Really enjoyed this book. Great debut from Lizzy Dent. I listened to the audio book first and then read the book. I preferred 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.
The Summer Job is a good rom-com and an emotional roller-coaster filled with humour and laugh out loud moments.
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.

An enjoyable easy read.
Elizabeth Finch “Birdy” is from a dysfunctional family which leads her to flit through life . She doesn’t want to set down roots and make commitments and feels her best friend Heather is her only family .
Heather is from a different type of family but still with issues, she is a trained sommelier and applies for a job in a Scottish hotel , but decides not to start the job. Instead she runs off to Italy with her lover.

Birdy decides to take the place of Heather as the sommelier, the only issue is Birdy doesn’t know the first thing about wine. In essence Birdy tries to escape her life too and begin a fresh in Scotland although she is impersonating Heather.
At first glimpse this book is a light hearted feel good story, but underneath the surface it highlights serious issues such as alcoholism, gaslighting and also child neglect without dragging the story into a dour place.

The characters are genuine in their nature and Birdy ‘s characteristics made me want her to succeed. I enjoyed the twist towards the end and really liked the story and it’s characters. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House UK Audio for this copy.

Lizzy Dent takes us for a hell of a ride as we follow Elizabeth "Birdy" Finch as she takes on the utterly insane adventure of masquerading as her best friend the Sommelier. Just from the synopsis, I knew this was bound to be a crazy adventure.

What I wasn't expecting was to fall so deeply in love with Birdy, James, Irene, and the rest of the Loch Dorn crew and I definitely wasn't expecting the quite heavy layers underneath "The Summer Job". Lizzy Dent brings us in with the allure of a light-hearted from com and while this book more than fulfils all romcom quotas, it also packs quite the emotional punch. Also that 3rd-hour plot twist, I most definitely did not see coming and it served to quite elegantly tie together some elements that were slightly disjointed in the earlier parts of the book.

A major strength of this book was Birdy. As a character, she was created perfectly for the plot, any less likeable and you would literally hate her and be desperate to see her lose but any more likeable and the whole thing because unrealistic. Lizzy Dent makes this completely bizarre premise work by creating a character that would absolutely do the things she's doing. In that same vein, I would have loved to see Birdy's reckoning with her own chaotic behaviour and issues played out in more detail. The ending involves time skips and summaries of recovery giving the ending an almost rushed feeling. It still works, but only because I really wanted it to as a reader.

The Summer Job manages to be a fun rom-com that will make you laugh at loud and definitely make you swoon, but also a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. Loved this book soo much.

Story is a bit unbelievable however it is a typical scenario of running away to find yourself. Some lovely characters and camaraderie, how just belonging is all you really need in life. Liked the narrator and enjoyed the read. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook.

This is my second read of this book! I wanted to try the audio book of it because I’m a huge fan of that genre on audio.

To be honest I think I preferred the audio version. The narration is very good and I liked the Scottish accents. They were done very well. This book is about a girl called Birdy who is at a crossroads in her life. She has a complicated family background and when the opportunity comes to make a change she takes it. In doing this she jeopardises one of the only important relationships in her life. She takes a job in a Scottish hotel and there at Loch Dorn we meet a cast of characters that really add to the story. Of course there is a love interest which makes it even more readable. Even though a lot of Birdy’s choices are questionable I still warmed to her and wanted it all to work out for the best. I really enjoyed this book and I’m already looking forward to the authors next one.

Review also posted to Goodreads