Merry DeLuca's best friend and her unrequited love Leo just married her sister. Her life is rapidly spiraling down the drain and she doesn’t have an escape plan.
So when Merry is offered a three-month holiday living in a romantic castle in the French countryside she leaps at the chance.
To her utter dismay arrives she finds Noah Wright—the best man at her sister’s wedding staying in her castle.
Noah refuses to leave the castle so they are stuck together in France, in a crumbling castle. They decide to set aside their animosity and strike a truce to cohabitate as friends for three-months, and go their separate ways never to see each other again.

Merry DeLuca is funny, offbeat and a big sister willing to do anything for her younger sister. Noah Wright, a famous travel documentarian, is gruff and surly until you get to know him. I loved both Merry and Noah, they were hilarious and had great chemistry. The food, scenery, and art were beautifully described, it felt visceral. My favorite character in the book was Louise, the lobster, his antics cracked me up. There's a hint of mystery that creates an interesting subplot. The romance felt a little rushed and I didn't like a few of the side characters. Overall its a faced pace rom-com with beautiful art and a hint of mystery. I listened to the audiobook and Kelsey Navarro Kelsey Navarro did a wonderful job with the narration.

Okay, I really enjoyed this one a lot!! So cute! So sweet! I loved getting to see the relationship between Merry and Noah unfold - who doesn’t love a good enemies to lovers story?! The French countryside landscape added a particularly romantic touch! I am absolutely already planning a trip to Annecy so that I can live my best, romantic fairytale life!

I went back and forth on whether or not I should give this one 5 stars, and ultimately I decided to go with 4. I can’t quite put my finger on it exactly, but I think maybe the pacing of things towards the end felt a little rushed. That being said, I would absolutely recommend this book! It reminded me of the movies 27 Dresses and Letters to Juliet, which are two of my favorites!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What do you get when a cucumber, a rat, a lobster & a ghost all live in a French chateau? A love story of course!

French Holiday by Sarah Ready was a 5 star read for me! This is a new to me author, but I will definitely be reading more of her work! This book was so good & really kept my interest. It was like if 27 Dresses & Emily in Paris had a baby! I especially loved the descriptions of France. It was descriptive enough for me to put myself there & feel its beauty, but not overwhelming & overly factual. The writing felt like contemporary women’s fiction in a few parts but read mostly like a rom-com which I really enjoyed! This book made me cry a little & laugh a lot & it was a fun & easy read. French Holiday is a slooow burn, with low angst. There is a whole chapter devoted to a great love scene that’s more tender than spicy, but all the BUILD UP to that moment just makes it 10x better!

I loved this book from the very beginning of Merry DeLuca dreading walking down that aisle. Merry was a great FMC & I was able to feel all the emotions of what she went though: from her “should I tell him?” friendship with Leo, to Angela always getting what she wanted, & Noah seeing right through her. I have never been in any of those positions but my heart hurt for her each step of the way & when it was time for Merry’s flight plan, I was ecstatic that she was finally getting a chance to have her magic! Merry was seen by other people in her life in a bit of a pitied way, so I am glad we get to see her open her mind more & grow - even if it was in a “cliched” fantastical way. Plus, her pure joy & delight for France & innocent willingness to “just go with it” made up many of the humorous parts of the book!

Noah was also a really good MMC. He’s exactly what you want from a love interest in a rom-com - slightly detached from his emotions, ultra focused on a niche thing (travel documentarian) that will inevitably work its way back into the plot somehow, & quick to put up road blocks with the FMC despite going along with her shenanigans. Noah was funny & clever & I appreciated how he adapted when it was time for him to open up. That aspect of his development worked because it made the book more mature. There was no third act breakup or miscommunication which I love! It’s definitely refreshing to have a hero who knows how to communicate!

