by Sarah Adams
14 discussion topics
2026
⭐ 4.33
In Your Dreams is the fourth and final book in Sarah Adams’s beloved When in Rome series. It officially hit...
In Your Dreams is the fourth and final book in Sarah Adams’s beloved When in Rome series. It officially hit shelves in late December 2025/early January 2026, and it follows the youngest Walker sibling, Madison, in a classic “brother’s best friend” and “he falls first” romance.
The Plot
After a grueling and ego-bruising stint in the New York culinary scene, Madison Walker returns to her small hometown of Rome, Kentucky, feeling like a total failure. She’s desperate for a fresh start but terrified of letting her family know she couldn’t hack it in the big city.
Enter James Huxley, her brother Noah’s best friend and the owner of the local Huxley Farm. James has been harborning a secret, years-long crush on Madison, though she’s always viewed him as more of a steady, slightly annoying fixture in her life. To help her (and his own struggling farm), James offers Madison a dream job: becoming the head chef of a new farm-to-table restaurant he’s building in an old greenhouse on his property.
Key Tropes & Themes
- Brother’s Best Friend: James has played it safe for years, but Madison’s return forces him to decide if he’s finally ready to risk his friendship with Noah for a shot at her heart.
- He Falls First (and Hard): BookTok is particularly obsessed with James because he is the ultimate “cinnamon roll” hero—he literally builds a restaurant just to give Madison a reason to stay home.
- Forced Proximity: Launching a restaurant in record time means the two are constantly together, leading to high-tension bickering that eventually turns into mutual yearning.
- Healing & Growth: The story deals heavily with Madison overcoming the anxiety and trauma she faced in the professional culinary world.
Why it’s Buzzing
Since this is the final book in the series, there is a lot of “found family” nostalgia. Fans of the previous books (When in Rome, Practice Makes Perfect, and Beg, Borrow, or Steal) are excited to see the entire Walker clan reunited for one last wedding and a final goodbye to the town.
