I’m a huge fan of Sarah Adams books, I think I’ve read pretty much all of her recent series but this one just felt deeper. Maybe because I already have a connection to the characters? I do love a series!

But for me the writing in this book just went that little bit deeper. The emotions were a little bit rawer and it all just felt more real than her other books.

Emily our FMC has been the caretaker of the family, the one who puts her feelings aside to care for everyone else and her battles to take something for herself hit hard. Her need to be strong and not show weakness but of course there’s one person who can see through all of that. Her arc nemesis Jackson.

Jack and Emily’s banter is top tier, I loved the email communications, and the way old emails tie in, building on their journey from rivals to friends to…..maybe more.

The background to both characters is perfect, enough to give me an emotional attachment to both, without going too in depth to loose the main storyline.

The pace is great, highs and lows to keep you engaged.

And a sneaky sneaky hint of a possible book 4 because let me tell you, Maddison and James are building to something! And side character giving MC energy to Mabel who deserves her own book, mainly for this quote!

“Good. Life can be a little shit sometimes. But shit also makes great fertilizer.”

The tea ☕️

⚔️- enemies to lovers
🏘️ - small town romance
🤭 - banter
🤫- secret identity
❤️‍🩹 - battles with mental health/grief
🏍️ - he has a motorbike
🐈 - she has a cat
🔥- slow burn
🌶️ - 1.5/5 spice

***warning - highlight quotes may give clues to spoilers***

—- Highlights ——

“I also don’t want to talk shit about him when he’s not present. Not because I’m protecting him, but because I’d rather do it to his face where he can react. It’s more fun that way.”

“I’m incapable of doing anything but stare. Gawk. Ogle. Dear lord. Heavens to Betsy. Good gracious. I am unwell. “

“I’m on the floor and a little drunk. I didn’t mean to get drunk. I was perfectly sober before I started drinking.”

“It doesn’t matter.” The wine I drank pours itself out of my eyes. “My life is over. O.E.V.E.R.”
“I’m glad you also know the super-secret way to spell ‘over,’ ” he says

“I tickle him and he flinches with a laugh. It stops me dead in my tracks. Are Jack and I playing? Yes. We are . . . and I love it. I’m scared of it—this joyous, reckless feeling—but I love it.”

“His eyes are invisible hands—I feel them everywhere they linger.”

“Sex for me has always been A + B = C. Meanwhile it seems Jack has been out there performing advanced algebra.”

“I’m in a pair of high-waisted jeans and a red-and-white floral top with cute little pearl buttons lining the front. Very impractical for a heist. But very cute. I regret nothing.”

“I’m chasing sensations and collecting them all in my pocket for later.”

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

“Good. Life can be a little shit sometimes. But shit also makes great fertilizer.”

“You think you’re unlovable, but I think I’ve never known how to love until knowing you.”

Competitive enemies-to-lovers? Yes please.

The perfect edition to the When in Rome series. Continuing with the small-town trope in Rome, Kentucky, as the story focuses on town sweetheart and typical sunshine character, Emily Walker, as her decade long nemesis returns to town.

Second-grade teachers who have a petty rivalry for a reason unbeknownst to them, Emily and Jackson’s story is both heart-warming and hilarious. I found myself highlighting like no tomorrow whilst reading this book so prepare yourself for the quotes.

Emily Walker is the loveable town sweetheart who would do anything for anyone. She’s fiercely independent, loves her routine and is the unofficial parent to all of her siblings. Emily thrives off being needed by the people around her yet feels a deep sense of loneliness after a high-school heartbreak.

A 10-year-long feud between herself and fellow teacher, Jack Bennett, comes to an end when he moves away to get married. However, in typical small-town fashion, the gossip mill works overtime, and Emily soon learns that her nemesis has returned to town. Unmarried. But why should that matter when they hate each other so strongly?

“It’s a sensation I felt but wasn’t able to explain. A wrongness. The feeling of he was there, and I was here, and it wasn’t supposed to be that way, even if we were enemies. We were always supposed to be near each other.”

