Lucy moves to France to start over and run a hotel. Except when she arrives, she discovers that the hotel is not quite what she expected. She spends months with a hobknob crew trying to adjust to living in France and renovate the hotel. Along the way, Lucy learns to trust herself again and maybe even finds love.

Lucy is pushing 50 when she has her life turned upside down. She is the manager of a very successful hotel and is in love with the owner when he disappears with millions of dollars. She spends every penny she has trying to clear her name and stay out of jail. After being unemployed for 2 years, she is offered a job in Rennes, France bringing a very old hotel back to life. She realizes she may be in over her head when she arrives, but pushes forward and finds her confidence, joy and a found family in the people who live and work there. There is a small romance as well with an artist.

I enjoyed this cute story and loved the France setting. I always enjoy the references to good food and the laid back style. The characters were interesting and I loved their personalities. The hotel was a gem and I would love to stay somewhere like that! However, I would have liked to have the romance been a little more in the forefront and developed more. I liked that the female lead was older but I don’t know if the cover threw me or she read more immature but somehow she seemed like she should have been younger. Overall, it was a fun, easy read and I would love to revisit these characters in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book and although it is billed as a light novel, I think it would work well in a book club. While the story itself is pretty basic, I think the idea of a discussion having to rebuild your career at a later stage in life is important. This isn't your basic 20-something PR professional getting canned, starts up her own agency with her best friends type book. Yes, it is pretty light and frothy, but I think the situation Lucy is in really hits home for the older audience.

Here's the basic idea of LUCY CHECKS IN: With nowhere else to go, Lucy takes on an impossible challenge: turn a rundown, seen-better-days chateau in Renne, France into a luxurious, profitable destination and business. Given six months to refurbish, renovate, and restore former glory, Lucy also restores her own self-esteem and sets a new course for herself following years of heartache and turmoil caused by her former lover and employer. As it currently stands, this novel does not deliver what could be a fascinating and engaging piece of women's fiction. Characters are caricatures, wands are waved and huge problems are solved. Throughout, Lucy's nonstop internal narrative yammers and doubts, suggesting there is a lot more going on than is shared with the reader. As a writer, I recognize talent and smart ideas, some lovely turns of phrase, but also the creative desperation and awkward bits of a typical early draft. Refusing to believe that Dee Ernst would not deliver the sparkling and well-wrought story shared in her debut MAGGIE FINDS HER MUSE, I read all the way to the soggy, saggy end hoping it would improve. It did not. I received an early copy and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

In short: In the aftermath of a scandal Lucy finds herself employed, homeless and nearing 50. She accepts a hotel manager position in France and builds up on her mind what she’s walking into. Her perception is quite different from reality but perhaps it is just what she needs.

What I liked:
🇫🇷The setting. From the French countryside to the hotel.
🇫🇷The hotel characters. What a charismatic group!
🇫🇷 A main character in her 40s! We need more of this.
🇫🇷The plot of rebuilding the hotel, while also rebuilding Lucy’s life. She found a home and a found family.

Final thought: I enjoyed this book but it was a little slow paced at times. Lucy’s journey was enjoyable to read and I adored all the side characters. I’d definitely stay at their hotel!

Usually I start with the positive things in a book, but I have some venting to do first...

Things I didn't like:
- OK folks, let's start with my biggest peeve about this book. You don't have to look too far, because it's right on the cover. The titular Lucy is 49, almost 50 years old. Please tell me how I am supposed to believe that the person on that cover is that age. Because I am 53, and nobody my age looks like that. The illustration on the cover is someone who is maybe 30 years old. Can the book industry please get its act together and give us older folks some appropriate representation? I mean don't get me wrong, I absolutely love that this book is about someone my age. It's rare to find one. But heaven forbid that we put a middle-aged woman on the cover of a romance novel. I'm sure the reason that cover Lucy is shown from the back is because we certainly can't show a face with - GASP - wrinkles! I am greatly disappointed in everyone who let this one just slide on by their desk.
- Everywhere I look this is billed as a romance. It's not. Is there a love interest? Yes. But that is not the focus of this story. Don't go in expecting good chemistry or even the barest hint of steam, because you won't find any.
- The slow pacing and general lack of...I don't want to say plot because there definitely is one, but it didn't really have a lot of highs and lows, just a plodding story about a woman rebuilding her life as well as a hotel. There's a little bit of action at the end, but it all seemed very rushed, especially given the slow pace of the rest of the book.

