Tag: romcom

Book Review: ‘When in Rome’ by Sarah Adams

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You know that feeling when you find a new book that will continue to be the book you re-read to get you out of a book slump?

When in Rome by Sarah Adams is that new book for me 💖

It’s been a hot minute since I last had a book that I just simply NEEDED to spend my whole Sunday reading. When in Rome had me hooked from the moment we open the first pages and Amelia is in her beat up car driving off into the middle of nowhere, in an effort to just escape the overwhelm that is her current celebrity life.

Amelia, or better known as Rose Ray, is a pop superstar with T-Swift levels of fame. Her singing career is at its peak but her wellbeing is not. Her relationship with her Manager is overbearing. Her mum only wants her to pay for extravagant trips around the world. Her dating and true friendships are basically non-existent because of the grinding life she leads.

Deciding that the only way to clear her head and get a little perspective, Amelia drives to Rome, Kentucky in an effort to loosely recreate her favourite Audrey Hepburn film, When in Rome (that’s Rome, Italy, but sadly her scheduling cannot allow for that plane flight).

15kms out of Rome, Kentucky, Amelia’s car decides that it’s had a good life and it’s ready to call it a day … right on Noah’s front lawn. That’s right, we have a good old grumpy X sunshine trope goin’ on and I was stocked about it!

Noah has returned back to his home town of Rome after a heartbreaking relationship that upended his life. He’s just starting to resettle into country life again. He’s opened and is running his family pie shop with the help of his sisters and is certainly NOT in the mood for romance. Noah immediately recognises Amelia and assumes she a spoilt, rich and stuck up superstar who expects to be treated like royalty. But that is certainly not the case. Amelia is reserved, shy and uncertain of the fame and stardom that is her current stressor. And this experience in Rome, and with Noah, could be just what she needs.

Their bickering, joking and heat is so well paced and I adored Noah for all his grumpiness! He’s the protector in his family, has emotional intelligence (at times) and ends up opening his world to Amelia + we have the addition of his sisters! Gosh I loved them! And it you want more of their stories, read Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams.

I do hope we see these small town characters again in future Sarah Adams’ novels because this was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5) star for me!

4 Books to Begin my 2024

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It’s been a hot minute since I’ve written a good ol’ fashioned bookish blog post! So here you are my friends – I’m going to fill you in on the 4 books I’ve already whipped through in 2024 📖

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren was the first book I completed in 2024. I zipped through this in about 3 days because it’s addictive plot line and characters were just divine. The True Love Experiment is about a US best selling romance author going on a reality dating tv show, much like ‘The Bachelorette’ or ‘Love at First Sight’ here in Australia. However, the set up for this reality show is that each guy introduced to our eligible bachelorette needs to be inspired by a romance novel trope, such as ‘the bad boy’, ‘the one that got away’, ‘the nerd’ etc. And of course, our beautiful, kind hearted producer (😉) can see this is a fabulous idea and will help make the tv network the money it needs for him to go back to producing animal documentaries. That is, until he also becomes incredibly invested in the show … and our main character. This book was laugh out loud funny, had great angst and hot moments, but also sweet and down to earth moments. I find Christina Lauren’s books a great palate cleanser ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5 stars)

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth was my next completed novel. Admittedly, I started this in December of 2023 but just didn’t get around to finishing it until the hustle and bustle of Christmas and New Year was over. This story follows 3 women as they’re thrown into an investigation of the foster home they all lived in as children. A child’s body has been found under the house in present day and all 3 woman are suspects as the police try to put the timeline together. The flashbacks of each woman’s perspective shed light on what actually took place in the house/at this time/who this child could be. Due to the manipulative, abusive and influential experiences all 3 girls had at that house, they consider themselves sisters and are determined to see the woman behind their abusive childhood found guilty. I enjoyed this book. I would say that I saw some of the ending coming but there were other parts that I didn’t! Overall, enjoyable and I would like to try more of Sally Hepworth’s books this year. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5 stars)

Weyward by Emilia Hart was picked up at the perfect time for me! I wanted the feel of magic/fantasy but didn’t want drudge through the whole world-building chapters, not understanding peoples roles and having no clue what peoples names are – you know? 🤣 So Weyward was more magical realism and I found it the perfect slice for my craving. Following 3 quite extended generations of Weyward women, all 3 are guided by their connection to nature, ability to intuitively speak with animals, and also grow their gifts. A strong plot line that I was not expecting in this book is domestic violence and intergenerational trauma. Each woman has either been exposed to and/or experienced domestic abuse, with the male figure being the perpetrator, first hand. This abuse is actually the start of their spark in magic as it is used as both a coping mechanism and also a form of protection or revenge. One woman is in the 1600’s and she is on trial for witchcraft. Another woman is in the 1950’s and she has lost her mother, has a poor relationship with her father and her cousin unexpectedly comes to stay following his time serving in the War. Another woman is in present day, and she is on the run from her husband after just finding out she’s pregnant. This novel certainly hits some cautionary points and has quite descriptive scenes at times. I didn’t find this a bad thing, if anything it made me more passionate about seeing these women through to then end. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/stars)

