This was VERY different from most romances.
Dual timelines with a now and then. The then is 40 years ago! So when he gets back to the now they are about 60 years old.
Honestly I can't believe I'm about to say this but.... For being a novella and a prequel/origin story there's far too much spice that doesn't really add to the story or help with the characters connection.
Insta-love is a big part of this. I loved the letters that was one of the sweetest parts.
I loved the dual pov. Loved the side characters/ friends.
Was sweet and heartbreaking all in one.

Thank you for this arc

A classic love story that will completely have you wrapped up in it!
Mary has been best friends with Leo for years. She finally gets to introduce her best friend to her sister Angela and what happens? They obviously fall in love at first sight and get married at a rapid pace.
Good ole godmother Aunt Juniper is always there to have Mary’s back though. When Juniper asks about Mary’s flight plan it sparks Mary’s imagination. Mary asks Juniper if she can stay at her French chateau that she recently bought. Well of course Juniper says yes!

Mary gets to the chateau and realizes Juniper rented it to arch nemesis, Noah. Noah is Leo’s best friend from college so naturally him and Mary loath each other.

As the classic love story, or gothic romance according to them, Mary and Noah fall for one another. Will they be able to make their French romance last?

Overall, I think this story has a really solid foundation. I liked the plot and thought it flowed well. The characters also have a good solid foundation but could’ve definitely used more. It you want a good easy read, you’ll really enjoy this book!

4.25 French holiday stars ! Merry's bff/long time secret crush Leo meets and quickly marries Merry's sister Angela. Merry had never let on how she felt about Leo. She's devastated, but has no choice but to appear happy for her sister. Not long after the wedding, Merry is offered a chance to stay at a French chateau for 3 months. She jumps at the chance but soon realizes the chateau is very small, needs a lot of repairs AND Leo's best man Noah is also staying at the chateau. Noah realizes that Merry has been in love with Leo & doesn't understand why she never said anything to him.

I love all the tropes: a far away location (France), frenemies to friends to lovers, force proximity.... The pacing is so perfect, there are so many fun and quirky incidents.
Noah is a little bit of an mystery at first. What's his deal? He's in France for work but seems to be content in using the chateau as a home base.
Kelsey Navarro narrates. I really enjoyed this and would love to relisten when I want to "get away" I'm happy that Merry finally catches a break & isn't entirely hapless.
I received the ALC through Netgalley. thank you!

Featuring ~ single 1st person POV, forced proximity, one bed, slow burn, enemies to lovers, slim steamage

Merry & Noah have never gotten along, but find themselves sharing a house and bed in France for 3 months.

I really enjoyed this one. I didn't find it to be over the top on the enemy front as they slowly started to get along and their friendship blossomed into more. Their chemistry and banter were pretty good. I wasn't too impressed with the side characters. I, especially, did not like sister, Angela, or Leo at the end there.

Josh and Gemma Make a Baby is still my favorite of Sarah's work, but I had a fun time with this one.

Narration:
Kelsey Navarro ~ 12 hours 2 minutes ~ a well seasoned narrator, even has fine male voices.

This is a good summer read or vacation read. It is an easy, somewhat predictable romance that reads like a chic flick. I was pleasantly surprised by the slight twists at the end that kept the story going longer than I had expected. It was overall a great story and one that kept my interest and was great to let my mind escape from everyday life for a bit.

The narrator was ok, some parts felt like more whining or sarcasm when reading.

Overall I loved the story and would recommend to anyone who wanted a good light-hearted romance.

Thank you NetGalley, publisher, and the author for the ARC of this book. I did really enjoy the story and loved most of the characters. There were a few things that seemed a little off or not fully explained, but maybe there will be another book to follow this ?

Another classic Sarah Ready novel that balances hilarity (like Louis the lobster) with real life hard stuff for her characters to deal with.

Merry and Noah were a great mix of frenemies to lovers and the book was engaging throughout. Though the twists were predictable, it didn't detract from the story at all.

