I was disappointed in this book. The cover made me think that it would be a cute romance. Instead, you experience a broken long term relationship, the healing process from that break up, and then finally, the new romance. Book cover didn't match editorial in the story.

Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Sue Roberts for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

After reading so many thrillers, this was a good book to escape into and just enjoy the story. What Happens in Greece is very light reading with a sort of go with the flow plot. I felt this was more of a finding yourself type of book as Charlotte has to learn how to just be with herself. I will say I didn't feel like there was too much of a storyline so I found myself not really invested, but I think that's just what I needed. The narration was good, but I would offer constructive criticism and say that the voices of the male characters could use more differentiation. I found a couple sound nearly identical which didn't help me connect with them like in other audiobooks.

If you’re looking for a sweet, feel good story this book is perfect for you.

Charlotte turns her life upside down when she suggests that she and her fiancé Jamie should move to Greece. Everything falls into place perfectly and they seamlessly find a home, move in and get settled. However, a few months into this new life and Jamie decides this life is not for him.

Charlotte stays in Crete by herself and repeatedly reassures herself that she has made the right decision.

“I can’t imagine anything worse than living a life with regrets and if onlys.”

This book is filled with vivid descriptions of Greece that made me want to hop on a plane and join Charlotte. She is living in one of my daydreams… moving to a beautiful island and living in a small village. The descriptions of food was also so vivid that I felt hungry for most of the book!

Unfortunately, I didn’t really connect with the characters who I felt were underdeveloped. Also the plot was fairly light.

Thank you NetGalley for the ALC.

I was excited for this book. Who hasn’t gone on vacation and wanted to move there?! The story was cute, but the actually execution felt awkward and two dimensional. The conversations between the characters felt scripted and forced. It kind of felt like reading a childhood diary. A lot of little antidotes that really didn’t lead to anything. I was hoping for a fun hallmark movie book, but this fell flat for me.

Review

Thank you for the review copy of the audiobook. I had to switch to my audiobook service as the audio on the arc had too much background noise.

The setting of this book is gorgeous and I love how the MC packs up and chases her dreams. However, I found the characters to be flat and the romance has no spark. The break up mentioned in the blurb happens half way through the book and was very unbelievable. I wanted to feel invested in the characters and the romance. I felt nothing but apathy and was honestly bored through most of the book. 2.5 stars

I will also post my review on Goodreads.

What Happens in Greece is a delightful story of how baker Charlotte connects with Crete, disconnects with her former fiancé Jamie, and makes a new life on the southernmost Greek island.

With properties being so expensive in Chester, England, and the weather being all kinds of dreary, betrothed couple Charlotte (Charlie) and Jamie decide the move to the totally affordable small village on Crete is what they need for their future. They spend a few months fixing up the home and the cottage behind the house that they hope to be able to lease to tourists. Charlie has made it her business to meet people in the village and has even looked into leasing the defunct bakery in the heart of the square. But Jamie is not fitting in so well and eventually decides his place is back in Chester with his mates. Although saddened by this event, Charlie wishes Jamie well and begins a life on her own in her new home.

This is a lovely story of paths that cross, come together, and once again part. The reader will root for Charlie and will be rewarded by this sweet story. I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

What Happens in Greece is a story about a couple who moves to Greece after deciding they need a change of scenery from their comfortable English home. Throughout this story, we get a glimpse of realistic obstacles that the characters have to face in their lives. The heroine of this story, Charlotte, has to face these issues head-on and make some hard decisions about her future and what makes her happy.

This book was all about sacrifice, chasing your dreams, and doing what makes you happy. If I am being honest, this hit a little too close to home. The things that happen in this book were things that could easily be reflected in our own lives. Charlotte was a great example of someone who faced difficulties with grace and quickly adapted to continue her life happily despite everything.

