I loved the cover for this and was drawn in on the premise that it was a romance with a fun storyline. Unfortunately, I very much hesitate to call this a romance. The reader had to wait until the end for subject matter that one would consider part of a romance. The cover for this was also very misleading to me. The main character, Lucy, was much older than what one is led to believe based on the cover. I will say I enjoyed the ending. I may have rated this higher had the cover and description been more accurate. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I throughly enjoyed Lucy Checks In by Dee Ernst. Lovely story, Good plot, characters and uplifting. thanks to Netgalley and publisher.

I really didn't know what I was going to get out of this book but let me tell you, I got everything.
I have never wanted to visit France more in my life. The descriptions of the towns, food, markets, it was so beautiful.
I could see how beautiful Hotel Paradis was.
The story also had a few twists that I did not see coming, which was a welcome surprise.

Lucia is rebuilding her life and a super old hotel (at the same time). She took the chance going to France and thought it would be like her other jobs had... she was wrong. When she arrived, she realized this seemed impossible and it was a HUGE job. Along her journey to rebuild this very old and run down hotel, she realizes a lot of what she had been missing back home in the States.

Is she able to get this hotel up and running? How does she end up rebuilding her life?

I adored this book. I fell in love with relationships, found myself wanting some to play out- some to end. I felt transported to France, to the very hotel. Beautiful descriptions of the rooms/ the courtyard and the way the guests were described gave me warm and fuzzies.

I definitely recommend this book! Very refreshing to read!

Okay, I have a couple things to say about this book. I'll start by saying that I enjoyed reading it - it's a quick, easy, entertaining read if you want to learn about the hotel industry and what goes into renovating a hotel. If you're looking for a romance novel, which is the classification for this book, then...I don't know what to tell you. The "romance" doesn't start until 90% through the book, and before that point, you see only a few interactions at all between the eventual couple. It's like he holes himself up in his room, the main character goes and visits him a few times, they magically fall in love, and then when you're about to finish the book, they finally kiss. The entirety of the book is about this hotel and how it is redesigned by the main character - not about how the main character falls in love. Just a heads up there. Secondly, based on the cover of the book, and some of the writing, to be honest, I would have never known the main character was in her 50's until it was explicitly stated - not that that's a bad thing, but I guess the saying goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover." And lastly, I reeeeaaallly wish the ending of the book was different - *spoiler* the main characters brother, who struggles with alcoholism, gets in a car accident and dies and she becomes the mother of his two children, and this, once again, all happens in the last 90% of the book. We're FINALLY getting this love story, we have one romantic scene, and all the sudden the main character is on a flight for a funeral and then bringing two children back to the hotel in France and they go from a lovey dovey couple to a couple that's going to have to like, schedule sex. I don't know, I felt that ending was unnecessary, rushed, and took away from the romance of it all. Anywho, not a "bad" read, but I just feel like there were some major flaws!

Lucy, once a well-established hotel executive, needs a fresh start. She had her life planned out until her world came crashing down when her boyfriend (and then hotel owner) disappears taking millions of dollars with him and leaving Lucy alone and at the center of the investigation. Lucy takes on a job in Rennes, France to manage the Hotel Paradis which turns out to be vastly different than she told. I loved the picturesque descriptions of France, antique furnishings and the crux of hospitality at its finest. This is a feel-good story of redemption and finding yourself. I would have loved more of the last 20% of the storyline to either have been expanded upon or introduced earlier in the book. Or we can hope for a sequel :)

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book! Let’s see where to begin…. I feel that the synopsis created high expectations for the book. I LOVED the plot line - successful gal loses everything, moves to France for a chance at a fresh start and maybe some love, but most of the book fell flat for me. It felt like some of the details were left out and you were hit with something big only to be confused about how it was brought up or how it wasn’t introduced sooner? The cover is also quite misleading. Lucy is 49 years old with graying curls - the gal on the cover has long wavy brown hair…. I did enjoy being transported to France and seeing the success of the Hotel Paradis! In all honesty, I could not stand Bing but I loved all of the other characters. I don’t think I’d classify this book as romance. Overall, relatively heartwarming, but not sure how often I’d recommend this to other readers

Lucy is a disgraced hotel manager who lost everything when her boyfriend defrauded everyone and took all the money and fled, .She somehow gets a job offer in France and heads off for the biggest adventure yet. When Lucy shows up she realizes that the job is much bigger than she thinks.

I absolutely loved reading this book and giggled out loud a few times. The cast of characters were diverse and had sweet backstories. Claudine was my absolute favorite (the hotel owner who somehow can get anything delivered or paid for).

My favorite part of the book was that Lucy was older and was starting her second life. It's completely different than what I have read lately. I would love to recommend this to anyone who wants a sweet, closed door romance with cute characters.

It was very cute, but something was missing that I can't quite put my finger on. I couldn't quite pin the target audience

Really cute story about beginning again. I loved all the characters and the setting. Entertaining plot and just enough drama to keep you reading.

I received a free copy of this book for review purposes from NetGalley and the Publishers. "Lucy Checks In" was absolutely adorable. Lucy is an affable and realistic character. I feel like more cute, chick-lit, rom-com characters tend to be in their early to mid twenties or early thirties. It was extremely refreshing to have an older protagonist in Lucy. The vivid descriptions of Rennes made me want to immediately plan a trip to France. I found all the secondary characters from Bing, to Lucy's parents/nieces, Claudine, etc. to also be very well-developed and entertaining in their own ways. This story has an incredible message, you can always begin again. In these times we need more books that portray that message. "Lucy Checks In" is a breath of fresh air on many levels for that reason.

