Thank you NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the ALC!

What a delightful and charming read. Merry has bene in love with Leo for years... however, Leo is marrying her sister, Angela. Merry needs to escape her unrequited love and the hardships of love, so in steps Jupiter, her godmother, who offers Merry a chance to stay at her French chateau. Merry happily accepts this opportunity for a three month stay in the French countryside and a summer of MAGIC! Only to discover, her arch nemesis, Noah, a famous travel blogger and Leo's best friend, is also staying at the chateau.

This book was so fun. Who doesn't love an enemies to friends to lovers with some forced proximity in the French countryside? I absolutely love the progression of Noah and Merry's relationship. I also loved the setup and setting of this whole story. The little town was absolutely adorable, and the side characters were great as well. This book also had some hilarious moments. The crumpling chateau, Louie the Lobster... I loved it! The narrator was also absolutely phenomenal.

My only compliant was that the romance did take a backseat at times due to a subplot that was introduced near the middle of the book. I wouldn't have an issue with it had it been introduced earlier in the book, but it was so late in the book that it felt weird to have it introduced then.

I'm not gonna lie, I thought about DNFing this book a few times...I even stopped listening to the audiobook and jumped to other books in between because, I honestly felt bored 😕 I also wasn't a big fan of the narrator either so...😒 also, the book could have been shorter by 15 to 20 chapters! And why did we have to listen to her ramblings about A BŁØØDÝ LOBSTER?!! A stupid fight that took nearly A WHOLE FREAKING CHAPTER!!! 😤😤😤

Noah was the only, truly likable character in my opinion. I also was curious to see the mystery of his mother's disappearance and the one of the chateau unfold, even if I had figured it out pretty much since the start. He was amazing and so filled with emotions, compassion and a heavy load of pain he kept buried deep down that nobody knew about 💔

- "It feels almost like he's d!ed which, in a way, I guess he has. Because the man I built up never actually existed..."

Merry annoyed me beyond belief 😤🤦🏻‍♀️ she was hyper fixated on making her "best friend" notice her. A guy who'd proposed to her sister after only one night! A guy who compared the sisters as if it was some kind of competition, saying her sister was better 😤 the same guy who tried to make a move on her after a fight with said sister, and then told her the most painful words no woman should ever have to hear! "You never needed anything, you're easy." I was BOILING at that point!!! But she thought close to nothing of it and brushed it off 🤦🏻‍♀️

But that's not all, because our dear FMC was also EXTREMELY judgmental, and jumped to conclusions out of the blue, making no effort to learn the truth! 😒 she also despised Camille from the moment they first met without even getting to know her, all because the latter was apparently "the epitome of beauty and grace" and she felt insecure 😑

This was such a great book to listen too. I loved Kelsey Navarro who narrated this book. I found it to be a quick listen and had some really good laugh out loud moments. I loved Merry and Noah! If you looking for a really cute and sweet book, I would highly recommend you read this or listen to the eBook. I hope to read or listen to more of Sarah Ready's books.

Thank you NetGalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing LLC for allowing me to listen to this in advanced for my honest opinion.

3.5/5
This was my first Sarah Ready book and it was a fun and easy read. It included many of my favourite tropes such as forced proximity and hate to love. it has a great setting, I loved the description of the Château. I would 100% recommend this book to fans of The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren.
Pros:
- A good portrayal of a older sister.
- great tropes- brother in law's best friend, holiday romance, forced proximity, hate to love.
- setting- I loved the imagery and aesthetic of the Château.
- narrator- Kelsey Navarro brings the character to life.
cons:
- a possible problematic use of the word schizophrenic.
- merry- doesn't really stand out as a main character (very cookie cutter rom-com personality).
- miscommunication trope.
- advertised as an enemies to lovers but was more of a hate to love.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for giving me the chance to read and give my honest review of French Holiday!

Unrequited love, enemies to lovers, and a French holiday in a crumbling castle. Merry’s friend and the love of her life is getting married…to her sister. She is trying to get beyond this fact and to trust herself in love. She goes on holiday to France and discovers she is not the only one staying in the castle. A classic enemies to lovers story with some mystery thrown in. A great read! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

Sarah Ready delivers a wonderful book about unrequited love that is beautifully descriptive and a well executed novel. With the cute cover and blurb I was expecting a lighter romance. That doesn’t mean that this is a heavy read, it’s not. This book is women’s fiction and romance as the main characters have more to deal with than a typical romance. The story begins with Merry DeLuca watching as her sister marries her (Merry’s) best friend and the man she has been in love with for five years. Her godmother offers her the chance to go live in France at a castle she owns and Merry accepts.

