An enjoyable read about love, friendship and family set in magical Scotland.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Loved this book, who could blame Birdy really? Was willing Birdy to come clean all the way through, love how she managed to wing it ish, and have the chance to find love ish

When someone pretends to be someone else and do a job they have no idea about, then you are set for disaster. Birdy is full of issues and caught in situation of her own making that she knows is wrong, but she doesn't know how to fix it. Painful reading at times, however it does have a nice ending

It feels like I review a lot of chick-lit on here though I don’t feel like I read as much as I used to. Interesting. But I have, once again, found another chick-lit book that I just had to read of Netgalley and that was The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent.

In this book we follow Elizabeth ‘Birdy’ Finch as she takes a job as a sommelier up in Scotland pretending to be her best friend Heather. The problem is that she knows nothing about wine and in this up and coming hotel her lies could cost her everything.

I obviously went into the book knowing that lying was going to be a big theme. But it did still bug me a little. However, where this book improved upon other books like this, is that Birdy does know it’s wrong and deals with the consequences. She might still get a happy ending, but it does make her take a long look at her life and she does have to make up for things. There’s no easy forgiveness and for that I’m grateful.

I actually got through the book super quickly and I really enjoyed it when I did. But after a few hours looking back over the book I realised that though it was an easy read. It was just, okay.

There’s a lot of heavy topics dealt with but that’s nothing new in chick-lit, and it didn’t really make me like most of the characters that much more or even feel that sorry for them. I did love the found family aspect, I just found the characters themselves a little lackluster and not particularly memorable. Which is a shame.

The setting was gorgeous and the romance was okay but overall the book wasn’t anything special. Just a foodie read set in Scotland though one that I’m sure will make others cry in places.

I would recommend it to others but it’s not one I think I’ll pick up again myself.

After the delight that was Beach Read earlier this year I’ve been waiting for another feel-good romance with a solid, engaging narrative. And, for the most part, I’ve got to say that The Summer Job absolutely delivered. It follows one summer in the life of Elizabeth ‘Birdy’ Finch who really isn’t sure who she is or what she wants out of life. When her successful Sommelier best friend Heather chases her true love to Italy, it falls to Birdy to contact the summer job Heather was due to take at a Scottish hotel and let them know she won’t be coming. After a case of mistaken identity and egged on by her terrible sort-of-boyfriend Tim, Birdy continues with the charade and heads up to Loch Dorn as Heather. Cue a summer of misunderstandings, secrets and hilarity.

Although Dent’s writing is lovely and her characters are all fantastic, I didn’t immediately settle into the book. That however was probably down to my own innate hatred of stressful situations. From the moment she arrives at Loch Dorn, Birdy is clearly way out of her depth. She has to pair wines for each course of a degustation menu, deal with michelin star chef Russell and discuss wine options with rich, fancy guests. I found myself constantly cringing for her, waiting for the next error and, honestly, feeling furious at her for putting both the hotel and Heather’s professional reputation at risk. This also brings me to my key issue with the book. I love the setting, the whole Sommelier aspect of the storyline is fresh and interesting but I genuinely couldn’t quite buy into the idea that Birdy would have created such a wildly stupid situation. I also simply didn’t believe that she’d get away with it.

That said, the reason I ultimately got sucked into the story was that Dent acknowledges all of this. Birdy, by nature, is spiky and self-destructive. The staff at Loch Dorn do have their doubts very early on and Birdy goes to great measures to allay them. As I said, the setting of the book is glorious. I’ve often heard, particularly in writing classes, that finding a sense of place is so important in creating the world of a novel. Dent does this so well in The Summer Job. The Scottish landscape is beautifully described, with lochs, walking trails, sunrises, sunsets, fishing villages, all of it coming together to build a world I wanted to immerse myself in. The hotel itself was brought to life for me as soon as Birdy stepped foot into the kitchen on day one, with descriptions of exquisite dishes, passionate staff and the aforementioned egotistical head chef Russell. It was lovely to sink into a book set in such a beautiful location and I really enjoyed seeing Birdy’s displacement from city to country.

The romantic storyline was sweet and gentle but despite the fact that it’s introduced very early on, the novel felt fully fleshed out rather than simply built around the will they/won’t they aspect. While I found parts of Birdy’s personality stopped me from warming to her completely, I appreciated the backstory to her and Heather’s childhoods and their subsequent relationship. Sometimes it felt a little forced, like Dent was trying to draw a clear line between each facet of the women’s behaviour and assign a motive in a sort of pop-psychology way, but generally it did aid in explaining exactly what was on the line and why. Similarly, each character at Loch Dorn was well-rounded, with a nice variety of personalities and problems at play, some of which have a role in why Birdy is able to pass off as Heather for so long.