What shocked me the most about this book is that I had an inkling of where it was going, so I was anticipating a happy family reunion - but I have to say I was utterly surprised (I won’t spoil anything!) when Angela made the phone call to Merry detailing the “terrible secret thing” about Noah. I really wasn’t expecting that at all so it just made me even MORE invested in the book! I feel like that turn came at such a great time & was able to move the story past just a budding romance into something more intriguing. We love a found family trope! I also thought the supporting characters were so amazing! I mean, Angela was meh but… they all made a great cast for the plot!

Overall, highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Merry needs an escape plan after her life starts becoming a series of unfortunate events. From quitting her job, parental issues, and watching her best friend/love of her life marry her sister. Yes, you read that last part right! She escapes to the French countryside for a much needed break only to find she won’t be spending her getaway alone.

This book was cute and had a lot of the classic and fun romcom tropes (enemies to lovers, one bed, etc.) but also had an underlying mystery subplot that helped move the story along. While I did enjoy the story, I found it was slightly confusing at times and had a bit too much “fluff” that could have been condensed so we could get to the good stuff quicker!

Overall, I thought this was a cute and fluffy romance that’s perfect for a beach read or while on a little getaway yourself!
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eArc in exchange for my honest opinion!

Merry decides to go to France after her sister marries the man she is in love with. She finds herself in a crumbling castle with Noah, a taciturn videographer. There is a bit of a mystery as Noah is trying to find a famous artist. A romance develops as expected.

"At the end of your life, it's not what you did that makes you happy, it's who you loved and who loved you."

French Holiday is an adorable, light and fluffy romance. Merry's life isn't quite going to plan, her job is becoming toxic, her parents aren't always the kindest to her and to make matters worse, her sister, Angela, is marrying Merry's best friend and the man she has been in love with for four years: Leo. Merry is a victim of unrequited love and everyone can tell, especially Leo's best friend Noah - who she ends up having a deep and meaningful conversation with at the wedding, despite the fact that they don't like each other very much. To run away from all the horrible things in her life, Merry quits her job and takes up an offer to go live in a Chateau in Annecy, France, to hopefully find inspiration and fun with a Frenchman in a vineyard while spinning around in a pretty dress. Until she arrives at the Chateau and things are not quite what they seem, and low and behold, Noah is staying there too.

The idea for this book is very sweet, it has beautiful themes and prose about love, in all of it's forms, and a captivating setting which makes you want to go to a Chateau and live out Merry's dream right alongside her. But aside from that, the story is quite cliche and doesn't quite have the right focus to really stand out. I think I may be biased because I live in France, but the stereotypical French characters in this story and simplistic ideas about what France is like kind of put me off a bit - the book is definitely better suited for an audience who hasn't been to France before and is enamored by the idea of it. I would've loved a bit more depth in the side characters and the descriptions to make the story feel a bit more realistic and authentic. The fact that the first man and woman Merry meets in France are immediately pegged as competitive love interests to the main characters own developing love story just felt a bit immature, unfortunately.

The plot also gets a little bit confused along the way. The back stories of the two main characters are quite good, Merry was treated less loved by her divorced parents than she deserved and Noah grew up without knowing his father so their connection really did feel genuine - although I think there may have been too much added drama to really absorb yourself in this story line. I really wish the plot had focused more on Noah and Merry, and how they could both help each other heal and develop a proper friendship rather than complicating it with all the other subplots happening in the background. I think a touch more refining of the plot would've made this really interesting and still could've included the gothic-esque themes, haunted mansion/murder mystery type vibe without it feeling as trivial as it did.

I did enjoy this as an easy to read, cutesy romance - it's a little bit silly and a slightly overdone idea but aside from a few things I didn't love it was really fun and there were some really humorous aspects to it too. The tropes include miscommunication and friends to lovers, which are both done moderately well and overall this a nice standard, middle range romcom with a happy ending. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Merry just watched the love of her life marry her sister, and to make matters worse, she slept with one of the groomsmen, Noah, who is also Merry's sworn enemy. After quitting her job, Merry creates an escape plan to stay at her godmother's French chateau to figure out her next step. However, it's not quite the romantic setting she imagined, with the chateau actually in shambles, and an unexpected chateau-mate in the shape of her one night-stand from the wedding.

