he thought he had a lot of baggage in his life he never stopped giving Annie what she wanted. He's literally the man of my dreams. I mean he's good at everything. He knows how to communicate and talk about his feelings, he knows how make you feel loved and safe, he takes care of Annie when she's sick, accepts her obsession with spicy romance novels, reads them for her. He was collecting her pretty candid pictures in his phone after she told him she never had anyone take her pretty pictures so he made this his life mission to give her all her pretty pictures. This is not a standard it's bare minimum and Will does everything so perfectly.
➸ 𝘼𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙚 𝙒𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙚𝙧
The girl who only wanted a perfect love story with marriage and babies until she met Will. Anna Banana is a shy, introvert, socially awkward, anxious girl who everyone thinks is a delicate little angel and needs to be protected from all the bad things and people in her life. I get Annie at a personal level so I know why she was so desperate and even angry when people called her sweet little Annie or Angel Annie. It's so frustrating when people judge you just because you have a pretty or cute face and you are kind to them and make their life mission to protect you even though you don't need that. Her need to be accepted by her family and to finally and truly see her as she was. She never wanted to put herself first because she thinks it's selfish, she did exactly what everyone expected from her because that made others feel happy. She's just a people pleaser just like me. I liked her character development even though it was because she had enough but I actually liked how she called out on everyone's bullshit about her sweet little personality and told them how she felt all this time.
╰┈➤ 𝘼𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙚 & 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡
I fell in love with them from their very first interaction at the bar. Will (I don't do love) and Annie (I want marriage and kids) are just so perfect for each other in every way. It all started with a Will being her dating coach and ended up with Will being her pirate lover (iykyk). It doesn't matter that these two are complete opposites of each other because the way they complimented each other and bring out the different sides of each other. What is the most endearing thing about these two is that they accepted each other as they were and never wanted to change the other one. Acceptance, communication, waiting for one another and choosing and loving each other are the things they both were very good at. The way Annie wanted Will even though he never do relationships or love and how he wanted to help Annie to get better at dating and social life but also told her to never change.
“Do you like me, Will?” I hold her gaze and squeeze her fingers as her words tug the truth from me like they always do. “Yeah, I do, Annie. Do you like me?”
“Yeah. Against my better judgment.”
They had everything from chemistry to understanding, from sassiness to sauciness.
I loved how they both were so bad at expressing their real feelings to other people but it was so easy for them to be vulnerable with each other. Everything about them felt so natural like they were always suppose to be together. The tension filled scenes when Will was giving her dating practice sessions, them trying to hide from the nosy people in their town, Will getting jealous and all protective when Annie decided to go on a date, Will loving Annie and her socially awkward phase, them fighting for each other and trying to be better for each other, Will accepting Annie's love for spicy historical romances and even renacting her favourite scene because he's perfect like that. Every girl like Annie (Me) needs a Will Griffin in their life.
“I need you in my life like I need air, Annie. You have wrecked me in the best way I could ever imagine, and I’ll never be the same. Never want to be the same.” He kisses my forehead. “I love you. And I know marriage is something that’s deeply important to you—and what you want is deeply important to me, so…marry me, Annie. No one else.”
— IF HE AIN'T PROPOSING LIKE THIS THEN I DON'T WANT HIM
The ending was perfect. Not too much drama, no third act break up, no misscommunications in the end. Just a perfect and wholesome ending. And I think there's a third book for James and Maddie? Can't wait! Sarah can write two more books about Will and Annie doing mundane things in their life and I would read each and everyone with hearts in my eyes because that's how much I love them. The extended epilogue was so perfect!
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ I can't help but add some of my favourite cute moments here
➶ “Kiss me, Annie. Please.” 🫠🦋
➶ “You don’t owe me—or anyone else—anything, Annie. Just kissing you is a gift.”💘
➶ “My plan was to run as fast as I could away from you.” I smile. “Thanks for chasing after me.”
She blinks. “Always.”
➶ Annie: You’d do that for me?
Will: I’m quickly learning I’d do anything for you.
➶ “Hey, do me a favor and wear those banana PJs tonight?”
“Why?” I ask.
He grins and looks every bit like the roguish fiend he is when he says, “Because I’ve dreamed of peeling them off you more times than you can imagine. I want to make it a reality tonight.”
➶ “You’re wearing an earring!”
He chuckles. “Just for tonight. And just for you. I’ll be your pirate, Annie.”
➶ My hand moves to grip his hair, but he stops kissing me abruptly. “I put those hands up there for a reason. Keep them there, Sunshine.” 💌💘💖💗💓💌💞💌💕
➶ “I wanted to talk to her all night. Hell, I would have settled for sitting and watching her read her book. I bet she makes all kinds of faces while reading.”
——————————
NEED ALL THE CUTENESS AND FLUFF RIGHT NOW! SO HERE WE GO 🤸🏽♀️
May 11, 2023
Definitely better than When in Rome, by a lot. From the first paragraph, I could tell this will be a good one.
✔️ Bodyguard MMC x Flower shop owner FMC
✔️ Fake relationship
✔️ He teaches her how to date
✔️ She reads pirate smut
✔️ He wants to reenact those scenes with her 👀
✔️ 1.5/5 🌶️
Annie, is a flower shop owner and I found her to be so charming, relatable and humorous. But there's one thing she is not good at- dating. In comes, Will who is Amelia's bodyguard with tattoos 👀 . Will is sexy, confident and clearly has trust issues. But if there's someone he adores- it's Annie. Upon agreeing to help her practice her dating abilities, the two never realised that there could be something more.
From the moment I first read Will and Annie talk, their chemistry was sizzling and came across as genuine. Their conversations are so fun. The two, especially Annie are hilarious. But as I reached the 60% mark, I thought the two denying their feelings for each other despite having open communication was dragging unnecessarily, which is why I rate it 4 stars instead of four.
Overall, it's pretty cute. Both characters have more to themselves compared to Amelia and Noah. Would recommend if you're in the mood for something cute and lighthearted.
✔️ Bodyguard MMC x Flower shop owner FMC
✔️ Fake relationship
✔️ He teaches her how to date
✔️ She reads pirate smut
✔️ He wants to reenact those scenes with her 👀
✔️ 1.5/5 🌶️
Annie, is a flower shop owner and I found her to be so charming, relatable and humorous. But there's one thing she is not good at- dating. In comes, Will who is Amelia's bodyguard with tattoos 👀 . Will is sexy, confident and clearly has trust issues. But if there's someone he adores- it's Annie. Upon agreeing to help her practice her dating abilities, the two never realised that there could be something more.
From the moment I first read Will and Annie talk, their chemistry was sizzling and came across as genuine. Their conversations are so fun. The two, especially Annie are hilarious. But as I reached the 60% mark, I thought the two denying their feelings for each other despite having open communication was dragging unnecessarily, which is why I rate it 4 stars instead of four.
Overall, it's pretty cute. Both characters have more to themselves compared to Amelia and Noah. Would recommend if you're in the mood for something cute and lighthearted.
March 11, 2024
★ 2.5 stars
i really wanted to love this book and i had high expectations after seeing all the hype, but i couldn’t love it at all. sighs.
listen, at the beginning i was enjoying the book and i did think i would end up giving it a rating much higher than two; but after 20% or so... things became really tedious. my enjoyment started decreasing and it unfortunately didn’t stop. the protagonists weren’t that good, the plot was not gripping and the pacing was super slow.
i thought the main characters were interesting at the start, but as the story progressed, my opinion changed. Annie and Will aren’t necessarily bad characters — they are just bland, kind of boring, and neither of them have outstanding or remarkable personalities. i couldn’t connect with them, no matter how hard i tried.
Annie is shy, introverted, socially awkward, people pleaser, overthinker, book lover, and she’s tired of everyone seeing her as a naive girl — which made me think “well, she must be an interesting character to read about because that’s relatable to most people” but... no, i was wrong. she was anything but interesting. i mean, at first i was seeing myself in her and enjoying her character, but that obviously didn’t last long. in my opinion, the way she and her struggles were written was just boring and cliché, i don’t think the author knew how to execute things well. she felt childish and sort of immature for a woman in her late 20s. like, you can be shy, introverted and all of that, and still that doesn’t mean you have to be childish, you know what i mean? she was always complaining about how people are always treating her like a child, but most of the times she was actually behaving like one. it was ironic to me.