Merry has been in love for many years with Leo, but has never told him. Enter Merry’s sister, who swoops in and takes him away. As Merry struggles to move on, she connects with Noah, Leo’s friend. While their connection is far from ideal, they begin a friendship that turns into more during their stay at a French castle. Merry and Noah share their family stories. their past and grow towards each other the more time they spend together.

This book was intriguing and highlights the struggles Noah and Merry went through during childhood and their young adult lives. I’d recommend this book for anyone looking to surpass a struggle.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for my review.

I read this book as an advance copy through NetGalley. French Holiday is a book about unrequited love, loss, heartbreak, and second chance love. IIt discusses how we love as children impact us as adults. I greatly enjoyed the characters, I found Merry delightful and Noah charming. I liked how Noah always seemed to stick to his morals and really stayed in character.. I love the tropes of one bed, grumpy/sunshine, and pride/prejudice vibes. I even enjoyed Angela, she felt like a very realistic depiction of a sister. The audiobook was enjoyable! The narrator did a good job bringing Merry to life through the audio. I also found the dialogue believable and I laughed out loud at several points.

I think this story struggled from having one too many plot lines. The first half of the book I felt that Merry was aimless and really wanted this large French adventure but then never left the chateau. Pierre as a love interest felt like a plot point, who I at first rooted for, but swiftly felt was tossed away for a more interesting secondary plot. The second half about the painting, murder, ghost? That was so interesting and I would have loved a book where this was the overarching plot from start to end. Since it was introduced halfway through, the conclusion came too quickly and was honestly underwhelming. ,

Overall I think this was an enjoyable listen! I give it a solid 3/5 stars

A romance audiobook. One that I enjoyed? No cringing or second hand embarrassment I had to endure? Oh yeah, baby. This audiobook brought me back to life!

This book somewhat reminded me of Christina Lauren's The Unhoneymooners for some reason? I mean I loved that book, so yay!

The audio was just *chef's kiss*, the narrators did such good jobs! The story was fun and entertaining, the blooming romance was perfect. The Main Characters were written beautifully as well. I haven't actually seen Sarah Ready's writing, but I've heard it - and I absolutely love it. This was my first SR book, and I can tell you right here right now, that it won't be my last!

I'll tell you another thing - that red-herring of a charming Frenchman did not fool me a single bit! Especially when the French Beauty came along. I could smell that story from miles away. And honestly? I would love to read their book as well.

I honestly don't know what else to say, so I'll summarise all my PLUS points in bullet points:
- narrators
- plot
- characters
- side characters
- the romance
- the writing
- EVERYTHING!

As soon as I see another Sarah Reading audio, I'm RUNNING towards it!

5 out of 5 lobsters and maybe an extra painting as well!

This was quite cute, however I found the story a bit disjointed at times, and the narrative a bit over done. However the writing is nice, the narration is good.

The story opens on Merry’s sisters wedding day, unfortunately for Merry the groom is the love of her life! So to get over him she gets under another guest. To further get over it we see Merry quitting her job, buggering off to a French mansion owned by her godmother and arriving there to discover it not only dilapidated but also occupied by Noah the man who was used for the getting under. And here comes the romance, funny in places, confusing in others and the ending was the best part.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift and Lewis publishing for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

SPOILERS

French holiday is a story about a girl (Merry) whose sister is marrying her best friend aka her first love. She’s the brides maid and absolutely hates the grooms best man (Noah). The wedding was the first chapter of the book so it doesn’t really focus on any of that but rather her and Noah’s relationship.

She decides to to France, as a form of escapism from her reality of having a terrible job, love life being horrible and the one man she truly loved was married to her sister.

I love how Merry was such a good sister, and her love for everyone else. Her character was so wholesome and she was very straight forward about things. She did over think slot but she definitely spoke her mind.

This book was meant to cover enemies to lovers however the enemies part cut very short and there was more friendship. I would definitely say it was enemies to friends to lovers. They were friends for a VERY long time before becoming lovers. the mmc was secretly pinning over her so was it really enemies to lovers? Also include forced proximity and one bed trope which I am a SUCKER for.