The French Holiday has all of the classic romantic-comedy tropes (enemies-to-lovers and only one bed to name a few), but the descriptions of the French countryside makes them feel less cliche than usual. Noah's mysterious backstory, and his search for a missing painter, added a nice touch to the plot that made me want to keep reading. I did wish Merry and Noah's relationship would have been a bit more slow-burning, as it seemed slightly out of character for Merry to jump in as quickly as she did, but overall, it felt like the book form of a warm and cozy Hallmark movie.

Great book, from start to finish it had me turning the pages and investing in the storyline, one for the beach this summer

This has to be my favourite read of the year so far. It was fun, sweet, and kept a smile on my face the whole time.
If you like easy to read romances, the enemy's to lover troupe ( kind of) and the only one bed troupe, you'll definitely like this book!
I haven't read any other book by Sarah Ready but if they're all as delightful as French holiday I will definitely be reading them.
The main characters Merry and Noah are loveable and complex. Their character development is steady and believeable. There's nothing I hate more in a book then characters who start to grow and evolve just to end up 2 steps back. This didn't happen with Merry and Noah. Both characters continued to grow and really tried to understand the lessons they learnt.

The castle gave me the Heebie jeebies. Dust everywhere lumpy mysterious mattress. I am not as brave as Merry and Noah. Overall a super cute read with a little twist of gothic mystery. Although I didn't like Angela and Leo in the end. I was hoping for some redemption but they are just kind of garbage people.

This was such an adorable book and I am already looking for other titles by the author.

I love the idea of a "flight plan" and Merry was definitely due. Her mishaps with various creatures were super fun to read, and the little bit of mystery surrounding Noah was great.

I think this'll be a great book to recommend for a summer vacation read.

9/10

We jump right into things with Merry standing up as Maid of Honor at her younger sister's wedding. To Merry's best friend Leo. Who Merry is in love with. Yep. She then gets wasted with the best man, who she despises, and thinks maybe they hooked up. But she can't remember.

Then mix in the mess that's going down at Merry's job It's all too much, so she quits her job.

Her quirky aunt/(fairy) godmother sends her off to France for three months to house sit her chateau. She imagines herself meeting a fabulous French man and having a wild fing.

Imagine her surprise when, shortly after arriving at the chateau, she discovers Noah, said possible hook up best man, walking out of the chateau asking why she's there and claiming he is staying there.

There's a catch. This chateau is not the fabulous image her godmother portrayed. In fact, it needs a total rehab. And . . . it only has one bed, which she and Noah must share.

She's there to find herself. He's there to find his father. They decide to try to live in harmony and get along and stay out of each other's way. But things keep pushing them together. Their banter was fabulous. And I won't give away the ending, but I'm guessing you see where this is headed.

It was a fun read and I will be looking into more by this author.

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC and NetGalley for both an ALC and ARC in exchange for my honest review. I switched back and forth and found the audio to be amazing as well!

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆
Merry’s sister Angela is getting married and she’s thrilled for her, but not so much for herself. It’s not that Merry is still single but more that she’s spent the last four years in love with Leo, the man her sister is marrying. His best man Noah can see right through Merry though, and she hates it. But when Merry’s life goes from bad to worse, a chance to escape to the French countryside gets offered to her and she takes it with both hands. Just a pity her nemesis Noah seems to be staying at the chateau as well.

𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
This lovely story spends a lot of time musing on love, what it means and where it stacks up against pride. It considers love for your family, parents and siblings, friends and those you fall head over heels in love with. Love that spans decades, promising love on a bridge, in a turret. It’s also a sweet story about the importance of love being returned. It’s a cutie 🥰

Meredith DeLuca needs an escape plan. Her sister just married the man she loves aka her best friend. At their wedding, she sleeps with the best man who just so happens to be her nemesis. She quits her HR job and is now becoming a god mother to said sister and best friend. Yup, she needs an escape from reality. When her godmother offers her a French vacation she jumps on it. Little does she know, her enemy is also escaping to the same chateau in France.

