Book Review: Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams

Whoa … this book may be the best book I have ever read this year. It ties very close with People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry … but oh my goodness, Sarah Adams is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

Synopsis:

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.

My Review:

Sarah Adams writes brilliant romances. That’s all I can say. I loved The Cheat Sheet, When In Rome, and now with Practice Makes Perfect, I’m completely in love with her writing. Will and Annie are probably my favorite book couple of all time. First of all, when I read the book’s description, I immediately knew I was going to relate to Annie, maybe a little too much. (I may have already bought overalls, LOL.) Annie is a shy flower shop owner with social anxiety who barely goes on dates and feels like she’s too boring for anyone. She is known as the wallflower amongst her sisters (and her brother, Noah Walker). But enter: Will Griffin, Amelia Rose’s (from When In Rome) bodyguard, who Annie finds herself attracted to. Will is this tattooed bodyguard (sorry, executive personal agent) with a lot of childhood trauma and a whole lotta walls up. He doesn’t want to let anyone in and does not want a relationship—but he can’t stay away from Annie and it seems that he’s slowly letting his walls down when he’s around her. Will and Annie aren’t the typical grumpy/sunshine couple, like we saw in the first book. Will is low key a cinnamon roll that’s hidden behind a tough exterior. He’s only grumpy when he’s around other people—but he’s a big softie when he’s around Annie. It’s almost like … he’s wrapped around Annie’s finger.

Now, Annie. Sweet Annie. I feel like I can relate to her. As a gal with social anxiety, and who has always felt like a wallflower and ignored and not felt good enough, it felt refreshing seeing that in a female main character romance novel. But what I really liked about the growth of Annie’s character was not that she realized her true feelings for Will (she absolutely did), but she realized what she truly wanted out of life didn’t match other people’s expectations of her. She started thinking for herself and checked back to what she wanted—and stopped pleasing others. She stopped fitting the mold that people cut out for her. She stopped making other people comfortable, and started doing things that made her happy.

Then there’s the love story blossoming between Will and Annie. First of all, the whole “practice dating” is GENIUS and I’ve hardly read that in a romance book before. (If you have any suggestions for books with that trope, please leave them in the comments!) Hence the “practice makes perfect” book title! I loved that Annie was so vulnerable in her anxiety around dating—I don’t see a lot of that in female main characters in romance books. And Will was so sweet. He made it sure that Annie was only nervous and lacking confidence, but she is a great human being with a shining personality.

Overall, there aren’t enough words to describe how I feel about this book. It is definitely in my top five books of the year so far, and honestly, in my top two. It’s very much tied with PWMOV by Emily Henry. I am quickly becoming a fan of Sarah Adams.

Rating: 5/5

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Notable Quotes:

“But the thing about quiet people is, we’re only quiet because our brains are so busy overthinking everything.” 

“It seems to me, Annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud.” 

“I am the quiet one in my family. The one with her nose always in a book because she prefers worlds where she doesn’t have to interact with other humans. It’s so much easier to read about relationships than to foster them. Less dangerous too.” 

Annie: “You’d do that for me?” 

Will: “I’m quickly learning I’d do anything for you.” 

“Annabel, I need you to know, I’ve fallen madly in love with you.” 

“But you don’t believe in love.” 

“It was easier to say I don’t believe in love, rather than admitting to myself that I was afraid I wouldn’t be loved back.” 

“Because she has a hold on me that I can’t figure out. Because her eyes do this sparkly thing when she’s excited and the light hits them just right. Because the curve of her bottom lip is perfect. Because I feel desperate to know what wild thing she’s going to say next anytime she’s around.” 

“Will Griffin is absolutely not the kind of man I need. Too bad he’s very quickly becoming the man I want.” 

“And then I called my brother, and as we talked, I realized that leaving this town without you was the scariest thought I’ve ever had. I need you in my life like I need air, Annie. You have wrecked me in the best way I could ever imagine, and I’ll never be the same. Never want to be the same. I love you.”