I am giving this book 3 stars because it was less of entertainment to me and more of a collection of life lessons. The story wasn't overly exciting but I took away some great lessons from reading it. I will remember this story and apply what I learned to my own life and I hope that whoever else reads this will be able to do the same.

I am rating this book 1 star ⭐️—a rare DNF for me.

What Happens in Greece is the very British story of Charlotte, who along with her fiancé decides to move into a fixer-upper farmhouse slash future AirBnB on a Grecian island in the search for a more fulfilling life than dreary, expensive England and her nice, normal family have to offer.

The premise was actually promising to me! It felt a bit like Under the Tuscan Sun, without the heartbreak at the beginning. Unfortunately, I was bored to absolute death by the lot of it.

I forgot Charlotte’s name half way through the book. I consider boring phases or slow writing in books a challenge and almost never DNF. Something about this story did a good job of rubbing me in just the wrong way, though, in addition to being boring. It felt just a bit …colonialist? Savior complex-ish? Not that white British people aren’t allowed to go off on a whim and hijack communities in small foreign countries with their entrepreneurial endeavors… and not that they don’t ever just flawlessly integrate into those communities where they don’t speak the language while graciously providing job opportunities to and making friends with the locals, but, like…

It’s a full renovation and almost nothing goes wrong. We zip through the process and then Charlotte’s fiancé decides maybe a project was all that was keeping him in Greece and he’s ready to go home. I felt totally uninvested in their relationship, so given the circumstances I actually felt like he was the intelligent one, to pack up and go home.

But I could tell the tide was turning about halfway through the book, and boring Charlotte was going to fall in love with a local and, in spite of my yearning for an actual romance worth rooting for, I just could not bring myself to care about bland Charlotte’s bland love life on the easiest permanent-vacation I’ve ever heard of.

It usually takes me about a day to read a book. I shut this one down at 57% after 3 days and regret nothing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for giving me this eARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I loved all the experiences in Crete and Charlie’s enthusiasm for it. The food, people and scenery were all great. I loved reading about all the different people Charlie meets in Crete. The description of the book tells you that Jamie goes back home after the move, but this doesn’t happen until 40% into the book. And it was very anti-climatic when it happens. Where is the conflict? They were supposed to be together for quite awhile, I just thought there would be more emotion. While I liked some of the dialogue and such, the first half of the book could have been a lot shorter. I would have liked to see a little more excitement, emotion, conflict, spark. I didn’t feel any spark between any of the characters that are attracted to each other. I would classify this book as women’s lit, definitely not romance.

I received an audio copy of this book, and really enjoyed the narration. I felt the narrator did a great job of bringing the characters to life and adding to the enjoyment of the story.

Bottom Line: This one passed the time just fine. Great for a beach read, or if you want to escape to somewhere fun but can’t get away.

**I received a copy of What Happens in Greece from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

I received this copy via NetGalley.

In this story we follow Charlie who is a baker, cafe owner, and woman who is ready for change, through her and her fiancé’s move to Greece. All is well for the first few months until Charlie’s fiancé decides Greece is not his forever home. Charlie stays in Greece to create a life with the beautiful culture and people in her new village.

This story seemed like a retelling of someone’s life experience. There really was not a clear point of climax or interesting twist. It felt like I was just listening to someone telling me about their day for 40 chapters. I did love all the descriptions of Greece and the food but over all that is all I can say was interesting.

The characters were nice and likable but I kept waiting for something to happen or someone else to move to Greece or a new full romance but when I book ended I found myself checking to see if I missed a few chapters since it ended so abruptly.

I love a destination book and I can say that was the part I most enjoyed. I would love to visit Greece and see all the areas that were well described in the book.

This is a slow, slow burn. The crock pot of summer reads. While I generally enjoyed the lighthearted shenanigans that came along with randomly buying a cottage in Greece, I was just waiting for something to actually happen.

