Unrequited love is the most heartbreaking kind of love, but the power that Merry (and Noah) gained from it was amazing! I loved the dynamics from the very beginning between Merry and Noah, and watching that grow and change was so cute! I need to stop reading these books of Americans abroad because all I want is to travel the world, and I don’t have the money for that!

I read the book and listened to the audiobook. I’ve already provided my review of the book itself but I also really enjoyed the narrator- she brought the book to life!

Title: French Holiday
Author: Sarah Ready
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: Merry DeLuca’s younger sister gets everything she wants, including the boy Merry is in love with. After a drunken night with Noah Wright, whom she can’t stand, she decides to take charge and put herself first. She’s off to Paris for three months of food, fun and to find love. But who just so happens to be in the same chateau, of course, Noah Wright. Will they be able to put aside their differences to even live in the same place for a few months so Merry can have the abroad holiday she’s always wanted?

Review (spoilers): Thank you Net Galley for the ARC audiobook! This was a very enjoyable book to listen to. It was laugh out loud funny at times and at other times it shattered my heart. In this enemies to lovers romance we see Merry and Noah grow separately and together and the character development is nice. Merry finally having something of her own made me feel so proud for her. Noah finally finding the answers he’s been searching for made my heart swell with love. These characters grew together so well. I loved the addition of Camille and Jean Pierre, they added a light hearted feel to the book. I totally would read a sequel about these two to see the direction their lives went. I definitely recommend reading this book once it is released!

I couldn't stop listening to the story - it was that good.

In French Holiday we find that Merry DeLuca has a problem. Can you imagine your sister marrying your best friend and the love of your life? Not being able to stay around she takes an offer she can't refuse - spend three months living in a castle in the countryside.

She thinks this will help her feel better about what happened. But that changes quickly when the most annoying person - the best man - is staying at the castle.

Great story and a great narrator.

This is a beautifully written story. Merry spent three months in a French chateau. Surprisingly, she has to be with her sister’s best man Noah. They had to share the cheteau and later on their friendship started to grow.

Thank you to the publishers at Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook for a review.

I loved this one, start to finish. This single POV tale of Merry’s struggle with unrequited love was a delightful, humorous, and heartwarming journey. Sarah Ready is a master of lyrical metaphors—I felt as though I was in France and could see everything Merry saw. The descriptions were detailed without feeling laborious. It was, essentially, a modern gothic romance—including a little mystery and intrigue. And the author kind of poked fun at that in a self-aware way. I loved it.

It’s pretty obvious from the very beginning that this is going to be an enemies-to-lovers story, but the storyline was complex and layered, and the characters experienced growth over time… I have no complaints. It was beautiful. I love it when a romance storyline ebbs and flows with character growth instead of drama—internal conflict creates deeper plot lines than external. But the combination of the two, as Sarah Ready does so well here, is what I love to find in a book. It keeps the plot from being too heavy or too fluffy. And it keeps the characters from being too predictable.

To that end, the characters are relatable and you get to know them so well, even though this is a single POV story. Merry, Noah, Pierre, Camille, Louis, Jupiter, and even Angela are worth getting to know in these pages. I didn’t expect to love all of these characters or even most of them. But they are well-rounded and believable.

Probably what I loved most was that the themes were so real. If you’ve known what it’s like to love without being loved in return, you will experience this book on a deeper level. For some, it’s hard to believe that someone could choose you for the long haul, especially if you’ve never been first pick. So I related to this book in a way I didn’t expect and felt those emotional beats as Merry learned to stand up for herself and see herself as something other than second best.

Tl;dr notes:
- enemies at first sight
- forced proximity (one bed)
- the Napoleon of lobsters
- quirky godmother
- open-door romance

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I was provided this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book!

After Merry De Luca's best friend (and man she's loved for years) gets married to her sister, she runs to London to escape. When she arrives at her godmother's chateau, she discovers she's not the only one who will be living there for the next three months. Enter Noah, who is at the chateau to do research for his next big project. When neither party is willing to vacate the property they begrudgingly decide to weather the storm together.

