📚 forced proximity
📚 one bed
📚 enemies to lovers
📚 French castle

Spice 🌶️🌶️

|Synopsis|
Merry has decided to escape to a French castle in the hopes of forgetting the unrequited love she has for her best friend- who just married her sister. Unbeknownst to her, she will be sharing the space with the best man, whom she can’t stand.

"I’m in love with Noah. If he could read my heart, he would see his name written there”

|Thoughts|
Found this to be fast paced and intriguing. Enjoyed the additional mystery subplot and the tension between Noah & Merry.

The author does a great job at creating despicable characters. Her family are fairly self absorbed and fail to impart important information to her on a number of occasions. One of my only criticisms is that I felt it ended a bit too abruptly. But that’s also an indication that I was enjoying the story.

Worth a read if you’d like a light romance about strangers falling in love with some added hilarity thrown in.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchanged for my honest review.

Super cute enemies to lovers read, however, a little longer than it needed to be! Merry and Noah's relationship was adorable to follow but I honestly did NOT love some of the characters (Leo and Angela). Essentially a story around "lack of communication". I think if it just focused on Merry and Noah, I would rate it a 4/5.
I love the quirky parts of the story, the lobster LOL and the
"kitten". Overall a very easy and enjoyable read!

French Holiday by Sarah Ready tells the story of a young woman who engages her ‘flight plan’ to get over an unrequited love and instead finds herself while in the French countryside.

The story is adorable, heartwarming, and feel good. It has the addition of a light art mystery to the romance, creating an engaging plot. The cast of characters all added the story and there were no villains amongst them. The author also made the location a rich part of the novel. From the crumbing chateau to the picturesque city, I continuously found myself looking up the location that the story was set and made me want to book a trip to Annecy as soon as possible.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will be looking into what other novels the author has written. This novel is perfect for when you are looking for a light, fun read that will leave you happy and content.

Enemies to lovers are always a fun read. You know their going to end up together but the journey is always worth the read. The witty banter in this book, along with the added mystery and romance was a hit for me! I would recommend to my friends!

What do you do when the love of your life is marrying your sister? You take a French holiday for three months!

Meredith’s (Meri) life is falling apart. She has been in love with her best friend, Leo for years. Sadly, Leo is in love and marrying her sister. Her inability to profess her feelings to either her sister or Leo, leaves Meri to serve as the maid of honor alongside best man, Noah (her nemesis). The wedding proves to be the least of her worries. Her job in Human Resources requires her to layoff a significant number of her colleagues. Unable to continue working for a company she no longer respects, Meri resigns. With no love or job tying her down, Meri flees to France in hopes of starting over.

I am a fan of Sarah Ready. Having read two of her previous books (Josh and Gemma) I can safely say she is a go to author for me. Her writing is filled with tons of humor and heart. I was able to both read and listen to this book on audio and both versions had me laughing and tearing up!

This book features popular tropes such as:
Enemies-to-Lovers
Forced proximity
Roommates
Only one bed

*Unlike the other works I have read from Ready, this book is equal parts romance and mystery. It was fun to watch Meri fall in love and help Noah solve the mystery surrounding his family. The myster element was unexpected but a welcomed surprise!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing LLC for allowing me to read and listen to this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Can someone please find me a chateau in a small town in France where I can live for three months with my "enemy", fall in love and live happily ever after?

"If you could read my heart, you will see the place I have given you there."

I loved this book. Very rarely do I read books which have me up at night trying to finish and get to the next chapter. I usually am able to control my urge to stay up all night to finish a book. It was funny, it made me cry a little, and it was full of heart and emotions and the little mystery which emerged was unexpected but definitely appreciated and kept the book from getting dull or boring. The star of the show was Louis the Lobster; I was laughing out loud. I normally prefer books with dual POV because I want to know what the love interest in thinking and feeling but with this book, I didn't get bored by being inside Merry's head. The story wasn't just her journey, it was Noah's journey as well and that was written beautifully.

I recommend this book to everyone who's a romcom lover and a mystery lover.

A fun loving forced proximity/enemies to lovers romance.
What would you do if your sister marries the love of your life ?? And you're the maid of honour at the wedding, and the best man hates you ?
If my aunt owned a castle in France I would definitely be going there to escape...
I really enjoyed this one.

Thank you for this Sarah, I really enjoyed the growing relationship between Noah and Merry, the banter was cute. This romantic comedy is good for the soul.
And thank you for making me want to attack someone with a cucumber.

This book reminded me of The Spanish Love Deception because forced proximity, enemies to friends, friendship to lovers. I loved everything about this book and easy to read in one sitting, you just get so wrapped in the book and wanting to finish to find out if everything works out or not. I laughed, I cried, and I finished the book, worth the read!!

I wanted to like this, and the premise for the book sounded interesting. Three months in a French chateau? Oh god, PLEASE. That sounds right up my alley.

At first, I started with the audiobook, which was a mistake, seeing as I'm really not an audiobook person. That was a mistake (sue me for trying a new experience, okay?!). The beginning of the book totally hooked me and I was digging the initial premise...but the narrator's voice kind of grated on my nerves. It's like she sounded, I don't know...smug? But I think that comes a bit more from the fact that I'm unaccustomed to listening to books instead of narrating them in my own head.