Charlotte follows her dreams and her heart by buying a run-down cottage in Greece. She buys it with her fiance, Jamie, and the stage is set for a sunny romance novel. But there's no steam with the exception of the odd mention of a gorgeous Greek man. Turns out, they don't have such great communication and Jamie doesn't share her dream. He runs back home to England and NOW we will get some steam with those Greek fellas, right? Not so much. But good for you Charlie, you stuck it out! The end?

A great feel-good novel that is taking place on the island of Greece.

When they discovered a sale of a gorgeous house on their favorite greek island - Jamie and Charlotte take a leap of faith, buy the scenic house and move to their favorite place on earth, with hopes of everyday vacation mode life. But weeks after the move, the couple realizes that they both have absolutely different views on their future. So as Jamie goes packing and moves back to their hometown, Charlotte takes time to let her broken heart heal. As time passes, she realizes how much she has missed her other love - the love for baking. And with a help of wonderful neighbors and newly met friends, Charlotte reopens the only bakery on her beloved island. And in the midst of living her dream life, our heroine begins to develop feelings for a dark, tall, and handsome local restaurant owner. And suddenly she receives a call from Jamie.

Although the novel was ah so predictable, I did enjoy a beautiful and inspiring story about following the heart and dreams. Of course, this is fiction, and in a book anything is possible and every character gets their happy ending. But stories like this give us hope and faith that everything works out in the end. After a number of suspense novels, this book was a breath of fresh air, a great break from my usual genre of reading. Thank you, NetGalley for a free and advanced copy of this novel in the exchange for my honest review.

A nice book to read over the summer, especially if you’re on vacation. I definitely recommend to fans of Jenna Evans Welch’s ‘Love &’ series.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sue Roberts is a very talented author. I loved Charlie's bold move and seeing how things panned out for her. It have me a traveling itch. I'd love to visit Greece, I have always wanted to go there and if it is anything like how Sue Roberts writes of it, it sounds like such a lovely and friendly place. I recommend this for those who love books including travel and also those who like romcom books but not have the entire thing be about that.

I struggled to get through this audiobook. It would hold my attention for about 10 minutes and then I'd end up turning it off.

I loved the cover of this book. It's absolutely beautiful. The descriptions of Greece and the smells of the bakery were fantastic. I've always wanted to travel to Greece so I appreciated the details and descriptions of the islands.

I did not see this as a romance book. The story left me bored and I kept wanting to turn it off because nothing was happening.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I'd like to thank NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an audiobook ARC of this novel.

The story: I can appreciate Charlotte jumping on the opportunity to make her dreams happen, and Greece sounds like a dream. Although the book was ~7.5 hours, it felt very long. It was very descriptive and sometimes lost the drive forward with the story to explain everything in so much detail.

The narration: This was a hard listen for me. The narration of Charlotte was great, but the narrator's Greek accent was very distracting and made it hard to follow the story because all I could notice was the accent.

Sue Roberts did a really good job a describing the scene so well, I could feel like I had traveled to Crete myself.. While the premise behind it isn't exactly realistic, I'd definitely consider it relatable. I mean who hasn't had the temptation to drop their life and move to a place like Greece??

Greece is the one place that I’ve always wanted to visit, so when I seen this book I knew that I had to read it. The cover itself made me want to read it. This is a new to me author so I had no idea what to expect.

I really enjoyed this story and how well the characters dealt with difficult situations. Unfortunately, things don’t always turn out the way you want them to. Charlotte made the best of the situation.

This was a cute summer read and I will definitely read more from this author in the future.

i listened to the audiobook and it’s the only thing that made me keep on going but i i ended up dnfing because it was boring.
it was do descriptive and sometimes it made me loose track of what was happening. i feel like we were told things rather than we were shown things. overall the setting is great and you can tell the author really researched greece (or lives there i have no idea) but other than that it was kinda bland.

I love that Charlie had a dream that she made a reality. That she stuck with it even though there were challenges. I love that you get a side message of self discovery and finding home. I just needed more character development so I could fall in move with all of them.