Things I liked:
- The French countryside setting. The descriptions were beautiful, and it all made me want to go back and visit France again.
- Most of the characters. A few were a little underdeveloped, but most were solid and well-done.
- I'm always a sucker for a found family story, and this one did an excellent job with that.
- Although I think the plot could have definitely used some more dimension, I loved it as a whole. Everyone coming together as a family to save this hotel made me smile often.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy Checks In by Dee Ernst was such a fun read. From the first page, I was drawn into the story. With reading so much I can get bored but this was spectacular writing by Dee Ernst. Dee lets us know right away that Lucy is an underappreciated dynamo that hasn't got her due credit while many others have taken credit for what she has done. As a woman, I said I am here for this story.

I highly recommend Lucy Checks In by Dee Ernst. I would like to thank Net Galley and for the opportunity to read and review Lucy Checks In.

A pretty decent and uplifting read. The hotel characters all worked well together. It would be nice to read more about them in other books. The ending was satisfying. Only one thing put me off. Lucy and Julia went to Paris for a few days on the train, then took the train back to Rennes so Julia could get up the next day and train back to Paris to go to the airport. What a waste of time.

Thank you NetGalley, Dee Ernst, and St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin Publishing for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It took me less than a day to read it so it was a really good quick read. Lucy is 49 and is now jobless and homeless. Until she gets a job in France to return a rundown hotel to its former glory. Along the way she meets some pretty amazing characters who help her learn to open back up and trust herself and others.

There was romance in the book, but it wasn't the focus of it. The real focus was on Lucy learning to get back to the person she was before the tragedy that struck her life. I loved watching how each character in the book had an impact on different aspects of Lucy's life.

Lucy Checks In is a wonderful story. Who wouldn’t want to live in a boutique hotel inside a chateau in France? I loved the beautiful descriptions of Rennes and the chateau property. The delightful characters who lived there and helped Lucy were eclectic. I was ready to check in myself! There is some romance and some drama but mostly this is a story about how you can make your own family.

Lucy Checks in by Dee Ernst

I’d like to extend a special thanks to @stmartinspress and @dee.ernst.7 for the chance to read this #eARC! Lucy Checks In will be out August 16 and is available for preorder.

Lucia (Lucy) Giannetti is in need of an overhaul. Career, love, life, the works. She’s just had her hotel executive boyfriend break her heart and make a fool of her in one fail swop when he makes off with her any many other’s money and leaving her to pick up the pieces and be investigated by the FBI. With her career in tatters, she eagerly accepts a job in Rennes, France getting a defunct hotel back up and running. When she arrives she learns it’s going to take a lot more than some new decor to get this hotel back off the ground and most of the residents don’t have faith she can pull it off. Will she be able to restore the Hotel Paradis to its former glory or will this project be more than she can take?

This was a solid summer read. It really helped my need for vicarious wanderlust. I was mildly disappointed that the groundwork was laid for the ghost to play a part and it was ultimately just left a very minor piece (I love a good spook!). The story was solid and I enjoyed the character development in Lucy and how she fulfilled that before she let herself fall for Bing. Romance, growth, comedy, this was solid and had it all. I recommend for those looking for a good, easy summer read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5

DNF @ 12%

I don't think that I am the target reader for this book. I am down for a book where someone is finding themselves. I am down for a book featuring an older protagonist. But this book just did not work for me. Lucy was self centered and truly insufferable to read about and I don't have hope that she's going to be better. She also mentioned weight loss several times, and as someone in ED recovery, I don't want to read books about intentional weight loss, even when it's just mentioned in passing.

I think that there is an audience for this book, but I'm not sure who -- I wouldn't recommend it to friends for the weight loss comments I mentioned above.

