مقتطفات-

• From the cover Chapter One
  
  Emily
  
  I don’t care who you are, when you live in a town the size of your thumb, if you don’t like the way your hair turns out at the salon, you stuff it deep down and never acknowledge it.
  
  And that’s exactly why I prefer to take matters into my own hands and not allow circumstances to ever reach that point. I tend to speak my mind, and have it bite me in the ass too often, so I know if I tell Virginia that I hate my hair after this appointment, she’ll never forget it. By noon, she’ll have told everyone in our zero-­stoplight town that I’m her pickiest, most unappeasable client. The roasting and poking will start immediately, and by five-­thirty when I go to The Diner, someone will pop up out of nowhere and say, Are you sure that booth is good enough for you or would you like the one we reserve for the queen?
  
  And it won’t stop there. From that day on, they’ll put a plaque on the table that reads Table Reserved for Queen Emily, and nothing I do or say will get them to remove it.
  
  And if it seems like I’m overreacting, please know this is the very same town that started a petition last year, complete with smear campaign, to encourage my youngest sister (who was twenty-­six years old at the time, mind you) to stop dating Will Griffin because they thought she was too good for him. He won them over in the end (Annie + Will forever), but the petition with the final tallies is framed and hanging in The Diner alongside the picture of Dolly Parton posing with the town. And I do mean the majority of the town. They heard she had stopped in for lunch while passing through, and one person called another who called their cousin who called their best friend who called their aunt’s boyfriend, and they all showed up for one huge group photo.
  
  Moral of the story: Never underestimate what the town of Rome, Kentucky, is capable of.
  
  The smell of bleach singes the insides of my nostrils as Virginia—­one of only three stylists in the area—­combines the powder lightener with the creamy developer right beside my face. She’s mixing that stuff so slowly a baby could do it faster, but I keep this thought to myself by picturing the terrifying treasure chest I’ve created in my mind where I lock up all my most antagonistic thoughts. It’s made of black steel and has sharp metal prongs all over it. The thing is deadly and made for keeping the peace in my day-­to-­day life.
  
  “Well—­I don’t like to gossip,” Virginia begins, weighing in on the conversation beside us that Hannah (the other stylist) and her client, Shirley, are having about the reason our packages have all been delivered late this week. Shirley has been the receptionist at the elementary school where I teach for over twenty-­five years. She eats gossip like multivitamins.
  
  Virginia continues, “But I did happen to see a certain someone leaving Brad’s house the other morning.”
  
  Brad is our mailman, if it wasn’t obvious.
  
  Everyone other than me in the salon gasps. I’m too busy staring at the bowl of lightener that’s not going to mix itself as Virginia lazily sways it in front of my face. The sassy grin aimed at the other ladies tells me she has no intention of putting any sort of hustle into my highlighting process.
  
  “You don’t mean . . . ?” Hannah taunts, pausing with scissors in one hand, and in the other, a thin section of Shirley’s white hair, held at a ninety-­degree...

المراجعات-

• 

  November 11, 2024
  Feuding second-grade teachers learn they make a great team in this cute rivals-to-lovers romance, the third in Adams’s When in Rome series (after Practice Makes Perfect). Sharp, witty, and often abrupt, Emily Walker is known and loved by the locals of Rome, Ky., who feel partly responsible for her after the early deaths of her parents and grandparents left her to raise her four younger siblings. When the bane of Emily’s existence, people-pleasing Jack Bennett, a rival from her college days, moves in next door and takes a job at the school where Emily works, she’s furious. Jack has come to Rome to heal from both a broken engagement and a traumatic childhood spent in the shadow of his narcissistic father, a famous author. He and Emily butt heads—until aspiring romance author Emily accidentally emails her super spicy manuscript to the school’s conservative principal and Jack, who has his own secret, pseudonymous publishing career, steps in to help manage the crisis. Readers will love watching this couple grow together as they realize their animosity veils powerful attraction and Jack breaks down Emily’s emotional armor. Folksy locals and plenty of comic misunderstandings add to the fun. This charms.

• 

  November 11, 2024
  This action-packed rom-com from Wilkens (If I Stopped Haunting You) follows archaeologist besties Louise Morganstern and Isadora “Isi” Ross. Isi’s Cherokee mother, an archaeologist herself, disappeared somewhere in the mountains of Georgia while Isi was in college, and is presumed dead—but Isi still has questions. Though her lifelong friendship with Louise has been rocky for the past few years—in part due to the fact that they’re both repressing feelings for each other—the pair are brought back together by the discovery of Isi’s mother’s journal. The diary may lead them to the truth about her whereabouts—and to the lost Cherokee gold she was looking for. But a group of ruthless treasure hunters are also on the trail and kidnap the women hoping for intel. Isi and Louise manage to escape but now must follow the journal’s cryptic clues with limited supplies and pursuers hot on their heels. The lovely and often steamy friends-to-lovers arc that unfolds in the midst of this danger is only marred by how long it takes the heroines to own up to their emotions. The adventure story, meanwhile, rivets, with well-earned nods to Indiana Jones and respectful treatment of Native culture and tradition. Readers won’t want to put this down. Agent: Rebecca Podos, Rees Literary.

• Brittany Pressley and Nelson Hobbs entertain listeners with this amusing rivals-to-lovers contemporary romance. Emily Walker begins fuming when her archnemesis, Jack Bennett, moves back to town and becomes her new neighbor. Despite the petty scheming to ruin each other, they soon realize they have secrets that could bring them closer together. Pressley's upbeat, expressive performance captures Emily's vulnerability at losing her parents and her conflict over her feelings toward Jack. Hobbs's soothing tone and warm timbre complement Jack's calm, supportive demeanor as he overcomes his own family drama and discovers his love for Emily. Both narrators seamlessly deliver banter and intimate emotional conversations. Duet-style email exchanges make this an even more immersive listen. J.J.M. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine

معلومات العنوان+

• Publisher

  Books on Tape

• OverDrive Listen

  تاريخ الإصدار:

معلومات الحقوق الرقمية+