Will is... well, i honestly don’t have much to say about him. he’s a respectful, kind and cool guy who know how to communicate and how to treat Annie well, which is great (and literally the bare mininium, of course) but, unfortunately, he’s bland (sorry). despite not being a toxic man and stuff like that, he’s not the most interesting love interest i’ve read about and i didn’t find myself falling for him — swooning over a few things he did for Annie? yes. but completely falling in love with him? no, not at all. i don’t know, even though Will was sweet, his personality as a whole was dull and not very captivating for the majority of the book. i feel like his character was missing something.
as i said, neither Annie or Will had personalities that i could call remarkable.
i am a person who is obsessed with romcom films, but for some ironic reason, romcom books aren’t my thing. i guess it’s because there’s too much fluffiness and cliché for my taste in those books and it gets kind of boring for me since almost every time they don’t deliver more than that. i’m not saying it’s always like that, though. sometimes (rarely) i can enjoy a fluffy book filled with clichés — but most of the times, i can’t. and that’s what happened with this book right here.
the romance between Annie & Will was truly tedious, there’s no other way to put it. it had potential to be something good and perhaps exciting, but it was badly executed. first of all, from the beginning of the book we know that they have feelings for each other, so that was a bit unexciting because i wanted more build-up before things started. i thought their dynamic of “experienced guy teaching unexperienced girl how to date” would be fun to watch, but eh... not really. it was uninteresting, boring and super slow. on top of that, i didn’t buy their chemistry(was there any, though?) it felt too forced and also unrealistic for some reason. i hoped things would get better at some point, but it never did. i’m sorry, but Annie & Will are not a captivating couple.
to make things a bit worse, this book is set in a small town and i am usually not a fan of small town romances. this is a unpopular opinion, right? but i just can’t enjoy this trope. people are always minding the main characters’ business and i just get so annoyed. like okay, i get it! people in small towns are nosy! but sometimes authors exaggerate a little. in this book, for example, the people from their town literally started a petition to keep Annie & Will apart because they think Will is not suitable for Annie. that’s just unbelievable and not realistic. these people need to find a hobby i guess.
overall, that’s a boring story with boring characters that have a boring romance. not exactly what i expected and i’m extremely disappointed. this was my first book by Sarah Adams and, frankly, i don’t think i’ll be reading more books by her. i feel like i’m clearly not the target audience.
with that being said, i can honestly see why most people love Practice Makes Perfect so much, i really can. but, sadly, this book was not for me. even though i didn’t have the best experience with it, i still recommend it because i do believe others might like it more than me.
of course i couldn’t forget to thank Cara for reading with me! while this book was not the best, i still had so much fun reading it with you. thanks for making my experience slightly better, those 2 stars are mostly for you — love you, my lovely bestie. 🩷
︵‿︵‿︵‿ ꒰💌꒱ ‿︵‿︵‿︵
ᰔ quotes:
─────────────────────
➷ pre-review:
i’m beyond excited to start this cute lil rom-com! 💐 i really hope it delivers because i desperately need a great read. 😭 (thanks for the rec Manju luv <3)
✧ buddy read with my sweet girl Cara 🥰
i really wanted to love this book and i had high expectations after seeing all the hype, but i couldn’t love it at all. sighs.
listen, at the beginning i was enjoying the book and i did think i would end up giving it a rating much higher than two; but after 20% or so... things became really tedious. my enjoyment started decreasing and it unfortunately didn’t stop. the protagonists weren’t that good, the plot was not gripping and the pacing was super slow.
i thought the main characters were interesting at the start, but as the story progressed, my opinion changed. Annie and Will aren’t necessarily bad characters — they are just bland, kind of boring, and neither of them have outstanding or remarkable personalities. i couldn’t connect with them, no matter how hard i tried.
Annie is shy, introverted, socially awkward, people pleaser, overthinker, book lover, and she’s tired of everyone seeing her as a naive girl — which made me think “well, she must be an interesting character to read about because that’s relatable to most people” but... no, i was wrong. she was anything but interesting. i mean, at first i was seeing myself in her and enjoying her character, but that obviously didn’t last long. in my opinion, the way she and her struggles were written was just boring and cliché, i don’t think the author knew how to execute things well. she felt childish and sort of immature for a woman in her late 20s. like, you can be shy, introverted and all of that, and still that doesn’t mean you have to be childish, you know what i mean? she was always complaining about how people are always treating her like a child, but most of the times she was actually behaving like one. it was ironic to me.
Will is... well, i honestly don’t have much to say about him. he’s a respectful, kind and cool guy who know how to communicate and how to treat Annie well, which is great (and literally the bare mininium, of course) but, unfortunately, he’s bland (sorry). despite not being a toxic man and stuff like that, he’s not the most interesting love interest i’ve read about and i didn’t find myself falling for him — swooning over a few things he did for Annie? yes. but completely falling in love with him? no, not at all. i don’t know, even though Will was sweet, his personality as a whole was dull and not very captivating for the majority of the book. i feel like his character was missing something.
as i said, neither Annie or Will had personalities that i could call remarkable.
i am a person who is obsessed with romcom films, but for some ironic reason, romcom books aren’t my thing. i guess it’s because there’s too much fluffiness and cliché for my taste in those books and it gets kind of boring for me since almost every time they don’t deliver more than that. i’m not saying it’s always like that, though. sometimes (rarely) i can enjoy a fluffy book filled with clichés — but most of the times, i can’t. and that’s what happened with this book right here.
the romance between Annie & Will was truly tedious, there’s no other way to put it. it had potential to be something good and perhaps exciting, but it was badly executed. first of all, from the beginning of the book we know that they have feelings for each other, so that was a bit unexciting because i wanted more build-up before things started. i thought their dynamic of “experienced guy teaching unexperienced girl how to date” would be fun to watch, but eh... not really. it was uninteresting, boring and super slow. on top of that, i didn’t buy their chemistry
to make things a bit worse, this book is set in a small town and i am usually not a fan of small town romances. this is a unpopular opinion, right? but i just can’t enjoy this trope. people are always minding the main characters’ business and i just get so annoyed. like okay, i get it! people in small towns are nosy! but sometimes authors exaggerate a little. in this book, for example, the people from their town literally started a petition to keep Annie & Will apart because they think Will is not suitable for Annie. that’s just unbelievable and not realistic. these people need to find a hobby i guess.
overall, that’s a boring story with boring characters that have a boring romance. not exactly what i expected and i’m extremely disappointed. this was my first book by Sarah Adams and, frankly, i don’t think i’ll be reading more books by her. i feel like i’m clearly not the target audience.
with that being said, i can honestly see why most people love Practice Makes Perfect so much, i really can. but, sadly, this book was not for me. even though i didn’t have the best experience with it, i still recommend it because i do believe others might like it more than me.
of course i couldn’t forget to thank Cara for reading with me! while this book was not the best, i still had so much fun reading it with you. thanks for making my experience slightly better, those 2 stars are mostly for you — love you, my lovely bestie. 🩷
︵‿︵‿︵‿ ꒰💌꒱ ‿︵‿︵‿︵
ᰔ quotes:
“It seems to me, Annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud.”
“I am the quiet one in my family. The one with her nose always in a book because she prefers worlds where she doesn’t have to interact with other humans. It’s so much easier to read about relationships than to foster them. Less dangerous too.”
“I don’t think I like the word regret. Every choice I��ve made has been valuable in some way or other.”
“I’ve always had trouble telling people the truth of what I’m feeling when I know it’s going to be uncomfortable for them to hear—so I usually just keep it bottled up.”
“I’d say that I regret the things I never said way more than the things I have said.”
“But the thing about quiet people is, we’re only quiet because our brains are so busy overthinking everything.”
“I think this emptiness has been the result of constantly isolating myself from my feelings. I know who I am and what I want out of life—I’ve just been ignoring those needs.”
“If I waited until I felt confident to live my life and do the things I want to do, I’d never live.”
“This lesson is one as old as time: Fake it till you make it. If you want something, pretend you’re the kind of person who’s not scared of it.”
─────────────────────
➷ pre-review:
i’m beyond excited to start this cute lil rom-com! 💐 i really hope it delivers because i desperately need a great read. 😭 (thanks for the rec Manju luv <3)
✧ buddy read with my sweet girl Cara 🥰
August 10, 2023
ok I cringed but in a cute way
October 17, 2023
sometimes, you find a book — or rather, it finds you — at the perfect time. it wraps you up in its delicate pages, lets the words wash over you. it reassures you, telling you everything you need to hear in that moment. that’s the connection i felt with this book.
i am incredibly picky when it comes to contemporary romance. there’s always something that i find fault with: an overly jealous or possessive mmc, a doormat fmc, a third act breakup, insta love, etc. i haven’t found a rom com that i’ve loved in almost every aspect. until now.
the dedication alone is everything: ”this one is for the softies. the tenderhearted sweeties. the introverts who are afraid to shine.” already sobbing 🥹🥹
annie: an introverted, socially anxious girlie who prefers books to people? she is me i am her. i can’t tell you how refreshing it was to see someone so much like myself be told that she doesn’t need to change in order for someone to like her. that is she is worthy of love just the way she is.
”it seems to me, annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud.”
i think i am too 💔
”i’m so tired of that narrative looping around me day in and day out. i’m tired of everyone so neatly placing me in a box and tying a silk ribbon around it and then telling me to sit and stay.”
it’s like sarah adams crawled into my mind and wrote this character based off of my life and my experiences bc wow do i relate. it is beyond frustrating when everyone thinks they know you, when they try to tell you who you are. as if they know better.
”but a side effect of being the one who listens and comforts is that people rarely offer to listen or comfort me.”
will: i need him biblically. i need him in a way that is concerning to feminism. i can’t express how much i love this man. he encouraged annie to be herself even when she thought her authenticity was the problem 🥹 he recreated her pirate fantasies 😭💖 he took care of her when she was sick ❤️🩹 he bought a house and a truck and moved to rome for her after he said the town was too boring for him (clearly not 😏) and he decided to confront his emotional baggage after ignoring it for so long bc she! was! worth! it! to! him!
i just want what they have.