As Merry arrives for her three month planed holiday she finds the castle is unexpectedly dilapidated. Worse than that, Noah Wright the best man from her sisters wedding, is also at the castle. He is a famous for his travel show and has paid to stay at the castle while doing research. At the wedding he recognized the love that she has for the groom and called her on her feelings. Settling in for a forced proximity romance, with one bedroom I was surprised there is more to the story. Noah has his own background and unrequited love. And together these two are wonderful as they set out to be friends and maybe more.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the village, the food, the neighbors and even the lobster. Of course a mystery about a famous artist is right up my alley as well. One of my fantasies is to live in France for several months so that just added to the appeal of the story. I want to stroll with the characters over the lover’s bridge, eat picnics at the vineyard and live on baguettes. Merry’s past treatment by her mother and sister add to my concern for her and made it more rewarding when she moves forward in her life. I’ve not read the author before but I will absolutely be checking out her catalog of books.

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for the ARC in exchange for a review. (4.5 Stars)

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for advanced access to the audiobook of French Holiday by Sarah Ready in exchange for an honest review.

CW: death of a parent, cancer, pregnancy, ableism, infidelity

Merry just watched her best friend marry her sister. She is devastated. She's been in love with him for years, but after meeting her sister, a whirlwind romance and engagement happened, and now he's off limits forever. Knowing that she's having a hard time and needs an escape, Merry's godmother offers her a vacation at her castle in the French countryside. Unbeknownst to Merry, the castle has been abandoned and is unfinished, rat infested, and currently being inhabited by a snobby travel writer, Noah. Begrudgingly, Merry and Noah decide to share the space. As time goes on, they begin a tentative friendship and find a mystery to occupy their time.

This was a pretty average romance. It's low spice, and the setting is a strong character throughout the narrative. Personally, I thought it was too long for the story that it was trying to tell. I also thought there were one too many plot points, which definitely contributed to that length. I think it was important to connect these two characters over their shared experience of unrequited love, but I think the after-marriage inclusion of Merry's sister and brother-in-law wasn't truly necessary to propel the plot or character development.

Amazing, I didn't stop smiling and laughing with this book, Merry DeLuca is funny, poetic, a romantic at heart and the narrator was able to reflect all that with her voice
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The magic of being in France and those enchanted places, the flavors described by the author with the voice of whoever was experiencing them left me wanting to live an adventure in France after experiencing it through the book
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at first it reminded me a lot of the movie 27 dresses and the relationship between the protagonist and her sister and then eat pray and love but with a touch of fun and more full of romance
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I really enjoyed the story and the company of Mary's voice throughout her journey, even when I imagined that plot twist that was to come
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Grumpy sunshine, Enemies to Lovers, just one bed, forced proximity⁣⁣, crazy family dinamics and a beautiful chateau about to fall apart, are some elements of this beautiful story of a woman who tries to break the cycle and fall in love with herself instead of keep an unrequited love. Beautifull narrated by Kelsey Navarro
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Thanks to Sarah Ready and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC, for give me a copy of this beautiful book in exchange for my honest and voluntary opinion

The first words of this audio book brought a smile to my face that never left until the end. Rom-com at its best, with all its trimmings. An audio book for females listeners - certainly, I’m sure; but probably more true, an audio book for everyone who, even if they don’t admit it out loud, like that warm fuzzy feeling that comes from a good love story. Thank you to Swift and Lewis Publishing.LLC and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the French Holiday, it had great characters and storyline. It had just the right amount of humour, love, friendship and heartbreak. The descriptions written by Sarah Ready make you feel as though you are joining the characters as they walk lovers bridge, picnic in the vine yards and travel around as they fall in love and try to solve a mystery. This is my first book by Sarah Ready and I’ll be sure to look out for more.

