If, like me, your comfort film is Roman Holiday starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, then When In Rome by Sarah Adams is bound to be one of your favorite romantic comedies of the year. Author of the delightful friends-to-lovers, The Cheat Sheet returns with another hilariously heartwarming romance bound to clench hearts in sheer joy.
Once Adams brings the characters colliding in a means of actively avoiding their feelings, When In Rome becomes impossible to put down. And despite how many romance novels I’ve read, at about forty or so pages remaining, I still couldn’t figure out how Adams would end the story, making it that much more unbearable (and extremely delightful at the curtain call).
The celebrity and normal person trope isn’t an easy one to master, but in the instances when it’s done right, however, like HBO’s Starstruck, it can hit like a pile of bricks while simultaneously feeling organic and believable. And part of the reason Noah Walker and Amelia “Rae” Rose’s story works is that it acknowledges all the odds against them in a fashion that doesn’t feel too on the nose.
Adams tells a relatively implausible story while focusing on a failed paradigm, such as Princess Ann and Joe Bradley’s unfortunate parting. If this were any other genre, I’d wager that When In Rome would go in the same direction. (Though, despite the heartbreaking ending, everything about films like Roman Holiday and Moulin Rouge still feel like an achingly beautiful romance. There are exceptions to the happy ending rule, I suppose.)
Additionally, while Adams is known for telling closed-door romances, she presents the longing and desires in such a satisfying manner that it often feels that much more intimate while reading. The quiet moments of vulnerability between Noah and Amelia made me want to walk straight into a freezer and cry there for a few hours. The second a storm enters the picture, it’s game over from there, and the book is bound to be aces.
When In Rome by Sarah Adams gets plenty right with hilarious banter and intriguing plot twists that add layers to the story and characters. It allows the characters to be messy, a little frustrating at times, and thoroughly surprising at some points. Further, while falling in love as quickly as they do could be jarring to some readers, Adams, like screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, brings forward the emotions straight from an indescribable place of one-of-a-kind longing. While some stories take longer to develop, love finds others much quicker, and in this situation, it’s effortless to feel like Noah and Amelia are meant to be.
In a nutshell, the book is an undoubtedly lovely homage to Roman Holiday. Sarah Adams clearly wanted to do right by the film’s beautiful legacy, and she does so pleasantly while making it entirely her own in a memorable way.
When in Rome by Sarah Adams is now available where books are sold.
Further Recommended Novels: Mixed Signals by B.K. Borison