After attempting to get the town to shun Jackson, Emily comes to the realisation that continuing to hate this eccentric, tattooed, candy-necklace wearing man isn’t so feasible when he’s just moved in next door.

Sarah Adam’s has this ability to make you feel the loneliness of Emily and the responsibility she feels to care for her siblings. How can she possibly have time for anything else when she’s so busy helping others? However, Emily has been keeping a secret as she pursues her own passion of writing. Yet, she is also unaware that Jackson has a secret of his own.

As the two begrudgingly find help and support in one another, it seems the deep-rooted hatred isn’t as necessary as they first believed.

This is potentially my favourite read of 2024. The sense of belonging, resolving trauma, and found family were so well written, you could almost feel the emotions of the characters. I have not a single complaint.

Favourite Quotes:

“it turns the Christmas lights on in my heart”

“I would walk through my worst memories to get to you every single time.”

“I don’t need anything from you other than for you to unlock the door for me so I can come lie with you when the darkness is too heavy to crawl out of”

“I may have lost the safe place I needed all these years, but I have found a far more incredible one for the years ahead.”

Thank you NetGalley and Headline Eternal for the arc in exchange for an honest review. And THANK YOU for granting my request wish and providing me with the chance to read what is most likely going to become my favourite book ever.

Firstly, can I just say how completely thrilled I was to be back in Rome, Kentucky? I am obsessed with this world.

If you thought you loved Noah.. if you thought you loved Will.. believe me when I tell you, you will be kicking your feet when you meet Jack. He is my favourite love interest from this series so far. He’s honest and thoughtful, smart, kind and caring. The banter between Emily and Jack will make you giggle and squeal. You’ll be begging these characters to just figure it out!

Now Emily. Emily is my favourite character that Sarah Adams has ever written!! She has so much depth. I related to her so deeply which I think just added so much more emotional impact to this story for me. She’s closed her heart off to love because she’s scared of being hurt. She’s the shoulder everyone cries on, the mothering kind, a natural care giver who doesn’t like to have to rely on the people around her, even her family. Until Jack opens her heart and makes her realise being vulnerable is okay if you’re with the right person. Someone who will meet you in your darkness when that’s what you need. Someone who will challenge you in every way and support all of your dreams.

I could keep going, but trust me you just have to experience it for yourself. I can guarantee you will be making notes and highlighting paragraphs on every. Single. Page. My kindle clippings for this book are off the charts.

For lovers of small town romance, workplace enemies to lovers, second chance romance, found family oh and a romantic little heist (fun!!!). Make sure to read When in Rome and Practice Makes Perfect before this one to get the absolute Sarah Adams experience.

Thank you so much NetGalley for making my arc dreams come true.

I absolutely knew that Beg, Borrow, or Steal would be my favourite Sarah Adams book to date. Sometimes in my experience, you find a book that just speaks to you- characters that you can really see yourself in. Characters that make you think "other people feel this way too?" Beg, Borrow, or Steal was one of those books for me. Both of the Characters Emily and Jack really spoke to me and although the book was silly and lighthearted at times, Sarah really gets to the root of grief (the poor Walker kids) and analyzes the different ways that people can respond to it.
Emily tries so hard to be perfect and keep everything the same- where she is holding everything together by a thread. Jack is a perpetual people pleaser and is constantly adapting to the moods and emotions of people are him. Watching the two of them fall in love despite all their baggage and grief felt incredibly authentic. For those of you who love the romance of it all- we had forced proximity, and rivals to lovers and their bickering I swear gave me life.

A book for all the older sisters out there. The Walker family are just the most beautiful people.
The third Rome book follows eldest sister Emily. She's the protector of her siblings, the strong one who always holds it together. She's spent years of her life putting on a brave front, pushing her own feelings down in order to be the support for them, so that she isn't quite sure of her identity when life starts pulling them away.
Enter Jack - long term nemesis who has just reappeared in Rome. Jack pushes her, and challenges, and Emily can give him her blunt, angry knee-jerk responses with no guilt. But perhaps he can also handle her sadness, and her loneliness and help her find the silver lining in every cloud.