Noah is guarded because he thinks she is in love with his best friend. Merry thinks he hates her. He thinks she is the most beautiful woman in the world. Both don’t feel worthy of love.

Merry has this sweet, innocent vibe about her and Noah comes off very mysterious. Once they find themselves stuck in another country together, the mystery and romance starts to unfold. Both are there for each other during their valleys and bring smiles to each others faces. The small bits of comedic relief are gold. Once the romance starts flowing, it can’t be shut off and it was very enjoyable to read!

I absolutely adore Sarah Ready! I’ve read quite a few of her books now, and she has become one of my favorite authors. And with that, this is probably one of my favorite of her books. It had all of the best tropes: enemy to lovers, forced proximity and then you throw in some mystery, twists, comedy, and unrequited love, and you have the perfect combination.

There was a scene with a lobster that had me laughing out loud. It also made me want to go to a French countryside and eat apple tarts. Overall, I really enjoyed this one and it’s definitely up there as a top favorite!

Thank you @netgalley for this ARC

I absolutely loved, LOVED French Holiday by Sarah Ready. I was hooked from the first page and physically could not put my phone down to stop. I normally watch a show while I eat no matter what, I read this while I had dinner. That’s saying something.

The chemistry, the romance not only between Merry and Noah but also with Pierre and Camille and Angela and Leo, the plot twists (the plot in general), the rats, cockroaches, and we can’t forget about the lobster.

Now I want to fly to France and live in a chateau.

If you like enemies to lover, one bed, forced proximity , romcoms and he falls first, hopefully you’ll enjoy this book as much as I did.

*Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this arc in return for a review*

I started reading this book....and I could NOT handle how much of a doormat Merry was. Everyone kept steamrolling over her and she just kept letting it happen!! I am in my era of loving bad ass female main characters and this book just did not do it for me.

Merry DeLuca has had enough! After her sister marries Merry's best friend and the only man she's ever loved and quits her job, Merry jumps at a chance to live in her godmother's French chateau. But when she gets there the last person she expects to see, Noah - best friends best man, her time away ends up looking different than she had initially planned.

Thank you NetGalley and Swiss & Lewis Publishing for allowing me to be an early reader!

What a fun, laugh out loud, heartwarming read! Although this book started out a bit slow, it picks up pace and unravels so well! If you like enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and a bit of a “mystery” in the plot, this is for you!

French Holiday by @sarahreadyauthor 🏰🥖

Pub date: April 26, 2023
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Merry has always lived under the shadow of her little sister. So when her sister marries her best friend and the man she loves, Merry needs to find a way out. She accepts her godmother’s offer to care for her château in France for the next 3 months. But Merry doesn't count on Noah, the despicable groomsman and best friend of the groom, also staying at the château. Merry will have to deal with Noah, in order to stay in France, break free and put herself in first place for the first time.

Can we take a minute to appreciate this cover. In my opinion the most beautiful cover I've ever seen.

This is the first time I've finished a book in one day, so that should say how good this one was. I loved the characters, the setting and the plot. If you think this is just an enemies to lovers you are wrong. You can also appreciate the family relationships of the characters, the internal struggles of both main characters and a plot twist you don't expect.

I had a great time reading this book, super light read that will fly by. I laughed out loud a few times… you know you’ll laugh when a 🐀 and a 🦞 are crucial parts of a book, right? 😅

Tropes:
Enemies to friends to lovers 💕
Forced proximity 👫
Slow burn 🔥
One bed 🛏️

Thank you @NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

After meeting Josh and Gemma, I was excited for another novel by Sarah Ready. I did find French Holiday to have a slow start, but the second half totally made up for that! Filled with wonderful characters, plot twists, and beautiful scenery, Sarah Ready has become one of my new favourite authors! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.