Fun romantic escapist book! I really enjoyed this one

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this review copy

Rounded up from ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
🌶️🌶️

French Holiday is a cute, light read that would be perfect for a beach or pool. It transported me to Anncey, France (please Google photos, it’s a real and stunning place!) with its gorgeous descriptions of the scenery, town, and food. I want to go there now!

I really liked Noah and his brooding self (I love a brooding hero trope). I would happily live in a crumbling chateau with him and let him cook me food from scratch on a 19th century stove. I liked Merry better at the end of the book but did not enjoy the start when she is in love with her sister’s now-husband (her friend for years). She blossomed in France, and thank goodness for her zany godmother, Jupiter, for letting her stay at her property.

The book also features laugh-out-loud moments, including Louis the Lobster and slapstick comedy resulting in hasty exits or quick clean-ups.

I’d recommend it if you want a beach read, rom-com that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Much thanks to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:
♥️ Instant hate to lovers
♥️ Forced Proximity
♥️ French countryside setting
♥️ One Bed
♥️ Romance with a little mystery
♥️ Slow burn

Review:
This was such a witty, fun read! I enjoyed Merry and Noah's relationship, with its hostility and tension. I also thought the setting was perfect for this story. I wasn't expecting the mystery included in the storyline, but it was a wonderful addition!

I definitely recommend this!

The perfect sunny day read. This book will whisk you away to France, you will want to eat cheese and drink wine from the bottle as you fall in love with Merry. Not only did I laugh out loud while I read this but I stayed up reading long past my bedtime as I just had to know the ending. This book had it all, enemies to lovers, comedy and mystery. Definitely one to read this summer.

I absolutely adored this book!! Merry needs an "escape plan" so she takes her godmother's offer up on staying at her French chateau. What she didn't expect was for the chateau to be crumbling and her enemy to also be staying there. This book was more than just a romantic comedy. It had some very emotional moments and the slow burn romance was *chefs kiss*. I would definitely recommend this to all romance lovers!

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw the title was croissants LOL but worry not the book is not about croissants. The book follows Merry whose sister just married her best friend and the only man she's ever loved, So she escapes to a castle in the French countryside but alas it just doesn't drizzle but it rains when she finds Noah Wright who was the best man at her sister's wedding. This is a perfect cheesy read for lovers of enemies to lovers . Enjoyed it.

I know many readers will say there was plenty that of early predictable parts, but for me, there were a turns I didn't expect. For starters, what a delight to be introduced to Annecy. I had no idea about this part of France and would love to see it in real life. The storyline kept me engaged and I was enthralled throughout. A great summer read :)

Sarah Ready writes really fun romcoms. This one felt very reminiscent of the early to mid-2000s romcom films we know and love. (Think 27 Dresses)

I think the word to describe this book is fun. The characters were fun to read about. The setting was lively, and I laughed a lot reading this. It also has a lot of heart. There’s a subplot of unrequited vs. requited love and finding that against all odds and I really loved that.

It loses a star for me because the ~romantic scene~ was hard to completely skip because there was dialogue throughout. I skimmed as best I could, but I would prefer to be able to skip right over it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for a review!

This cover and synopsis had me fooled. I apologize but this isn't the book I signed up for.

Thoughts:
• I like cheesy and predictable romance but this was excruciating to read.
• 400+ pages is way too much for a chaotic cheesy romance with just extremely overbearing side characters.
• The storyline and plot were poorly executed which seems to be unrealistic.
•I was bored, bored all the time.
• While I enjoyed her previous works, this was a miss. And, even with the impressive French backdrop, it was not good enough to bring the whole premise striking.


Hence, a 2-star rating because I was not satisfied.

The whole time I was reading this book, I kept thinking the writing style seemed so familiar. Finally, when I added it to my Goodreads, that's when I realized the author also wrote one of my favorite reads of 2022 (Josh and Gemma make a Baby).

That being said, no matter how hard I tried to put it down I just couldn't help myself and I actually finished this book within a weekend! It was such a cheesy and cute read!

I loved the enemies to lovers dynamic between the two main characters and every one bed moment between them (although if I saw rats and cockroaches and.... well let's just say I wouldn't have stayed at the chateau as long as Noah and Merry did).

In the beginning, and several other times throughout the novel, I felt like the frustrated best friend and just wanted to grab Merry and shake some sense into her. Even still, flaws and all, she was the perfect character for this book.

I think the only thing I didn't like about this book was how fast the ending seemed to go and how much the relationship seemed to escalate once the ball started rolling. While it did a good job to parallel the beginning of the book, I just wasn't a fan of it. I also wish the mystery had been introduced a bit sooner or had more time for it. It felt like the mystery itself was just rushed out instead of having more time for the reader to mull it over. We're told the mystery and then basically told it no longer matters and then suddenly it matters again?

I love a cheesy romance as much as the next person, but this book was way too cheesy with WAY too much going on. Unrequited love, enemies to lovers, trip to France, rundown chateau, weird love interest with Pierre, Pierre and Camille's backstory, Noah's backstory, Noah trying to find his parents, Pierre's art exhibit, Leo and Angela's baby, Jupiter's love interest....etc. Like I said, WAY too much going on!

First of all, the random chapter about Merry's work at the beginning absolutely should have been edited out. That was way too tangential and unnecessary.

Next, all of the side plots and disjointed storyline took away from the actual point of the book: the trip to France and the budding relationship between Noah and Merry. Some of the interactions between Merry and other characters had me literally rolling my eyes or complaining to my partner about how unrealistic things were.

Some parts of this book had the potential to make this a really great read: the French setting, the lobster, the romantic castle. But the rest of the problems negated this strong points and left me with no choice but to give a 2 star rating.