Love, Just in by Natalie Murray has been my fourth completed book and I just NEEDED to pick this up because, girl – is she getting some hype (totally worth it I might add)! Love, Just In is a friends to lovers but there is also some high school chasing and then present day heartache. Josie and Zac have been best friends since the moment they bonded over music in high school, but as the years went by, poor timing, dating other people and after Zac experiences a tragic accident, resulting in the loss of someone significant in his life, they’ve drifted. Zac fled Sydney 2 years ago following the tragic accident and since then, him and Josie have barely been in touch. Josie has been offered an opportunity to help progress her news reading/tv presenter career, and it just happens to be in the city Zac fled to – Newcastle. Instantly, their friendship is starting to mend but Josie is seeing Zac in a different light; an attractive light; a more than friends light; a HOT light. Zac & Josie’s story had perfectly timed reveals, angst, funny moments and tender heart moments. The perfect Sunday morning/afternoon read! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 stars)

How are you guys starting your 2024? New books? New hobbies underway? 🙈📖 Comment below 💭

Author Talks with Steph Vizard

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📸 2022 HarperCollins Banjo Prize Winner, Steph Vizard

Steph Vizard has burst onto the Australian romance writing scene with her debut & award winning novel, The Love Contact.

Steph has a wealth of experience in the Australian and international book industry. From studying Literature at Oxford University, to working in publishing in London, to now writing her own Australian story which has won the 2022 HarperCollins Banjo Prize. I think Steph is in for an absolute cracker of a writing career ⭐️

Welcome Steph, to Mel Reviews Her Books 💖

Steph, congratulations! A published novel AND the winner of HarperCollins Banjo Prize for Fiction! Can you share with us a little bit about your journey in applying for this book prize and what life as an author has been like since?

Thanks so much! I wrote The Love Contract during my maternity leave and then submitted it to the prize when I went back to work. The process for the Banjo Prize is that you submit the whole novel so I tried to have my manuscript in the best shape I could when I sent it off. A few months later, out of the blue, I got a call from HarperCollins to tell me that I’d won the prize and that the book was to be published. It was a truly magical moment!


Life as an author has been a whirlwind and an incredibly fun ride. There have been some massive highs – seeing the cover for the first time, holding the first real life copy, a book launch surrounded by my friends and family, doing an interview on live TV. That said, I had a 3-month-old baby when the book was published so that’s kept things very real! One of the best parts of being published has been meeting so many other talented Australian writers – it’s the most supportive gang of people!

The Love Contract had me hooked from the beginning! I absolutely adored Zoe and Hazel(nut). You’ve written the realities of motherhood in such an accurate light and formed it into a gripping plot line. Did you always know motherhood would be the leading theme in The Love Contract?

I’m so glad it had you hooked – I was so keen to write a book where the reader wants to keep turning the pages! I think when I started to write The Love Contract I knew that baby Hazel would be part of the story, as she’s the reason Zoe and Will are forced to spend so much time together. But I think it caught me a bit by surprise how much I had to say about motherhood. I think I was hungry for stories about women trying to do all the things, including career and parenting, that didn’t shy away from the really tough stuff but also showed the incredibly funny and joyous parts of parenting.

Will, what a sweetheart. With his stiff, business-like composure whenever the topic of work is discussed but then his carefree and loving nature with Hazel. He’s swoon worthy! How did the characters of Will, Zoe & Hazel come to you?

I love Will! He has a lot of qualities I find very attractive – he’s smart, acerbic and (secretly) very caring. I like that he’s a straight shooter and isn’t a people pleaser – which is a nice ballast to Zoe. I think he was inspired by people I’ve met who are incredibly brilliant at their jobs and work super hard but have never stopped to think about why they’ve chosen their particular path.

With Zoe, I really wanted to write a romantic comedy heroine who is pretty pulled together and trying to pull off the life she wants to lead – she’s just completely overwhelmed.

Honestly, I think Hazel was just inspired by how cute and funny and ridiculous babies can be!

Steph, what advice would you give to budding writers aiming to land a publishing deal or researching & applying for book prizes such as HarperCollins Banjo Prize for Fiction?

I think my main bit of advice is to go for it! With prizes it’s worth being organised as there are different deadlines and entry requirements to keep in mind. I think (and maybe this is incredibly obvious) it’s important to always submit the best version of your story that you can, and things like craft books, writing courses, writing podcast, early readers and manuscript assessments, can really help on this front. I also think that in our busy lives carving out the time to write is always a challenge, but if you can find a consistent, small parcel of time to write every day, the words will happen!

Steph, thank you so much for sharing your time with us on Author Talks & Instagram Live Saturday 13 January 🎥 

I wish you all the best and can guarantee that I’ll be pre-ordering your next novel!