this was so much fun and such a sarah ready book. 4 stars!

ready’s books are always so fun with such bright characters who are entertaining to follow. noah and merry were such sweet characters with great banter. noah was as swoony as he was mysterious and i loved what the story became as his character’s background came undone. i also lik r merry’s development throughout the book! it was fun to see where she was versus where she ended up.

the side characters were also so much fun adding so much dramatics into such a lighthearted but twisty romcom. the plot was definitely not where i expected to go but in a good way. ready always surprises me with stories that have such light characters with such mysterious plots.

i just loved ready’s writing, dialogue and shenanigans that always come with her books. there are always so many funny parts as there are warm parts which is a great mix for me. i seem to love every sarah ready book i come across, which warms me!

the audiobook was also so much fun to listen to and added such a great level of dramatics into it! kelsey navarro did a wonderful job with all the voices and accents. it really brought the book alive!

thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc in return for an honest review.

The audio for this left me laughing out loud. The lobster parts were my favorite. Sarah checked every box with this book. Funny, mysterious, romantic and inspiring. One of my top favorite books I’ve read lately!

Merry’s life is perfect. Until her best friend (that she’s not-so-secretly in love with) marries her sister and to top it all off she quits her job. So when her godmother encourages her to visit her French chateau, she knows she has nothing to lose. But there are a few hiccups – the chateau isn’t quite as grand as described, and her least favorite person is also staying there. As Merry does her best to pick up the pieces of her crumbling life, she learns that everyone has secrets, and that sometimes, first impressions can be quite misleading.

This was an easy and enjoyable light romance read with no surprises but a lot of comfort. The plot was quite straightforward. It was easy to know where the story was going and what the reveals were going to be, but the journey to get there was still fun. This was largely due to the characters, especially Merry. I also enjoyed that this was a low-drama romance and never felt forced, and that it followed a great development from enemies to friends to lovers, rather than skipping the friend portion as so often happens.

It was difficult not to like Merry. She was relatable and funny, with the perfect dose of insecurity but a whole lot of confidence. Noah, the love interest, was also well written with a great mix of brutal honesty and painful past. The author did a great job at writing engaging scenes that brought out the characters’ personalities.

If you enjoy enemies to lovers, forced proximity (one bed trope), and lighthearted romances, this is for you. My thanks to NetGalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing, LLC for allowing me to read this work, which will be published 26 April 2023. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It was cute, but The book and the narrator were just okay.
I felt like there wasn't a ton of chemistry between the characters. It relied very heavily on the tropes to carry the
relationship rather than actually forming one. I was also a little taken aback by the writing style, it was pretty juvenile writing mixed in with the occasional way too poetic description that just clashed.
It read much more like a YA book than new adult
I wouldn't recommend

Absolutely adorable!

French Holiday was like a breath of fresh air. It was a charming friends to lovers story which had me smiling while listening to this amazing audiobook. Both main characters are extremely likeable and had backstories which had me feeling for them and rooting for them both individually and together. They have witty and honest dialogue with each other. So good!

Merry DeLuca's sister married Leo, her best friend who Merry happens to be in love with. Merry has kept her feelings for Leo a secret from almost everyone except for Leo's friend, Noah who has noticed how Merry looks at Leo. After being in the wedding party and watching her sister marry the man she loves, Merry jumps on a chance to travel to France to live in a Chateau for three months. What she doesn't count on this that Noah, a travel filmmaker, will be there as well. They both stay in what is the smallest chateau in history (1 bedroom) and slowly go from being testy with each other to being to friends, to....

Romance books are like a journey. We all know how things are going to end, we just don't know the in-between section of how characters get to the end. That is the appeal for me. What a journey! This book was full of heart. It was lovely, charming, and made me happy. Sarah Ready also provided the perfect location and had me yearning to spend time in the French countryside, having picnics and drinking wine.


I listened to the audiobook and loved the narration. The narrator, Kelsey Navarro, did a fabulous job and brought this book to life for me.

Charming, endearing, and sweet.

4.5 stars

#FrenchHoliday #NetGalley #SarahReady

Cute plot line and good narration. I received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. This book was a fun trip to a beautiful chateau in France. In this enemies to lovers story, Merry struggles to remember what really happened on the night of her sisters wedding. The last half of the book seemed to have a lot of themes going on at once and wrapped up pretty quickly. Overall, cute story but wouldn't say it was one of my favorites. Thanks NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for the audiobook!
Expected publication April 26, 2023

I really wish I had the ebook copy instead of the audiobook. I think I might have liked this a bit more if I had the chance to read it myself. The narrator was almost painful to listen to and I'm not sure if it was because of the narrator herself or because of the writing. I was determined to finish it nonetheless, and once it was over, wished I hadn't bothered. This is entirely personal preference though, and certainly no offense to the author or the narrator. I'm sure some people will love it, but it just wasn't for me.

I did find the story itself to be forgettable. It was a predictable romance that fell flat for me. Still, I'll likely give Sarah Ready another shot when I'm able to read the next book myself and see if it makes any difference.

Funny, romantic and good to listen to especially if you are on a long car journey! A bit predictable at times but it does keep you entertained.

I enjoyed this book! I listened to it on audio. It had some of my favorite tropes: forced proximity, one bed, plus put them in France with a mystery element to it. I always enjoy it when the person they think they love ends up not being who they end up with as long as it was done well, and I think this was done well. I thought Merry and Noah had good chemistry. This book was also very funny and touching at the same time! I would definitely recommend it!

Sarah Ready is the one author that I wish every rom com lover knew about. I absolutely love her books. This book made my day! The heroine, Merry, was a delightful character on a journey of self discovery when her spoiled sister married the only man she's every loved. He also happened to be her best friend. She ends up getting stuck in a broken down castle in France with the best man--a guy she happens to dislike. This is where the hilarious adventure begins. This book brought me laughter, a little bit of mystery and ALL the feels. It was well written with excellent character development--especially Merry-and hot chemistry between the hero and heroine. The narrator did a fantastic job. This was a very enjoyable listen. Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book!

