Initially I liked this book at the start, but then it started to really drag. Candice is living in the UK to find herself as she was born there and escape her husband who’s gotten her best friend pregnant. Then there’s Alexis, an author, and when he joined the story it slowed right down. The story had a lot of predictable elements in it, and thankfully it started to speed up a bit again in the last 15%.

DNFed - I chose to DNF this book in the past. I am typing as a review so it doesn't harm my %. I haven't chose to pick the title back up.

It's interesting this book is marketed as "ideal for fans of Emily Henry" when this book is almost identical

This book felt a lot like beach read by Emily Henry and I loved that book. While I enjoyed reading a different story with a similar theme it felt a little too close for me to fully enjoy it.

Couldn’t really get into this one. The premise and communication between our characters didn’t click with me.

I had high hopes for this book after reading the blurb, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Despite my efforts, I struggled to connect with the characters, which made it hard for me to stay engaged with the story. The concept had potential, but without that emotional connection, the overall experience felt flat. There were issues regarding consent in the storyline as well, so this book gets a big NO from me.

Loved the get shit done, reevaluate your life and make the necessary changes vibe from our main character. This had some really funny parts and was super relatable. I did find the male lead to be a bit over the top grumpy which made it hard to like him and want to root for their love story. Otherwise, this was a great, quick, and fun read!

Perfect holiday read...really enjoyed the characters and the flow to the story. I had the book finished in two days which is nothing short of a miracle for me!

3.75 stars. I liked this, it was a cute summery read, the back story for the fmc was pretty solid and made me interested to know what happened. My problem lay with the mmc, well both of them. I didn’t find either of them likeable truly and found I wasn’t rooting for either of them and was quite disinterested in them both. This meant I couldn’t completely connect with the story. That being said I’m glad I read it and did like the book enough to recommend it.

I normally love a cute little romance - especially when it has a bookish element, but i really struggled with this one :(

I found that it was way too close to the plot of Beach Read by Emily Henry and that is also one of the only EH books that i didnt enoy the cahracters needed a bit more fleshing out as i coulnt relate to them or connect with them which then meant i couldnt get invested in their romance. I was close to a DNF but wanted to get to the end.

In this blog post, I reviewed Taylor Cole’s Holiday Read. This romantic suspense debut will make you laugh out loud in stitches. Candice is a romance-fanatic waitress at Demigorgons, and a surfing instructor in Newquay. Off from a split from her abusive husband Joseph in Hawaii, she needed a clean break and a fresh start. And that’s when she and her best friend Mikayala meet Alexis, a patron who spends time on his computer. This inttested her at first. He asked her about romance novels, since he’s planning to write one, and then wrote his main female character loosely based on her without her permission. This turned her off until she met his literary agent, Daniel Burns. Sparks fly between them, when Alexis asked her to co-write his novel with him, getting romantic ideas from her. She agreed and helped him plot his novel for many vigorous days. For inspirational scenic location ideas, she spent more time with Daniel than Alexis did with her. And this inspired her to write her own romance novel. Other than finding her long-long biological father, she found romance and her own happy ending.


This loveswept romcom was beautifully written for a debut. It brought out the laughter and a devoted friendship between Candice and Makayla. I cared for Candice, who longed to find out who she was, and to find her own place to call home. Mayala, her bestie, was a hoot. I loved the chanted scenic locations of Newquay, England.. The dual themes of the story is to let your heart guide you to follow your dreams, and to find your sense of belonging.


I rated this enchanted romcom novel, five stars. If you love heartfelt and laugh-out-loud romcoms with hilarious drama and nonstop romantic action, Holiday Read would have you hooked on the first page. This book is recommended for fans who love Hallmark romcoms, Emily Henry, and Jill Shalvis.
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Lovely idea for a story and I adored the surfing background, however the central relationship didn't hold my interest over the course of the novel unfortunately.

I was drawn to this book as I am sucker for a cartoon cover on s slightly spicy rom-com. I think this book wasn’t marketed correctly and a blatant rip off of Emily henry cover.

While I liked the setting; who doesn’t love the idea of a Cornish seaside romp! Additionally, there was lovely description of surfing that really had for a moment. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get past the misogyny of the MMC and the blurred lines around consent. That is an immediate hard no from me and unfortunately a DNF.

Maybe with a reworked cover and new marketing direction this work could find a more appreciative audience; that’s not me unfortunately.

A perfect escapist read! I loved the characters and the premise of this book and was rooting for them all the way.
Would definitely recommend for a summer read

I didn’t get into this book.
Most of the characters bugged me. Candice does stand up for herself, finally, but I could t connect with her.
I thought Alexis was a jerk and Daniel the secondary jerk.
We won’t even mention Joseph.
This book just didn’t work for me.

Not at all what I thought it would be. I was thinking this would be a great book with a bit of an Emily Henry vibe but it wasn't.

It would take a lot more than effort to finish this book. I couldn't get past the snobbery in this and I tediously managed to reach 26% before deciding that this is not for me.

Given Alexis’ attitude toward romance books that he’s ironically trying to write, I think this is how he would have written one - dry.

And I refuse to feel sorry for not wanting to waste my time on this further.

Still, my thanks to Aria & Aries, NetGalley and the author for my copy. All opinions are honest and my own.

I wanted to like Holiday Read more than I did. The pacing felt slower than I would have preferred, and I get that the switch from Alexis to Daniel was the plot twist, but I just didn't find a romance with either of them especially convincing. I liked the premise, but the execution just didn't work for me.

Set in the beautiful location of Newquay this book really did have holiday reading vibes. I liked all the main characters, especially Makayla (would love a spin off based on her!) with the exception of Alexis. He was quite awful but I mean that as a compliment to the author as I imagine this is exactly how she wanted him to come across. I did feel like there was a lot going on in terms of sideplots. Candice’s bereavement, husband issues, writing a book with Alexis, finding her dad, trying to build a business, her relationship with Daniel and her finding her place in the world. It was quite a bit for one person to handle! Nevertheless I really did enjoy the book and would reread again in future.

Blurb:
The ultimate sexy and escapist rom com for book and beach lovers. Will delight fans of Emily Henry and Josie Silver. When romance-fanatic Candice meets writer Alexis, she thinks her happy ending is finally on its way. He walks into her struggling Cornish surf school, and they hit it off straight away. Until she discovers that Alexis has been using their courtship as inspiration for the romantic novel he's struggling to write. When Alexis offers to bring her in on the deal if Candice helps him deliver a winning book to his publisher, she accepts, and along with Alexis' agent Daniel, they embark on a very unusual summer of love, as Candice tries to teach the men the recipe for a successful romance. But you can't have a great love story, without a great romantic hero. Will Candice find hers before the summer is over?

My thoughts:
After reading the blurb I was really looking forward to reading it but it definitely fell flat for me. I tried to get through it. I couldn't connect to the characters at all and I think that was my biggest problem.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.



Many thanks to NetGalley and Aria&Aries for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.