Practice Makes Perfect

4⭐

“I'm terrified to admit that holding her in my arms is the closest I've come to feeling truly happy in a very long time.”

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

“Seeing her bathed in light and surrounded by flowers from out here in the dark makes me feel like a man who slipped out of hell and is glimpsing heaven.”

This book brings us back to Rome, Kentucky and follows the story of the introvert and sweet Annie and Will, the strong and sexy bodyguard.

What you can find in this book:
- Dual POV
- Insta love
- Small town
- Fake dating

What I loved in the story:
- Small town and Stars Hollow vibes.
- The main and supporting characters were likeable and I was invested in their outcome. I loved all the scenes between Will and Annie.
- Despite being a bit of an insta love story, it was very well developed and I could feel their attraction evolving and their friendship growing into love.
- Lots of communication and personal healing for the MC. Will is just wonderful!

I feel the ending was a bit rushed. We see them taking a time apart, Will saying he is leaving and then staying with close to no explanations. Although we know Will's background and see him understanding its impact on his fears through his conversations with his brother and Mabel, we don't see the beginning of the healing. I would have liked to see an additional chapter from Will's POV, with him working on his problems, starting therapy and deciding to stay.

Cosy and lighthearted read for contemporary romance readers.

P.S - The Bonus epilogue was almost everything this book was missing! (I would still have liked to see some healing from William)

For some reason, I'm a person who tends to prefer the sequels over the first installments. I read this book back to back with When in Rome and found myself much more attached to Annie and Will than Amelia and Noah.
  Shy and introverted Annie has her heart set on finding her other half. Thanks to small-town talk, she begins to fear her quiet reputation has her out of luck in the dating department. She enlists her friend Amelia's bodyguard Will to help her come out of her shell. 

I'm not usually a fan of plots where the ‘good girl' has to become someone she isn't just to find ‘love' but it worked for me more here than usual. Will's personality has a great contrast with Annie's. They fit well together as the narrators. 

Like When in Rome, this book has quite a few references to Audrey Hepburn, albeit, not quite as many as the first. The film of focus this time around is Funny Face. If you've seen the film, you can see some of the similarities between Annie and Jo Stockton. I'm curious to see if this theme continues should the series go on. 

This was so cute. Annie is such a sweet girl with a soft heart, but has the desire for more burning inside.

Will is a hot tattooed body guard, or EPA, to Annie's sister-in-law. Amelia somehow convinced Annie and will to “practise date” each other. My oh my how we got ourselves a happy ending between these two.