This book made me want to move overseas and run a hotel! I loved the details and ride of rebuilding the hotel step by step... the character development was fabulous and I adored Lucy (sequel?!) Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this book. I felt this book kind of dragged on and had no excitement. I did not connect with the characters. I just did not really like the romance parts in this book and felt like most of the time the author was describing in depth about the hotel.

This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had me turned pages without even realizing. It was so good!

LUCY CHECKS IN follows Lucy to Rennes, France, where she's set to manage the Hotel Paradis. The only problem? She's gone from being the manager of an expensive NYC hotel - used to managing a large staff - to responsible for reviving a rundown hotel that hasn't seen guests since the 1930s. Reality pales to what she's built the hotel up to in her head, but this is the only job offer she's received since her former hotel owner (and romantic partner) disappeared with millions, including her pension (and she had to use her IRA for legal fees, because everyone thought she was in on the crime).

I think this book will work best for those into home renovation stories - highlights include the longtime inhabitants of Hotel Paradis coming together to turn it into a functioning hotel. It may also be promising for those wanting to read a book about a woman in her late 40s, in which romance is a subplot.

I'm afraid it wasn't the best fit for me. Lucy gets rather indignant in response to perceived slights throughout; I understand that she's been through a rough few years but it got old after awhile. There also were a few comments that took me out of the story, like saying she looks like a "crazy person" (ableist language I cringe at) and that she used to run nine miles on the treadmill every day for eight years (in her 40s? This seems extreme and like a possible sign of compulsive exercise. For example, Olympic silver medalist in the marathon Meb Keflezighi is 47 years old and now runs 4-6 miles a day, 5-7 days a week. Maybe the exaggeration was purposeful, but as someone who loves running, it stuck out to me).

I found Dee Ernst's last book, MAGGIE FINDS HER MUSE, delightful and feel-good, so I was disappointed not to love this one. But of course, YMMV, see above for who I think this one may work better for.

another day, another review. currently sitting in the toronto airport ridiculously early for my flight to minneapolis for race weekend (!!!) and thought what better time than to catch up on a review or two? first up is der ernst’s novel “lucy checks in”.

it’s a mid-life romance about a woman who, after a scandal at her previous hotel management job leaves her reputation in shatters & her bank account nearly empty, takes a position managing a hotel in france. very quickly after lucy arrives, she realizes the job is not what she expected: not only is she expected to manage the hotel, but also manage the repairs and renovations to get it up and running again. she is quickly introduced to a colourful cast of characters who all live at the hotel full time, and are invested in seeing it succeed. can lucy bring the hotel paradis back to its former glory, all while getting to know bing, the attractive artist who also lives at the hotel?

this story was fun, and really easy to tear thru. the book is full to the brim of optimism for the characters & their places in life. the romance was sweet but not the main focus of the story; i might call this more general fiction than romance, as the story focussed mostly on lucy’s growth over her growing romance. it’s easy reading with a good heart, and worth reading for the small town depictions of france alone.

2.5/5 ⭐️
(Rounded up to 3)
I thought this book started out really strong. I liked the main character. I found the complications of losing her job and boyfriend in a spectacular and legally-plagued fashion very compelling. I also liked the redemption story arc that this book was setting, plus I was excited about the idea of a book taking place in France.
Unfortunately, this didn’t live up to my expectations, despite a strong start. I didn’t connect at all with the love interest (found him to be kind of deplorable, definitely not charming), and found the secondary characters wholly forgettable. Didn’t love the use of appart every five seconds to describe Lucy’s room and found the many pages dedicated to Reno-ing the hotel as dull as watching paint dry (literally).
Did not feel the chemistry between our main character and the love interest at all. Personally, I’m not a fan of verrrry slow burn romances (or fade-to-black scenes for that matter, which I think further contributed to the disconnect felt with their relationship).
The third act family emergency came out of left field and felt shoehorned in and unnecessary. I did not appreciate the way that this was handled in the book (and Lucy taking the girls away to a completely different country seemed selfish and not in the best interest of the girls).
Overall, this was a let down, and a miss for me. I really did want to like it.

This was such a refreshing story! I really enjoyed see the characters come together and I love how the author took the time to truly connect with the characters

This just was not for me. I can appreciate that it’s well written but the story itself just did not compel me like I anticipated it would.

What an enjoyable book! I erroneously assumed Lucy would be a 30-something girl on a quest to make a fresh start overseas in the hotel world. I was happily surprised to meet Lucy, 50-something disgraced hotel manager, and also happily surprised by the run-down but charming hotel she is tasked with renovating and managing. The descriptions of the space and the people were fantastic, I could picture ever detail of the charming and rustic French hotel, and long to visit such a place one day.

