Annie is the town's good girl, but she doesn't want to be. Enter visiting bad boy (and renowned bodyguard) Will. The chemistry in this romance is off the charts! I adored the family vibe of the small town community and characters. This book was the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

This is Sarah Adams latest release and we’re back to the town of Rome but this time our main character is Annie - one of Noah’s sisters from When in Rome. I really enjoyed When in Rome so I was looking forward to starting this but didn’t know anything about it other than the title and that the cover is beautiful - there’s also a very fitting illustrated hero on the front who more than fits the bill.

All her life Annie has been referred to as the sweet, innocent, cute one protected from swear words and uncomfortable situations by her family and the whole town of Rome. Will - Noah’s wife’s bodyguard - is back in Rome and challenging all of Annie’s beliefs about herself and the direction her life is taking. The story follows their friends to lovers romance set in the nosey neighbour town of Rome.

Friends to lovers is one of my favourite tropes to read. Especially when there is some sort of “coaching” element. There always seems to be so much angst when feelings start to develop between the characters.

Other reads like this that I’d recommend would be Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young and Beautiful Player by Christina Lauren. One thing that made this book stand out was the dynamic between the characters being more open and honest about their situation and feelings. I can already feel a new story brewing between two of the other characters so I’m looking forward to the next instalment.

“Now, get lost. She’s mine.”

Sarah Adams brings us this delightfully sweet friend to lovers filled with tropes we all know and love. Practice Makes Perfect centres around Annie Walker, owner of Charlotte’s Flowers shop and lover of Audrey Hepburn movies and historical romances. Namely steamy pirate romances. Annie is the ultimate romantic at heart and is looking for her one true love. A man she can call her life partner and her best friend. A sweet and kind man that gives her compliments and fits into the white picket fence lifestyle. To all who know Annie in the small town of Rome, Kentucky, Annie is the “sweet baby Walker sister.” Angel Annie. Saint Annie. Goody-goody Annie. Whilst these terms are not said with negative intent Annie still feels underestimated in what she has to offer. Feeling dismissed and trapped into a box moulded by her peers, Annie is desperate to break out of that box and show that her kindness does not make her plain or unexciting. Add in the fact that Annie is notoriously shy and struggles to stand up for herself, dating is not as easy as she would hope. What Annie desperately needs is a dating coach. Somebody that can teach her how to come out of her shell and be more expressive. Somebody to guide her through the acts of dating, in the hopes of one day finding her future husband.

In enters tattooed “bay boy” Will Griffin. Will served six years in the air force in active duty before becoming an Executive Protection Agent (EPA) for notorious celebrity singer Rae “Amelia” Rose. Will acts as Amelia’s bodyguard on and off for five years and is called back into her service with the excitement around her upcoming wedding. Amelia is set to marry Annie’s older brother, Noah Walker, and so Annie and Will are friendly acquaintances. Amelia sympathises with Annie’s predicament and sets out to help. Who better than your total opposite, a modern-day rake, to be your dating coach? Whilst Annie dreams of her future husband and children, longevity and Will Griffin do not belong in the same sentence. Will is as anti-commitment as you could get. Having been raised by serial cheaters who did nothing but argue and blame their problems on their children, it’s understandable that Will hasn’t had a positive influence surrounding love and marriage. Will is set against becoming Annie’s dating coach. He is a firm believer that Annie should not feel the need to change herself to be deemed as desirable. However, Annie is determined and soon finds herself roping Will into her plan. I mean... it's not like they're at risk of falling in love. Commitment-phobe Will and wedding-dreamer Annie? Of course not. Annie's little crush means nothing. Nothing at all...

“If you want something, pretend you’re the kind of person who’s not scared of it.”

A clear connection is established between Annie and Will early on. Their chemistry is effortless, and we get to see a fun and playful side to Annie that she doesn’t display with others. The pair are always at ease with one another, and at no point does their conversations feel awkward or forced. Despite his reputation with women, Will is nothing but patient and gentle with Annie. He never mocks her for any of her insecurities and is always helpful and kind whenever she asks for advice. And in turn Annie gives Will a safe environment to tackle his problems. Discussions about his difficult childhood are always brushed off and joked over by Will, however Annie shows him the same level of patience and kindness that he in turn shows her. Annie never pushes, allowing him to share what he is willing in his own time.