The Rome books have been my favourites from Adams, and I didn't think anything could knock Annie off the top spot. But Emily just speaks to me in a way I didn't expect.

Thanks to NetGalley, Sarah Adams and Headline Books for granting my wish and giving me early access to Beg, Borrow, or Steal.

Thank you Netgallery for the opportunity to read a copy of this book.

This book really surprised me, was going into this book previously not reading anything from this author and I loved it.

Enemies to Lovers kinda vibes with Characters Emily and Jack. First I thought this story and relationship was so slow but thinking back this is the essence of the story seeing the relationship build and progress from enemies, friendship then to Love. It felt more real and realistic.

The story discussed some hard hitting topics and this was clearly outlined by the author at the beginning book of the chapters of potential triggers, which I really respected.

I would love to read more from this author throughly enjoyed reading this book. Thank you

I've read all the books in this series so far, and I have to say this is by far my favourite! I love visiting Rome, Kentucky and all its residents through these stories. It's a comfort series for me and I'm so happy that Emily's story was so much more than I ever could have hoped it would be.

The tension between Emily and Jack was perfect, I just loved all their bickering and needling, and there were so many moments that made me smile and kick my feet while reading - both motorbike scenes, I'll be thinking about for a while.

Emily's struggle as an older sister felt very real and relatable, and after getting to know her across all the books, I was so happy when she finally let Jack in to care for her.

I loved the teasing of Madison's story and I cannot wait to read it!!

I love this series! And this is probably my favorite.
I found Emily to be very relatable and
Jack was an amazing person who just wanted to help Emily anyway he could.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait for the last one in this series.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Headline Eternal for the opportunity to read this book early.

Effortlessly 4.5 stars—I devoured this book! Full review to come closer to the publication date, but if you're a fan of the first two books, this one is an essential read.!
Thank you to Headline for an arc in exchange for an honest review :)

4.5

This book was such a blast to read. I loved the banter, it had me quite literally snorting out loud, and the tension between Emily and Jack was palpable. The blocking scene was *muah* chef's kiss!

They defintely go out of their way to annoy each other, but I love that the book starts with Jack already coming to terms that he's head over heels for her, and we get to watch as Emily works through her own issues and slowly realises the same. They were so damn cute together! But there was still enough underlying tension to keep me on my toes. I felt terrible for what they have both gone through, but related too. Especially picking a career to be the person they wished they had when they were younger. And the eldest sister responsibilities and needing to feel needed was so real.

It had Sarah Adams' wonderful easy-to-read writing and I'm so happy to have found her again. I can't wait to (hopefully) read James and Maddie's story.

All I can say is that I LOVE THIS STORY!!! 💖 I am so grateful to @netgalley for approving my request for this e-ARC.

Emily and Jackson are definitely made for each other.
I thought Annie and Will were going to be my favourite couple in the series, but I think Emily and Jackson are now my favourite. 💖

There were so many relatable parts in this story (shame I couldn’t put the copy in my Kindle so no highlighting on this one, will have to wait til I get my physical copy next year) 😊 Edit: It was my own ignorance that I wasn't able to read this copy on my Kindle, I now have sent it to my Kindle. Definitely will go back to the parts that I really enjoyed.

I am not adding any spoilers in this review because I want everyone else to fall in love with this book as much as I did. 💖 I love how the characters were developed in the story! 💕
The story is very well written. Not a dull moment in the story.

