When in Rome (Marina Adair) Books in Order

When in Rome moves Marina Adair into coastal Rhode Island and gives her a setting that feels breezy on the surface and emotionally full underneath. Rome is a small seaside town where people know each other, family history is hard to escape, and love tends to arrive when the characters are already overloaded with other responsibilities. The books have rom-com sparkle, but they are grounded in caregiving, grief, and the practical mess of building a life.

The first book, ROMeANTICALLY Challenged, starts with Annie trying to outrun a humiliating failed engagement and landing in Rome, Rhode Island instead of Rome, Italy. That tells you a lot about the series right away. It likes comic setups, but it does not stop there. Annie's story with Emmitt brings in single-parent complications, family strain, and the question of what a made family can look like. Hopeless Romantic keeps that emotional depth while focusing on Beckett Hayes and Levi Rhodes, two people who have spent years putting family first.

The joke in the title is real, but the feelings are too.

One of the best things about this series is how it treats responsibility. Beckett cares for her autistic brother and advocates for special-needs support in town. Levi has put his own dreams on hold for years because other people needed him. Emmitt is trying to reconnect with his daughter. These are not characters floating through cute situations with nothing at stake. They are adults who have been useful to everyone else for a long time, and the romance asks whether they are allowed to want something for themselves, too.

Rome itself helps sell that idea. It is coastal, a little quirky, and intimate enough that running into the wrong person at the wrong time is practically guaranteed. The sea, the marina, the cabins, and the close community all give the books a lived-in feel without making the town precious.

If you want Marina Adair at her funniest and most tender at the same time, When in Rome is a strong pick. It gives you banter, awkward proximity, and big romantic payoff, but it also makes room for the quiet question underneath many of her best books, how do you make space for love when the rest of your life is already spoken for?