Lucy Checks In is about a ancient hotel needing to be renovated and brought back to life.
Main character, Lucia Giannetti works in the hotel field until a scandal occurs and she finds herself black listed.
She has no clue what she is going to do. Then a unexpected opportunity is presented to her. What she finds is a family.
Quirky characters, humorous moments and romance are what you will find with reading this book.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved all of the hotel vibes that we get in this read! It was too cute. We are following Lucia, she is a hotel manager and needs a change, so she goes to France. This was such a cute summer read. Highly recommend as a beach / poolside read.

I really enjoyed this book. The descriptions of the hotel, Rennes and Paris all provided me with an escape to France. The fact that Lucy is a middle-aged woman trying to renovate a hotel and rebuild her life in a country other than her own is admirable.

I can’t help but cheer Lucy on right from the beginning. After her boyfriend/owner of the prestigious New York hotel that Lucy has managed leaves the country with millions of dollars, her business reputation and love life disappear with it. No hotel is willing to hire her. That is until she is hired to rebuild a heritage hotel in Rennes, France.

The hotel hasn’t been used as such since the war. Although Lucy can see the beauty of the hotel the way it once was, she knows she’s in way over her head. While she thought that the six-month contract she’d signed meant she was supervising the rebuild, she soon learns that the task of recreating the hotel is up to her and a few others who are tenants of the hotel.

As the work on the hotel progresses, Lucy begins to experience and feel the charm of living in a small French village. There are interesting and diverse characters which added to the pleasure of reading this book including Bing the resident artist she’s attracted to. By the time the hotel’s work is complete and she’s managing a small staff she can see herself staying here. That is, until tragedy strikes and her life changes overnight.

I recommend Lucy Checks In to those readers that enjoy Women’s Fiction or Romance books with strong female characters.

This book was quite an interesting read. I honestly thought it was going to be a light/fun read, and it was, but it was also so much more than that. I truly felt for Lucy and the situation she was dealt, connecting to her as a character was easy. I wanted her to succeed so badly and felt myself cheering her on. I loved the relationship she had with Bing and how it was a slow burn. The only thing I disliked about this book was that I felt like it ended a little abruptly. I could have gotten more from the book toward the end as well but all in all it was a beautiful quick read.

Lucy Checks In is a low angst woman’s fiction with a smidge of romance. Lucy Giannetti is 49 and starting over. She managed a very high end NYC hotel for many years before the owner absconded with everyones money. After two years of spending her last dime clearing her name she accepts a job to run a boutique hotel in Rennes, France. She is shocked to learn that it hasn’t operated as a hotel since before the war and the owner expects her to transition the run down building into a tourist hotel. Where she thought she’d be supervising much of the work falls to her and the current residents/investors in the project.

This could have been a fish out of water story but it isn’t because Lucy is very competent and willing to learn and try new things. Instead it is making friends with the characters who live in the hotel. I love when Lucy would get overwhelmed that she’d sit and eat simple french food and be comforted and know this is where she belonged. I love France and have had those travel moments where I wonder if it was worth the cost and effort to but would that same comfort from ham and butter on a baguette or eating gelato by the Seine.

I think the blurb is very good but the cover is a little deceptive as I thought the story was about a younger person. I enjoyed the characters and the friendships. The romance to me was minor and I was fine with them being either friends or more. And their one interlude together is off non descriptive. I did really like the ending and thought it fit the story well.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. (3.5 stars)

This was an eh read I kept putting it down out of lack of interest. DNF at 83%. She was scammed by her partner and many people have difficulty believing she wasn't aware. She goes to Europe with expectations only to be disappointed. She works through her emotions ... This read like a formula romance. 2.75 stars.


*************************I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest opinion. ********************************************

I wanted to LOVE this one, but it was only okay for me. This trend of coming-of-middle-age books is really fun and this one certainly fit the vibes - but I just never found myself all that connected to the characters. A great European escape and weekend read, but nothing that’s going to stick with me for very long.

3.5 stars
This was an enjoyable book about an almost 60 year old woman who moves to France to get an old hotel updated after her last job ended in disaster. I was expecting more romance than the book provided and I really didn’t feel the chemistry between Lucy and Bing. It was also kind of hard to tell that time was passing unless it explicitly said so but it wasn’t a bad book by any means, just not super exciting to read. Would recommend for a slower fiction book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc of LUCY CHECKS IN in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of LUCY CHECKS IN seemed absolutely adorable. I’m a sucker for a quaint, European setting and that is what I loved most about this book. I wanted to love the eclectic group of characters, but sadly I didn’t feel connected or invested to any of them and found several to be quite annoying.

A few other things that bothered me were some extremely awkward encounters/conversations and the drastic plot twist at 88% that I felt came out of absolutely nowhere.

While LUCY CHECKS IN was not for me, you may like it if you enjoy women’s fiction that is light on romance, heavy on characters, and felt like being a part of an HGTV renovation show.

Lucy is down on her luck. After a series scandal at her previous job, she is left lost. In her 40’s, moving back in with her parents, dealing with the FBI, and having no job. Finally Lucy gets a break and is offered a new job, in a new country, and a chance to restart. However when she arrives at Hotel Paradis, everything is not quite as she dreamed.

Being in charge in a new way has Lucy really evaluating everything. She has to work harder physically and mentally to pull the renovations of this new hotel off. It comes with ups and down, but ultimately a new found family which I always love in a story. A sprinkle of romance can be found, but it’s truly Lucy’s story about starting over and believing in herself again.