All of this ultimately comes together to create a very readable novel that I found myself desperate to keep picking up. It comes out in Spring 2021 and, while the title suggests a sort of beach read scenario, I’ve been just as happy cosied up this November, sipping my coffee and speeding through the novel. Once I got over the initial stress of what a terrible job Birdy was doing, I started to take pride in her commitment to the role as she realises what an error she’s made but also begins to fall in love with everything about the place and even the job itself. As she opened herself up to learning and to new experiences I couldn’t help egging her on, with the Wine Society event being a particular highlight.

Although I anticipate most readers will have some idea where the story is going I shall avoid spoilers here. Instead I’ll simply say that although I found the ending satisfactory I would have liked it to be slightly more spun out. There’s a fantastic, dramatic scene immediately followed by a ten-week jump to the very end. I felt a little like I’d put a lot of emotion into seeing how the situation panned out and felt a little bit short-changed by this decision. That’s a minor complaint though. I thought The Summer Job was a fresh, comedy-of-errors take on a romance novel and I’ll definitely be recommending it to friends. Thanks to Netgalley for a free digital copy in return for an honest review.

An interesting concept, taking the place of an experienced sommelier at a hotel in Scotland only to be caught out when it doesn't turn out to be the run down place that was expected.
Some reviewers didn't warm to the main character, Elizabeth "Birdy" Finch, however I found that I understood her better as the story unfolded. The rest of the hotel staff varied from a young, inexperienced waitress hoping to become a sommelier through a grumpy chef to a mothering maitre, all in a beautiful sounding surroundings. In the meantime the real sommelier, Heather, is on holiday in Italy with her boyfriend, unaware of what is going on. Birdy comes across as someone out of their depth who then tries her best to bring herself up to speed, with mixed success. There are moments of humour along with the romance giving an overall enjoyable read.
One thing to note is that there are some (mild) sex scenes but the language is quite strong at times, so not for those who don't like these, although they didn't offend me.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley, the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely summer read, funny, tender and, at times, sad.

All in all a very satisfying read

Okay I have to admit I absolutely loved this book. Even though during the book I knew where it was going the book was the perfect escapism I needed. It was funny, light and realistic. I could imagine someone pretending to be someone else for a job but a job about wine erm no thanks.

I really enjoyed the story and all the characters except Elizabeth "Birdy" Finch. Towards the end I warmed to her but her directionless attitude and using her best friend the way she does really really annoyed me!

I found it an amusing read which was perfect for a wet and rainy day sat beside the fire.

Heather a Sommelier and Elizabeth Finch (Birdy) have been friends since school. Heather is offered a summer job in the north of Scotland but decides to follow a boyfriend to Italy instead. She asks Birdy to make her excuses to the hotel in Scotland.
Birdy is between jobs and is technically homeless as Heather has advertised her flat which she shares with Birdy on Airbnb. Heather had said that the hotel was quite rundown, so Birdy decides to impersonate Heather and go to Scotland.
A good read, I found myself willing Birdy to succeed.

The subject of this book was a bit weird but the book was fun and quite light-hearted. Birdy assumed the identity of her best friend (Heather) and took a job that was offered to Heather even though she didn’t have the knowledge to do the work. The scene was set beautifully and all the characters came to life. As you can imagine, there were several challenges that Birdy had to get through as well as personal challenges for several of the main characters that made the book believable and kept the book interesting. Would recommend.

Comedy Of Far Fetched Proportions....
When Birdy Finch decides to take over her best friends’ life chaos ensues. Not only does Birdy not tell her but she will undoubtedly discover that pulling it off will be more difficult than she first thought. Mildly amusing comedy of far fetched proportions with a protagonist who is, unfortunately, rather unlikeable in many ways.

I didn't really enjoy this book. The main character annoyed me from the start with her subterfuge and self interest. I think maybe I'm too old to appreciate it but the story seemed too far fetched and I didn't find any humour in it unlike Flatshare which the book was compared to. The book just seems to centre on an extremely naive and immature girl more interested in behaving inappropriately.

There was some interest in a subplot but on the whole this book just didn't resonate with me. However, it is reasonably well written so I can see it would appeal to some people so I haven't completely dismissed it but I struggled to finish it.