Practice Makes Perfect give us the ultimate friends to lovers trope that was really effortless to read. We watch as Annie and Will slowly push the boundaries of their agreement, almost helpless to stop it. One of the biggest things I loved about this book was the mature level of communication Annie and Will have. Neither are afraid to be open and speak their mind, which is a joy to read as somebody who absolutely despises the miscommunication trope. Their boundaries are pushed at comforting levels, with the secondary characters being unafraid to give them a further push into healing. Will especially after a much-needed phone call with his younger brother, Ethan. Ethan is recently engaged, which is a bit of a trigger into Will’s thoughts around toxic relationships and overall unhappiness in love. Ethan turns out to have the right words that Will needs to hear, and even encourages regular therapy to help Will process.

Practice Makes Perfect was unputdownable. An ultimate comfort read for anybody looking for an easy-going romance book with a tattooed bodyguard, a sunny flower shop owner and a guaranteed HEA.

thank you to netgalley and headline publishing for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me so good. From the loveable Annie and the heart stopping Will I did not want this book to end. The mix of humour, self reflection for both characters and tension throughout was perfect. I hadn't read When In Rome so I'll be picking that up next, this author is a definite go to for me now.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5/5)
~•~
Thank you NetGalley for the wonderful arc of this book!

Im not usually one to read closed door romances but Sarah Adams knocked it out the park with this one! I was hooked from the first page and couldn’t put it down until I finished. The writing was super descriptive and I felt like I was living this story with the characters. It is a dual POV which everyone loves and a friends to lovers trope.

The FMC, Annie, was super witty and naturally hilarious that I found myself laughing out loud whilst reading. She is known in the town as “Angel Annie” which she works on to prove its no longer who she is and the MMC, Will, helps her in this journey. I find that some FMCs in other books come across as cringey or over the top when being funny but not this one! Annie truly represents us awkward girlies who overthink things going on and end up having a little freak out. I found myself saying “same girl. Same” a lot more than I thought I would.

The MMC is a grumpy bodyguard, or should I say “Executive Protection Agent”. (Read the book you’ll understand!). Will comes across as a grumpy, no relationship kind of guy but when we get to know him throughout the book, the development in his character is so simple yet so effective you feel it tug at your heart strings that someone who didn’t believe in love has found a way round that. He had me giggling and kicking my feet at his jealousy and possessiveness over Annie. Not only that but he has tattoos! Who doesn’t love a man with tattoos?!

To summarise, this book was super witty and heartwarming and definitely for the introverts who are afraid to shine! Go grab yourself a copy because you won’t be disappointed!

This is my first book from Sarah Adams and I was really hoping to enjoy this more. The writing felt super young and immature, and I really struggled to get through this at times.

Our main character Annie is an introverted, book-loving flower shop owner who after overhearing a failed date complain that she's dull and boring, enlists the help of her sister-in-laws bodyguard, Will. Will is our 'bad-boy' MMC who doesn't believe in relationships and never wants to get married. I found their friendship cute, but not quite believable at times. I also found the comparing him to a pirate slightly cringey (sorry! I'm not a big pirate romance reader).

This book has some really cute and funny moment and I think if you like cute YA romances, this may be the book for you.

I received an advanced copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The premise for this pulled me in and I was really looking forward to watching the dating lessons between Will and Annie play out and all the delicious tension and back and forth that would bring. The writing was good and there were some cute and funny moments sprinkled throughout. Unfortunately I was not yearning for them to end up together. IMHO there was pretty much no tension at all between the two leads since they both were enamoured each other straight away and nothing really was preventing them from being together other than their preconceived notions about themselves and each other. The supporting characters were alright, (was not a fan of the towns meddling in Annie’s love life considering she is meant to be an adult approaching thirty in this book). Others might enjoy this more but the execution was not for me. 2.5 ⭐️

I read Practice Makes Perfect in a single day, I couldn't put it down!

I loved the good girl x bad boy trope in this book, Will is a brilliant romance lead and he quickly melts for Annie. He's the perfect book boyfriend, the reading scene was so fun and I loved that he didn't try to change Annie, he loved and encouraged her to be herself.

I really enjoyed Annie's personal growth too, she learns a lot about herself and eventually carves out a life that she truly wants rather than what everyone expects from her - I found her awkwardness and introverted personality very relatable.

The small-town aspect is definitely there, the way the town protected Annie was cute if a bit stifling. I find small-town romances a bit hit or miss but this one really worked, the side characters are well-written and they all have their own personalities.

I really liked the setup for future books too, I didn't realise this book was set in a world with interconnecting characters/romances so I'm definitely interested in reading the first book and reading Amelia and Noah's story!

