Wonderful fun with a terrific storyline and great characters. This is the kind of book that just makes you happy - happy to be reading and happy at meeting this people and how it ends. Especially perfect for fans of Emily Henry

I loved the summer vibes in this one! Exactly what I needed on a dull winters night and this one did not disappoint!

The bigger cast of characters saved this for me. I particularly love Candice's two closest friends and how they properly show up for her when he ex-husband comes back into the picture. The chosen family side of things is where the love really was for me.

I'm seeing some people who DNF because of the dynamic shift part of the way through. I completely get that, and more than one there are consent lines that are dangerously close to being crossed. I think there's a real flaw here in how it lulls you into a false sense of security. I get what it was going for, but then we continue forward with that character in an uncomfortable way.

Then introducing Daniel felt confusing and I never really got on board. Honestly I didn't feel chemistry with Alexis or Daniel. So how the romance side comes together just didn't pan out for me. Shame because some bits were genuinely enjoyable.

I liked the premise of ‘Holiday Read’ – it promised a fun romance with well-rounded characters in the nice, summer setting. And while in some ways, it has been delivered in the book, I wasn’t particularly fond of most of the characters by the end of it, which has taken a little out of enjoyment of the book.

I think I generally enjoyed more the first half of the book, and the more came up to the surface regarding all the characters, the least I enjoyed the story. At moments, it felt like the story wasn’t trying to pull you into too many directions, into too many subplotlines, and not exactly succeeding.

I expected a summer, fun story to read at the beach or to relax, and ‘Holiday Read’ wasn’t fully that.

Every part of the marketing of this book screams the Beach Read comparison, but Emily Henry would never write this. I just think that the comparison makes this book look a lot weaker.

This was a fun read!! I couldn't stop reading this book and it was out in no time!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Aria team for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First and foremost, thank you NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me an ARC.

I saw that a lot of the reviews said this book was similar to Beach Read by Emily Henry, but I’m here to disagree.

Second, I was so thrown off they Alexis was a male. Little spoiler there. I wasn’t really a fan of it, I felt like there was just too much going on in the book and it was hard to focus and dive into having connections with characters. I feel like there was a lot of historical info being thrown out, which made it less interesting in the community of readers you’re trying to reach.

I wouldn’t say it’s completely awful, but it definitely left me confused and frustrated by the end of the novel.

What I loved bout this book is it’s heartwarming propensity to help us see that we can choose our family. That we can curate what works for us. That best friends and family can show up for us in many different ways and help us to see our worth. Anything less and we should and can choose our boundaries, people who don’t respect that, likely have an ulterior motive or not our best at heart.
When surfer Candice moves from Hawaii to Cornwall she is not just escaping her cheating and controlling husband, she’s in search of her ‘dad’, her roots, what to do with her life, but most importantly I’d say, find herself.

Sometimes when we’re looking for something we are too blinded by our obsession of it. I’m also booking my trip to Fistral now, possibly one of the posh DFL ones!

I really loved the relaxed and beach vibe feel of this book, set in Newquay and with all the requisite surf & seaside references.
Candice was a likeable, authentic character to me, her complicated history and love shy approach to life was in direct odds with her love of reading romance books & Jane Austen. There was a lot going on for her but I felt I truly connected with her story and I adored her relationship with her friends Mikayla and Demi who were the dream sisterhood.
The book threw a curveballl halfway which I really enjoyed and the simmering chemistry was built up well. I laughed out loud several times with the witty banter and comic happenings and found it ultimately a book about self discovery and finding your true path in life.

This book gave me Beach Read by Emily Henry vibes, but not in the way that it felt like a rip off of her book. It's more like Beach Read is the big sister and Holiday Read is the little sister. If that makes sense. Similar but still different. I enjoyed reading this story. It was a feel reliable rom com that would probably do well as a movie.

I have read a lot of romance novels, so it's rare when one comes along that surprises me. While I could have predicted the ultimate outcome of this one from the blurb, the journey from start to finish held some unexpected twists. And while it did have the quintessential happily ever after, the characters faced legitimate obstacles and experienced clear growth. I'd definitely read another novel by this author -- the side characters were fun, some of the villains were nuanced and it was easy to root for the main character.

It is very rare that I don't finish a book, but I could not finish this book. I tried and it was just so slow and confusing. I was hoping I'd be able to come back to it and have a better experience, but that has yet to happen.

Thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aires Publishing for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
It's always hugely disappointing when a book is advertised "for fans of (fill in the blank author)" when it in no way resembles that. Unless, in this case, you're practically stealing the cover for Emily Henry's awesome Beach Read. But that's where it ends. Unlikeable characters and a ridiculous plot line that made me stop a third of the way through. I didn't even make it to the objectionable part other reviewers mentioned, because I didn't even want to have to read it.

i’m pretty sure i’m not the only one saying this but right when i read the summary, i was wondering if this was gonna be too close to beach read. there’s a writer and it’s like in a vacation settings and there’s kind of a hidden wedding?? but as i kept on reading i kinda found out it was worse than beach read ?? also i understand that alexis is maybe socially awkward, but sometimes he was just plain uncomfortable, mean and icky and just someone you would not want to read about.
also the love triangle (which is almost never done well) was no exception, it had no layers and was boring.
the writing is still great and the plot is a great idea,, i just think the execution could have been a bit better. also the emily henry knockoff wouldn’t have been a problem but you can’t expect readers to not make comparaisons.

