Beg, Borrow, or Steal

I perhaps approached this third book in the When In Rome series with too high expectations. I adored the previous book Practice Makes Perfect (and liked the first book), but this story fell flat for me. 

The Gist: This is a small-town rivals to lovers story about two second grade teachers who have a rocky past and suddenly find themselves neighbours. They secretly have something in common, but they also have a whole lot they clash over. 

What worked: The insults Emily and Jack hurl at each other, reconnecting with the small-town neighbours and Jack. Ahhh, Jack. He was oh-so-swoony and hats off to the author for showing how sexy a man in glasses can be. 

What didn't work: Emily was a confusing character. Initially I connected with her anxiety and feelings of being misunderstood but for much of the book she came off as selfish, sometimes obnoxious and I didn't like how her whole love life was weirdly impacted by being dumped in high school. I skimmed the excessive inner dialogue.

This was just an okay read for me. It had an easy-breezy, bingeable quality to it but also felt longer than it had to be. I appreciate that mental health issues were raised, and the banter was solid, but it just didn't measure up to Practice Makes Perfect. 

My Rating: 3 stars

Author: Sarah Adams

Genre: Romance

Series: When in Rome 3

Type and Source: Hardcover from public library

Publisher: Delacorte Press

First Published: Jan 7, 2025

Read: Feb 16 - 17, 2025

Book Description from GoodReads: Two feuding second-grade teachers (and neighbors) find themselves teaming up in this rivals-to-lovers romance by the New York Times bestselling author of The Rule Book and Practice Makes Perfect.

Emily Walker hates having her carefully crafted world disrupted by anyone, most of all her legendary nemesis, Jack Bennett. He's the opposite of the wonderful heroes she dreams up in her double life as a romance writer, which is why Emily was perfectly happy when Jack left Rome, Kentucky, mid-school year, with his fiancée. The last thing Emily saw coming was Jack’s return at the start of the summer after calling off the wedding and ending his relationship, but he’s here to stay—as her colleague and her neighbor.

Jackson Bennett is glad to be back, eager to renovate his house and work on the next mystery novel under his bestselling pen name. But when he realizes he’s now neighbors with the one woman who has always pushed his buttons, he discovers something he’s even more excited for—thwarting Emily and her petty plans to sabotage his return.

With their chemistry-fueled animosity at an all-time high, Emily accidentally sends an email to their school’s principal that could reveal her secret literary side hustle. She needs to steal back her manuscript, and Jack—she hates to admit—is just the man to help her. Surprisingly, Jack agrees. Will their unlikely alliance put an end to their rivalry? Or could it lead to a steamy plot twist they never saw coming?