A book of two friends Elizabeth who had a family who she wants nothing to do with and as such is wandering around aimlessly. Heather trained as a sommelier she used her inheritance to train knowing she would always have a job anywhere in the world but Heather falls in love at the drop of the hat
Heather should be going to Scotland to some crummy hotel to work over summer instead she is going to Italy with Christian who she loves
So Elizabeth decides she should go to Scotland I mean how hard can it be to choose a bottle of wine after all??
So she travels to the hotel which is a huge hotel bit run down but certainly not some little hotel Heather had made out . Can she do this? She has to Heather s reputation is on the line
Surprisingly the staff Bill, Roxy,James and Irene all help her in their own way , but it is down to her to impress the head chef Russell whom she has never heard of but the restaurant is closed for refurbishment for 2 weeks and she has to learn the entire wine list so she does
And when Russell asks her to pair up his menu she does just that much to his and her own amazement
But she can’t stay heathers love life is falling apart and she wants to come back to London will she find out? Can Elizabeth keep the secret ?

Enjoyable light read with lots of information on wine. Good lock-down read that will entertain. Bit unbelievable but lots of fun and romance.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.

As much as I liked the synopsis of the book I was unsure about the wine. I'm not a wine drinker give me a pint or a gin over wine any day. I never thought that being an expert in wine would be as complicated as this, then again like Birdy I couldn't be a sommelier.

 This book was brilliantly written and for a debut its fantastic.

The characters have all the charm they need to keep me entertained and engaged and the worldbuilding made me feel like I was at Loch Dorn with Birdy and Co.

This was a feel good read and one that I struggled to put down. However, if youre ever in the same position as Bill and Birdy's father please look after yourself and get help.

The Summer Job, Lizzy Dent's debut novel Pub Date 15 Apr 21
Have you ever imagined running away from your life?
Well, Birdy Finch didn't just imagine it. She did it, which might've been an error. And the life she's run into? Her best friend, Heather's.
The only problem is, she hasn't told Heather. Actually, there are a few other problems.
Can Birdy carry off a summer at a luxury Scottish hotel pretending to be her best friend (who incidentally is a world-class wine expert)?
And can she stop herself from falling for the first man she's ever actually liked (but who thinks she's someone else)?
With a strong similarity to Bridget Jones life of turmoil, love and emotion. The Summer Job has it all, a feel-good, easy, entertaining read.⁣
A great book to show you that just being yourself is enough.
I want to thank NetGalley, Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business and author Lizzy Dent for a pre-publication copy to review.

Birdy has no home, no job, a sort of boyfriend and a friend called Heather.
Heather is a world class sommelier and has just landed a job in a hotel in Scotland. However, what she really wants is to go to see her boyfriend. She leaves Birdy to contact the hotel for her and leaves.
Birdy decides she can do the jog, although having no knowledge of wine, just that she drinks it! Can she carry it off and help the hotel become first class. Will it change her life and will she fall in love? and what will happen when Heather finds out?

such a great novel, so refreshing! great story about friendship, lost souls, and finding your place in the world. Funny and sweet characters without being shallow
strongely recommend this novel.

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬:⁣
When sommelier extraordinaire Heather decides to bail on a job she had lined up at a run-down Scottish hotel in favour of seeking true love in Italy, she asks best friend Elizabeth, affectionately known as Birdy, to cancel on her behalf. Thinking it will be an easy way to spend her summer, Birdy instead heads to Scotland as ‘Heather’ with dreams of a bit of wine tasting here and there and stories to tell when she goes back to London. However after arriving in Scotland, instead of the ‘shithole hotel’ she’s expecting, Birdy is instead looking at a beautiful and classy establishment - with two Michelin stars - and she’s suddenly not so sure she can pull this off...⁣
⁣
𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:⁣
This is a perfect escapism book! I am not a wine girl at all so I wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy a story based on someone pretending to be a sommelier (a word I definitely had to Google when I first saw it) but it was an absolute blast! It’s a wonderfully easy, light-hearted read but infused with drama.⁣
⁣
I think what made this book for me is the character of Birdy - a thirty-something woman with no direction or purpose in life, the daughter of an alcoholic father and a mother in denial, hopelessly unlucky in love with her most serious relationship being with Tim, a man who only sees her when he’s drunk and has nothing better to do - all of these factors make her instantly endearing but she’s also funny, smart and extremely sarcastic. I also adored pretty much all of the other characters, except obnoxious head chef Russell and aforementioned good-for-nothing Tim, they all have such contrasting personalities but gel together beautifully.⁣
⁣
With strong Bridget Jones style themes running throughout and a crash course of cock-ups but a truly happy ending, The Summer Job is a fabulous read.⁣
⁣
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin General for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t enjoy this book, I got to 38% through and jumped forward to location 3500 and read to the end and I didn’t feel like I missed anything. I didn’t like all the swearing, I am not a prude and have been known to drop the odd “F Bomb” myself but it just felt unnecessary in this genre of book, I didn’t really connect with the characters, I really don’t like giving negative reviews to an author who has taken the time to sit down and write a book but this was not for me

This was everything I had hoped for from this book; an easy and fun summer story I could get lost in. What more could a twenty-something ask for than a novel about a young woman meeting a good-looking Scottish man and learning about wine?