If you’re a fan of Under the Tuscan Sun, then this novel, about a hotel manager who moves to France after her life in the US falls apart to take a job at what she thinks is a small chic hotel and what turns out to need to be restored first.
Getting a glimpse of France is lovely, and I definitely want to stay in the world that the novel creates. But there are so many things that feel like plot contrivances. Like taking a job at a hotel (and doing lots of research!) but not having any idea of the state of it, like the hotel owner who has of course kept meticulous care of its electrical and plumbing, despite dishelved appearance, and who magically has charming furnishings for all of the rooms. Rather than spring up organically, the book’s obstacles feel like they are included because they are the next plot points on an outline. There is a love interest, but this doesn’t feel like a romance so much as women’s fiction where the heroine ends up coupled.

I didn’t dislike this book. But upon finishing it, I was a little confused as to who the target audience is. It didn’t feel like the story an author who needed to write this story would tell. Rather, it felt like the work of an author passionate about Rennes would tell.

This ARC was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy needs a fresh start. She’s been (wrongfully) involved in a work scandal at a swanky NYC hotel where she lost all her savings and her boyfriend. When she gets the opportunity to manage a boutique hotel in France, 49 year-old Lucy jumps at the chance.

Once there she realizes she’s in over her head. The hotel needs a lot of work and she’s expected to handle it all. As she begins the long days of painting and dusting, she slowly embraces her new lifestyle and the colorful hotel tenants. Yes, not only is this a hotel for guests, but a few quirky characters live there too. Lucy eventually finds a new home within Hotel Paradis.

To me, this isn’t really a romance book. Yes, there’s a romantic subplot, but it’s more about picking yourself up and starting over. Learning that you aren’t your past mistakes. Finding yourself and realizing all family doesn’t have to be blood-related.


Recommended if you like:
-renovations/fixer-uppers
-small French towns
-found family
-Under the Tuscan Sun
-older MCs
-love after divorce
-slow burn romances

CW: alcoholism, death

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC. Lucy Checks In is out August 16th!

I absolutely adored this book! It was so easy to read and hooked me from the first paragraph, which is rare for me. Such a fun and super cute read! I'd recommend to anyone!

A charming French town, an ancient fixer-upper hotel, a heroine looking for a comeback after a disastrous work scandal, plus an enchanting cast of supporting characters… “Lucy Checks In” by Dee Ernst is absolutely delightful.

Lucia Giannetti is the manager of a luxury hotel and has a shining future ahead of her… until scandal erupts leaving her blacklisted from the hotel industry. She has almost given up on finding work when she gets a fresh opportunity: to help bring to life a French hotel that hasn’t operated since before the Second World War. With nothing to lose she embarks on a journey to a charming town in France, where she finally has the chance to prove herself again.

A story about an ancient hotel needing renovations is enough to grab my attention anyway, but what really made this book a winner for me was the cast of supporting characters. The Hotel Paradis has not been a hotel in a while, but it has been home to an eclectic group of people who came into the hotel owner’s life in varying ways. Their interactions with each other and with Lucy were my favorite part of this book. I became invested in their lives as well as Lucy’s, and felt just as connected to them as our main character. I gave this book four stars for being a quick and delightful read, that managed some slightly heavier emotional topics while still feeling like a relatively light read, which is just what I was after.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy, which was provided to me as a complimentarily. The opinions expressed here in this review are my own.

While the book is a well-written slow burn about starting over, I struggled to relate to the main character. Now, I am in my twenties, yes, and that may be it- but being in your twenties also harbors a plethora of new beginnings, such as the ones this book addresses. There were also many comments about weight that just didn't sit right for me. Overall, a quaint, cozy Sunday afternoon read to distract you from the world for a bit.

Lucy, unemployed and implicated in a scandal, accepts a job at a hotel in France only to find that she wasn't told exactly the truth about the job that awaits her. Who wouldn't feel for Lucy as she tries to rebuild her career as well as her trust in others and in herself. This book was an enjoyable, well-written read.

I enjoyed this book but it wasn't something I would run to my friends to rave about. It was quaint and cute, with a promising plot, but I felt a little bored while reading it. I think it would be best suited for someone who is middle aged and might find themselves having more in common with the main character. Overall, I would give this book 2.5/5 for my personal tastes, but would definitely be open to reading more from this author in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Once I started I could not put it down. I loved every second of it. I was absolutely thrilled that the main character was in her fifties. It is a cute feel good romance that makes to feel anything is possible.

It took me a long time to like the story (almost half the book)
First point, all the comments on the weight almost makes me quit the book. Seriously we’re in 2022, this shouldn’t be in book anymore, especially when it doesn’t serve the story. She talked about it at the beginning (way too much) and it never came back. It really doesn’t have a point in the story, a lack of confidence should be something else than the weight.
I liked the love story. The male character changed to be more respectful and that’s a good point. This should be categorized as a romance but the love story is good
The relationship between the characters in France are mostly great (but the racism seems to be there just to throw a black character, this is the only part I would have skipped). I love that we learn about Bing and Claudine slowly, it’s not all throw at our faces. Marie-Claude choices is also well written, we feel for her.
One of the point is that Google existe, that the character Google the hotel and since she was not able to find it only, she imagined a whole scenario. Why if she doesn’t find it, she doesn’t aka question to Claudine ?
Overall it was an ok read, but the first third/half really disappointed me.