Sorry not sorry to say I DNF-ed this one. I tried.
I read 38% (up to chapter Thirteen) and gave up on Holiday Read.

It read as if the author had (badly) Frankensteined a romance novel by picking parts and tropes from already popular books in the genre and gluing them together with copious pop culture references in hopes that readers would pick up Holiday Read and the author could cash in on the romance trend.

For me it already didn't start off too well, the first few pages didn't draw me into the story so throughout the first chapter I found myself skimming some of the exposition and focusing on the dialogue, but even that felt forced between the characters.
And the fact that the word _tit-limpeting_ is thrust upon us 10 times within the first few paragraphs (yes, I counted) doesn't help the book either.

Unfortunately, it didn't really get any better, and then it got to the point where I knew no matter how this book ends, it just reads like an insult to the romance genre. So I stopped and didn't want to continue reading Holiday Read.

-[..] ‘[...]I’m aiming for a book that will make women readers want to sleep with their husbands. That night. That’s basically the whole raison d’être of the book. It’s in the official proposal.’ [..]-
Oh, come on. No. Just no.

People often try to imply that authors of romance novels are injecting their own autobiographical views, hopes and experiances into their stories. Let me tell you that the quote above and several other passages in the book read not only like the premise of Alexis's (the male protagonist's) book, but also like the intent of the author of Holiday Read herself. Making the book read as if these were the author's autobiographical contributions.

-[..] [Alexis]‘God, I’m a prick sometimes.’
‘Only sometimes,’ I[Candice] say, smiling. ‘For the other ten percent of the time, you’re doing just great.’
He looks at me differently and, for the first time since we met, I can see a flicker of desire. [..]-

It's sad to write such a harsh review!

tldr: please don't bother.

I really wanted to like this but the story just was not meant for me. I couldn’t connect with the characters and was not a fan of the writing. Hoping this book finds its desired audience.

The cover gave Beach Reads vibes (one of my faves), so I was really hoping Holiday Read wasn't going to be exactly the same and would give me something similar but different... In some ways it did, but mostly it's a Great Value knock off of the real thing.

Described as: the ultimate sexy and escapist rom com for book and beach lovers. When romance-fanatic Candice meets writer Alexis, she thinks her happy ending is finally on its way. He walks into her struggling Cornish surf school, and they hit it off straight away. Until she discovers that Alexis has been using their courtship as inspiration for the romantic novel he's struggling to write.
This is a cute little rom com that doesn't really have anything to do with the holidays (or even going on a holiday, except it's in a beach town).

Holiday Read looks like it will be a fun, lighthearted read based on the cover, but it has more substance and depth to it than I expected.

Candice is an American girl living in Newquay, they perfect English beach town. She meets Alexis and becomes his surf instructor, the learns he is attempting to write a romance novel. She finds that he is using their courtship as the basis for his book, and many things are just not as they seem.

I loved the beach vibes and the talk about surfing, I would stay on the beach all day every day if I could and this is always a favorite setting for me. I enjoyed the initial banter between Alexis and Candice, and thought Makayla’s antics were great notes of humor through the story.

I did find this to be an extremely slow paced read. Not much was moving it forward for me and I struggled a bit and took much longer to read it than I normally would. I also found the ending to be rushed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for sharing this ARC with me!

Unfortunately, this book did not work for me. I didn't feel connected to the characters or the overall plot and didn't enjoy the writing style. Advertised as something fans of Emily Henry would enjoy (in a Beach Read way) and no. Not at all.

The title is misleading and the plot felt all over the place. The MMC was a misogynist asshole that "hates romance" yet wrote it because he wants to capitalize on the money that came from it which is not the kind of lead character you want to be writing. There wasn't any real chemistry between the characters. I can't even think of anything worth noting about the FMC because it was mediocre at best. The premise of the book had potential but unfortunately, it fell very flat.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a slow read for me. I enjoyed the female friendships, the beautiful setting, and the general premise of researching a romance novel while falling in love. However, I struggled to connect with the characters and the many subplots.

This book had a similar premise to Beach Read, and what am I if not looking for my favorite books, but slightly different?
Well, it didn't go according to plan.

I really tried to enjoy this, but as the book progressed it became progressively hard to do so. I hated the male lead in every aspect of his being, it felt creepy and his attention unwanted. I hated the miscommunication trope.

I saw this being compared to Beach Read and I can see why. They're very similar but this one missed the mark for me. The cover says she's looking for her love story but yet she doesn't date and still wears her wedding ring?

It did not feel like a romance and there was just too much going on. The husband, looking for her father, the emotional abuse, her surf school, the novel, and the guy who doesn't understand romance trying to write a romance novel.

I never connected with Alexis or Daniel. Alexis was weird, and he can be, but I needed more information to like him. He was condescending to the genre that the reader is reading and doesn't fully grasp what "no" means. And I might've totally missed the physical description of Daniel but when that storyline progressed, I was picturing him in a very different way. And it took me so long to realize that DANIEL was the love interest???? Like, what??

I read big chunks in one sitting but I still felt like I was reading it in chunks. I'm sorry. This just wasn't flowing, there was too much going on at once, it didn't feel like a romance, and there was no one I was rooting for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

What was this book? Everything about the title and plot is untrue. It's called Holiday read yet the book isn't set on holiday in any way. The plot makes the book sound like something it isn't. The love interest was such an unlikeable person i couldn't believe a female author would write something like this.

Candice moves to the town that she was born in, but she doesn't remember much about the town. She moved away when she was very young, and she mostly grew up in Hawaii. She moves to the town of Newquay in England.

Loved this premise, the characters and the plot. Overall this was such a fun read, and one that kept me entirely engaged and waiting for what was to come next.

This was a super fun cute read I could definitely see this being the perfect summer read while out on the beach

I will sadly be rating this book 2 stars.

I could not finish it and I can't recommend it to anyone. The book didn't meet my expectations, sadly. The title threw me off, because I was expecting a book that would give me holiday vibes. It didn't. Because of this, I couldn't get through the book and I sadly DNF'ed.

I was very excited to start reading this but it ended up being very disappointing.

I want to thank Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will start by admitting I picked this based on the gorgeous cover but the story is just as good!
This is my first read by Taylor Cole and it won't be my last.
Lovely storyline, easy reading and based in the UK.
I couldn't put it down and found myself smiling as I read.

DNF
This was not for me, I didn’t enjoy the writing or storyline at all. Right from the beginning the topics the characters discussed just weren’t for me, a bit too raunchy in a gross way. It didn’t keep my attention. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review.

Cute story with a fun premise, I read it in one night!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

This one was not for me. I had such hope in the premise but the writting style made it extremely difficult to get into, I kept putting it down and not wanting to pick it up.
While I'm sure it has its audience, I am unfortunately not a part of it.

I deeply enjoyed this title. I felt like the connection was raw and honest-- something I don't see often.

I don’t know that I’ve ever been so wrong about a love interest in a book… great switch by the author here. And Candace was such a great character. Watching her develop throughout this story was wonderful.
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And what a friend group she found in her new home. There was so much wit, laughter, and love between them.
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3.5/5 🌟

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Fun beach read overall. Can't go wrong for a lazy summer read!