Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams on May 2, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Women
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
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“It seems to me, Annie, that you are just waiting for someone to give you permission to be yourself out loud.”
Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match-someone who nicely compliments her happy, quiet life running her flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. Unfortunately, she worries her goal might be too far out of reach when she overhears her date saying she is “so unbelievably boring.” 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 become her tutor: Will Griffin. The flirtatious, tattooed, and absolutely gorgeous bodyguard–is temporarily back in Rome, providing security for Amelia Rose as excitement grows for her upcoming marriage to Noah Walker. He has one personal objective during his time in town: stay away from Annie Walker. But no sooner than he gets settled, Will soon finds himself not only breaking his rule, but tasked with far more than simply providing security. Will wants no part in changing the sweet and lovely Annie, but he can’t bring himself to say no to her request, so he officially agrees to teach her how to be the next leading lady of Rome, Kentucky, and find the love of her life-even if he doesn’t believe in love himself. Between faking a relationship so the meddling town doesn’t catch on to what’s really happening on their practice dates, and tutoring lessons that convince Annie to add passion to her list of must-haves in a mate, it doesn’t take long for the lines of their friendship to blur…
This was a very charming, fluffy and entertaining read. The relationship between Annie and Will is sort of a slow burn, without the ‘burn’ part, but there is also an instant attraction between them, which we are very aware of every time they talk or just see each other. I missed a more gradual progression and the excitement of ‘will they, won’t they’. I mean, obviously they will, since this a romance, but Annie’s “I only want to get married” and Will’s “I never want a relationship” didn’t carry any weight here.
I gave this novel a 3.5 star-rating. This was overall too fluffy for me. Annie supposedly had social anxiety, but that’s not seen anywhere in these pages. I just prefer my books with more spice and more confident women.