I loved the way France was described, it made me want to go visit myself. I was ready to book a one way ticket to see all the castles and soak in the scenery.

This book was also quite rom com and the most absurd and silliest things (Louis specifically) happening. also loved the plot twist and the scene with Noah and his dad, it made me shed a tear🥺

There was SO many things this book unpacked - specifically trauma they both faced as kids and growing up. Murder accusations and the whole mystery plot was a nice touch to the book. It didn’t just focus on their relationship but everything around them.

The discussion about love and everyone’s perspective and how their own life changed their meaning of love. That touch was really nice and I love a book with second couple, Pierre and Camille were just ADORABLE. It was kinda confusing how Camille went from flirting with Noah to Pierre unless she was trying to make him jealous.

The spice was very limited definitely closed but there was one scene that did talk about it however it was child like when I read it as if a 13 year old on wattpad was writing it and I did cringe. This book should’ve kept the spice more up to their imagination and let it be a romantic YA book.

This book was quite fast paced no tragic heartbreak. It was cute and soft.

I would rate it 2.5 out of 5 however I can’t so I rate it a 3.

the one bed trope felt too forced and the entire book feels so stretched, needed more french vibes considering the title

I was actually really impressed with this book. I was expecting a standard romance but this was so much more. It had a really good and interesting story along with great side stories and characters which makes the flow of the whole book really nice. The characters were all very good with great back stories. My favourite scene was the one with the lobster, hilarious! Definitely recommend.

I also had the audio version which was clear and well read and easy to listen to.

I loved the audio so much! it was good audio. I listen to many audios and I feel like the narrator did a good job showing emotions and made me feel like I was in the book visualizing everything that was said.

Merry is a very likable, relatable character who just wants to be loved. She has been in love with her friend, Leo, for their entire friendship…but now it’s too late. He is marrying her sister. The intro to this book reminded me so much of the class rom com movie, 27 Dresses!

Poor Merry decides to start over by accepting an offer to stay at a chateau in France for a few months. She has a plan to fall in love with a French man and live happily ever after. But, like in real life, happily ever after comes when and how you least expect it.

Merry’s blissful getaway is interrupted by Leo’s best friend, Noah, who is also staying at the chateau for his work. Parts of his story interested me while other parts dragged on or took away from the story.

Cute, quick, rom com. Check it out on its release date this week!

4.5 stars. This was a great romance with a little mystery thrown in. I always enjoy a good enemies to lovers and one bed trope. The narrator was great to listen to, even my husband who does not enjoy reading or audiobooks made a comment of how nice the narrators voice was. I loved the location, a french chateau with so many things going wrong. It was fast paced, easy to listen to, and had some great funny moments. This was my first book by this author, but I look forward to reading more of her books and listening to more books read by this narrator.

Solid rom-com with a compelling main character and similarly compelling love interest in a really fun setting.

I enjoyed this romance; it was easy to picture myself right along with the characters in a French castle. The setting was amazing, characters, perfect, and story line that made me want to keep on listening.

French Holiday is about Merry, who is in love with her best friend, Leo. But Leo is marrying her sister. Merry is doing what she always does, chokes down her feelings, and tries to make everyone else, especially her sister, happy. On her way down the aisle, the best man, Noah, tells her to smile and hide that she's in love with Leo. At first, she denies it but then heeds his advice. At the reception, she and Noah discuss unrequited love and end up talking to each other all night and drinking.
Merry wakes up the next morning naked next to a naked Noah with condoms all over the room. She quietly leaves the room and talks to her godmother, who tells her of the chateau in France that she bought. She tells her to go stay there and after leaving her job, she does. But Noah is there.
What ensues is a story of love, finding oneself, learning to accept what is given, and understanding.
I found the sister and Leo annoying, and they didn't have much depth or growth as characters. I did enjoy Merry and Noah. This book gripped me from the start, and I couldn't put it down. I definitely recommend this one!