Member Reviews
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. The perfect, light, summer escapism in book form! It’s easy and very readable. Now get me on a flight to Greece!!
if you are looking for a book to escape your stressful life, if you need a vacation in beautiful Greece, if you are looking for a fun book to read, this book is for you!!!! Sue Roberts, you did it again, you wrote an excellent book again! Thank you! I enjoyed my read so much! This book is reminding us that life isn't all about money, professional career, beautiful clothes and beautiful house. It's more about family, real and genuine friends, simple things... I absolutely loved the moral in this book! 4 stars out of 5 for me!!!
This book made my Mamma Mia heart happy!
Don't we all just want to escape to Greece sometimes? This book was such a sweet sweet read!
Sam has a scandal in her personal and professional life and needs to get away. Luckily, her sister and brother in law have a cute farm in Rhodes, Greece. Sam takes much needed R&R.
I feel like this book was a lot about Sam and finding out what she wants to do and if it's the same thing she's always done or if there is something calling her towards Greece.
We do have two love interests, but you immediately know who to root for. #TeamSpyros.
It was an interesting because I think a lot of times when we have "the old flame" you are supposed to root for him, but Aaron is a major d bag. But you relate to Sam's desire to rekindle something she remembers and is already comfortable with. Even though Aaron isn't treating her how she deserves.
Spyros was almost too good to be true, but I loved him. He was just what Sam deserved. He pursued her and you felt their instant chemistry. So could Sam, even when she thought Aaron was the one for her.
But I absolutely loved this book if you are looking for a light, cute read. But you will 100% want to go to Greece after reading it, so beware!
5/5!
Ah, what a joy it is to be able to travel within the pages of a book…and this time we’re off to Greece.
Poor Sam has, for the first time, seen her fan base and the great British press, turn against her. Suddenly she is no longer the darling of daytime TV and the only escape she can think of is to go and spend the summer with her sister in Greece. Whilst she attempts to ween herself off of constant social media surfing (with the help of dodgy WiFi) Sam finally begins to slow down, relax and enjoy the good things in life – family, sunshine and a rather lovely Greek named Spyros. The experience that left her wounded and humiliated has made her stop and reconsider what is really important in life – with a backdrop of glorious sunshine and good Greek food. Then her first love turns up out of the blue and Sam is torn between two very different paths as she wrestles with which way to turn next. Can she find her happy ever after so far away from home in London? And will home ever feel quite the same again?
The joy of this book is the gorgeous setting, the engaging and highly likeable cast of characters and of course Sam herself. She was a girl who thought she had it all, until, of course, one piece came loose and she almost lost it all. Sometimes, in what can feel, our darkest moments the light can appear and make things so much clearer and what we thought was real and right for us doesn’t quite feel the same.
This is a perfect piece of escapism and a rather delightful journey from London to a sun-soaked Greek island. It made me chuckle, smile and at times grimace on Sam’s behalf and it was a highly enjoy read. Perfect for lovers of a little soul searching and romance and for those of us who would just like to be whisked away for a little while.
You know, I always worry when a book is touted as being "hilarious" because it is hard to live up to the hype, and so it proved to be with this book. There were some humorous situations here and there, but more of a wry chuckle response from me rather than a laugh out loud.
I was looking for a light and easy read when I picked this book and it didn't disappoint. Sam is a television personality in the UK who has a one night stand with a married man - only he didn't mention that bit. Due to her high profile, the backlash from her viewers sends her off to have a break with her sister and her family in Greece.
Sam is a high maintenance kind of girl, so the pace of life in Greece is quite different for her. To her credit, she adapts and adjusts quite well, to the point where she is really enjoying herself spending time with her boisterous nieces and their dog - meeting local fella Spyros certainly helps as well.
I have to admit that I had a hankering to get myself on a plane and go to Greece myself after reading this book! It sounds very nice and relaxing, and warm, which I would appreciate being in the middle of winter (and a storm right now!).
