45 pages • 1 hour read
Sarah AdamsWhen in Rome: A Novel
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Genre Context: Contemporary Romance
When in Rome falls into the genre of contemporary romance. Although When in Rome deals with serious subjects, such as complicated family dynamics, grief, and loneliness, it is underpinned by lighthearted and comedic moments. It incorporates a key element of the contemporary romance genre: the happy ending. Its central plot line focuses on the main characters’ personal growth and the obstacles they must overcome to achieve their happy ending. As in When in Rome, most contemporary romance heroines and heroes are flawed; these narratives often show protagonists helping each other overcome not only external barriers to becoming romantically involved but also internal obstacles to personal growth to become better, happier people.
Just as contemporary romance novels rely on familiar narrative structures, they also feature classic tropes and archetypes, such as enemies-to-lovers relationships, marriage-of-convenience plotlines, and quaint settings. When in Rome uses many conventions typical of contemporary romance novels, including the opposites attract trope, in which two people who are nothing like one another must figure out how to navigate their lives so they fit together. Adams also utilizes the forced proximity trope, in which the romantic leads are confined to the same setting, forcing them to confront feelings that they’re trying to avoid. Small towns represent a classic setting found in numerous best-selling contemporary romance novels including Emily Henry’s Book Lovers, Ashley Poston’s The Dead Romantics, Abby Jimenez’s Part of Your World, and Tessa Bailey’s It Happened One Summer. Adams uses the small town setting of Rome, Kentucky to show the strengths and struggles of tight-knit communities and highlight the protagonist’s efforts to take time away from her professional persona and reconnect to her authentic self.
Series Context: When in Rome Series
As with many contemporary romance novels, Adams builds off the world established in When in Rome to create a series that further explores the novel’s characters and themes. The When in Rome series follows the lives of the Walker siblings, who grow up in Rome and must navigate adulthood and relationships in their small town. Building on the tight-knit community from the first novel, the series delves into the Walkers’ role in the Rome community as well as their struggles within it. As the first novel in the series covers Noah Walker’s romance with Amelia Rose, Practice Makes Perfect, the second novel in the series outlines the life of the youngest Walker, Annie, and her growing relationship with Amelia’s bodyguard, Will Griffin. These first two novels focus on a similar trope—the “opposites attract” relationship—and Practice Makes Perfect explores the conflict in the Walker siblings’ relationship with one another. The third novel of the series, Beg, Borrow, or Steal, will follow Emily Walker’s enemies-to-lovers relationship with a fellow elementary school teacher, and further explore Emily’s interest in romance novels that Adams introduces in Practice Makes Perfect. A future novel in the series is projected to cover the second youngest Walker sister, Madison Walker, and her desire to leave Rome, a contentious issue between her and her older sister Emily.
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By Sarah Adams