—
EVERYONE SHUT UP IVE FINALLY FOUND A ROMANCE BOOK WORTHY OF FIVE STARS 😭😭😭🥹🥹🥹❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹
rtc when i can form coherent thoughts 😍
—
need another short book to binge this weekend 🤭 pls don’t disappoint 🥲
i am incredibly picky when it comes to contemporary romance. there’s always something that i find fault with: an overly jealous or possessive mmc, a doormat fmc, a third act breakup, insta love, etc. i haven’t found a rom com that i’ve loved in almost every aspect. until now.
the dedication alone is everything: ”this one is for the softies. the tenderhearted sweeties. the introverts who are afraid to shine.” already sobbing 🥹🥹
annie: an introverted, socially anxious girlie who prefers books to people? she is me i am her. i can’t tell you how refreshing it was to see someone so much like myself be told that she doesn’t need to change in order for someone to like her. that is she is worthy of love just the way she is.
”it seems to me, annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud.”
i think i am too 💔
”i’m so tired of that narrative looping around me day in and day out. i’m tired of everyone so neatly placing me in a box and tying a silk ribbon around it and then telling me to sit and stay.”
it’s like sarah adams crawled into my mind and wrote this character based off of my life and my experiences bc wow do i relate. it is beyond frustrating when everyone thinks they know you, when they try to tell you who you are. as if they know better.
”but a side effect of being the one who listens and comforts is that people rarely offer to listen or comfort me.”
will: i need him biblically. i need him in a way that is concerning to feminism. i can’t express how much i love this man. he encouraged annie to be herself even when she thought her authenticity was the problem 🥹 he recreated her pirate fantasies 😭💖 he took care of her when she was sick ❤️🩹 he bought a house and a truck and moved to rome for her after he said the town was too boring for him (clearly not 😏) and he decided to confront his emotional baggage after ignoring it for so long bc she! was! worth! it! to! him!
i just want what they have.
—
EVERYONE SHUT UP IVE FINALLY FOUND A ROMANCE BOOK WORTHY OF FIVE STARS 😭😭😭🥹🥹🥹❤️🩹❤️🩹❤️🩹
rtc when i can form coherent thoughts 😍
—
need another short book to binge this weekend 🤭 pls don’t disappoint 🥲
November 5, 2024
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 5 ✰
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
➳ plot:
The story follows a sweet and quiet small-town florist, Annie Walker. In her family, Annie has always been regarded as the "good girl," with a gentle personality and calm manner. She does, however, yearn for a life that is more thrilling, especially in the area of romance. Annie recognizes an opportunity when Will Griffin, a handsome and confident bodyguard, briefly relocates to Rome. Will is outgoing, adventurous, and experienced in the dating scene—everything Annie is not. Annie, who is determined to come out out of her shell, persuades Will to assist her with improving her dating skills and confidence around guys.
As Will teaches Annie the ropes of dating, their friendly lessons quickly turn into something more. Despite their differences, Annie and Will begin to develop feelings for each other. However, both have personal baggage and insecurities that they must overcome to make their relationship work.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
➳ my thoughts:
I want to marry this book, I want to tattoo this book in my mind so I never forget about it. This is the type of book that every time I see it on my shelf I sigh and flip through the pages and reread a random scene because of how much I loved it <3 my face was hurting by how much I was smiling while reading this book. This is now in my top 10 reads of this year and also the match has been dethroned and this is now my favorite Sarah Adams book!!
Reading this felt like getting a warm hug, this book is so fluffy, cute, swoony, delightful, heartwarming, lovely and every similar adjective to these. I’m literally crying while writing this after reading the last chapter, it was perfect, both characters were so relatable in their own way that it made them so realistic.
Apart from the romance, this book also explores the concept of personal growth, self-discovery and how love can come when you least expect it and by someone you never thought you’ll end up with.
Sarah’s rent was due when she wrote this book cause this was amazing. 5 stars and my whole heart. This is now one of my comfort books.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
➳ characters:
❀ Annie:
She is the cutest and relatable character I’ve read in a while… Annie is me, I am her. I resonate deeply with her and all her struggles that I felt like Sarah was writing a book about me at some point, she is introvert, shy, and a little bit awkward sometimes. She’s known for her sweet, caring nature. However, despite her warm personality, Annie struggles with feelings of inadequacy, especially when it comes to relationships.
Annie was my favorite of Noah’s sisters when I read when in Rome, so I was really excited to get to her book and I’m so happy that I ended up loving her and relating to her, Annie worked hard on finding her own personality and things she truly enjoyed after feeling a sense of loneliness and longing for something
: ̗̀➛ “I am the quiet one in my family. The one with her nose always in a book because she prefers worlds where she doesn’t have to interact with other humans. It’s so much easier to read about relationships than to foster them. Less dangerous too. I can’t offend anyone written into a book. I can’t say the wrong thing. And book characters don’t make judgments about me.”
: ̗̀➛ ”But a side effect of being the one who listens and comforts is that people rarely offer to listen or comfort me. I’ve been living this way for so long now that I’m not sure I’d be any good at expressing myself even if I were asked to.”
❀ Will:
WILL MF GRIFFIN, HE IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, HE IS THE ULTIMATE BOOK BOYFRIEND. oh my god, he is such a green flag, he is literally the whole forest😭😭 I love him so much. He is the type of man I would love to date in my life, I wished he was real.
Will works as abodyguard executive protection agent, and he’s known for his protective instincts and strong sense of responsibility. Despite his tough exterior, Will has a caring side, which becomes more apparent as he spends time with Annie.
Throughout the book, Will struggles with his own emotional barriers. He's used to keeping his distance and not getting too attached, partly due to his childhood experience. However, his growing feelings for Annie challenge him to open up and confront his fears of vulnerability and commitment. Will’s journey is one of learning to let down his guard and embrace the possibility of love, even when it feels risky. I want to give him a tight hug because he deserves all the love in the world.
If I had to describe Will in one word it would be: tenderness! I loved how caring he was to the people he loves. The best thing about him is how even though he had insecurities and baggages, he didn’t use that as an excuse and admitted his feelings toward Annie🥺 I mean he took candid photos of Annie to show her that she is beautiful because she told him that she didn’t have any photo of her.
: ̗̀➛ “If I waited until I felt confident to live my life and do the things I want to do, I’d never live.” He stares into my eyes. “This lesson is one as old as time: Fake it till you make it. If you want something, pretend you’re the kind of person who’s not scared of it.”
: ̗̀➛ ”the more I get to know Will, the more I realize his charming playfulness is not always real. Sometimes I think it’s a mask”
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥˚✿ °. Will & Annie:
⤷ made for each other ᡣ𐭩
The cutest and healthiest couple ever , they both knew how to communicate their feelings with each other even though they don’t talk about their feelings with anyone else so to see how they trusted each other and let their insecurities aside was beautiful. The chemistry, bond and connection between Annie and Will was perfect.
While I was reading when in Rome, I was wondering how their first interaction was going to be since Will is Amelia bodyguard and Annie is always around Amelia and I’m so happy on how their meet-cute turned out; Will saving the night for Annie after she had a terrible date night🤭🫶🏻
They truly needed each other, they are perfect together, their relationship was full of understanding, communication, acceptance, commitment, caring and love, so much love. They are so opposite from each other but they never wanted to change the other one, they really liked and cared for their true personality.
They deserves the whole world and the universe. I hope to find the kind of love that they have in my life.
➳ side characters:
Surprisingly I liked Amelia and Noah more in this book than in their own, I feel like I even got to know more about them here.
Annie’s sisters were getting on my nerves not going to lie, didn’t enjoy their scenes because of how they treated Annie as if she’s a baby so I was really proud and happy when Annie expressed her feelings to them and how they accepted her.
𐙚 Emily & Jack: they are the next when in Rome couple, I believe we haven’t meet jack yet and I think that the only thing we know about him is that he is her rival and neighbor, I want to read it already.
𐙚 Madison & James: the couple that got my attention, I really hope we get a book of Madison and James, I think there were only like 3 scenes of them together but I knowwww that their story is going to be good🤞
𐙚 the town: I don’t really enjoy when it’s small town and every people there is on everyone business but this one was the exception, I loved everyone there, Mabel with Harriet, Phil and Todd. Their scenes were entertaining and I didn’t get bored which is something that happens to me when reading small town.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
♬⋆.˚ annie & will mini playlistᰔ
⤷ movies ⟡ conan gray
⤷ easier ⟡ 5sos
⤷ about you ⟡ the 1975
⤷ flawless ⟡ the neighborhood
⤷ she chose me ⟡ bruno mars
⤷ king of my heart ⟡ taylor swift
💌tropes:
ꨄ︎ opposite attracts
ꨄ︎ small town
ꨄ︎ he’s her dating coach
ꨄ︎ bodyguard x flower shop owner
ꨄ︎ he takes care of her when sick
ꨄ︎ shy girl x bad boy
ꨄ︎ a twist in fake dating
ꨄ︎ friends to lovers
-‘๑’- some of my favorite quotes -‘๑’-
・❥・ “ I don’t understand how just the sight of someone can feel so good. God, she’s beautiful”
・❥・“You make me feel different, and I like it. I feel free with you—adventurous and curious.”
