Genre Fiction
![Sarah Adams - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B081451VPY.jpg)
Practice Makes Perfect: A Novel
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.
Editorial Reviews
"I want to stay in the pages of this book forever. . . . Whimsical and swoony with unmatched banter, you'll be rooting for Will and Annie from the very first page."-B. K. Borison, author of the Lovelight series
Readers Top Reviews
kathleen g
Amelia is about to marry Noah so her bodyguard Will has come with her to the small town of Rome, where Annie runs the flower shop. There aren't many eligible men in Rome so Annie who is considered boring by friends and others alike is in despair for her romantic life. So of course she decides Will should tutor her on how to be a good date. And Will, the rough looking guy has a heart of gold. This is trope-y as can be but it's a light fun read that should make you smile. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good one for a rainy day.
Holly
“I swear the sunlight hits this woman different than other people. It seeps into her skin, makes her glow.” 🥹 Once again Sarah Adams wrote such a magical book. It was wonderful to be back in Rome, in a silly town where everyone is in everyone’s business all the time. I knew it was going to be good and it was SO MUCH BETTER. I loved being able to see all of the Walker siblings again. They are so involved (maybe a little too involved) with each others lives. And I loved how much they were all in the book but it was still very much Annie’s story; they didn’t overtake the story. I LOVED seeing Noah and Amelia again. I cannot WAIT for Emily and Madison’s stories (I think I’ve got them figured out, or at least I’m hoping I’m right!) Annie and Will were the very classic good girl/bad guy trope, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract in every way. And it was PERFECT. Because they were both so soft. They were both holding onto their emotional baggage and just processing it in totally opposite ways. Which meant they were PERFECT for each other. All Will did was talk about how he didn’t believe in love but was constantly admiring anyone who did. It was sweet. He was so closed off, he didn’t think he could be loved, he never saw a real loving relationship growing up, so he never even tried. But there was something about Annie that opened him up in the scariest way. And it worked out SO WELL. And Annie…I love her so much. she is known as the town’s sweetheart and nothing else, she never allowed herself to be anything else. after her parents death she never wanted to rock the boat. So she bottled up all of her emotions and never let them out. And now here is Will, allowing her to feel her feelings out loud for the time and it is beautiful. They were SO GOOD together. They had such good communication. For someone that kept a lot to herself, Annie did such a good boy of keeping things real and honest with Will. And even though Will had a hard time communicating, he did a good job of showing Annie that he was struggling to share and to open up, and she did such a good job of supporting him. And they were FUN together. Will got Annie to get out of her comfort zone, which is exactly what she wanted! She stuck up for herself with her sisters which she never would have done before. I love them so much.
Megs- Sailing and Re
This book was everything I need and more. It was so sweet, tender, the banter, the lessons and mutual pining was everything. I love the dual POV and you could get into their heads (especially Will's). Like Annie, I am also in love with Will Griffin. Swoons. This was a fresh take on the bodyguard trope, where Annie was not the one that Will was guarding. My heart breaks for Will's past and everything he was running from. Annie, I was so happy when she stood up for herself and become confident in who she wanted to be. I love the side characters and seeing Noah and Amelia (When in Rome) and their wedding. I can't wait to dive back into Rome, KY on the next book.
Addie Yoder
I adore Sarah Adams. I have been a fan for ages and have been so happy to follow her journey from Indie to traditional publishing and to watch her grow as an author. This Rome series is the culmination of who she is, what she's learned and how confident Sarah is in what she wants to write. All of her books reflect her personality and the kind of books that we love to read. This story of Annie and Will starts out sweet and funny and perfect from page one. Anytime she calls him a pirate, I swoon. She thinks he is so much cooler than her and he thinks she is too good and the only way to make it work is to pretend. He helps her to get over her fears about dating and in the process has to confront his own fears about relationships. It's quirky and fun and cute and sweet and so melt your heart romantic. I love Sarah and will devour anything she writes.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Chapter One
Annie
I am convinced dating was created by an evil villain to torture humanity. Dramatic? Not in the least. 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 novocaine.
"Again, I'm so sorry about the beer," I say to the man sitting across from me.
"It's fine," he says in a clipped way that means it's absolutely not fine.
This is not going well. Not that it has ever gone well for me in the past, but this time it really isn't. I think turning a man off in the first ten minutes of a date is my new record. Because John, the man sitting across from me with a sopping-wet, beer-stained polo and khakis from the drink I accidentally knocked across the table onto his lap, looks ready to bolt. Can't blame him.
Why did I think I could do this? It's been years since I dated, and even back then I never liked it much. I'm a person who avoids attention at all costs. Who can't think of a single thing to say when a man sitting across from her is intently staring at her.
Again, I ask myself, Why are you here, Annie?!
Oh right. It was the brownie. Well, first it was the realization that even after opening the flower shop my mom had always dreamed of, the nagging something-is-missing feeling still pesters me. So I decided it's time to put a plan in motion to settle down with my perfect someone-because that's the only box left unchecked in my life. And since I've been drooling over John (the man my sisters and I always refer to as Hot Bank Teller), I thought he might be the perfect candidate for the job.
The job in question has very strict criteria based on the bursting-with-love marriage my parents had. One, he must live in town and have roots here in Rome, Kentucky; two, he must have a stable job; three, he must be kind and also be supportive of my career; and four, he must want a family.
Those are the only things that matter to me.
