What a great read! Really enjoyed this one. It did start just a bit slow, but it's such a feel good read. I can always tell if I really like a book by the amount of times I think about it during the day and this one definitely had my mind wandering a few times. The scenery was great, the struggle the character went through delivered and it overall just made me feel happy. Definitely recommend.

Lucy Checks In is a sweet, feel-good book that had me reading through the night. The story started a little slow but soon captured my attention with the easy to love characters, each who added their own depth to the plot. Lucy's journey towards redemption after a fall from grace in her career has you rooting her on at every turn. This is a fun easy read that will leave you wanting more.

Lucia Giannetti was hotel manager for the Fielding Hotel in New York, but after hotel owner and former lover Tony Fielding disappears with millions of dollars, Lucy has to cover the lawsuits and debts with her own money.

Broken hearted, discouraged, and broke, she accepts a job at the Hotel Paradis in Rennes, France to renovate the 200-year-old hotel. The owner, Claudine, is looking for an American manager to attract tourists. Fixing the run-down chateau with help from only the six hotel residents/co-owners, and with few resources or funding, Lucy faces a daunting challenge.

I got a better idea of what it takes to update and run a large hotel, from clean linens, to painting the walls, repairing woodwork, plaster and plumbing, decorating each room, and then attracting and taking care of visitors.

It was an interesting reading experience, following Lucy and the residents/co-owners of the hotel through the process of creating a beautiful country hotel. Romance helped the story too, as of course, Lucy meets someone she becomes attracted to. A delightful read for the armchair traveler and those who enjoy romantic comedy and France.

A big thank you to @netgalley for an ARC of Lucy Checks In!

I had higher expectations for this book. While I enjoyed it there were a few things that I didn’t enjoy so much. For starters there were a lot of characters to keep track of that at times it made it very confusing. When too many characters are involved there isn’t enough in depth character development as I would like. A pet peeve of mine when it comes to books is really long chapters and this book has lots of those.

Now onto the things I enjoyed about the book! I like that the main character is a little older in her 50s. I enjoyed that there was subtle romance involved in this book. The romance was slow to pick up but still very good. I really enjoyed the family drama involved in the book as well. It added more interest for me. Overall, not my favorite book that I’ve read but still a decent read.

I can't describe how amazing this book is! Lately, I have read many women's fiction novels, and this one will stay with me.

It is the story of Lucy, a fifty year old who has dealt with a lot in the past decade who loves to France for a job. She is initially shocked as her role is very different from what she imagined, but learns to cope with it and make friends.

I loved the various dynamics of all the characters in the story, including Lucy's family and her friends/colleagues at her job. Lucy makes for a great MC with a vibrant persona and a happening past, and the same can be said for the supporting cast.

The style of writing was quite stunning and although I don't really visualize books that well, everything in this novel popped out for me. A must read for everyone.

Disgraced when her long-time romantic partner embezzles a ton of money and disappears with her (and a lot of investors and co-workers) retirement savings, Lucy accepts a job in Rennes to reinvent an eighteenth-century family-owned boutique hotel into one with the notoriety of the Fielding Hotel in NYC. In the process, she rebuilds her confidence and whole life, makes new friends, and falls in love again. But first, she shows up expecting to simply manage a property, and ends up painting ceilings and building a website.

The characters are so wonderful in Lucy Checks In. There is brave Lucy herself; Claudine, who owns the building and barely speaks English; Bing, a children’s book illustrator and artist who shares a child with Claudine; and an entire cast of misfits who help to run the place: Karl the Jewish gardener, the grumpy chauffeur; the talented chef Starvos. Sweet Marie Claude will be running the front desk–but she and her possessive husband are dreading the return of her former lover, Phillipe (Claudine and Bing’s son).

This was one of those novels that just flowed without an extraneous or misplaced word or thought. While primarily about Lucy, the mystery of where her man and money went is a subplot that is interwoven (and satisfactorily resolved). Another subplot is Lucy’s family back in the States: she maintains close contact with her godchildren, her twin nieces, whose father is drinking again as he struggles to cope with the loss of his wife and their mother.

It was so refreshing to read about a woman of a certain age who gets everything she wants and deserves after starting over. The title didn’t do much for me, and the cover is a bit misleading, showing a trim woman in blue jeans and a striped shirt and long brown hair that is more American than middle-aged, international chic, graying, slightly over fighting weight persona that Lucy is portrayed as in the novel.