・❥・“It seems to me, Annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud”
・❥・“My plan was to run as fast as I could away from you.” I smile. “Thanks for chasing after me.”
She blinks. “Always.”
・❥・“I realized that leaving this town without you was the scariest thought I’ve ever had. I need you in my life like I need air, Annie. You have wrecked me in the best way I could ever imagine, and I’ll never be the same. Never want to be the same”
・❥・“I’m not playing games with Annie - I’m spilling my heart out”
・❥・“For some reason, having Annie’s trust feels like holding the world. I never want to break it”
・❥・“But the thing about quiet people is, we’re only quiet because our brains are so busy overthinking everything.”
・❥・“Tell you what, Annie. We’ll get you your committed relationship and your white picket fence, and if for some reason it doesn’t feel right and you want that adventure after all” He looks at me. “Call me and I’ll come hold your hand on the flight.”
・❥・“Will Griffin is absolutely not the kind of man I need. Too bad he’s very quickly becoming the man I want”
・❥・“it was always difficult to not pay attention to the youngest Walker sister. The sweet one, everyone says. The quiet one. The cute one. I’ve heard folks in that town refer to Annie as every possible synonym of those words—but never once did they give her the adjective that always sprung into my head when I saw her: gorgeous.”
・❥・“Annie turns away a fraction and smiles to herself, and then does something so open, so honest it tears my cynical, terrified heart in half. She rests the tips of her fingers against her smiling mouth. Before she has time to notice, I pull out my phone and snap a picture of her standing there in the warm overhead lights of her shop.”
I LOVE THIS BOOK, I LOVE ANNIE, I LOVE WILL, I LOVE EVERYTHING, LIFE IS GOOD!
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵
*ೃ༄ pre-read: *ೃ༄
I'm so excited for this one, I already love Annie so I hope this doesn't disappoint
⋆𐙚₊˚⊹”she’s quickly becoming special to me - like something rare and precious you want to put in a safe place so you never lose it” ⋆𐙚₊˚⊹
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
➳ plot:
The story follows a sweet and quiet small-town florist, Annie Walker. In her family, Annie has always been regarded as the "good girl," with a gentle personality and calm manner. She does, however, yearn for a life that is more thrilling, especially in the area of romance. Annie recognizes an opportunity when Will Griffin, a handsome and confident bodyguard, briefly relocates to Rome. Will is outgoing, adventurous, and experienced in the dating scene—everything Annie is not. Annie, who is determined to come out out of her shell, persuades Will to assist her with improving her dating skills and confidence around guys.
As Will teaches Annie the ropes of dating, their friendly lessons quickly turn into something more. Despite their differences, Annie and Will begin to develop feelings for each other. However, both have personal baggage and insecurities that they must overcome to make their relationship work.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
➳ my thoughts:
I want to marry this book, I want to tattoo this book in my mind so I never forget about it. This is the type of book that every time I see it on my shelf I sigh and flip through the pages and reread a random scene because of how much I loved it <3 my face was hurting by how much I was smiling while reading this book. This is now in my top 10 reads of this year and also the match has been dethroned and this is now my favorite Sarah Adams book!!
Reading this felt like getting a warm hug, this book is so fluffy, cute, swoony, delightful, heartwarming, lovely and every similar adjective to these. I’m literally crying while writing this after reading the last chapter, it was perfect, both characters were so relatable in their own way that it made them so realistic.
Apart from the romance, this book also explores the concept of personal growth, self-discovery and how love can come when you least expect it and by someone you never thought you’ll end up with.
Sarah’s rent was due when she wrote this book cause this was amazing. 5 stars and my whole heart. This is now one of my comfort books.
⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ -“come with me?”
-“anywhere” 𐙚₊˚⊹
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
➳ characters:
❀ Annie:
⭑.ᐟ the girl who thought that all she needed was to marry someone and have a family
She is the cutest and relatable character I’ve read in a while… Annie is me, I am her. I resonate deeply with her and all her struggles that I felt like Sarah was writing a book about me at some point, she is introvert, shy, and a little bit awkward sometimes. She’s known for her sweet, caring nature. However, despite her warm personality, Annie struggles with feelings of inadequacy, especially when it comes to relationships.
Annie was my favorite of Noah’s sisters when I read when in Rome, so I was really excited to get to her book and I’m so happy that I ended up loving her and relating to her, Annie worked hard on finding her own personality and things she truly enjoyed after feeling a sense of loneliness and longing for something
: ̗̀➛ “I am the quiet one in my family. The one with her nose always in a book because she prefers worlds where she doesn’t have to interact with other humans. It’s so much easier to read about relationships than to foster them. Less dangerous too. I can’t offend anyone written into a book. I can’t say the wrong thing. And book characters don’t make judgments about me.”
: ̗̀➛ ”But a side effect of being the one who listens and comforts is that people rarely offer to listen or comfort me. I’ve been living this way for so long now that I’m not sure I’d be any good at expressing myself even if I were asked to.”
⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ “Annie: You’d do that for me?
Will: I’m quickly learning I’d do anything for you.” ⋆𐙚₊˚⊹
❀ Will:
⭑.ᐟ the guy who didn’t believe in love and never wanted a relationship
WILL MF GRIFFIN, HE IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE, HE IS THE ULTIMATE BOOK BOYFRIEND. oh my god, he is such a green flag, he is literally the whole forest😭😭 I love him so much. He is the type of man I would love to date in my life, I wished he was real.
Will works as a
Throughout the book, Will struggles with his own emotional barriers. He's used to keeping his distance and not getting too attached, partly due to his childhood experience. However, his growing feelings for Annie challenge him to open up and confront his fears of vulnerability and commitment. Will’s journey is one of learning to let down his guard and embrace the possibility of love, even when it feels risky. I want to give him a tight hug because he deserves all the love in the world.
If I had to describe Will in one word it would be: tenderness! I loved how caring he was to the people he loves. The best thing about him is how even though he had insecurities and baggages, he didn’t use that as an excuse and admitted his feelings toward Annie🥺 I mean he took candid photos of Annie to show her that she is beautiful because she told him that she didn’t have any photo of her.
: ̗̀➛ “If I waited until I felt confident to live my life and do the things I want to do, I’d never live.” He stares into my eyes. “This lesson is one as old as time: Fake it till you make it. If you want something, pretend you’re the kind of person who’s not scared of it.”
: ̗̀➛ ”the more I get to know Will, the more I realize his charming playfulness is not always real. Sometimes I think it’s a mask”
⋆𐙚₊˚⊹ ”But you don’t believe in love.” He brushes the back of his fingers affectionately over my jaw and down my throat. “It was easier to say I don’t believe in love, rather than admitting to myself that I was afraid I wouldn’t be loved back.”
I splay my hand over his chest. “Heartbreaking, Will. It’s impossible not to love you.” ⋆𐙚₊˚⊹
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥˚✿ °. Will & Annie:
⤷ made for each other ᡣ𐭩
The cutest and healthiest couple ever , they both knew how to communicate their feelings with each other even though they don’t talk about their feelings with anyone else so to see how they trusted each other and let their insecurities aside was beautiful. The chemistry, bond and connection between Annie and Will was perfect.
While I was reading when in Rome, I was wondering how their first interaction was going to be since Will is Amelia bodyguard and Annie is always around Amelia and I’m so happy on how their meet-cute turned out; Will saving the night for Annie after she had a terrible date night🤭🫶🏻
They truly needed each other, they are perfect together, their relationship was full of understanding, communication, acceptance, commitment, caring and love, so much love. They are so opposite from each other but they never wanted to change the other one, they really liked and cared for their true personality.
“I don’t want to see any part of Annie change. Not a single thing. I’ve never met anyone like her before—and it would be a damn shame for her to morph into some popular social construct of what a woman should be like on dates. I hate it.”
They deserves the whole world and the universe. I hope to find the kind of love that they have in my life.
➳ side characters:
Surprisingly I liked Amelia and Noah more in this book than in their own, I feel like I even got to know more about them here.
Annie’s sisters were getting on my nerves not going to lie, didn’t enjoy their scenes because of how they treated Annie as if she’s a baby so I was really proud and happy when Annie expressed her feelings to them and how they accepted her.
𐙚 Emily & Jack: they are the next when in Rome couple, I believe we haven’t meet jack yet and I think that the only thing we know about him is that he is her rival and neighbor, I want to read it already.
𐙚 Madison & James: the couple that got my attention, I really hope we get a book of Madison and James, I think there were only like 3 scenes of them together but I knowwww that their story is going to be good🤞
𐙚 the town: I don’t really enjoy when it’s small town and every people there is on everyone business but this one was the exception, I loved everyone there, Mabel with Harriet, Phil and Todd. Their scenes were entertaining and I didn’t get bored which is something that happens to me when reading small town.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
♬⋆.˚ annie & will mini playlistᰔ
⤷ movies ⟡ conan gray
⤷ easier ⟡ 5sos
⤷ about you ⟡ the 1975
⤷ flawless ⟡ the neighborhood
⤷ she chose me ⟡ bruno mars
⤷ king of my heart ⟡ taylor swift
💌tropes:
ꨄ︎ opposite attracts
ꨄ︎ small town
ꨄ︎ he’s her dating coach
ꨄ︎ bodyguard x flower shop owner
ꨄ︎ he takes care of her when sick
ꨄ︎ shy girl x bad boy
ꨄ︎ a twist in fake dating
ꨄ︎ friends to lovers
-‘๑’- some of my favorite quotes -‘๑’-
・❥・ “ I don’t understand how just the sight of someone can feel so good. God, she’s beautiful”
・❥・“You make me feel different, and I like it. I feel free with you—adventurous and curious.”