Lizzy Dent perfectly encapsulates the essence of the Scottish location and I felt there was an ideal balance of ‘coming-of-age’ and romance. Nothing about the story really comes as surprise until the end and even this plot twist is a little lacklustre, however it didn’t need this to keep me reading. Overall it’s wonderfully light-hearted comedy and I would pick up the sequel for my summer holiday in a heartbeat.

Really enjoyed this book. Great debut from Lizzy Dent. I listened to the audio book first and then read the book.
The Summer Job is a good rom-com and an emotional roller-coaster filled with humour and laugh out loud moments. It's an easy light hearted read. It was well written and the characters interesting and quirky. Through reading the book it enhances knowledge of food and wines as well as the background story of romance and being part of a 'family' and finding ones self.
I did prefer the audio book. It was very well narrated, accents were great by Emma. The audio book for me brought out the humour and the emotions of the characters. I was able to visualise the scenes and scenery.
I would definitely recommend it to others who enjoy a light hearted good read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

The Summer Job full of laughter, love and good times. I loved this book! Being a waitress previously and sometimes have no clue I could really relate to this book. It being based mainly in Scotland was also a win for me too.

Birdy's naivety got to me a little at the start but as the book progressed I grew to love her and her little quirks.

Highly recommended read if you love a bit of romance, it was definitely one I struggled to out down.

I struggled to like the lead characters and this initially stopped my enjoyment of the book. When Birdy lied and impersonated her best friend and took her summer job as a sommelier in Scotland, Birdy thought it was the right thing to do. I did eventually warm to Birdy and found this book funny in parts and certainly informative about food and drink.
If you are looking for a light hearted read then this is one to enjoy.

What a fun read this was. The Summer Job is rom-com at its best, lighthearted with wacky situations and loveable characters. The premise of replacing her friend for a summer job only to find love under a false identity reminded me of 80's comedies: silly, fun and indulgent.

Birdies life is passing her by ! She is a drifter with no direction . She lives in her friend Heathers spare room. Heather is a wine expert who decides to spend her summer in Italy with her boyfriend rather than take a job at a rundown ( as she thought) Scottish hotel . Birdy ends up becoming Heather, taking her place at the hotel in Scotland even though she knows nothing about wine !
A fun , frothy summer read with plenty of laugh out loud moments. Extremely enjoyable!
Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin General, and Lizzy Dent for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

It took me a while to get into this book and I really wasn’t sure I if I would like it....but I was wrong. I really got into it and couldn’t put it down in the end. A good book to teach you that just being you is enough.

Birdy is a bit of a mess. She has no idea what she wants to do with her career and her love life is a bit of a dumpster fire. When her successful sommelier friend Heather decides to pass on a summer job in Scotland, Birdy decides to tell a small fib and pretend to be her - the one catch being that she has no idea about wine.

This was a slow starter of a read but had some very funny moments. I loved the descriptions of food and drink and it has definitely made me want to visit Scotland. A great sun lounger read.

Birdy is drifting through life, no focus, no direction, no commitments...and then she stumbles across her dream job, except, it isn't hers to have. 'Perhaps you need to find somewhere to put your roots in the earth? A little water, a little sunlight, a little time and space? Like the wine? You can not debut the perfect vintage if you do not take the time to grow and nurture love'..
A funny laugh out loud tale. A book filled with likeable characters. An easy read for the summertime..

It was only a small fib but when birdy decided to take her best friends place at her summer job she had no idea how much her life would change. This laugh out loud tale of a life changing summer was a fun and easy read. I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more from Lizzy Dent.

Birdy is lost- flitting from job to job, living in her friend’s spare room and with an almost non existent love life. So when her best friend heads off to Italy instead of moving to Scotland for a summer job, instead of calling to let them down on her friend’s behalf she decides to become her. Goodby Birdy, hello wine-expert Heather. However, when she arrives she finds that the run down going nowhere country hotel is in the middle of an upmarket revamp she has to decide if she should come clean or if she can blag her way through it - it’s only a summer job; what could possibly go wrong?

A fabulous book dealing with love and loss, heartwarming and funny.

I liked this book because it was a relatable read. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.