Thank you, Sarah Adams for creating the Rome series. I am looking forward to Book 4! 💗

★★★★★

𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧…
💓 rivals to lovers
💌 forced proximity (neighbours)
💓 soulmates
💌 secret writers
💓 small town romance

𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨…
I was so so happy to be back in Rome! I absolutely LOVE the Walker family - When in Rome and Practice Makes Perfect are wonderful, and this is definitely up there with them! The found (/real) family & small town vibes just get better with every book 🙌🏼

Emily & Jackson are honestly perfect for each other 🫶🏼 Emily is a type A perfectionist (me 🙃) who carries the weight of the world on her shoulders, and Jack just wants to lift a little bit of it for her 🥹

They are so well matched, that they have been nemeses / perfect rivals for over a decade - and their quips and banter are 💯 Through everything, life always seems to throw them together… until they finally realise that everything they were looking for was right in front of them 🥹 (I’ve slapped a soulmates label on these two x)

Jack is truly perfect, don’t even get me started on his glasses & retro outfits & his fun tattoos 👀🔥 Also a man who is so competent that even I-do-everything-myself Emily feels like she can turn to him in a crisis? Sign 👏🏼 me 👏🏼 up 👏🏼

All of Sarah’s books feel like the biggest hug and this is no exception 🥹 I can’t wait to head back for the 4th & final book for Maddie & James’s story 🫶🏼

“you’re not alone emily i would walk through my worst memories to get to u every single time.”

we are soooo back .and when i tell you this’s because we are back in rome,kentucky and yes while i’m writing this review i’m already nostalgic because this book… oh sarah adams you absolutely ate and left no crumbs and am i surprised? no because this series the more it continues the more’s good and this book ate and left no crumbs!! sarah adams’s one of my favorites because her books are literally the definition of a warm blanket that envelops u and captures u with the best feelings!!

i honestly don’t know who i related to more both emily and jack were written for me and i truly needed to read about them to reflect better and understand certain things better because the power of sarah’s that she can write very lighthearted,lovely,emotional and funny romcoms while at the same time let u know that u’re not alone in what are u currently dealing with and well this book’s the perfect example.

emily oh emily i am like her but only child version ☺️ she’s the sister that’s always present for her family and not only she thinks about anyone before herself,she can be a bit of everything: charming,funny,bossy and i honestly admire her because she’s such an amazing woman.

jack well firstly he’s my type.i mean glasses ? nerdy ? teacher and also a very surprising one i would say!!
he’s the definition of sunshine character that becomes less sunshine with emily but that’s just because with emily he can be simply jack with no expectations and fears and honestly he deserves the world … like can we talk about he’s so supportive and caring at the same time? can we talk about the pancake scene with amelia? bc yes.

jack and emily rivals to lovers? idiots to lovers? friends to lovers? well i think we should ask about this to mabel the queen of this town and one of my favorites ever the way she talked about emily with jack stop 🤏🏻

least but not last the family found crumbs seeing all the couples together made me feel there with them smiling so badly because i couldn’t think of anything else better for each couple and least not last can we talk about the madison and james crumbs?? no because i absolutely need their book sooo badly u have no idea!!

and remember like mabel said : “life can be a little shit sometimes.but shit also makes great fertilizer."

a big thank you to netgalley, headline and sarah adams for sending me the e-arc of this book in exchange to my honest opinion

Sarah Adams has delivered yet another hit! Beg, Borrow, or Steal might just be my new favorite of all her works, which is saying something because I’m a huge fan of the Rome series, and I was completely hooked on Annie’s journey in Practice Makes Perfect. But this one? I’m officially obsessed!

I had sky-high expectations for this book, and the moment I got my hands on it, I think I downloaded it faster than anything before. And wow, did it deliver! I tried to savor every page since I didn’t want the experience to end, but even taking my time couldn’t make it last long enough. My only gripe? I can't believe it’s over—I need more of Jack and Emily's story, especially after that big reveal!

Speaking of Jack and Emily—these two are everything. Their chemistry is off the charts, and the enemies-to-lovers storyline is absolute perfection. The witty banter had me smiling and laughing out loud throughout. Their teasing and playful arguments gradually reveal an underlying connection, which adds a whole new layer of charm and warmth to the story.

And oh, Chapters 19 and 23? I’ll be thinking about those forever. This book is rom-com magic from start to finish. Do yourself a favor and read it ASAP—you’ll be missing out otherwise! I’m already counting down the days until I can hold the physical copy in my hands and add it to my bookshelf. I’m also getting that itch to reread it already!