I would like to thank Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC, NetGalley the narrator and the author for the opportunity to listen to this complimentary copy for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

After watching the man of her dreams marry someone else (her sister), Merry flees to the French countryside to clear her head. She hopes that time away will change her life for the better. When she arrives at the estate she finds Noah, the dislikeable best man from her sister’s wedding. The pair will have to find a way to live peacefully for the next three months.

French Holiday is a delicious, open-door romance with a side of mystery. This book has a little bit of everything - forced proximity, enemies to lovers, a dilapidated castle. These MCs are ready to fall in love with anyone but each other. Like most romance “enemies” all of their issues stem from a long held misunderstanding.

I was intrigued by the addition of a bit of mystery pertaining to the lost/missing artist. It adds something extra to the plot and helps balance out any angst caused by the “will they, won’t they” of the MCs.

Kelsey Navarro is a phenomenal narrator. She really brings all of that sweet and spicy banter to life. I highly suggest getting the audiobook if you can.

I have read numerous books by Sarah Ready and she continues to impress every time. I look forward to reading whatever she has next for her readers.

I voluntarily read, listened to, and reviewed advanced copies of this book and audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC!

3.5/5

Although the start of this book was a little out there no full of improbable events, the book eventually leveled out and was enjoyable.

Merry’s life is not going as she expected. She little sister is marrying her best friend and crush, he job is depressing, and she just wants to escape. Her godmother Jupiter recommend a “flight plan” involving going to France to live in a castle for 3 months. Merry decides to go and she meets her nemesis in the very castle she is supposed to stay in. THe story kicks of from there.

This story is full of lichens and the author leans into them. Here are just a couple:
⁃ enemies to lovers
⁃ Forced proximity
⁃ Brother (in laws) best friend
⁃ He falls first
⁃ Insta-love for him

This was a cute story and a fairly typical romance. I liked the setting and some of the surrounding characters (Jupiter and Pierre). However, I could not stand Merry’s sister Angela. She was way too spoiled and it was a bit unrealistic to me for Merry to just keep going along with spoiling her.

The last third of the book was really enjoyable and balanced out the beginning of the story for me.

If you want a slightly unrealistic but vacation-like romance with enemies to lovers, I recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, grumpy x sunshine, one bed, and one (crumbling) French castle. Two enemies-at-first-sight. The holiday of a lifetime what could go wrong? I’m completely OBSESSED with this book!! It quickly became one of my favorite books while still in the process of reading it. The plot is incredibly well done, like it all came full circle and was so beautiful. The setting of Annecy, France where the book takes place is just so magical and it makes the book so beautiful to read. There’s so much imagery and well written scenes in this book. I love Merry and Noah’s characters. They both have gone through so much. This book was a total surprise and I’m so happy I got the chance to read it because I think it finally got me out of my reading slump by being such an incredible surprise!
Thank you Sarah Ready and NetGalley for this eArc!

This is a hybrid review, since I was approved by the author, publishers and NetGalley for the print and audio versions of this novel. That made it easy to toggle between the two and enjoy two approaches.

I very much enjoyed this story, it's a classic escapist fantasy. I suppose there are many hr specialists who haven't had to work through a major downsizing, but really, that is part of the job and will happen many times over a career. I felt for our heroine and cheered for her as she quit her job and ran to France. The familiar trope of "hate turns to love" is approached well in Ms. Ready's version, complicated by her unrequited love for her best male friend who just married her perfect younger sister. Yikes! The slow burn and the emotional growth for each of the couple was satisfying and of course led, not without twists and turns, to a satisfying completion.

I laughed a number of times at the romantic fantasy elements. . . the rundown "castle" infested with bats and rats, with but one bedroom to share and no bed after some animal activity. We glossed right past the issues of heating water for coffee and bathing, much less food, on a wood-burning stove, being able to bring enough candles and lanterns to light the way, And how did they do dishes? But in the end none of that mattered, because it is France and we just don't worry about those kinds of things in our romance. I was happy to buy into every minute of it! 4 stars for the book and audiobook.