・❥・“It seems to me, Annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud”
・❥・“My plan was to run as fast as I could away from you.” I smile. “Thanks for chasing after me.”
She blinks. “Always.”
・❥・“I realized that leaving this town without you was the scariest thought I’ve ever had. I need you in my life like I need air, Annie. You have wrecked me in the best way I could ever imagine, and I’ll never be the same. Never want to be the same”
・❥・“I’m not playing games with Annie - I’m spilling my heart out”
・❥・“For some reason, having Annie’s trust feels like holding the world. I never want to break it”
・❥・“But the thing about quiet people is, we’re only quiet because our brains are so busy overthinking everything.”
・❥・“Tell you what, Annie. We’ll get you your committed relationship and your white picket fence, and if for some reason it doesn’t feel right and you want that adventure after all” He looks at me. “Call me and I’ll come hold your hand on the flight.”
・❥・“Will Griffin is absolutely not the kind of man I need. Too bad he’s very quickly becoming the man I want”
・❥・“it was always difficult to not pay attention to the youngest Walker sister. The sweet one, everyone says. The quiet one. The cute one. I’ve heard folks in that town refer to Annie as every possible synonym of those words—but never once did they give her the adjective that always sprung into my head when I saw her: gorgeous.”
・❥・“Annie turns away a fraction and smiles to herself, and then does something so open, so honest it tears my cynical, terrified heart in half. She rests the tips of her fingers against her smiling mouth. Before she has time to notice, I pull out my phone and snap a picture of her standing there in the warm overhead lights of her shop.”
I LOVE THIS BOOK, I LOVE ANNIE, I LOVE WILL, I LOVE EVERYTHING, LIFE IS GOOD!
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵
*ೃ༄ pre-read: *ೃ༄
I'm so excited for this one, I already love Annie so I hope this doesn't disappoint
November 3, 2024
5 STARS ⭐️
⤷ minor spoilers ahead!! ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪
“This one is for the softies. The tenderhearted sweeties. The introverts who are afraid to shine.” 💐
i really needed a change of genre, and picking this book up while being in a tog slump was one of the best decisions i’ve ever made.
i’m all for the ’practice dating’, ‘shy girl, bad boy’, ‘i don’t believe in love’, ‘who did this to you?’ tropes in this book AAAAHH 😭😭😭 it was such a quick and easy romance read and i loved it so much!! 💘
ᡣ𐭩.ᐟ annie
i immediately realized how effortlessly good annie was at conversing with will as compared to her date (who can kiss my ass!!!), and their chemistry/the tension between them was THROUGH THE ROOOFFFF. annie is truly a ray of sunshine, but because of her personality, she was always regarded as the sweet, innocent angel who needed to be protected at all times, and always felt like she had to stick to the social norms. i was so proud of her when she finally confronted her sisters about everything she’d been shouldering, and i’m glad her sisters understood and apologized.
“For introverts like me with social anxiety, the process of dating is equivalent to waxing your bikini line. Menstrual cramps on day two of your cycle. An emergency dental procedure you weren't expecting — and guess what: they're fresh out of novocain."
"I am the quiet one in my family. The one with her nose always in a book because she prefers worlds where she doesn't have to interact with humans. It's so much easier to read about relationships than to foster them. Less dangerous too. I can't offend anyone written into a book. I can't say the wrong thing. And book characters don't make judgements about me."
ᡣ𐭩.ᐟ will
will is a WALKING GREEN FLAG who’s just a little broken inside! he knew how to talk about his feelings, took care of annie, made her feel loved and safe, shared the same love for her spicy pirate romance novels, etc. i loved how he helped annie realize she didn’t have to stick to the social norms and step out of her comfort zone. him not believing in love and not knowing whether he was capable of love and commitment because of his trauma was heartbreaking. he truly deserved all the love in the world and i’m so glad he crossed paths with annie again 😭😭😭 (i'm constantly reminded of how life can take a turn in such a short period of time and it’s honestly so scary yet exciting).
"If some jackass doesn't take the time to peel back her layers of nervousness to find out who she really is, he doesn't deserve to have her when she's at her most comfortable."
"And hearing that my opinion means more to her than anyone else's... damn, give me the tattoo gun and I'I do it myself. I'll single-handedly make sure all her dreams come true this very night. She wants to travel? Let's go. She wants to hike Mount Everest? I'll get the gear."
"Her eyes lit up when she realised it was me, and now I'm afraid I'II replay that image in a loop for the rest of my life."
“I'm collecting all these photos and will send them to her when I leave town because the woman deserves to have pretty pictures of herself.”
"You'd do that for me?"
"I'm quickly learning I'd do anything for you."
"I tap the screen on his phone, pausing briefly to marvel at his new wallpaper photo: me standing in the flower shop the night we kissed for the first time.”
“But will doesn’t just support my love of historical fiction — he reenacts them.”
“ Just for tonight. And just for you. I’ll be your pirate, Annie.”
“… the trademark of every good romance novel is a grand gesture. And I wanted to give you one.”
“I realised that leaving this town without you was the scariest thought I’ve ever had. I need you in my life like I need air, Annie. You have wrecked me in the best way I could ever imagine, and I’ll never be the same. Never want to be the same.”
ᡣ𐭩.ᐟ other characters
noah and amelia are literally #couplegoals too 😭 i crave the love they have for each other *cries in single* 😭😭💔
i actually love amelia so much. not only was she a sister figure to annie, but also FREAKING HILARIOUS!! i laughed so hard during the baseball game scene 😂😭 and mabel’s just so GRANDMOTHERLY 🥹😭💗 the rest of the town residents had good intentions but were too nosy for my liking 🫢
i’m definitely going to read when in rome next!! <3
⤷ minor spoilers ahead!! ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪
“This one is for the softies. The tenderhearted sweeties. The introverts who are afraid to shine.” 💐
i really needed a change of genre, and picking this book up while being in a tog slump was one of the best decisions i’ve ever made.
i’m all for the ’practice dating’, ‘shy girl, bad boy’, ‘i don’t believe in love’, ‘who did this to you?’ tropes in this book AAAAHH 😭😭😭 it was such a quick and easy romance read and i loved it so much!! 💘
ᡣ𐭩.ᐟ annie
i immediately realized how effortlessly good annie was at conversing with will as compared to her date (who can kiss my ass!!!), and their chemistry/the tension between them was THROUGH THE ROOOFFFF. annie is truly a ray of sunshine, but because of her personality, she was always regarded as the sweet, innocent angel who needed to be protected at all times, and always felt like she had to stick to the social norms. i was so proud of her when she finally confronted her sisters about everything she’d been shouldering, and i’m glad her sisters understood and apologized.
“For introverts like me with social anxiety, the process of dating is equivalent to waxing your bikini line. Menstrual cramps on day two of your cycle. An emergency dental procedure you weren't expecting — and guess what: they're fresh out of novocain."
"I am the quiet one in my family. The one with her nose always in a book because she prefers worlds where she doesn't have to interact with humans. It's so much easier to read about relationships than to foster them. Less dangerous too. I can't offend anyone written into a book. I can't say the wrong thing. And book characters don't make judgements about me."
ᡣ𐭩.ᐟ will
will is a WALKING GREEN FLAG who’s just a little broken inside! he knew how to talk about his feelings, took care of annie, made her feel loved and safe, shared the same love for her spicy pirate romance novels, etc. i loved how he helped annie realize she didn’t have to stick to the social norms and step out of her comfort zone. him not believing in love and not knowing whether he was capable of love and commitment because of his trauma was heartbreaking. he truly deserved all the love in the world and i’m so glad he crossed paths with annie again 😭😭😭 (i'm constantly reminded of how life can take a turn in such a short period of time and it’s honestly so scary yet exciting).
"If some jackass doesn't take the time to peel back her layers of nervousness to find out who she really is, he doesn't deserve to have her when she's at her most comfortable."
"And hearing that my opinion means more to her than anyone else's... damn, give me the tattoo gun and I'I do it myself. I'll single-handedly make sure all her dreams come true this very night. She wants to travel? Let's go. She wants to hike Mount Everest? I'll get the gear."
"Her eyes lit up when she realised it was me, and now I'm afraid I'II replay that image in a loop for the rest of my life."
“I'm collecting all these photos and will send them to her when I leave town because the woman deserves to have pretty pictures of herself.”
"You'd do that for me?"
"I'm quickly learning I'd do anything for you."
"I tap the screen on his phone, pausing briefly to marvel at his new wallpaper photo: me standing in the flower shop the night we kissed for the first time.”
