Beg, Borrow, or Steal

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. (Jan.)