The details of the hospitality industry, and the process of starting a renovation from plaster and paint to linens was fascinating. The European setting left me hungry for travel (and a nice glass of French wine).

I received an advance reader's review copy of #LucyChecksIn from #NetGalley.

Initially, I didn't realize that Lucy was an older character -- thought she was in her mid-20s based on the cover, the book was sweet nonetheless. It took me a few chapters to get into it but I finally did. The end felt a little rushed and it didn't feel much like a romance novel -- not much chemistry between the couple and it felt like the romance was subplot. It was good but I don't think it was for me but maybe perfect for someone else.

** spoiler alert **

I liked that the main character is older, but I did not get that image from the cover. I expected this book to have a bit more romance spread throughout, but most of the action didn’t happen until the end. I would say that applies for most of the plot as well. I didn’t really find this book interesting until about 80% of the way through. I found that most of the story was just about Lucy fixing up an old hotel. While I’ve never read a story like it, she didn’t really seem to have many problems in her journey. She learned how to do everything that she needed to and the people that lived there helped chip in to get the job done without much of a fight. Between her and Claudine’s connections, they found guests. It seemed like a basic run of the mill story. However, once I got to the part where her brother died, that seemed totally out of the blue. I never would have expected Lucy to be the legal guardian because the twins had lived with their grandparents in the past. I almost would have preferred for this to happen earlier in the book so that I could have gotten more story about the girls and their transition into living in France. I’m glad that Lucy found love in the end, but I wish it would’ve been built up better. I would’ve appreciated if their attraction was instantaneous and uncontrollable from the beginning.

Lucy Checks In was the breath of fresh air that I needed. This book gave me so much life! Lucia is an easy to love character you instantly begin rooting for. Not to mention, every character is easy to adore in their own special way. 5 stars for this perfect read.

A delightful, feel-good book that still has depth to it. The characters were vibrant, and I loved Lucy's personal growth throughout the book. I really liked how the characters were a little older in this book, which allowed for more to explore with each of them. There were a couple spots that felt a little slow for me, but it was a great read overall!

This is a sweet story about a middle aged woman, Lucy trying to find her way after a big scandal that left her penniless and shamed in the hotel industry. She accepts a job in Rennes, France. It wasn't what she expected, but she had no other choice.

The book follows Lucy and a handful of people on their journey to fix up an ancient hotel. The way the author paints the story is beautiful. Although, a slow start for me, I couldn't put it down after the first few chapters. I loved how she eloquently intertwined the characters and how each character developed over the course of the story.

My favorite line is the book is the second chapter, "Because no one works harder than a person with something to prove."

Thank you publishers and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Dee Ernst for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Lucia “Lucy” Gianatti is packing up her life and moving to Rennes, France after her boss at a swanky hotel in New York embezzled over a million dollars without anyone knowing. While everyone was quick to put blame on her, Lucy used up the last of money to prove her innocence. When an offer to move to France to reopen an old hotel was presented to her she jumped at the opportunity!

Although once she got there, she quickly realized that not everything is as great as it seems, including her actual role in getting it up and running.

Hotel Paradis needed more love than Lucy thought but luckily a group of misfits who have been living at the hotel are all pitching in to make it a destination stop! This include David “Bing” Bingham who is our love interest in this story.

Okay, like Lucy I think I went into this story with slightly different expectations than I got. The cover made it seem like this was a 20-something rom-com! But in fact the main characters are in their late 40’s (which is the average age of all characters it seems) and it was harder for me to connect with them like I would if they were closer to my age.

I also mentioned I was expecting more of a rom-com. While there was the romance between Lucy and Bing, it was different from a romance novel I’m used to. All very clean but it also seemed that they didn’t have very good chemistry with one another. If anything it was a slow slow burn.

The biggest thing I didn’t enjoy was how rushed the ending felt. With how much emphasis there was put on world building and setting the scene, I felt like some things could have been introduced sooner as to not feel so rushed.

All in all this was just not the book for me but that’s not to say that it’s not for someone else! Good book, wrong reader!

I would like to thank NetGally for an ARC of Lucy Checks In by Dee Ernst.