There were parts of the book where I just wanted to throw my Kindle at Sam, for being so weak when it came to Aaron. The phrase "why do I think I am nothing without a man" sprang to mind when it came to her, and the combination of this woman who had forged a career in a cut-throat business and yet who was really indecisive when it came to relationships, kinda didn't make a lot of sense to me. The Spyros situation was nice, but just not enough. I didn't really get all the feels with those two, sorry to say, although Spyros was a nice guy.
All in all, this book was a bit underwhelming. The author gave us a lot of information, without showing us, if that makes sense.
I loved Fi and Nick and their girls, and the locals added a bit of needed colour and extra layers to the story.
3 stars from me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.
Sue Roberts is a new author to me. The cover caught my eyes with how pretty and colourful it was.
This book is the perfect summer read. It's got great characters, plenty of laughter, a lovely setting, and very descriptive of the places,
I loved this and I would recommend xx
This is a lovely book to escape into, with great characters, a beautiful setting and plenty of sunshine and laughter, too!
Samantha is a popular, hard working presenter on morning television and is really looking forward to her summer break. However a one-night stand has her being vilified in the press and social media as the other participant is, unknown to her, a married man. Bad publicity results in cancelled contracts and a need to escape so she flies off to stay with her big sister and her family who live and farm on the Greek island of Rhodes. That’s when the fun really starts. Her twin six year old nieces, the Greek neighbours, an unexpected encounter with an ex-boyfriend all add together to create an engaging, fun read that really did have me laughing out loud.
Told from Sam’s perspective, it is easy to relate to all the dramas affecting Sam, her family and friends. However, it isn’t just about how Sam relates with them, there are several other relationships which develop through the story. It is a story about family, re-thinking priorities, love, life choices and learning to work to live instead of living to work. It also highlights the negative impact of social media when judgements are made without any actual evidence – and just how fickle those judgements can be! If you’re looking for a fun read to help you escape to the sun and put a smile on your face, grab yourself a copy of this delightful book!
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for my copy of this book which I have voluntarily read and honestly reviewed.
Are you looking for a quick beach read? Going Greek fills the bill. It has a wronged TV presenter fleeing from the paparazzi and social media trolls after a one-night-stand gone awry. Samantha hides out on a delightful Greek island on her sister Fiona’s rustic sheep farm.
While there, she learns to slow down, unwind, and appreciate what really matters in life. When you add to the mix a handsome neighbor with a heart of gold and a past love showing up unexpectedly, you have the required bit of drama.
Fiona and her family are adorable. They have figured out that life is best lived at a slower, easier pace with true friends. Everyone from Spyros, his aging father, semi-reclusive neighbor Sophia to the many colorful townspeople make this story a heart-felt page-turner.
While I certainly felt like giving Samantha a shake or two to wake her up to what’s really important in life and relationships, this is still an enjoyable book to read.
I love Sue Roberts books and when she writes about Greece they are my favourite.
This had lovely settings, great characters and very true to life with its descriptions of places, having visited Rhodes I could picture quite a lot.
Loved this and would recommend x
This was a light, quick, summer read but it just didnt have enough for me. I really loved the location and it definitely gave me Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants flashbacks and made me want to visit Greece right now, but the storyline fell a bit flat for me. I was rolling my eyes a lot at Sam at how naive and clueless she was at times. It felt unrealistic for someone who has experience dealing with publicity and relationships. I did like the social media aspect though. It was definitely something that could happen now and that made it more relatable.
I didnt connect much with any of the charcters in London but I loved her family in Greece. The twins were a bit of a comic relief but they were really the only characters that made me laugh. I would not call this a romantic comedy as I honestly didn't feel the romance but it also was not very funny in my opinion. I think Spyros was definitely a great character but I felt like their connection was a bit forced and odd at times. I wish there was more built up for them so you could really get to see them together.
If you are looking for a good light hearted beach read, then I definitely recommend this.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Going Greek follows TV presenter Sam who runs away to Greece after getting turned on by Internet trolls for inadvertently sleeping with a married man.
Sam is a nice enough character, as is her sister Fi but the story is missing something for me. The romances are a bit naff and it irritated me. Sam was a strong, independent woman that acts stupidly for men for no apparent reason.