“But will doesn’t just support my love of historical fiction — he reenacts them.”
“ Just for tonight. And just for you. I’ll be your pirate, Annie.”
“… the trademark of every good romance novel is a grand gesture. And I wanted to give you one.”
“I realised that leaving this town without you was the scariest thought I’ve ever had. I need you in my life like I need air, Annie. You have wrecked me in the best way I could ever imagine, and I’ll never be the same. Never want to be the same.”
ᡣ𐭩.ᐟ other characters
noah and amelia are literally #couplegoals too 😭 i crave the love they have for each other *cries in single* 😭😭💔
i actually love amelia so much. not only was she a sister figure to annie, but also FREAKING HILARIOUS!! i laughed so hard during the baseball game scene 😂😭 and mabel’s just so GRANDMOTHERLY 🥹😭💗 the rest of the town residents had good intentions but were too nosy for my liking 🫢
i’m definitely going to read when in rome next!! <3
May 24, 2024
I couldn't be happier to return to Rome, lured by the sweet small-town romance and meeting my favorite characters again. What I didn't expect was to enjoy this book even more than When in Rome. Honestly, I fell for the bad boy-good girl trope with amazing chemistry between Annie, the girl next door, and Will Griffin, the ex-military, tattooed, emotionally uninvolved, badass bodyguard. Even though they seem like opposites, they find themselves in a pretend relationship to coach Annie to find her future husband, and they are amazingly adorable!
The best thing about their love story is that they did everything not to hurt each other. There was no unnecessary angst or misunderstanding that made the characters miserable. Besides their physical attraction, their open communication and blooming friendship made me giddy! Especially seeing the presumed bad boy Will turning into a knight in shining armor, a caring, sweet lover boy, warmed my heart!
I giggled, sighed, laughed out loud, and even shed some tears. This book awakened so many emotions in me at the same time.
After reading this book, you'll wish Rome, Kentucky, could be a real place you could visit and spend time with those noisy, sweet, caring, tight-knit characters and become their friends.
The plot revolves around Annie, the girl next door who is sick of being treated as the family's little child, a pure, untainted virgin who doesn't do anything wrong. After being defined as dull and boring by the man who lastly dated her, she realizes she needs more practice to return to the dating arena. Amelia (the leading character of When in Rome) - her future sister-in-law - finds a solution for her to work with her bodyguard (correction: executive protection agent) Will as a dating coach (even though she has a secret agenda to matchmake them).
Will doesn't believe in love after suffering from years-long dysfunctional relationships of his own parents. And Annie is a full commitment girl who wants to survive through a date without making her significant other bored to death. But she realizes she is more than a boring, inexperienced wallflower. Will helps her explore her restrained true identity and her adventurous side. But what if Annie doesn't want to date any man instead of her brooding coach, who is a cinnamon bun hiding behind a rough facade? And what if Will breaks his strict rules and opens his heart to true love?
Overall, I give this MARVELOUS BOOK a highly deserved five stars! I got a hint that the next book will be about James and Maddie, and I cannot wait to return to Rome soon!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Dell for sharing this amazing book's digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts
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The best thing about their love story is that they did everything not to hurt each other. There was no unnecessary angst or misunderstanding that made the characters miserable. Besides their physical attraction, their open communication and blooming friendship made me giddy! Especially seeing the presumed bad boy Will turning into a knight in shining armor, a caring, sweet lover boy, warmed my heart!
I giggled, sighed, laughed out loud, and even shed some tears. This book awakened so many emotions in me at the same time.
After reading this book, you'll wish Rome, Kentucky, could be a real place you could visit and spend time with those noisy, sweet, caring, tight-knit characters and become their friends.
The plot revolves around Annie, the girl next door who is sick of being treated as the family's little child, a pure, untainted virgin who doesn't do anything wrong. After being defined as dull and boring by the man who lastly dated her, she realizes she needs more practice to return to the dating arena. Amelia (the leading character of When in Rome) - her future sister-in-law - finds a solution for her to work with her bodyguard (correction: executive protection agent) Will as a dating coach (even though she has a secret agenda to matchmake them).
Will doesn't believe in love after suffering from years-long dysfunctional relationships of his own parents. And Annie is a full commitment girl who wants to survive through a date without making her significant other bored to death. But she realizes she is more than a boring, inexperienced wallflower. Will helps her explore her restrained true identity and her adventurous side. But what if Annie doesn't want to date any man instead of her brooding coach, who is a cinnamon bun hiding behind a rough facade? And what if Will breaks his strict rules and opens his heart to true love?
Overall, I give this MARVELOUS BOOK a highly deserved five stars! I got a hint that the next book will be about James and Maddie, and I cannot wait to return to Rome soon!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/Dell for sharing this amazing book's digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
medium blog
February 24, 2024
Based on the many five star reviews, I'm obviously in the minority on this one. But the entire time I was reading Practice Makes Perfect, I just kept thinking "ugh." I pushed through and finished it for the sake of writing a review, but I was very, very tempted to DNF this one.
I think the biggest issue I had was with the main character, Annie. A 30-year-old woman with a vocabulary and world experience of a third grader. Eight pages into this book she uses the term "H-E-double-hockey sticks" and I think I audibly groaned. Annie feels immature and naive the entire book and it makes you wonder how the "h-e-double hockey sticks" this woman somehow got a business and has functioned in the world for 30 minutes - let alone 30 years.
The male protagonist, Will, is a body guard and ex-military. He hates romantic relationships because of his parents bad marriage.
The concept of their opposites attract relationship has the potential to be interesting but it never is. They pretend to date under the guise that Will is going to be Annie's dating coach. But they're enamored with each other from the get-go. Annie loses all of her signature social awkwardness and shyness when Will is around (characteristics that I don't think were present for her in the first When in Rome book, btw) and Will loves how sweet and angelic she is.
I don't know, I just felt like both of these people need a looooooot of therapy. Will needs to unpack his parents marriage and how that has made him a commitment phob and Annie needs to deal with the grief of losing her parents atA such a young age.
Maybe this story would have worked if it had been a YA book, but for a romance book dealing with 30+ adults, it just didn't.
Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group, Dell Romance, and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I think the biggest issue I had was with the main character, Annie. A 30-year-old woman with a vocabulary and world experience of a third grader. Eight pages into this book she uses the term "H-E-double-hockey sticks" and I think I audibly groaned. Annie feels immature and naive the entire book and it makes you wonder how the "h-e-double hockey sticks" this woman somehow got a business and has functioned in the world for 30 minutes - let alone 30 years.
The male protagonist, Will, is a body guard and ex-military. He hates romantic relationships because of his parents bad marriage.
The concept of their opposites attract relationship has the potential to be interesting but it never is. They pretend to date under the guise that Will is going to be Annie's dating coach. But they're enamored with each other from the get-go. Annie loses all of her signature social awkwardness and shyness when Will is around (characteristics that I don't think were present for her in the first When in Rome book, btw) and Will loves how sweet and angelic she is.
I don't know, I just felt like both of these people need a looooooot of therapy. Will needs to unpack his parents marriage and how that has made him a commitment phob and Annie needs to deal with the grief of losing her parents atA such a young age.
Maybe this story would have worked if it had been a YA book, but for a romance book dealing with 30+ adults, it just didn't.
Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group, Dell Romance, and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
April 25, 2023
Sarah writes books that truly make me smile. They're kind and hopeful, playful and feel-good. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT was all of that in spades. Will and Annie's journeys as individuals and as a couple were healthy and mature, and I really loved seeing efforts at clear communication and therapy being championed in this story. I'm beyond delighted I had the chance to early read it.
Content notes: mentions of parental death (past, off page), mentions of toxic parental relationships and dysfunctional childhood (past, off page).
Content notes: mentions of parental death (past, off page), mentions of toxic parental relationships and dysfunctional childhood (past, off page).
May 2, 2023
This book made me realise, how learning how to read was the biggest mistake of my life.
August 10, 2023
2.5 Pickle Picture Stars
Spicy Rating: 0.5🌶️/5
What a loopdidoo of good and bad this was….so LET’S separate this into the good (what worked) and the bad (ooof).
The good:
This book managed to get me out a reading slump. YAY! If you just want a generic romcom that is just something fluffy and light to read, (something that's not too deep). This is your go to book! BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK DEEP YOU WON’T FIND MUCH!
From a tropes perspective the tropes that I absolutely adored were:
- Fake Relationship
- Teaching her…
- Super sexy MMC with butterfly tattoos.
That's about it!!! That’s the redeeming qualities of the book in my eyes…
This book tended to do what I don't like at all in any genre. So it wasn't that this was a contemporary, that this didn't work for me. It was that it had aspects that I have found I don't personally like seeing in any book, and whether this was a fantasy, or a contemporary; I don't think I would have liked it either way.
So let me get into the not so “good” in my eyes.
The first thing is, the trope of “she's not like the other girls”, our main character,Abby or Annie or whatever the fuck her name was, was very much painted as the picture of “no one understood her”. She is stuck in this persona (THAT SHE CREATED) and no one “got” who she was except the MMC. I mean not even her sisters (who she has this “apparently” super close relationship to, could see who she was as the true person. But even with that, she was portrayed as being super small, always wearing overalls and being this perfect little, almost “princess” innocent angel. She was responsible for this perception as she played into it, but then got upset when people referred to her that way. You can't have it both ways. You can't get upset when somebody says that you're angelic and pure and then play into directly into the stereotype of it...
