kentucky holday

Amelia Rose needed a break. She had been promoting her latest album and getting ready for her upcoming tour until she couldn’t think any more. She was burned out and shut down and she needed to get away. So with a little help from her favorite actor, Audrey Hepburn, she pointed her car to the nearest Rome to get a holiday. But she didn’t get far before her car broke down. Sitting in the front yard of a stranger, with no cell phone reception, she’s not sure what to do.

Noah Walker looks out at the woman sitting in the car in his front yard, and he’s not sure what to do. She won’t get out of the car. He’s tried talking to her, and she’ll respond, so she’s okay. But she won’t let him help her. He decides to call Mabel to act as a character witness, so maybe he can get this woman out of her car. He hands his phone over to the woman and lets Mabel do her magic. Amelia agrees to get out of the car, and that’s when he realizes who she is. The woman whose car broke down in his front yard is pop star Rae Rose.

They can’t do anything about her car until the next morning, so he invites her to stay the night in his guest room. But Noah calls the local auto shop to get her car towed in and fixed. He makes her pancakes for breakfast, and her use his landline, so she can call her manager and let her know what happened. But Amelia refuses to go back to Nashville, needing some time to clear her head. Her manager isn’t happy with her, but there are still a couple of weeks before Amelia needs to pack up for the tour. She agrees to let Amelia have her time there, but she is clearly not happy about it.

Noah tries to find another place for Amelia to stay, but there is nothing available, so he agrees to let Amelia stay in his guest room. And as the weeks go by, and Amelia meets more of the residents of Rome, Kentucky, she falls in love with the small town. Noah has three sisters who take her out, and she has a great time, until she falls asleep on them. She tries to make Noah’s pancakes and nearly burns down his house. And when they start flirting with each other, the sparks fly fast and hot.

But Amelia is leaving soon, and Noah is still recovering from the last big city woman who broke his heart, so neither are looking for a relationship. But will they be able to convince their hearts of that, or will their feelings override their best intentions at protecting their hearts?

When in Rome is a sweet rom com about finding the ones who really care about you in a world filled with selfish people. It celebrates the simple, small town life and the love of family while letting these characters be true to who they are.

I listened to When in Rome on audio, and narrators Karissa Vacker and Andrew Eiden brought the heat and the snark to their character’s voices. I thought Vacker did a particularly good job making Amelia strong yet vulnerable, and Eiden got Noah’s protective vibe just right.

I loved the sweetness of When in Rome, and while there were moments verging on too much, I thought it was well balanced and so much fun. I did have some skepticism about Amelia’s tour and how it all fell into place with her being out of town, but I was willing to suspend my disbelief because I liked this story so, so much.

Egalleys for When in Rome were provided by Dell through NetGalley, with many thanks, but I bought the audio myself through Chirp Books.