I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The cover and the synopsis had me fooled! I thought I'd be getting a sweet, enemies-to-lovers, palate-cleansing romance with a gorgeous French backdrop.

I didn't think I'd be getting this overworked, campy, throw-spaghetti-and-see-what-sticks mishmash of a plot. There are so many annoying things about this that it's hard to know where to start. The only reason I gave this 2 stars is because it's technically readable.

This is in need of editing. Not the SPAG kind but the structural kind. It's about 100+ pages longer than it needs to be and that's because EVERY POSSIBLE THING THAT COULD GO WRONG HAPPENS. It's too much. If the only way to move the plot along is to constantly have characters interrupt each other or have life "comically" get in the way, there's probably something off with the plot.

The romance is obvious, on all fronts. The mystery was obvious -- and introduced WAY TOO LATE. As one reviewer said, Merry's narration reads like a diary. It's not a diary I want to read. She has some serious character flaws, which I would've loved if she addressed them in any meaningful way. Everything is very surface-level in this story.

And I'm sorry but if you have an allergy like Merry's, you don't just blindly eat food, particularly sweets. Believe me, I have a similar allergy and you just can't do that.

If overdone camp is your thing, have at this. Otherwise, steer clear.

what a pure delight this book was!! it was just so much fun to read. the characters were charming and full of heart. i adored this and will be adding it to my shelves so soon!! thank you so much netgalley!!

I love this story idea but in practice found the storyline too predictable for my taste. I ultimately did not finish this story. Thank you for the chance to review in exchange for an honest review.

Merry is devastated when her guy best friend whom she have feelings for years is now marrying her sister. Becoming a bridesmaid for their wedding is not easy to do, especially when her bridegroom is Noah Wright the guy she hates so much, and also her brother in law's childhood friend. As Merry want to escape life by going to French to live in the chateau that her godmother allows to live in for 3 month., where believes that she will have a lot of fun, to meet a sexy French man until she arrives and finds Noah Wright is there too.

- Enemy to lovers
- Force proximity (one bed)
- Communication is the key
- Likeable characters
- Family issues
- Grief
- Trauma
- Find comfort with each other

This book is so freaking fun to read, I couldn't put it down, and finish it less than a day. Merry who always believe she's a ugly duckling, and always hate herself did not realize h0w charming she was. I absolutely adores her character so much. Despite her low self-esteem, she still manages to be brave, and speak about her feelings, opened up about her trauma. Noah Wright is the same, charming, funny, serious and grumpy but as the story progress, he just socially awkward and fears of people finding out his secrets.

I love Noah and Merry relationship so much, Their chemistry and banter were insanely overflowing. I love how we goes from enemy to lover and slowly seeing them blossomed into friendship. I love seeing how we don't go straight to romantic stuff but instead both building their trust toward each other, jokes around like a normal friends. The romance is so sweet and straightforward. I love how both were honest with their feelings. There were a bunch of scenes that had me grinning from ear to ear, kicking the air and giggling as they were so funny and cute!

Not to mention, I love the writing style! The details description about French countryside is what making it atmospheric. The food, the scenery, and the art, I could imagine it clearly when I reading it! There's also a hint of mystery that creates an interesting subplot. The mystery is subplot is not what I expected honestly, I just thought it would be purely romance and cute, but it manages to tackles the emotional topics about family, the grief, moving on with life. The mystery is predictable, but how it execute is such a well done.

Overall, it was such an enjoyable read (coming from someone who is very picky about romance book), yess this one is so good. It will be a perfect vacation or summer read. Highly recommended!! Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy. Giving it 4.5 stars ⭐️

I adore Sarah Ready books. This book didn't quite hit the Josh and Jemma level, but I still couldn't put it down.

I can only imagine being forced to live in a one bed scenario in a French castle with two spicy characters!

This book was so fun.

This book is a story of Merry and Noah, they both arrive to stay in a rundown French chateau, thinking they’ll have some alone time!
Merry needs to escape life and also Noah, her new brother-in-law’s best friend!
The storyline is a slow burn to romance, lots of tension and at times, not quite believable goings on.
With Noah saving the day (more than once) and Merry realising that he’s not all bad-this love/hate relationship has plenty of charming moments!

Thanks to Swift and Lewis Publishing, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sarah Ready's enemies to lovers, romantic trip to France story was fun and difficult to put down. The characters were believable, easy to like, and easy to root for as the plot unfolds in enjoyable yet predictable ways. The setting is full of details that pull you into the story alongside the characters.
If you are a fan of this type of romantic trope, or you simply want to fly way on a French holiday full of fun, humor, triumph, and joy then rush out and read French Holiday now!

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for this dARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book takes the reader right to the French countryside with wonderful descriptions of the nature, town, and food, making me eager to pack my bags and leave for an adventure.

This enemies-to-lovers romance was cute and easy to read. Forced proximity with only one bed is always a bonus! I think the mystery around family secrets was a good extra and kept the plot going. But unfortunately, I did not enjoy it as much as I would like. I cannot point out a specific thing that bothered me. It is more of an overall feeling that it was a bit too boring in some places, too ridiculous in others (the lobster stuff was over the top), the side characters were not the greatest (especially her sister), and it had insta-love all over the place!

This book was an enemies to lovers, and it was perfect! Such a good rom-com with a hint of twists/mystery. Forced proximity, one bed. The spice level was low, but the book was a good slow burn.

Merry watches her younger sister get married to her 5 year long crush and best friend. It devastated merry. She takes a trip to stay in the chateau that her godmother had purchased. When she arrives, she is star struck by the beauty of the place and how marvelous it looks from the outside. Little does she know, she has an unwanted guest by the name of Noah; whom she hates.

Throughout the book you can see their hatred for each other grow into a friendship and from there it turns into a relationship.

I highly enjoyed this book and definitely would recommend!!