While there are quite a few tropes in this book, I loved them all. There was unrequited love, romance, heartbreak, comedy, and a mystery. I adored the Louie storyline, and was cackling when he came into the picture.

This is my first book by Sarah Ready and it definitely won't be my last. Can't wait to read more from her!

Beautifully written, romantic & gorgeous setting. Loved the characters and narration of highly recommend this audio book.

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

🌟🌟🌟💫
Equally charming and romantic, the classic French love story!

Merry is a relatable leading lady and I just love that about her. She’s real and someone we could see ourselves being friends with.

Grumpy Noah is hands down my fav! There’s just something about him that makes you melt! He’s just the sweetest!

French Holiday is seriously laugh-out-loud funny! It took me for complete surprise when I realized there’s a bit of mystery tangled into Merry and Noah’s romance. It’s like a story within a story.

This book is for you if you like:
🇫🇷 Close Proximity
🇫🇷 Enemies to Lovers
🇫🇷 Grumpy x Sunshine
🇫🇷 Unrequited love
🇫🇷 Mysteries

I’m giving this one 3.5 stars because of Louis and the plot flatlined a bit. I felt like we could have just taken a few pieces out to make it a little bit more bingeworthy.

Thank you to Net Galley, Sarah Ready, and Swift & Lewis publishing for the eARC. I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

*Sigh* I think I got this book at just the right time. I needed a feel good romance in my life right about now. So many serious or more intense books lately. Plus it was longer than I realized, I feel like it had much more subsistence than your regular romance book. We had so many tropes in one book, enemies to lovers, one bed, slow burn. It was just *chefs kiss* exactly what I was hoping for.

I love that we are set in the French country side in a dilapidated chateau with no electricity. I love that there is more mystery on discovering more than just who they are, but where this painter guy disappeared to. I like Noah, I liked Noah's story, he was not just one dimensional. Merry....meh....a little too indecisive for my tastes, but that is normal in these types of stories.

This story was much more than just a love story, it was multiple love stories, and different kinds of love. I enjoyed using the French stereotype of falling in love and the importance of art and living in the moment and separating yourself from things that are holding you down. I thought Louis was a hilarious edition, I mean who would have ever thought this set of circumstances could ever happen. Comic gold.

I think that if I read this in a different mood, I might not have loved it as much, but I'm so glad I got to read this one!

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook ARC. This was my second book by Sarah Ready and she’s quickly becoming a favorite author! I typically read romance novels and this one is delightful! I laughed out loud on several occasions. The whole story was told nicely and I truly didn’t know how it was all going to turn out! I definitely had some ideas but I don’t like to try to predict anything and just enjoy the story. Kelsey Navarro is one of my favorite narrators and she did great with this book! Overall, a great read for lovers of rom-com!

When Merry 's sister gets married to the man she has been secretly in love with for years she decides to get away. A castle in the French countryside seems to be perfect for that.
But what she doesn't know is that Noah, whom she doesn't like is already staying in the crumbling castle and there is only one bed.

Merry and Noah are great characters en descriptions of France are done well. I loved the little bit of mystery with Noah looking in to the past.

Tanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Did I just become a Sarah Ready super fan? I think so! I adored this book! Forced proximity, enemies to lovers set at a French castle, what could be more romantic?

I loved the character development of Merry & Noah, and the building of their relationship. The narration was SO good, and we all know narration can make or break a book. A fun, heartfelt read that I didn't want to put down.

Grateful for this ARC from NetGalley! I 100% recommend grabbing this when it comes out in April.

This enemies to lovers romance is a fun read.
When Merry 's sister gets married to the man she has been secretly in love with for years, she decides to get away for a time. What could more perfect then a castle in the French country side. But when she get there she discovers that the crumbling castle is already occupied by her enemy and there is only one bed.

The book had good characters, the descriptions of the French countryside made you feel like you where there.
I loved the little bit of mystery added in.