This story follows Lucy a boss scandal in the US she leaves! This story has drama and romance. The main character is in her 40s. It took me a while to get into it but I did finish it! It’s a good book for getting over a book slump.

A once successful NYC hotel manager finds herself jobless after a scandal involving her boss and partner stealing millions from the hotel. Lucia Giannetti finds herself heading to France to manage a fancy and extravagant hotel or so she thinks. Hotel Paradis as it turns out needs some improvement and Lucy is just the one to do it. As time moves on Lucy must make sure Hotel Paradis succeeds all while making the best of her second chance.

Ernst does a good well in describing the assortment of characters that all reside in the Hotel, as well as giving detailed descriptions of locations. While the book seemed to be advertised as more of a romance novel the focus is more on Lucy’s second chance as she gets her life back on track.

It took me a few chapters to start enjoying the story and to get all the characters straight but it eventually pulled me in. Overall I enjoyed the book and was pleased with how it all wrapped up in the end.

This story follows Lucy as she flees the US after a scandal involving her last job. She is to be the new manager of a rundown hotel in France with a crew of unpaid but passionate residents, all while juggling family drama back home.

This was definitely a slow burn and minimally spicy. I loved that there was some age diversity with a female main character in her late 40s and I enjoyed the starting over storyline. The description of the hotel and surrounding areas was so realistic that I felt like I was there. I definitely cried at parts in this book and now I want to visit Rennes!

Thank you St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance reading copy!

I was surprised by now much I liked this!!! I loved reading a romance between a nearly 50yo woman who has been Going Through It and a somewhat douchey but charming man and it all made me want to go to France. Found family! Baguettes! Charming and eccentric old lady! TW for brother death but you do see it coming and it's not a huge portion of the story.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy Checks In is about Lucy, a middle-aged woman trying to rebuild her life as a hotel manager after a major scandal left her questioning her own intuition. I actually really liked that the main character was in her late forties, as most of the contemporary romances I've read are about women in their 20s-30s. Lucy definitely isn't likable at first - she comes off as entitled and whiny, and I found myself not caring much about her. But as the story progressed, so did her character growth, and I really liked reading about a woman who had to learn to trust both herself and others again. I do think that there were some other character aspects that frustrated me because they felt unnecessary - Claudine very casually mentioned that Raoul was racist, which specifically affected one of her close friends, and yet there was no further commentary about this. Raoul was portrayed as a good friend to many in the group, so I'm not really sure what the point of this was other than to show that these characters didn't care about Raoul's blatant racism?

Though this book is categorized as a contemporary romance, I will say that I didn't feel much romance or chemistry between the two main love interests. There are definitely more elements of found family and self-growth in this than romance. I'd also say that this book goes fairly into the details of hotel renovation, so if you're not interested in reading that then this book may not be for you. Overall, this was a pleasant read, and I would give it 3/5 stars.

This was a quick, light read with a dreamy setting in France. Very much a fixer-upper story, both the physical elements of the hotel, and Lucy's professional and personal life. If you're in the mood for a happy-ever-after with a side of fromage, baguette, and vin, this might suit you.

For me personally, there wasn't anything particularly memorable about this book, and some things just felt off. Lucy is meant to be nearly 50 (so similar in age to me) and sometimes her character sounded and acted much younger, and sometimes she sounded and acted much older. I also know we were meant to understand that much of her conversation was in French, but for someone who had never been to France and had only studied it in school and used it in a business context many years prior in Montreal...I found her seemingly instant resumption of fluency a bit hard to believe. I enjoyed her overall journey to bring the hotel to it's potential, and I bought the slow burn romance. Look, I'm firmly on Team HEA, but I felt like everything wrapped up a bit too neatly, easily, and quickly at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC, in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this light read, the latest by Dee Ernst. I loved the redemptive story of Lucy. I enjoyed watching the transformation in her character, as well as the hotel she was renovating. There was not an overwhelming amount of love and romance, but just enough to keep the spark alive during the read. This was a great, progressive story! Cannot wait to read more from Dee!

Even though this story was super cute and I loved it, the repetitive writing kind of took me out of the story at times. Sometimes we were told the same thing not very many pages apart and it made me want to skim through them. Overall, it wasn’t bad if you are looking for a quick read set in France. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!