I think this bled into another aspect I didn’t like. I want my female main characters to be feisty and be able to stand up for themselves. But she needs to do it for her, and it needs to be driven BY HER… Why is it that this man that she's with is the first person to see who she is and the first person that she can “actually” talk to, WHEN SHE IS SO CLOSE TO HER FAMILY, I wanted her to find herself, and not meet a man as the catalyst to find herself. I'm all for woman empowerment and not being rescued. And it felt like she could only be her true self when she found a guy! And wasn’t able to be herself without him.
I AM ALSO DONE with reading about first experiences, first loves, FIRST ANYTHING. It is why I don't typically enjoy reading YA anymore. I like characters who have already “found themselves” but have gotten slightly lost along the way and need to be re-directed on the right path. In this book, this main character, was very much a pure angel. She was a virgin, had never really dated, hardly been kissed and just felt like she went on the whole “first journey” of everything where it’s all sparkles, sunshine and rainbows... a lot of firsts that just didn't appeal to me. As a result, I found that I connected a lot more with Will. He seemed a little bit more “damaged" and in need of help with scars that he had to work through.
Another annoyance besides the fact that Annie just irritated and frustrated the living stoof out of me is that she would have dialogue that came OUT OF NOWHERE. It was like the author had mapped out these “scenes” and would just jump to them like a squirrel who got distracted by too many nuts. And you're just like, where did this come from? What are we talking about? Who, what, where, how? ALLL THE RELATIVE PRONOUNS!
BASICALLY….
SO AGAIN...If you want something surface level, that's just a cute little cutesy romance where the MC’s are “perfect for each other”, even though everyone thinks they're completely wrong for each other because they're opposites…This is the book for you!!!
I just wanted something a little deeper with more self-discovery, and I didn't get that. And that is why I didn't enjoy this as much
Spicy Rating: 0.5🌶️/5
What a loopdidoo of good and bad this was….so LET’S separate this into the good (what worked) and the bad (ooof).
The good:
This book managed to get me out a reading slump. YAY! If you just want a generic romcom that is just something fluffy and light to read, (something that's not too deep). This is your go to book! BECAUSE IF YOU LOOK DEEP YOU WON’T FIND MUCH!
From a tropes perspective the tropes that I absolutely adored were:
- Fake Relationship
- Teaching her…
- Super sexy MMC with butterfly tattoos.
That's about it!!! That’s the redeeming qualities of the book in my eyes…
This book tended to do what I don't like at all in any genre. So it wasn't that this was a contemporary, that this didn't work for me. It was that it had aspects that I have found I don't personally like seeing in any book, and whether this was a fantasy, or a contemporary; I don't think I would have liked it either way.
So let me get into the not so “good” in my eyes.
The first thing is, the trope of “she's not like the other girls”, our main character,
I think this bled into another aspect I didn’t like. I want my female main characters to be feisty and be able to stand up for themselves. But she needs to do it for her, and it needs to be driven BY HER… Why is it that this man that she's with is the first person to see who she is and the first person that she can “actually” talk to, WHEN SHE IS SO CLOSE TO HER FAMILY, I wanted her to find herself, and not meet a man as the catalyst to find herself. I'm all for woman empowerment and not being rescued. And it felt like she could only be her true self when she found a guy! And wasn’t able to be herself without him.
I AM ALSO DONE with reading about first experiences, first loves, FIRST ANYTHING. It is why I don't typically enjoy reading YA anymore. I like characters who have already “found themselves” but have gotten slightly lost along the way and need to be re-directed on the right path. In this book, this main character, was very much a pure angel. She was a virgin, had never really dated, hardly been kissed and just felt like she went on the whole “first journey” of everything where it’s all sparkles, sunshine and rainbows... a lot of firsts that just didn't appeal to me. As a result, I found that I connected a lot more with Will. He seemed a little bit more “damaged" and in need of help with scars that he had to work through.
Another annoyance besides the fact that Annie just irritated and frustrated the living stoof out of me is that she would have dialogue that came OUT OF NOWHERE. It was like the author had mapped out these “scenes” and would just jump to them like a squirrel who got distracted by too many nuts. And you're just like, where did this come from? What are we talking about? Who, what, where, how? ALLL THE RELATIVE PRONOUNS!
BASICALLY….
SO AGAIN...If you want something surface level, that's just a cute little cutesy romance where the MC’s are “perfect for each other”, even though everyone thinks they're completely wrong for each other because they're opposites…This is the book for you!!!
I just wanted something a little deeper with more self-discovery, and I didn't get that. And that is why I didn't enjoy this as much
July 23, 2024
⁀➴ 4 ⭐️
WHOLESOME, CUTE & THE PERFECT READ, for a rainy day. This book got me smiling and giggling 🤭 at the beautiful Will and Annie. 💌
“It seems to me, Annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud.”
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ WILL °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
This man is everything. 🧸 I need a Will in my life so bad. Despite his serious and grumpy demeanor shaped by childhood trauma he goes out of his way & breaks all his beliefs for Annie. He’s sarcastic, funny and loves her romance books 🥹. He takes care of her when she’s sick and loves her for herself, valuing her true authenticity, while encouraging her to never change for others, or conform to societal expectations. 💌 He helps her step out of her comfort zone while respecting her boundaries.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ANNIE °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
Shy, introverted with social anxiety that conforms to her sister’s beliefs out of fear. Fear of judgement or change. I was elated when she confronted her town and sisters allowing her character development to grow so well. She’s perfect for Will, understanding his trauma and never belittling anything.
𓇢𓆸 Other Characters 𓇢𓆸
Mabel, oh how I love Mabel. A motherly figure to both Annie as well as Will. While the town judges him on the basis of outer appearance, Mabel did not. She recognised the goodness in his heart and the way he treated Annie. The scene where she hugs him after the phone call 🥹💔.
Small town- I like how this trope was handled, even though there was meddling and nosy neighbours it wasn’t over the top. The petition was weird in the start tho 😭
Overall such a cute, fun, romantic read. 💌
WHOLESOME, CUTE & THE PERFECT READ, for a rainy day. This book got me smiling and giggling 🤭 at the beautiful Will and Annie. 💌
“It seems to me, Annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud.”
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ WILL °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
This man is everything. 🧸 I need a Will in my life so bad. Despite his serious and grumpy demeanor shaped by childhood trauma he goes out of his way & breaks all his beliefs for Annie. He’s sarcastic, funny and loves her romance books 🥹. He takes care of her when she’s sick and loves her for herself, valuing her true authenticity, while encouraging her to never change for others, or conform to societal expectations. 💌 He helps her step out of her comfort zone while respecting her boundaries.
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ANNIE °❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
Shy, introverted with social anxiety that conforms to her sister’s beliefs out of fear. Fear of judgement or change. I was elated when she confronted her town and sisters allowing her character development to grow so well. She’s perfect for Will, understanding his trauma and never belittling anything.
𓇢𓆸 Other Characters 𓇢𓆸
Mabel, oh how I love Mabel. A motherly figure to both Annie as well as Will. While the town judges him on the basis of outer appearance, Mabel did not. She recognised the goodness in his heart and the way he treated Annie. The scene where she hugs him after the phone call 🥹💔.
Small town- I like how this trope was handled, even though there was meddling and nosy neighbours it wasn’t over the top. The petition was weird in the start tho 😭
Overall such a cute, fun, romantic read. 💌
May 16, 2023
will is a communicative, healthy, ideal book boyfriend who is not only hot as fuck but also goes to therapy.
annie is an almost 30-year-old toddler who has a swear jar and calls people "stinky butt munches."
annie is an almost 30-year-old toddler who has a swear jar and calls people "stinky butt munches."
May 22, 2023
the way i read this as a quick palette cleanser to pass the day, and im over here with tears in my eyes still because i adored this so fucking much😭😭😭
this was truly perfection. Will and Annie you will always be loved by me<3 it was one of those romances that low-key made me have an existential crisis while reading thinking “wow so this is what real love looks like, huh?”
this was truly perfection. Will and Annie you will always be loved by me<3 it was one of those romances that low-key made me have an existential crisis while reading thinking “wow so this is what real love looks like, huh?”
Seeing her bathed in light and surrounded by flowers from out here in the dark makes me feel like a man who slipped out of hell and is glimpsing heaven.
Want to read
October 11, 2024 I thought When in Rome was pretty mid... this one looks cute... then again so did When in Rome. lol. Is this one better? 🤸🏻♀️
February 29, 2024
Buddy read with my gorgeous girl Bruna❤
REVIEW TO COME!!!!!!!
REVIEW TO COME!!!!!!!
May 15, 2023
Sarah Adam just blew me completely away. I was expecting this to be good but not THIS good. Amazing and incredible.