It's very difficult for me to judge this book as a reviewer, as it's not truly a romance, which is what it was categorized as in Netgalley. It's a very pleasant romcom. I think the travel experience is described very well, and I enjoy the fact that we have a middle-aged heroine enjoying life and having great experiences. However, because I went into it expecting a romance, I think I felt a bit empty throughout it.

Lucy Checks In was a nice break from the twenty-something love stories that I've been surrounded by lately. Lucy is successful, strong and charming. But she found herself in the middle of a horrible situation which now affects her place in society as well as her self confidence. I found this main character to be very interesting and also realistic. Lucy's struggles are very common in the real world: losing loved ones, familial expectations, financial issues. Her trip to France and the story that follows is somewhat dreamy but in a good way that pulls the reader in emotionally. I really liked this book, it was a bit of an escape but also a book about hope.

As a women in my (cough) late 40s it was so nice to see a heroine a similar age! I adored the setting and the friends/neighbors that became family. It was a cute heartwarming story (not too much romance).

Lucy checks in was a good piece of women's fiction with a light romance side storyline. We don't always get a heroine in her late 40s in the romance genre. Lucy was a mess in the beginning but she slowly won back her self esteem and found a new family among her neighbors. The hotel sounded really charming. I'd stay in that hotel. There is a lot of renovation talk in this book so if you like watching HGTV non-stop and have a thing for old hotels this book is for you.

Lucy is 49 and starting over. She takes a 6 month contract at a hotel in Paris but she gets more then she bargained for when she arrives. The hotel is historic and in need of complete renovation which apparently is her job now with 6 other locals who are all different ages who live at the hotel. I absolutely loved this book! I loved getting to see the hotel be restored bit by bit. I loved the growth of all of the 6 people and Lucy throughout the restoration. I didn’t want this book to end and I created so many notes on my kindle highlighting my favorite quotes. Some of my favorites were “ There’s a tension that you feel when your not around each other. Then when you are together there’s a bit of rush, exhilaration. A surprise of joy. Even though the time in each other’s company may be perfect, it’s the waiting that is really telling. The wanting.” The second quote that really got to me is “ Because of him, you don’t trust yourself anymore. You chose to love him, you think you will never be able to make any real decision about who you let into your life. I want you to be able to love again.

I can’t thank St Martins Press and Netgalley enough I absolutely loved this book and so thankful for this opportunity!! Everyone needs to pick this up on Aug 16.

A delightful, feel good story about Lucy, an almost 50 year old woman whose professional (and personal) life is in tatters but who gets a second chance when she moves to Rennes (northwestern France) to manage a small, rundown hotel. Lucy is so relatable and likeable and the other characters are very charming - it is so nice to see a story with strong, vibrant middle-aged main characters. The story flowed along at a good pace and was very easy to read - the descriptions of the hotel and the garden were very vivid and I felt that I was right there with the characters both at the hotel and Rennes. A very calming, feel good read that put a smile on my face that stayed there until the very last page. The perfect summer read!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really adored Lucy Checks In. Our MC Lucy has a mid-life crisis (she's almost 50) and finds herself, trying to get a hotel in a city in France up and running again. I thought this was a delightful escape read, and really loved that Lucy was more middle age. and the side characters added lots of charm to the story. I feel it is a little miss marketed as a romance, there's a bit of a love story, but that's not the main point of this book. I do believe that editing could have been better because there was a side story involving an ancillary character that felt unnecessary to me. Highly recommend picking this one up especially if you're wanting a trip to France but can't go! Dee Ernst paints such beautiful pictures of Lucy's location in Rennes, that you'll feel like you're with Lucy on her journey. Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the free book.
This was fine. When a book features a renovation project, I know that it can be done well and complement the story. Or the renovation can take over the story and it's more of an HGTV episode than anything else. Unfortunately this felt like watching a renovation show, not a book about a woman rediscovering herself. I could easily visualize this hotel in France and all of the renovations. I wish there had been more depth to the character's and their interactions. Everything felt very surface level. It was hard to root for a character when there was a lot of telling vs showing when it came to them and their relationships. I was invested enough to finish, but it's one that won't stick with me long-term.