This was such a cute, light read complete with a quirky godmother and a tiny chateau!
Pros:
• The setting – lots of parallels with Under the Tuscan Sun, but in France
• The mysterious artist sub-plot
• The narrator¬ – They truly did a phenomenal job alternating between pithy and bubbly, to the point it felt like I was listening to an episode of Gossip Girl in the best possible way. This completely made up for and masked my general frustration for some of the main characters.
Cons:
• Merry – she definitely views the world through rose-tinted glasses on and is extremely naïve, which leads to some very privileged and entitled problems of her own making that grated on my nerves at times
• The brother-in-law – it never really made sense why Merry liked him, was friends with him, and gave him so many free passes on his sketchy behavior – since the reader is also supposed to forgive him, I would have liked to have more of the ‘why’ shown

Thanks, NetGalley, for the opportunity to listen early.

French Holiday | Sarah Ready
4.5/5⭐️

Merideth deLuca finds her life in "a trash compactor" when her sister finally marries the man she loves, her best friend. Everything seems to go down hill after that.

And so when she's offered to stay in a 17th century chateau in France for a break, she takes it.

Everything was going to be great in her mind until she arrives and finds out that her arch enemy, Noah Wright, has contracted to stay in the same place. But it's a castle, it would be too huge for them to be forced to interact. Right?

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Thank you to @netgalley for the chance to read this book before it even comes out on print. I will be wanting my own copy when it gets archived because I really enjoyed this. And might well be hung up on it for a while yet. I finished it less than two days!

It is engaging, and light. Lures you in with your favorite romantic tropes, and just when you think you've figured everything out, it gives you the plot twists and story archs you never thought you needed in contemporary romance.

The characters develop quite well, and i appreaciate how seeds were planted at the beginning, making it all make sense. It's just so satisfying.

It did take me a bit to get used to the voice of the narrative, but that is a really picky comment. And I forgot all about it by the time I was 35% in. I couldn't put it down then. If only sleep didn't claim me.

Slow-burn. Ugly Duckling turned swan. Enemies to lovers. 17th century castle. Gothic Mystery. And a lobster!

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Audiobook narration 4/5⭐️

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Out on shelves, ebooks and audiobooks in April 26, 2023

#frenchholidaybook #frenchholiday #sarahready #netgalley
#netgalleyreview #netgalleyreads

really enjoyed this audiobook. had a great plot and story line, loved the ending. this is the first book i have read by sarah ready and looking forward to more! so thankful i got to listen to this early! thank you :)

I enjoyed this - the narrator was really engaging and believable.

The main characters are great and I liked the bit of mystery in this book with the plotline of Noah and his family.

I liked Noah and Merry and thought they were a great duo - the friends to lovers element was really well done.

The writing tone is good and the pacing is really snappy - the book flows really well.

Thank you so much NetGalley for giving the chance to review French Holiday by Sarah Ready audiobook. This is my first book written by her. The narrators did a wonderful job, and the story was also great. The story is basically My best friend's wedding but the female main character is not that crazy, hahaha, and it's also enemies-to-lovers. French Holiday is also about knowing your worth, and not letting trauma to live your life. French Holiday has also little bit of mistery, a hint of it that makes it even more amazing. The chemistry between Noah and Merry was wonderful, such a cute, adorable couple; Noah sometimes was, well Noah jajaja.I'm not saying a word because you MUST read it to understand what I'm writing here.

#FrenchHoliday #NetGalley #SarahReady

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and again to NetGalley for the chance to read, review and give my opinion on French Holiday.

I am a puddle of swoon after listening to Sarah Ready’s French Holiday. I could not put it down, or press pause, as it were. So much happens in this fast-paced enemies to lovers romance.

Essentially, on the heels of her sister’s happily ever after (to her best friend that she was very much in love with) FMC Merry escapes to France for three months, thanks to her eccentric godmother Jupiter. Unfortunately, Jupiter forgot that she also lent her amazing French Chateau to travel filmmaker and MMC Noah, who seems to have an overwhelming dislike for Merry.

I cannot even believe how much the author packed into this story! There the personal journey Merry takes to find herself again. There’s having to coexist with enemy Noah, and the reluctant heat that burns there, and there is the mystery that Noah is researching about a missing French artist. And SO MANY LAUGHS. All of these remarkable plot lines are woven together beautifully, and made for a truly enjoyable story. There’s also lots of chemistry and heat in this closed door romance.

I cannot rave loudly enough for Kelsey Navarro’s performance of this story. Not only does she bring the characters to life, but she truly brings Sarah Ready’s depictions of France to life.