This is such a delightful book! I went into this blind and even though the main characters and storyline for this book centers around age group 50+ I read through it without getting bored at all! I loved the story, the pacing, the warmth, the Paris setting

The characters and story completely pulls you in!
This is women's fiction with light romance.
Funny, sweet and moving, I would highly recommend this book!

as much as i wanted to enjoy this tale, it really didn't connect with me in a way that made it memorable enough to remain with me after the final page.

while i did enjoy the imagery painted by the writing, the characters and their connections felt very one-dimensional. it didn't feel like any particular one was fully fleshed out. they moved, had tasks, and were given purpose, but not once could i build a picture of any one within my mind. i also couldn't find myself connected to their plights through the story.

the pacing and additional conflicts that were within the tail also felt off. the build from the very start is slow, nearly glacial, and it then sped up during the third act with a family emergency that brings the main character back down from her growth. it's in that act, that things speed up so swiftly and is packaged so perfectly, that i was left with a bit of whiplash.

i do find that as women's fiction, it focuses on lucy and her desires for a future rather than on romance and while there is a budding romance between herself and bing, it wasn't the cornerstone of her story. in saying that, it also felt like an afterthought with little build. i think it would have been perfectly fine for them to have developed a friendship rather than anything more. all said, it was a good story that needed just a bit more focus on building that connection between reader and character for me.

DNF @ 50% or so. Just was so boring. No connection to the characters and barely any plot. I think it’s similar to a lot of other fiction and could be better done.

Lucy is enthusiastic to start over. She’s looking to the future not the past. I like that she’s honest when she realizes the job isn’t what she thought. So much good description of the architectiture that I felt like I was there. But the overall romance fell short for me. I can’t explain it but it was a bit dull.

In this novel, Lucy is an almost 50 year old former hotel manager whose life is in shambles after a scandal at her last job. She gets an offer to help reopen an old hotel in Rennes, France, and takes it without ever even visiting since it’s pretty much her only option. Of course when she gets there it’s a lot more work than she realized, but she gets to know the quirky people who live there and meets an intriguing man as well.

Having read Dee Ernst’s last book, Maggie Finds Her Muse which was a romance featuring a woman in her late 40s, this one was not quite what I expected as it was a little less romance than I thought it would be. Id say it was two parts hotel renovation, one part personal and professional reinvention, and one part romance. And the romance somehow managed to be simultaneously a slow burn enemies-ish to lovers and yet also insta-love. That being said, I actually really enjoyed it! I read it during a busy and somewhat stressful week during which I did not have a lot of reading time, and I wanted to read something light and easy to follow which I could read just a little bit at a time, and this totally fit that category.

I wouldn’t say it’s a must read, and I did prefer Maggie Finds Her Muse, but if you enjoyed Trish Doller’s The Suite Spot and want to read more about hotel renovation, or if you like books featuring middle aged women as protagonists, this was a cute one. Loved the France setting as well.

3.75 stars

What a sweet book. I am someone who is instantly interested in any book that involves someone uprooting their life and moving abroad. If you are also like me this book would totally be for you! Something that sets this book apart from other moving abroad books is the main character is 50! I feel like that is so rare in books like this.

Lucy is a 50 something hotel worker who finds herself without a job after a major scandal at her last place of employment. She takes on a job at a French Hotel and uproots her life. When she gets to the French Hotel she gets a rude awakening about her duties and learns to love the people and life that France creates for her.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend to girl friends who like a romance read without the spice.

This was a cute story about a woman finding herself again after a break up, career break down, and family tragedy. Lucy get a job in Paris helping a small hotel get back in the market. What she found was nothing like she expected. I liked that she didn't dwell too much on the past. She fully accepted her situation and even though it was tough she took it as a personal challenge!

I liked the hotel setting and the characters within. It find of reminded me of a hotel rescue game I used to play as a kid lol so that was fun. Anything HGTV style is a win for me.

Romance was minimal. Although there was a romance in the story, it wasn't the main focus.

I had fun reading this book. Was it my favorite? No. Was it cute and enjoyable? Yes! I would recommend if you are looking for a finding yourself, new chance at life, kind of story!

I found this to be a cute book. It is a slow burn romance book for sure, which I am not a huge fan of. I did enjoy reading a book about a middle aged women, I thought it was a good change of pace. The story was well written and interesting, I just didn’t love it. I wasn’t a big fan of the characters or how slow the relationship developed. I did enjoy the setting of the book and the hotel renovation plot! I know others loved this book, so I recommend checking their reviews out too!

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

1.5 ⭐️

After spending the last couple of years trying to clear her name from a huge scandal that occurred at the famous hotel she worked at, Lucy decides to head to France, to the only hotel who will give her a chance to start over in the industry she loves. Upon arriving and encountering many things she doesn’t expect, Lucy and a group of people living at the hotel try to put it, and her life, back together.

I read the first 30% of this then kind of skimmed and skipped to the end. I just found it so boring. I didn’t connect with Lucy or the other characters, I don’t think they were developed enough. Lucy’s constant talk about her weight in a negative way bothered me. The story at the beginning was overly detailed about the hotel and so slow moving, then the ending was very unexpected. I wasn’t a fan of this. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review.

This was so charming and an incredibly sweet read. I felt transported to Rennes and finished feeling like maybe I wanted to operate a small chalet hotel in France. I will be looking out for more from this author for sure.

This was a cute story. At first, I didn’t know that Lucy was in almost in her 50s, but I wasn’t really concerned about that. It was nice reading about people starting over and being able to because they simply want to, especially finding your passion later in life. I liked reading about the setting of the book; I thought it was beautiful. I really enjoyed reading about the characters and their personality.