The Good girl x Bad boy trope has never looked so damn good. I swooned and adored every second of this story! Annie and Will have my heart forever, they’re just too damn cute together. I loved the whole story, the flower shop, the tattoos, the fake dating trope, EVERYTHING. I can’t wait for the rest of the sisters to get their own books and I’ll definitely be going to read Sarah Adams’ other books!

ALSO, how cute is the cover!! I am quite literally obsessed! My tattooed fiancé said it looks like him and I so naturally it’s now my fave cover ever!

This was so cute!! I really think small town romances are so underrated and I adored this one. Annie and Will are so lovely together and it was so exciting finally getting their story

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book!

Sarah Adams has done it again, if you like slow-burn and Audrey Hepburn romances you'll be sure to enjoy this one. I absolutely adored When In Rome so when I saw there was going to be a book about Annie, I was beyond excited. While I didn’t get love this one as much as When In Rome, I still really enjoyed it!

I loved Annie and Will, together but also separately as individual characters. I loved how the characters have the stereotypes that wouldn’t make them right for each other, which is exactly what makes them right for each other! Both characters’ stories about trying to find out how to be themselves in the face of their trauma was really heartbreaking, yet heartwarming to watch. The book is filled with heartwarming moments and there’s just something about this small town that I adore!

The ending felt a little rushed, with the growth and change coming too much too soon with very little time spent exploring/overcoming their relationship hurdles on-page. However, I had a lot of fun reading about Annie and Will and look forward to seeing their cameos in whatever comes next!

This was absolutely perfect!
I loved the relationship between these two. The honesty between them was refreshing and man the chemistry was sexy!
The small town vibes was great without being corny.
I do wish that the smut was a bit more but this story had me hooked from the beginning and this author is definitely an auto buy author for me now!

A really enjoyable, fast paced romance from the point of view of the two main characters. Who wouldn’t fall for the hot bodyguard? Two very unlikely to fall for each other characters get quickly drawn into each other. For Annie, this story and her time with Will becomes one of self discovery. The romantic encounters were really sweet and it was easy to get swept away with the story so it’s one I read quickly.

A shy, spicy romance reading flowershop owner meets hot, tattooed bodyguard?? Dreams really do come true!

A dual POV romance with some of my favourite tropes including: fake dating, opposites attract, grumpy x sunshine and small town romance!

This is my second Sarah Adams book, after reading When In Rome directly before Practice Makes Perfect and I can already see her becoming a firm favourite author of mine!

I absolutely loved revisiting the cute town of Rome, this is the perfect small town romance series! From the meddling, gossiping neighbours to the heartwarming community spirit… can I just move there already?

Annie and Will, where do I even start with them? The connection was there from the very first chapter, even then you could see the way he treats Annie compared to everyone else, and although he struggles to open up and let himself be happy, add in Annie’s pure sunshine that quite literally blinds him, they really are the perfect match!

This book isn’t even officially out yet and I already can’t wait for the rest of the books in the series! I need all the Walker siblings books immediately!!

Can we also talk about the cover for a sec!?
S T U N N I N G! Love it so much!


Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I could not put this book down and enjoyed reading it so much.
Annie and Will are two characters that seem as though they would not work well together and could not be a couple but they do, they work so well. Will is Annie's champion, protector and her teacher ;) they both learn though how to be open to a relationship in a way that before they met would have been unthinkable for them.
I only wish I had read the first in this series as I enjoyed this one so much! However, as proven you do not need to read in order or even both to enjoy.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for free in exchange for an honest review.

'"You are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud.”'

Thank you NetGalley and Sarah Adams for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

If there's something Sarah Adams knows how to do is to write two characters who you can't help but fall for and root for the entire book. Annie is a hopeless romantic who just wants to fall in love, get married and live a life full of romance just like her parents did but she can't seem to find the perfect man. Whilst on another unsuccessful date, Annie finds herself face to face with the man of her dreams but one she'd never have. Will Griffin, bodyguard to Annie's soon-to-be sister-in-law and the definition of unworldly, unfortunately Annie's dream man believes love and marriage are the work of the devil so things would never work between them. Will ends up agreeing to be her dating coach to find the man of her dreams, but when lines between 'practice' and 'perfect' blur who's going to end up with a broken heart?

Watching Annie and Will just bounce off each other so beautifully was so nice to enjoy, though an unlikely pair they just seemed to get each other like nobody else, they saw the deepest parts and never let go. Will encouraging her to break out of her 'Angel Annie' box and break the rules, throw caution to the wind and live a little whilst she slowly chipped away atnhis hardened exterior and discovered someone with so much love to give but too much fear to let it out. Both of them had so much hurt and fear hidden inside without knowing how to deal with it that once the floodgates opened they were impossible to stop, and anyway, nobody wanted them to.