So after a few hours of that, I switched to the ebook, thinking I would enjoy that better. Well...no. Somehow, the book lost my interest after Merry arrived in France, which is obviously the opposite of what was supposed to happen. The storyline with Noah was bugging me somewhat and things were feeling cliched, so I went ahead and looked at GR reviews to see what happens in the rest of the book. Seeing how the rest of the book plays out confirmed my decision that I did not care to continue. I have no doubt that lots of romcom fans will love this book, and I can somewhat see the appeal! But it was not for me.

Overall, I love this book. I love how everything unfold especially between Noah and Merry’s feelings for each other. I also love the mystery that was folded into the book, that was a good idea to make the book unique from most romance books.

Full Review: https://wp.me/p7zL11-1ZA

This was a hilarious rom-com and I laughed out loud so many times! The first night with just one bed! The vineyard sexy grape! The lobster dinner! And so many others!

Merry and Noah make an awesome 'enemies-to-lovers' couple. I was rooting for them the whole time. I loved how Merry stayed optimistic throughout everything and how Noah was always helping her despite their enmity.

The only thing I didn't really enjoy was the little gothic mystery plotline. I felt like the timeline and the back and forth was a little confusing. Despite this, I will still be adding French Holiday to my reread stack.

This was such a cute book! French Holiday was the definition of a rom com. The story was fast pasted, funny and sizzling with chemistry. It hooked me from the beginning and held me captive. I switched between reading and listening to the audiobook and loved the narration and accents. I’m happy to have found a new favorite author.

A fun, light-hearted book that was hard to put down. I loved the setting, the characters, and the entire plot! Thanks to NetGalley for the early read!

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Okay... I LOVED this book! I was absorbed by it! There were moments when I didn't want to put this book down because I wanted to know what happened!
I really liked the idea of Merry leaving her job when it because soul-sucking (because there is no other way to describe what happened there). It's a big thing in our current world and I like authors that use that to show people that it's okay to do what's right for yourself!
I immediately fell in love with out two main characters - Merry and Noah. Their banter is on point, their interactions hilarious, and the situations they find themselves in? Truly novel-worthy!
Toss in a rogue lobster, and you have yourself a hook reader over here!
I also like the addition of the background story for why Noah was at the chateau in France (oh, did I mention the book takes place in Annecy, France? No? Whoops, that's also a big selling point for me!)... Without revealing too much it was a great addition to the book that really ties our main characters and two side characters together into a unit!
Almost forgot! Add in a scheming (in a good way) godmother, and you've hit gold!
I really did enjoy this book and plan on adding it to my physical collection when it hits the stores!
100% a re-read book for me!

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Spice level: Low 🌶️

I love a good novel that uses humor, and this novel is no exception.

It starts with Merry (Meredith) is in love with her sisters fiancé, who happens to be her best friend. After her job goes up in flames, and she cannot stand her best friend and sister, she moves to France on whim.

There she runs into the man (Noah) that despises her that was in the bridal party. They have one bed, and make friends with some interesting critters along the way. It’s a journey for Noah finding a famous artist, and for Merry to fall in love with someone besides her sisters husband. Her imagination leads to Pierre, who ironically shows up.

There is sweet hilarious romance, a sprinkle of light spice, and naturally a HEA. I would recommend to anyone that likes lower spice romances, or anyone who wants to escape to the French countryside.

Favorite parts: The lobster, the “kitten”, the bridge (at the end,) laugh out loud moments, it’s super sweet.

What I didn’t like: her sister (what a brat, get your own red bike!) I hated her sister, I know you’re supposed to, but she irked me to infinity and beyond.

It’s no secret I’m a massive Sarah Ready fan but this might just be my favorite? Enemies to lovers, one bed, a bit of a mystery, and hood banter? Yeah this sounds like the perfect recipe for a killer story.

I immediately fell in love with Meredith. She’s fun, quirky, and just an absolute gem of a person. Her heartbreak and character growth was addicting to watch unfold. Noah is one of those characters that you just know is a big cinnamon roll under the layers of trauma and putting on a face. The tension throughout is amazing and had me on edge waiting for them to finally acknowledge their feelings. I was pleasantly surprised to see a bit of mystery going on in the last half but it added a great layer to the overall story.

This book is so good. I listened to the audiobook and then a few weeks later I was in the mood for a romcom, decided I needed to read it also. I adore Merry and Noah’s story. The supporting characters are just as loveable. This was a 5 star, feel good read.

The first 30% of the book was ok. I was interested and found the characters enjoyable and even though predictable, the story was amusing. The entertainment was short-lived though and suddenly I liked nothing.

DNF'd after 40%

This was a cute but predictable read. I still really liked it. I just wish the plot was a little more original.

I really enjoyed reading Merry and Noah’s story! This is by far my favorite Sarah Ready book! My heart was breaking for Merry when she has to watch her best friend and unrequited love marry her sister. And then having to be partnered with the one guy she can’t stand at the wedding. Imagine her surprise when she she decides to got to stay at her godmother’s place in France and finds the one guy she can’t stand staying at her godmother’s place…that’s right, Noah! This story was funny (hilarious, laugh out loud, at times), sweet, romantic, and emotional. Both characters had a lot of growth throughout the story and it was beautifully written. I can’t wait for more by this author!