Big thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and Sarah Adams for sending me this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Sarah Adams never fails tbh and this is another example of why she’s one of my auto-buy authors. Her books are always fleshed out that I’m never left wanting more as I’ve got the perfect story in my hands!! I love Emily and Jack, I love Rome, I love the glimpses into the family and friends in the town, I love everything about this. Enemies or rivals to lovers is one of the best tropes imo as the build up and the yearning is everything I need in a book. Jack and Emily perfectly encapsulated this!! I love both of them!! There’s a few heavier topics but Sarah makes it light and I felt all the feels (aka me crying throughout). I think Emily is a character that will really resonate with a lot of people, I know she did for me. I cannot wait for this to be released to the world as I have already been raving about it. One of my fave scenes was the manuscript scene, I think I probs squealed 😭

This was so cute and I loved every second of it

I love these characters, I love this series, I love Sarah's writing - this is truly a comfort series to me, every book feels like a warm hug

I loved going back to Rome and experiencing it with some new friends, and seeing all the regulars from the previous books too

I love that the main characters already knew eachother prior to the start of the book, it made the banter, arguing and chemistry between them so so good

I really enjoyed the mini snippets of flashbacks we got with emails between each other over the years, it was such a fun way to see how their friendship developed over the years

I love how supportive they were of each other and learned how to open up to each other despite their fears

There were so many scenes in this that had me screaming: the motorbike scenes, the 'let me help you block out this scene in your book' scene, the closet(!!!), all so good

- rivals to lovers
- small town
- neighbours
- both are secretly writers

Thank you to Headline Eternal for the eARC - all opinions are my own

Beg, Borrow or Steal is the third installment in When in Rome series. It was fun and quick to read, but somehow something was off. I don't know if it was me, but this time I couldn't connect with the characters. While I adored Amelia and Annie in the previous books, here I found Emily hard to connect with. Consequently, I couldn't feel the spark and the romance with Jackson. Plus, her decade-grudge with him was a little bit childish in my opinion.

All in all, it was an okay story but didn't blow me away like the other books.

Honestly Sarah Adams has done it again, I've really enjoyed being back in the small town of Rome, Kentucky.

Anything Sarah writes I will devour, this I read within 24hrs, I just couldn't put it down. This is rom com perfection.

What to expect:
Small town vibes
Childhood trauma
Strong sibling bonds
Authors
Rivals to lovers

I'm never not laughing at a Sarah Adams book but I'm also always nearly tearing up and crying at just how deeply you feel for the characters she writes. The rivals to lovers was perfection. The slow burn of their frenemy relationship, becoming something more to the both of them and having a connection like no other. The way they can be unapologetically themselves with each other, even the scary, not so good parts made my heart whole.

The banter as always was top tier reading and I was cackling away endlessly. This is an amazing book, and I'm so grateful I get to read it ahead of its release. You bet I'll be getting my hands on a physical copy as soon as it's out in the world.
I thought Will and Annie's story was my favourite but I think this one just tops it!

Get this in your tbr lists!

Thanks to the publisher, author and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you netgalley for granting my wish for this ARC
I loved this so much and it’s definitely my favourite of this series so far. Jack is an absolute doll and Emily is 100% me. There was a lot that I resonated with and I think this really lends into the eldest daughter life. I was honestly cracking up at Maddison’s “I just search the word…” in the document because same! Now hit me with Maddie and James’ story!

20% in and I’m already in love with Emily and Jack. After finishing the novel, I felt they were both part of me. They are both so relatable as well as likeable.

This is the first book I’ve read from the “When in Rome”- series and I am obsessed! It won’t be the last one from Sarah Adams. Have to buy the rest of the series asap plus the physical copy of this one. The book is so charming and sweet, I eat it up.
The way they acting out the sexy scene of her book!!! Best thing I’ve ever read. The way they bicker makes me giggling and kicking my feet.
I love the dual pov and the nemesis to lovers trope. You can absolutely read this one without knowing the first two books of the series.