The cover is very pretty and appealing.
The narrator was good but I was a bit disappointed that she didn't do the French accents.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Ready, and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the ARC of French Holiday!

This is an enemies to lovers and forced proximity trope-which are some of my favorites. This books follows Merry and Noah as they reside in a French castle together. The lobster parts were some of my favorites.

This book makes me want to travel the French countryside and eat cheese & bread and drink wine until my heart is content.

Gotta love how I probably look when I’m cackling listening to an audiobook that no one else can hear. 😂

I don’t always read/listen to romantic comedies, but sometimes I’m just in the mood for a fun read, and this book delivered on that.

Merry’s best friend, whom she’s been in love with for years, is getting married to her sister. Also, her job sucks, so she decides to up and move into her Godmother’s French Chateau for 3 months to get herself together.

But, oh wait, Noah, her best friend’s best man, whom she highly dislikes, is also staying there…and there’s only one bed?!? 😂

I had a great time listening to this book. There are many laugh-out-loud moments (Love ya Louie), plus an overarching mystery to keep things interesting. It was definitely a fun listen, and I thought the narrator, Kelsey Navarro, did a great job with the French when it popped up.

This book was a fun, laugh out loud read, perfect for when you’re just looking to get away for a bit via a book.

What this book is giving:
✅ Romantic Comedy
✅ Highly Dislike to Lovers
✅ Forced Proximity
✅ One Bed
✅ Slow Burn
✅ Mystery
✅ That lobster scene 😂

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing and Netgalley for providing me this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating:
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ½ / 5
🌶️ 🌶️ / 5

French Holiday is a cute story about a woman looking for an escape from her daily life. After Merry’s sister marries Leo (Merry’s best friend and the man she’s in unrequited love with), Merry takes an opportunity to escape to France for a few months. Because this is a romcom, Merry unexpectedly arrives at the French chateau to find she’s sharing with Noah, Leo’s friend who she dislikes. A perfect set up.

This is a fun story, but I’ve said many times that I don’t like when a romcom leans too hard into the “com” part of that portmanteau, which is what I found here. There’s a whole situation with a lobster that is truly bonkers. Definitely the right book for someone who likes a little silliness (and some mystery!) with their romance.

To start, thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me to read in advance for an honest review! :)

- Merry is in desperate need of a flight plan. A chance to get away for a while, as life around her seemingly falls apart. The opportunity presents itself when her aunt/godmother offers to let her stay in her French chateau (#AuntGoals am I right?)! Daydreams of falling in love with a Frenchman, however, come to a screeching halt when her enemy, Noah Wright, is renting the place too... oh, and there's only one (lumpy and rat infested) bed. Great. The next 3 months in France are sure to be a rollercoaster for Merry! -

So, honestly, I'm giving 4 stars because this started off pretty slow in my opinion, and there were a few scenes that I felt could have been trimmed down. That being said, I loved this overall! At the start, I definitely got similar vibes to "The Unhoneymooners" by Christina Lauren. (which I loved! Though for any who disliked that book, fear not, this book has major differences.) The similarities pretty much stopped there, and in came the excellent nods to gothic novels, laugh-out-loud/secondhand embarrassment scenes, and the emotions! I was living for the drama, swooning for the love, and tearing up for the pain of their pasts. Not to mention, all of the descriptions of sights, smells, and tastes made me feel as if I was there, in France, with Merry and Noah, witnessing their adventure first hand. This was an excellent journey that I cannot wait to read again, and can't wait for others to read when it releases in April! I absolutely recommend it!

I thought this was a good romance. The love story was super cute. I liked the enemies to lovers theme as Merry & Noah are both best friends of the same guy but don't get started off on the best foot. The surprise at the "chateau" was a little funny. There are lots of shenanigans and laughs but also plenty of heartfelt moments and the way Noah shows Merry he cares is the best.

I thought the narrator did a great job. She kept me interested in the storyline and brought the characters to life with the use of inflection, different voices and emotions.

Thank you to the publisher & Sarah Ready for the copy via Netgalley to read and review.