This was such a cute story, and I really enjoyed it. Lucy is a compelling MC, but she was so well-rounded out with a great cast as well! I loved the dilapidated hotel location, and the fun and amazing antics to get it up and running. I would absolutely recommend this one!

"Lucy Checks In" by Dee Ernst is Contemporary Romance - Women's Fiction!

Forty-nine-year-old Lucia Giannetti has worked in hospitality management forever. That is until NYC luxury hotel owner, Tony Fielding, her boss and boyfriend, stole millions and disappeared leaving Lucy looking guilty and feeling vulnerable. Is this what can happen when you mix business with pleasure?

Fighting litigation and unemployed for two years, flat broke and living with her parents, Lucy accepts a position to manage a luxury boutique hotel, in Rennes, France. The opportunity is appealing!

What she imagines is not what she finds when she arrives at Hotel Paradis. Lucy sees a building that's been dormant for decades and herself in charge of breathing new life into this run down, centuries old piece of history. The opportunity is...overwhelming!

Then there's Bing - an attractive, irritating, and arrogant artist-writer who lives in the hotel as one of the half dozen long-time residents.

What has Lucy gotten herself into?

My second read from this author, like her previous book, hooks me in quickly. I love her knack for creating strong, independent, mature female main characters. It's refreshing to discover a contemporary romance author that doesn't cater to New Age demographics.

I love Lucy's persistence and determination to carve a new beginning on her own terms and her first-person POV solidifies this as 'her story'! She rolls up her sleeves to dive into things she never thought she would. And her snarky exchanges with her 'love interest' Bing is one of the best parts of this story.

The bounty of primary characters, some a bit grumpy, all quite quirky and definitely set in their ways, pull together to make Lucy's renovation project their project, too. They welcome her as one of their own.

A 'second-chance' story with picturesque French settings, mouth-watering cuisine, and centuries of historical landmarks and culture. Humor mixed with new friendship-family, minor bickering mixed with romance and heartbreak, and an ending that feels right for this story and seems to leave room for more from Hotel Paradise!

An enjoyable second read I definitely recommend and I'm looking forward to more from this author! 3.75 stars rounded up to 4 'second chance' stars!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Dee Ernst for a free ARC of this book. It has been an honor to give my honest and voluntary review.

I’m not sure why, but this just didn’t work for me.

This read much more as women’s fiction than it did as romance, and I strongly prefer romance. While the overall story was good, I feel just a little let down.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Lucy Checks In.

I was expecting a romance based on the premise and how it’s categorized. I definitely found this to be more of a self-exploration and general fiction.

I liked the setting and plot. Lucy as a character was hard for me to relate to but I appreciated the chance to stretch my thinking.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I enjoyed Lucy the middle-aged heroine and her journey to Rennes, France, to redefine her life. It has a little romance, although I would classify it more as women's fiction, a good bit of charm, and a nice cast of eccentric characters.

Mostly this book made me miss France and start planning my return trip.

There are very few things I like more than a book that can transport me to a different city or country. Reading Lucy Checks In, not only did I get to meet amazing characters, but I felt like I was walking down the streets of Rennes, buying food at the market and getting to know France and its people.

I enjoyed the plot and the characters and overall it was a brilliant read. However, I wish Dee had been a bit more careful with the way she described Lucy's problems with her body. Literature influences people in an imaginable way, and I wished she had made Lucy a bit more empowered with her curves and dips, instead of treating them like a problem, or something to hide from the world.

Cute book, but not what I expected at all from the cover. Thought it would be a romance, but book is definitely more contemporary/women’s fiction. Main character wasn’t my favorite though,

This boom had a fun premise, but fell a bit flat for me. Lucy was a bit if a difficult character fir ne to like. Also, this book was more Women's Lit than a Romance. We didn't really get a deep dive into this couple.

DNF @~10%

I liked the idea of this story, a 49-year-old lady moving to France to run a hotel and finding herself and possibly falling in love.

My problem was mainly Lucy. This book is in first-person POV and being in Lucy's head was super annoying. I didn't like her as a character at all. The pacing was slow and kinda clunky. We're thrown right into the story with no real explanation of what's going on and most things just didn't make sense to me.

Lucy Giannetti needs a fresh start. She once managed a glamorous hotel in NYC, but when the owner disappears with millions of dollars, she's left alone with everything falling apart. To fix her reputation, she takes a job in Rennes, France to oversee the renovations of the Hotel Paradis. But when she arrives, she gets more than she bargained for.

I have to say, I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. I loved that the protagonist was in her late forties and having her "second act." So many romances leave out older women, and I loved that the Lucy was 49. The supporting characters were also so wonderful. The group of people that lives at the hotel want to see it returned to glory and all help out with the renovations. Lucy is so determined to succeed and proves to be an inspiring character.

Lucy also has good chemistry with Bing and it's a lovely, slow-burn romance. It's more of a subplot, so the build is exciting. We don't get too deep into their relationship, and I wish there was just a little bit more of them. This is classified as a rom com, but I think it's more "chick lit" since this romantics story is on the back-burner while Lucy's growth is in the forefront. But I do love a good character growth story!

The only issue I had was that the ending felt a bit rushed. Some major things happen in the last third of the book, but they are wrapped up a bit too cleanly and quickly. I think there were some things left unexplored that could have added a bit more depth and emotion to the story, but overall this was a great read.