I loved the representation of village life, as someone who grew up in a village the town having a meeting regarding whether Annie and Will should be allowed to date, and it being put to a vote is totally accurate village behaviour and I loved it. Big shout-out to Mabel though, everyone has a Mabel in their life and her being the biggest advocate for everything is what we loved to see.

Sarah Adams has done it again 🙌🏻😭
This was perfect, the storyline, the characters, just absolutely everything 👏🏻
Annie and Will have beaten my love for Noah and Amelia from the first book When In Rome, and I thought that was impossible.
A flower shop owner with a love for smutty books, a hot bodyguard who's secretly has golden retriever vibes and a small town pushing them together. How could you not fall in love? 💐🩷
Thank you Netgalley and Headline Eternal for the ARC

3.5/5

Here's the thing. If you are going to take the time to set up sexual chemistry / tension between a pair; if you are going to make a whole deal about one of the main characters being a virgin and being scared of the emotional aspects of sex, if you are going to make 'practice' and 'care' THE BIGGEST THEME OF YOUR NOVEL - don't write a one word sentence to avoid writing the nitty-gritty. Because it's annoying as shit. Be as vague as you want! You don't even have to use any explicit words! And I get it - Sarah Adams doesn't do more spice than heavy petting, and that's fine! But for all the time, the effort, the references to steamy romance novels - why wouldn't you take the time to write a thoughtful first time scene between two characters that have been building up to that for almost 300 pages? It feels like such a cop-out, especially for the genre you're working in.

Also, for a book that's literally titled for 'practice' - the actual practice these two were doing just, like, fizzled out completely after two attempts. I feel like a fake dating scenario would have been so much better for these characters, especially since that's basically what the plot turns into after the 50% mark.

If you liked 'When In Rome', you'll probably get on with this book - I did, for the most part. I found parts of it cloyingly saccharine and Annie, as a character, became more annoying as the book went on. Moreover, it played on tropes I despise - namely, characters not talking to each other about their damn feelings to fill up pages. If your third act breakup has to rely on two people really liking each other but just deciding not to tell each other - it's kind of lazy. The epilogue also adds nothing - I wasn't entirely sure why it was there.

Also, minor thing - if you describe your female MC as short and curvy, don't put a smaller woman on your cover. What's the fucking point?

I know all this grumbling makes it sound like I didn't like this book - I did. It's easy to read and Will was a great and really well-rounded love interest. And I really appreciate that the female main character - being older and a virgin - wasn't treated like a joke. When she was intimate with the male MC, he asked one question and moved on. There was no weird veneer about her because she hadn't been physical with a guy and I really appreciated that. It's a breath of fresh air and something we really don't get to see in romance novels.

I sort of wish more time had been spent on Annie because she was giving real Mary Sue / Church Girl vibes for a while there, but it was nice to return to this world where nothing bad happens. Some of the writing and scenes were kind of cringey (the little league game was a step too far - there's funny and cute and then there's just stupid) - and the whole thing just lacked a bit of intrigue for me. All the moving parts were available. But it's like a badly made fruit pie. Horrifically sweet, but you'll probably eat it because it's there and it tastes like blueberries.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley to review.
This book is amazing! It is drfinrtly one for the introverts and the dreamers. I really enjoyed Annie and will story.
It was well crafted and had many funny lines.
I can't wait to read more from Sarah Adams!

The queen of clean romance is back with a new romance that is sweet, sexy, emotional and swoony!

Bodyguard Will Griffin has been protecting Amelia Rose for the last five years, and in the lead-up to her wedding to Noah, he's back in the small town of Rome, Kentucky, to make sure no fans or paparazzi get any ideas. But that also means Will is near one Annie Walker, the shy, quiet and gorgeous flower shop owner who happens to be Noah's sister.

Annie is awkward, she gets anxious, and her mind works a mile a minute, which all gets exacerbated when she adds dating into the mix. After a disastrous date, Amelia gets into the mix and meddles Will into agreeing to be Annies dating coach, and as you might imagine, things get better from there.

For one, there is Open Communication in this book, the friendship and relationship between Annie and Will. They are honest and open with each other, making their development much sweeter. Secondly, for a closed-door romance, Practice Makes Perfect is still sexy, swoony, and delicious. Finally, this is Sarah Adams we're talking about. Does the woman even know how to right a book that isn't wonderful?