It was an ok read but that was it.
Reminiscent of Sophie Kinsella, this book tells the story of Samantha, a newscaster who makes one awful mistake and is put on hiatus from her tv show in London. She flees to her sister's home in Greece to let the gossip die down.
The neighboring farmer, Spyros, is single and attractive, but when Samantha's old college boyfriend shows up in a seeming coincidence, Samantha falls for him again. She helps out with her sister's twins, learns about farming life, and has to decide if going back to the rat race in London is what she wants.
Recommended as a great beach read.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars for GoodReads
This book is subtitled A totally summer romantic comedy , unfortunately it is lacking in hilarity, romance and comedy. I did not laugh once. The romances are lukewarm at best. It does mostly take place in summer so that part holds true.
Also the plot of the book does not match up with the blurb of the book. Is that PR copy from before the book was written? Is that what the glowing reviews are based on?
The main character, Sam Southern, is just unlikable and unrelatable. She comes across as a one dimensional bubble headed tv personality. The woman did not pack a single pair of flat shoes for a summer on a sheep farm! Since the book is told in first person, there's no one to blame for this impression but Sam. It's her story after all.
I liked Fiona, Nick and the twins. I liked Stavros and Vassili and Sophia. I just didn't like Sam. I didn't buy the "happily ever after" either.
I was hoping for a light, funny, romantic story to balance out the recent run of heavy, grief-focused books I've read recently. This is not that book.
(Luckily, I picked up The Secret Bridesmaid next and that book IS funny. I laughed 3 times by page 27! )
*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law.*
This is the perfect book to kick off your summer reading. Greek Islands, sun, romance, sexy neighbors....sounds perfect right? Well it starts off that way but then reality hits. Samantha has lost her job and has no idea how she'll pick up the pieces. When her sister invites her to come stay at her little farmhouse Samantha decides this will be the perfect escape. A nice change of scenery is just what she needs! Laying by the pool, sipping cocktails, and just taking in the change is nice but Sam has her life all planned out, and she needs to get back to her 5 year plan. A handsome Greek god offers to show her around but his kicked back no care in the world attitude is annoying and certainly not appreciated by Type A Samantha! Sometimes people come into your life for a reason, even if your not sure you want them to.
Cute story that left me wanting to escape to the ocean and drink fruity drinks and eat a lot of baklava dipped in greek yogurt and smothered in honey.Yum
I really enjoyed this book! It’s the perfect summer read, and all the “slow down and enjoy the island life” type vibes were done so well! It really makes you stop a second and take stock of what’s important to you in your own life, and I love when books do that. And they way she describes the island, and the food, and just the whole way of life was so beautiful! The only thing holding me back was Sam, because she was a little too wushu washy for me in regards to Aaron, and I felt bad for Spyro. Overall, a super cute summer RomCom!
Do you wish you were going somewhere exotic for the summer holidays? You can travel to Greece in the pages of Sue Robert's new summer novel Going Greek.
I don't read a lot of chick-lit or romantic comedies, but I usually like to read one or two during the summer. I tend to lean more to the women's fiction side of the genre so I thought Going Greek by Sue Roberts (the UK author, not the Girl Who Reads reviewer by the same name) would be a good choice.
Sam Southern is a successful morning TV talk show host, but at the end of the season wrap party she throws caution to the wind and hooks up with a guy from the bard. Unfortunately, it was a bad decision that blows up the internet and possibly torpedos her career. With summer appearances canceled, Sam decides to head to the Greek isle where her sister lives for an extended holiday. With time to finally relax, Sam finds herself re-evaluating her life and what she thought was important.
I loved the setting of a small Greek village. I watched The Durrell's of Corfu a few years ago, and the village that Fiona lives with her husband and twin daughters reminded me of the show with it is colorful village life.
I loved all the secondary characters. There is a character named Spyros and I couldn't stop picturing Alexis Georgoulis, who played Spiros on The Durrell's. Also, Sofia made me think of Lugaretzia, played by Anna Savva. Fiona and Nick have the life I would love. They own a sheep farm and while I know that is a lot of work, they have a slower pace of life.