I was really happy to receive the Audiobook from NetGalley as I had to commute a lot for work last week. I enjoyed the book, it really felt like a romcom movie but in a book. The book explores different kinds of love while Merry is running away to a castle in France to deal with her latest heartbreak. It is a story of enemies to lovers, forced proximity romance. The book was a little long and subplots were distracting from the main plot, but it was still a cute story (although people marry at a Disney-esque speed and I hate that).

A positive thing in my opinion: there was barely any smut. Only one scene, and it didn't go too much into details.

As for the audiobook, the sound was not equalized. As such, it went from hard to hear to too loud at almost each dialogue, so I had to turn the volume up and down, which was a bit annoying but did not change my opinion of the book.

I recommend this book if you want a fast-paced, easy, romcom to read.

SO good! So many different plots woven together perfectly to make a funny yet also emotional story. I really didn’t expect as much character depth as we were given. The backstories were honest and heartbreaking and the way they navigated through them was healthy and well-paced.

I love everything I read by Sarah Ready and the narrator was excellent! Thank you @netgalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook. I loved it!

Cute premise, but it fell a little flat for me. This was a casual enemies to lovers romance. There was an attempt at a mystery thrown in, but it didn't really intrigue me the way I'd hoped.

It started out smack dab in the middle of Meredith's sister marrying Meredith's best friend and love of her life, which was kind of a fun premise. But then it slowed down a LOT and then picked back up when she got to France.

However, there was one MAJOR coincidence that just did not work for me at all, and I don't think it was ever explained. I say that I don't THINK it was explained because honestly, I tuned out of the audiobook a bit.

What do you do when your life is falling apart? Your younger sister is getting married to the man you have been secretly in love with, You have become the axe for "the man" and you find out your newly married sister now wants even more from you? Have a flight plan! Hope for your own french romance! Merry does just that when she decides to move into her godmother's French Castle in the countryside. Only to find out that someone else was invited to stay as well.

Noah. Her brother in laws best man, arrived in France to research a book he is writing. Arrived at the same castle to be close to the person he is researching, only to find the castle is a complete disaster. It's falling apart around him and he has work to do.

Merry and Luke are like Oil and Water, or do they have more in common then they realize?

If you are looking for a book with a little intrigue, a bit of romance, and finding yourself. This is a good story. Quick read that is perfect for the beach or your own french holiday.

This novel was really well written, the descriptions put you perfectly in the middle of a French countryside. Merry is clearly a little bit of an adult mess, but who can blame her? Her little sister marries her best friend who she was in love with. Oh, and just get rough at work, and with the encouragement of her godmother, she runs away to a French château. Noah Wright is there who happens to be her brother-in-law’s best friend, who she also hates. I love how things are just a little bit unexpected and the friendship that blooms between Merry and Noah. The middle of the book got to be too long and it being a 12 hour audiobook just felt like it wasn’t going to end at some points. However, once we got to the mystery of the château things got a lot more interesting and I didn’t want to stop listening. I think the growth Merry experiences is wonderful although some details and plot lines feel rushed. It annoys me somewhat that she wanted to find a purpose, and it became more about her finding someone she loves, and jumping on their purpose. However, the story was really sweet and it certainly gave me the travel bug. Listening to it was wonderful because the author nailed her accents and storytelling and it made it feel that much more French. 4⭐️, 2.5🌶

This book was wonderful. I was so happy that it was more than just traditional chick lit. The element of mystery really added to the story and brought depth to the characters. The lobster debacle was entertaining, humorous and descriptive. The author used a lot of metaphors which at times could be distracting, i.e., another metaphor?, but the story was lovely.

A brilliant enemies-to-lovers love story!

Merry is a brilliant character who deserves everything! Love, passion, her own life. She’s interesting and kind, too kind probably. Noah is also great. He’s kind and thoughtful and I’m super happy that he found his happiness and what he was looking for. Angela I don’t like much and maybe that’s meant to be.
The plot is easy to follow, light but it also has some not so light topics mentioned.
The book is set in France in a chateau. What else do you need? I would like to know how they fix up the chateau though. And if Loui survives or not.

I like the narrator of the book. Their voice is just so for this book and they made it pleasant to listen to.

All in all, Sarah Ready does it again. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

*ARC received from the publisher via NetGalley

I almost stopped this book several times before I even got to 35% and finally gave up. So many ludicrous things happened in such a short amount of time to set this story up. I assume this is an enemy’s to lovers, but they had only gotten as far as enemy’s to friends. There was a dash of only one bed for good measure. Merry is a mess and she gets herself in ridiculous situations alarmingly often.
She wants to have a movie perfect French holiday, but it doesn’t go as planned. Noah is a jerk and several insane twists of fate lead to him being on her French holiday also. This book wasn’t for me and it was actually fairly long so I decided to cut my losses. Life’s too short.

This is a very light predictable romance that didn't really grab my attention. Merry DeLuca is in love with her best friend Leo but never had the courage to tell him. When Leo meets her younger sister Angela, they fall madly in love and get married very quickly. At their wedding, Merry is forced to spend some time with Leo's best man Noah Wright - a famous travel writer.
To spend some time away from all this she goes on a three month holiday to France. As she arrives, she finds the castle is unexpectedly dilapidated. Worse than that, Noah Wright is also at the castle.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I requested this book based on the cover and title and I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! This was my first novel by Sarah Ready and I've added her to my author list. If you like enemies-to-lovers tropes in a beautiful and romantic setting (hello, French castle) then this is your book.