Book Review: All Roads Lead To Rome By Sabrina Fedel

Picture this: the most Y/N summer in Rome, AKA a super romantic city that’s also rich with history. We’re imagining the plot of The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), but we now have another story to associate with Rome. Introducing Sabrina Fedel’s latest novel: All Roads Lead to Rome!

All Roads Lead to Rome follows a fake relationship between Scottish heartthrob Luca Kinnaird and Story Herriot, an introverted noncelebrity. Story would rather spend her last summer before college volunteering on a farm and finding new sights around the city (alone).

But Story and Luca’s fake relationship becomes complicated when real feelings start to appear. Juicy drama ensues, and we’re buckled in for this whirlwind romance! Here are three things we love about All Roads Lead to Rome by Sabrina Fedel.

Book Overview: All Roads Lead To Rome

Content Warnings: deceased parent, bullying and cyberbullying, mention of drug use and addiction

Summary: Introverted, slightly anxious Astoria “Story” Herriot knows everything about Rome—her mom’s an attorney here and the two of them are living la dolce vita… at least until Story’s off to college in the fall.

But when Story is in the wrong gelato shop at the right time, she’s swept up in a fake dating scheme with Scottish heartthrob, Luca Kinnaird, to protect his relationship with a pop princess. There’s something in it for her, too—Luca promises to help fund a scholarship in her dad’s memory. Soon she’s showing Luca the best cafés, sightseeing at the Mouth of Truth, and picnicking at the ruins of the Abbey of Santa Maria del Piano. Story’s travel guide skills are 10/10, but what she knows about being a celebrity—or having feelings for one? Zero.

Pretending to be Luca’s guide—then his girlfriend—gets the paparazzi’s attention . . . and what’s true and what’s fake gets blurry as their different worlds crash together. Sophisticated, hot, rich, and with the most charming accent ever, Luca is full of surprises. And maybe, too, is Story’s perfectly planned future.

It’s a fairy-tale romance in the Eternal City…will it have a fairy tale ending?

Rome >>> (Umm, Hello??)

Oh, to be living in Italy and showing beautiful sights to a charming boy for a summer. We loved the setting for this book because of just how many places and activities Story and Luca were able to visit and do. And it helps that Story knows all the places where tourists don’t think to go. Our main characters get to have such a Y/N summer, and the references are endless. Rome has been on our bucket list forever, but now we have even more inspiration, thanks to All Roads Lead to Rome!

It’s The Little Things

Being sucked into the world of celebrities and tabloids takes a lot out of Story. But we love those detailed moments between Story and Luca that show how much closer they’re getting. They pick up each other’s catchphrases and slang, which is so real. Luca accommodates Story’s diet when they go out to eat, and he’ll make sure their food is vegan and ethically sourced every time. He defends and protects her wherever and whenever things get out of control. These moments always make us sigh dreamily.

Story’s Character Development

But Story doesn’t always need protection! In the beginning, she struggles with standing up against her classmates who’d make fun of her for being plain or nerdy or not like them. She struggles standing up to the paparazzi and tabloids who look for any reason to bring her down. By the end, Story gains enough confidence in herself that she stands up to her bullies, the Princeton admissions team, and everyone else on social media who has unwanted opinions about her decisions. And we couldn’t be more proud of her.

All Roads Lead to Rome by Sabrina Fedel is officially out June 18th, and you can preorder a copy of it here!

What do you think of Sabrina Fedel’s All Roads Lead to Rome? Are you adding it to your summer TBR? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

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