The only character I didn't really like was Sam. She's a bit too whiny and maybe kind of snobbish - it's about her designer clothes and getting her hair deep conditioned. I know it is to show her character growth through the novel to have her start at this point, but since the entire story is her "talking" to the reader (there is a smattering of dialogue) it made it difficult to get into the story. I felt like I was just being told stuff for the majority of the story instead of seeing it play out which added to the difficulty. I was actually thinking of not finishing the book pretty early on. But I wanted to give the book a fair shake and once she was in Greece I started to enjoy it, though I still found Sam annoying.
Sam does have some pretty significant character growth throughout the novel, I just kind of wish she had gotten there a bit quicker because I liked the new Sam better.
Overall, I can see this as being a good book to lay in a hammock or on a beach blanket reading this summer.
My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Thursday, June 3 - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2021/06/going-greek-by-sue-roberts-review.html
I definitely enjoyed reading this book and going on Sam’s journey with her. I felt like the way the book explored the difference between the hustle, bustle and expectation of city life and the calming slowness of Greek island life really put an original spin on the book. It allowed me as a reader to take stock and reminded me of the importance of what we often call the “little things” but are actually the big things: family, mindfulness, self-care and self-respect.
I liked the character of Sam and found her relationship with her sister and brother-in-law particularly endearing. Despite being a character with a very different career and lifestyle of my own, I think Sue did a good job of showing her vulnerability, her humanity and making her seem relatable.
Of course, right from my reading of the blurb, I was looking forward to the introduction of the fully fledged romance storyline and it did not disappoint. It was great to see the way this whole experience lifted Sam’s spirits as she really needed that.
Overall, this has been a fun and escapist read that I would definitely recommend to fans of Sophie Kinsella and Lucy Coleman.
Samantha’s life has taken a rather drastic turn for the worse. After sleeping with a married man and being named as a homewrecker, she soon finds herself without a job. As a former well known tv personality, she is struggling to escape the never ending tirade of paparazzi, she decides it is about time to take up her sister Fiona’s offer to visit her in her summer house in Greece.
Life on the island is beautiful, and for a while Sam is able to forget all of the drama she has left behind. Making the most of spending time with her nieces and her sister, along with enjoying the beautiful scenery of the beautiful Greek Island.
And then she meets Spyro’s, a handsome local who offers to give her a tour of the island, and there is certainly a spark between them, so when an old flame of hers Aaron appears, she finds herself for the first time in quite some time feeling that she has options in the romantic department.
Now Samantha finds herself facing an even bigger dilemma. Will she return to London and get back in front of the camera? or will she decide that a quieter life is for her after all?.
I really enjoyed being able to escape to the beautiful Greek Island in this book! It is the exact form of escapism I so desperately needed, as I am sure many others will. The storyline flowed wonderfully from beginning to end. The characters in this book are all well developed and have their own quirks and personalities that make the interactions they have with one another throughout the book more enjoyable. I loved the authenticity of the setting, and the way in which the author brought the Island to life. A delightful story that I will happily recommend to others.
I really enjoyed this novel. To be honest, every novel by Sue Roberts I really like. This one had a feel-good moment throughout the whole book. Love the location, love the descriptions of food. Only thing I was a little unsure of was main character Sam. At some points she seemed okay, but other times she seemed so superficial and I hated that she was soooo into Aaron and kept going back to him. Poor Spyros! Was also a little confused over the whole character and relationship with Will? He seemed a bit irrelevant to be honest so I found myself skipping those paragraphs about their conversations because it seemed a bit not needed. As well as this, the whole Pippa (think that's how her name is spelt!) pregnancy thing seemed a bit irrelevant to the main storyline too. However, having said that, it all worked out in the end and I did really enjoy it.
In this book the author nails what it is that I personally love about Greece; the laid back lifestyle, the simplicity of a byegone age and the friendliness of the locals. When Samantha arrives with her city heels, it takes a while for the magic of Greece to work on her but slowly and surely it does. I love the sense of place, the characters, especially the twins, and the storyline. This is probably my favourite book by Sue Roberts.