A light hearted story about a somewhat chaotic character.
Our heroine, Birdy, has never managed to keep herself in their job - or any kind of training for enough length of time to become skilled at it. She had a chaotic upbringing with an alcoholic father and a mother who was his facilitator - so much so that when he sold items eg her clarinet when she was seven years old, her mother told Birdy she had lost it herself, rather than admitting that her father had sold it to pay off a debt. As a result she found it difficult to maintain any emotional attachment to people except for her best friend Heather.
Heather had also had a difficult upbringing but in a very different way. Heather’s father had been a successful wine merchant and when he died and left her a small amount of money she used it to train as a sommelier and had become very well known in her particular field, and very experienced, but because her relationship with her father again was difficult she sought out love from men who were unsuitable in different ways .
This story begins late spring when Birdy is unemployed (again) and Heather decides to go to Italy with her current boyfriend. There is a problem with Heather’s current boyfriend in that he already has another girlfriend, but he promises to break up with her. Birdy has her own problems in being not only being unemployed but having nowhere to live. She had been sharing Heather’s flat but Heather had leased it out for the summer. Birdy then wonders what she's going to do.. .What she does do is to pretend, as she has often pretended, to be Heather - but before for small occasions but this time she was attending a an event for British wines. And she meets a delightful lady called Irene there, who says oh you are Heather and chats to her, and they have a very nice time whilst Birdy’s very unreliable boyfriend Tim gets very drunk .What Birdy doesn't know about Irene comes back to bite her later .
I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed Birdy trying for the first time in her life to learn a skill and failing miserably initially. I enjoyed her character arc and how she developed and learned to be more than she had been before. I recommend that if you are having a struggle learning who you are meant to be, what your job should be, what your place in life is, what you could become, that you read this book and see what Birdy's trajectory was and ponder.

I really enjoyed this book. Birdy's best friend Heather is a sommelier. When Heather decides not to take a summer job at a Scottish hotel, Birdy decides to go in her place, The trouble is, she knows nothing about wine!! Can she pull it off? This is a funny, enjoyable read and I oved the variety of characters. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

Birdy fakes her way into a job as a sommelier at a posh restaurant in the Scottish wilderness, pretending to be her best friend Heather while she's there. She can just about tell the difference between a red and a white. If the basic premise alone hasn't made you grab a copy of this book already, then let me reassure you it is a five star read.

This book was an utter delight. It was wonderfully funny, well observed and had a pretty shocking twist at the end which I 100% did not see coming. Yes, there are romantic undertones but this book is so much more than a romance, it's about finding ourselves and becoming happy with who we are. With lots of brilliant wine and food references along the way, it is a book perfect for foodies who love to read, which I most definitely am. I was also excited to see a reference to a certain vineyard in New Zealand within the pages which I have visited!!

I will be recommending this to anyone and everyone for their feel-good read for next year.

Great read, loved the characters and a great story line. Light hearted and an easy fun read. Liked the way the story progressed with all the twists and turns, quite a page turner.

I love the premise of this book, and the style of writing is great BUT I just find the lead character really infuriating! The supporting characters are brilliant but it’s a strange one for me. Great story line and others will love her but not someone I’m ready to read about again in a hurry unfortunately.

This was a different, really enjoyable book and, I have to say, I found it so stressful! So much lying Birdy! But it was a zippy, engaging read and had a lovely ending.

I was intrigued by this book’s cover and wanted to read what all this book was about.!! I must say I was pleasantly surprised with how this light hearted story slowly started getting more in depth and heavier!! It was startling to see how, our main character, Birdy Finch disguises herself as her best friend, Heather who is a sommelier. Birdy takes on the job of a sommelier for the summer at a newly renovated boutique hotel in Scotland, that her friend Heather wanted to skip to spend time with her boyfriend. Birdy literally blunders her way doing the sommelier job but she does it with such a grace and confidence that you cannot help but admire her courage and confidence!

Birdy has a longtime boyfriend named Tim and while being a pseudo sommelier, she cannot help but grow fonder of James who is one of the Chefs at the newly renovated restaurant. Will she break up with Tim to be with James or will she decide to end this life of deceit and go back to her real world??

The book gets very interesting as you read further and despite of all her web of lies, Birdy finds a sense of belonging and purpose in her new role!!!

This was a 5 star read for me and I highly recommend getting a copy as soon as it’s out!!!

Thank you @netgalley, @vikingsbooksuk #penguinrandomhouseuk, @lizzy.dent for the copy of 'The Summer Job e-ARC' in exchange for my honest review!!