Annie Walker, a quiet florist in the small town of Rome, Kentucky, has been on a quest to find her perfect match but when she overhears her date calling her “sounbelievably boring” she realizes that maybe it will be more difficult than she initially thought and she might need a little help. Enter Will Griffin, the gorgeous, flirtatious, tattooed bodyguard extraordinaire currently employed by superstar Rae Rose or Amelia Rose, who also happens to be Annie’s soon-to-be sister in law. He’s anti-commitment, anti-feelings and perfect to be Annie’s new dating coach.
Suppressed feelings begin to arise, the chemistry begins to bubble and the sparks begin to fly around in this beautiful rom-com!
I really liked When in Rome last year and was so excited to see who’s book was going to be next. Annie’s story is full of joys and perfect for your romantic heart! I loved so many things about this book and hopefully you will too!
It was deliciously romantic. Kind of like watching a 90s rom-com but with still it having the magic of being a book. Annie is the one who the town refers to as the quiet one, the cute one, an angel if you will. She absolutely loathes it and, as we see throughout the book, it’s something that cages her internally. She’s always thought she wanted to keep playing those roles but in this book we see how she battles to break free of that. Will helps with that in so many ways, he’s her example of not giving a single f*ck. They are complete opposites and they manage to make each other grow in new ways.
Their love had so many tropes like strangers to friends to lovers, dating practice and slow-ish burn. Sarah completely understood the assignment.
They are playful, flirty, fresh and gosh every time they interacted sparks flew. I loved reading about their feelings and getting to know them.
I also loved coming back to Rome. It’s such a fun and entertaining town. I loved seeing Amelia and Noah as they got ready for their wedding, and getting to know a little bit more of the Walker sisters.
I’m so excited with what’s to come with this series and can’t wait to see all the love stories coming🥰
Annie Walker, a quiet florist in the small town of Rome, Kentucky, has been on a quest to find her perfect match but when she overhears her date calling her “sounbelievably boring” she realizes that maybe it will be more difficult than she initially thought and she might need a little help. Enter Will Griffin, the gorgeous, flirtatious, tattooed bodyguard extraordinaire currently employed by superstar Rae Rose or Amelia Rose, who also happens to be Annie’s soon-to-be sister in law. He’s anti-commitment, anti-feelings and perfect to be Annie’s new dating coach.
Suppressed feelings begin to arise, the chemistry begins to bubble and the sparks begin to fly around in this beautiful rom-com!
I really liked When in Rome last year and was so excited to see who’s book was going to be next. Annie’s story is full of joys and perfect for your romantic heart! I loved so many things about this book and hopefully you will too!
It was deliciously romantic. Kind of like watching a 90s rom-com but with still it having the magic of being a book. Annie is the one who the town refers to as the quiet one, the cute one, an angel if you will. She absolutely loathes it and, as we see throughout the book, it’s something that cages her internally. She’s always thought she wanted to keep playing those roles but in this book we see how she battles to break free of that. Will helps with that in so many ways, he’s her example of not giving a single f*ck. They are complete opposites and they manage to make each other grow in new ways.
Their love had so many tropes like strangers to friends to lovers, dating practice and slow-ish burn. Sarah completely understood the assignment.
They are playful, flirty, fresh and gosh every time they interacted sparks flew. I loved reading about their feelings and getting to know them.
I also loved coming back to Rome. It’s such a fun and entertaining town. I loved seeing Amelia and Noah as they got ready for their wedding, and getting to know a little bit more of the Walker sisters.
I’m so excited with what’s to come with this series and can’t wait to see all the love stories coming🥰
February 17, 2024
It was such a fun read!!!🥹
September 8, 2024
3.5 ⭐
🌺“It seems to me, Annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be out loud.”🌺
This was a very sweet and tender story. I loved Annie and Will and I can't wait to see more of them in future books.
My only problem is that sometimes I found some chapters a little boring and I felt like it wasn't going anywhere. Also, I found the whole thing about the neighbors voting on whether Annie and Will should be together or not quite annoying and I also found some of the secondary characters irritable.
🌺“It seems to me, Annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be out loud.”🌺
This was a very sweet and tender story. I loved Annie and Will and I can't wait to see more of them in future books.
My only problem is that sometimes I found some chapters a little boring and I felt like it wasn't going anywhere. Also, I found the whole thing about the neighbors voting on whether Annie and Will should be together or not quite annoying and I also found some of the secondary characters irritable.
July 3, 2024
WOW SARAH ADAMS WROTE LIKE HER LIVES DEPENDED ON IT
February 21, 2024
alexa play nobody gets me by sza:
“Come with me?”
I nod. “Anywhere.”
my heart is so full! sometimes all you need is a cute, fluffy and funny as hell small town romance to cure your soul.
“Come with me?”
I nod. “Anywhere.”
my heart is so full! sometimes all you need is a cute, fluffy and funny as hell small town romance to cure your soul.
June 26, 2024
3⭐️
I had such a good time reading this! It was funny, it was cute, and it delivered all the fluff I was expecting. 🤭
I learned that it was better to go into this book with not too high of expectations, and I'm glad I did because this wasn't something revolutionary. It didn't change my life or alter my brain chemistry. However, it was fun!!
Annie and Will were absolutely adorable, including every name that Annie gave Will (one of my favorite parts of this book). I loved their chemistry and all of their ups and downs of their friendship/relationship. The characters themselves weren't that deep, but I didn't expect them to be. There isn't much of an actual plot to this book which I was a bit disappointed by. If you're looking for something just fluffy and romantic, this would be more for you.
I was not a big fan of the first book (When in Rome), and I can definitely say that I enjoyed this more than I did that one. Overall, I don't think that Sarah Adams is the author for me after giving a couple of her books a try. Yes they're fun, but they lack so much depth and substance. I will, however, keep her books on standby when I need something quick, funny, and cute.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This one is for the softies.
The tenderhearted sweeties.
The introverts who are afraid to shine.
This is one of the books that's been on my tbr for the longest, and I'm finally in the mood to read it (damn my mood-reading brain) 😭
I thought When in Rome was mediocre, so my expectations for this aren't too high 😅
I had such a good time reading this! It was funny, it was cute, and it delivered all the fluff I was expecting. 🤭
I learned that it was better to go into this book with not too high of expectations, and I'm glad I did because this wasn't something revolutionary. It didn't change my life or alter my brain chemistry. However, it was fun!!
Annie and Will were absolutely adorable, including every name that Annie gave Will (one of my favorite parts of this book). I loved their chemistry and all of their ups and downs of their friendship/relationship. The characters themselves weren't that deep, but I didn't expect them to be. There isn't much of an actual plot to this book which I was a bit disappointed by. If you're looking for something just fluffy and romantic, this would be more for you.
I was not a big fan of the first book (When in Rome), and I can definitely say that I enjoyed this more than I did that one. Overall, I don't think that Sarah Adams is the author for me after giving a couple of her books a try. Yes they're fun, but they lack so much depth and substance. I will, however, keep her books on standby when I need something quick, funny, and cute.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This one is for the softies.
The tenderhearted sweeties.
The introverts who are afraid to shine.
This is one of the books that's been on my tbr for the longest, and I'm finally in the mood to read it (damn my mood-reading brain) 😭
I thought When in Rome was mediocre, so my expectations for this aren't too high 😅
October 19, 2024
╰┈➤ 3.75 stars!
any small town romance is just something that always swooned me. this book was so WHOLESOME that literally made me kick the air and bite my pillow!! after reading the first book of this series, i had a high expectation with this and it delivered!
౨ৎ annie. she is the typical introverted woman who was treated as a delicate person for her kindness. everyone thought she was a glass that could break anytime, so everyone was so protective of her, and it just made her more awkward than she already was. i was so proud of her when she decided to break her silence and tell everyone who she actually was. i couldn't be more happy for her because she deserves every good thing, especially will griffin.
౨ৎ will. aka my person, my heart, and my love. he was a walking green flag with how she helped and treated annie. growing up in a toxic household took a toll on him, but he couldn't pull himself from annie. he knew that he'd fall in love with her even though he said he would never. i think that the biggest moment for him was when he made up his mind to love annie with his whole heart and refused to keep himself from the best he could have because of his past.
overall, this is the type of book that i can recommend to anyone! that's how i know that this a good book because of how anyone would think that it's worth their time once they start with it.
any small town romance is just something that always swooned me. this book was so WHOLESOME that literally made me kick the air and bite my pillow!! after reading the first book of this series, i had a high expectation with this and it delivered!
౨ৎ annie. she is the typical introverted woman who was treated as a delicate person for her kindness. everyone thought she was a glass that could break anytime, so everyone was so protective of her, and it just made her more awkward than she already was. i was so proud of her when she decided to break her silence and tell everyone who she actually was. i couldn't be more happy for her because she deserves every good thing, especially will griffin.
౨ৎ will. aka my person, my heart, and my love. he was a walking green flag with how she helped and treated annie. growing up in a toxic household took a toll on him, but he couldn't pull himself from annie. he knew that he'd fall in love with her even though he said he would never. i think that the biggest moment for him was when he made up his mind to love annie with his whole heart and refused to keep himself from the best he could have because of his past.
overall, this is the type of book that i can recommend to anyone! that's how i know that this a good book because of how anyone would think that it's worth their time once they start with it.
June 30, 2023
3.5 stars
my babies fr
my babies fr
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