So the last time I went to the bank to deposit a check, I used up my Once-a-Year Extroverted Moment and asked him if he'd like to go out sometime. He miraculously said yes, and I spent the next week recuperating from the stress and anxiety I suffered in asking.
Anyway, when I proposed meeting somewhere a little outside of Rome to have fresh scenery (and keep our nosy, single-stoplight town out of my business), he suggested Peppercorn, a nice restaurant about thirty minutes away. And when I looked it up, Yelp said this place has an excellent giant brownie. It doesn't get better than that.
The dessert is literally the only reason I'm still sitting here on this painfully awkward date.
I wish I could text my sisters right now and ask them what to do. But that requires them actually knowing I'm on a date, which would open me up to the sort of attention I've been trying to avoid.
The very minute my sisters find out about my quest to find a husband-everyone else will know too. I would really hate to have Mabel (the woman who's like a grandma to me) attempt to set me up with every eligible bachelor she knows. So I'm keeping it a secret-like most things in my life.
The only reason I'm pushing through my terrible social anxiety now is because I'm fully confident that marriage is the Thing that's missing. I wish I could call my parents to get their opinion, but because they died when I was three, that will never be an option. So instead, I'm following in their footsteps. Happily married by the age of twenty-eight. That gives me just under a year to find the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.
Too bad I have to date first.
I smile up at John, hoping that's going to lessen his annoyance at wearing my drink. But I'm Annie Walker: shy, socially anxious, introvert extraordinaire who senses this man doesn't want to spend another second in my company. And that makes my smile feel like a wobbly grimace. I imagine it resembles a snarl. My nostrils might even be flaring.
I can't do this.
John clears his throat and tries his own attempt at a casual smile. Admittedly, his is better than mine. "So . . . what's it like owning a flower shop?" He sounds bored.
I want to unzip my skin and run my bones all the way to Mexico. My heart is racing, and this swanky restaurant is too loud. I don't belong here. My sisters, Madison and Emily, however, would love it.
"Annie?" John prompts again when I don't answer right away.
Right! Conversation. You can do this, An...
Annie
I am convinced dating was created by an evil villain to torture humanity. Dramatic? Not in the least. 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 novocaine.
"Again, I'm so sorry about the beer," I say to the man sitting across from me.
"It's fine," he says in a clipped way that means it's absolutely not fine.
This is not going well. Not that it has ever gone well for me in the past, but this time it really isn't. I think turning a man off in the first ten minutes of a date is my new record. Because John, the man sitting across from me with a sopping-wet, beer-stained polo and khakis from the drink I accidentally knocked across the table onto his lap, looks ready to bolt. Can't blame him.
Why did I think I could do this? It's been years since I dated, and even back then I never liked it much. I'm a person who avoids attention at all costs. Who can't think of a single thing to say when a man sitting across from her is intently staring at her.
Again, I ask myself, Why are you here, Annie?!
Oh right. It was the brownie. Well, first it was the realization that even after opening the flower shop my mom had always dreamed of, the nagging something-is-missing feeling still pesters me. So I decided it's time to put a plan in motion to settle down with my perfect someone-because that's the only box left unchecked in my life. And since I've been drooling over John (the man my sisters and I always refer to as Hot Bank Teller), I thought he might be the perfect candidate for the job.
The job in question has very strict criteria based on the bursting-with-love marriage my parents had. One, he must live in town and have roots here in Rome, Kentucky; two, he must have a stable job; three, he must be kind and also be supportive of my career; and four, he must want a family.
Those are the only things that matter to me.
So the last time I went to the bank to deposit a check, I used up my Once-a-Year Extroverted Moment and asked him if he'd like to go out sometime. He miraculously said yes, and I spent the next week recuperating from the stress and anxiety I suffered in asking.
Anyway, when I proposed meeting somewhere a little outside of Rome to have fresh scenery (and keep our nosy, single-stoplight town out of my business), he suggested Peppercorn, a nice restaurant about thirty minutes away. And when I looked it up, Yelp said this place has an excellent giant brownie. It doesn't get better than that.
The dessert is literally the only reason I'm still sitting here on this painfully awkward date.
I wish I could text my sisters right now and ask them what to do. But that requires them actually knowing I'm on a date, which would open me up to the sort of attention I've been trying to avoid.
The very minute my sisters find out about my quest to find a husband-everyone else will know too. I would really hate to have Mabel (the woman who's like a grandma to me) attempt to set me up with every eligible bachelor she knows. So I'm keeping it a secret-like most things in my life.
The only reason I'm pushing through my terrible social anxiety now is because I'm fully confident that marriage is the Thing that's missing. I wish I could call my parents to get their opinion, but because they died when I was three, that will never be an option. So instead, I'm following in their footsteps. Happily married by the age of twenty-eight. That gives me just under a year to find the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.
Too bad I have to date first.
I smile up at John, hoping that's going to lessen his annoyance at wearing my drink. But I'm Annie Walker: shy, socially anxious, introvert extraordinaire who senses this man doesn't want to spend another second in my company. And that makes my smile feel like a wobbly grimace. I imagine it resembles a snarl. My nostrils might even be flaring.
I can't do this.
John clears his throat and tries his own attempt at a casual smile. Admittedly, his is better than mine. "So . . . what's it like owning a flower shop?" He sounds bored.
I want to unzip my skin and run my bones all the way to Mexico. My heart is racing, and this swanky restaurant is too loud. I don't belong here. My sisters, Madison and Emily, however, would love it.
"Annie?" John prompts again when I don't answer right away.
Right! Conversation. You can do this, An...