I struggled with this book - the main male character was difficult to read, and it was hard to connect and root for them. I did appreciate the friendships and power of relationships-I love and value female friendships above all! Thank you to Taylor Cole, the Aria Team, and netgalley for the ARC!

New to Taylor Cole, I was interested to see what she had to offer – especially with the comparison to a popular writer such as Emily Henry. Settling into the beaches and surrounding areas of Newquay, we take a dip into the small tourist town life full of history, legends, surfers, and a mystery that took a young woman half way across the world.

For Candice, happily ever afters only take place in her romance novels. Real life is messing, disappointing, and heartbreaking. Fleeing to the other side of the world to escape her failing marriage, she is determined to keep her focus simple, rebuild her life and get her surf school on the ground. With the help of her two favorite people in the world: her boss and best friend, the mission seems simple until a gorgeous tourist walks into her life. Dedicated to her plan to stay as far away from love as possible, Candice is dead-set on avoiding Alexis, until she discovers he is her new surf student. One lesson and unfortunate mishap later, Candice finds herself more and more interested in the mysterious stranger until she discovers his intent has more to do with her than she realized.

The book takes some time to settle in so the one piece of advice I will give is stick it out! For the first 39% of the book, you are not sure what you are reading, where it is going, and what the focus should be. In an attempt to build intrigue, the author keeps hinting at some mysterious reason for Candice’s presence in Newquay, but it only creates frustration as she's dangling this carrot but you don’t know what it is relevant to – especially with multiple subplots already presented. When clarity is finally reached and you learn more about Candice’s past and her present day motivations, you are finally able to settle and focus on the story.


I enjoyed that the book recognized its own discombobulation. As it said, it was “everywhere” and there was so much to be said/told that you weren’t sure what you were supposed to invest in/care about at any given point in time. One minute you are enjoying the build up of a romance, then the relationship of her friends, then the reason for her search. The one thing I will say is I felt the solving of the mystery (without giving it away) came too late in the story. While it was a cute twist, the build up was all but forgotten, overshadowed by the fallout with Alexis and Daniel. They also never resolved what happened with Joseph. Was she still married while she was with Daniel, what does that say for her future? 

While I eventually enjoyed the characters, I initially had a hard time trying to connect and understand Candice. Taylor created a character too complex straight out the gate so it was difficult to know how to feel towards her. You wanted to feel sympathy because of what happened with her husband but she was too much of a cynic with huge chip on her shoulder (justifiably so in a way but too far in the opposite direction if we are supposed to believe she is overcoming her past). With those two conflicting feelings, Taylor then threw in this ominous sense of duty that she kept hinting at but wouldn’t reveal, creating even more initial frustration for the reader. As the onlooker, I didn’t know what to focus on - should I care about her starting over and wanting her to find the HEA that she enjoys in the romances that she reads, should I focus on whatever mystery the author is eluding too, or should I not care at all because that seems to be her character's attitude as well and I should emulate that? Again, all of this gets shorted out about a third of the way through the book, when the author drops the cloak of suspense and finally just tells the story. Once she does that, this book shoots from a possible DNF to a 4 star read.

Taylor's idea of finding yourself while still lost in someone else was strong in this book. Being engulfed by Joseph, Candice didn’t know who she was, what she wanted, her likes, her dislikes, her identity. He controlled every aspect of her, inside and out. To be set free of that, move on from that, and then be confronted with it again with a stronger support network and inner work was a beautiful moment. To see him comprehend the loss of the hold he had on her, calling her “mean” because she was no longer his submissive puppet was golden. The evolution of healing from a narcissist in a psychological and emotionally abuse relationship was a message Taylor crafted very well into the story. Candice’s hurt, lessons, experiences played into everything she did, who she trusted, and her intuition. She eventually learned to take the ownership that she wasn’t a victim but at the same time wasn’t naïve - that she needed to learn to trust herself and what she was capable of.

An interestingly crafted tale about the past, present, and prospects of the future, Holiday Read is a warm hearted tale full of sisterhood, new beginnings, love, family, sacrifice, and the renewal understanding that we are capable of anything if we are open to it.

Super sorry to say this was a DNF one for me. I found it hard to connect to any characters, and the storyline a little too bland.

I just tried so hard to enjoy this book and I couldn’t connect with each of the main characters. The familiarities with Beach Read was obvious and it felt like this is unlikable execution of the similar plot line.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. I was very excited to read it based on the plot, but there are just too many problems with the way storylines were handled that I decided to not finish this book.

Candice has fled to Cornwall after leaving her husband to try to find her father and start a surf school. She meets Alexis, a writer who is struggling to finish the romance novel he is under contract for. There’s some initial attraction between Candice and Alexis, but she calls things off after realizing Alexis is taking inspiration for his book from her. She begins to help him with his book, initially just with some research, but is soon writing chapters of the book. Will their co-writing reignite their relationship or will Candice fall for someone else?

I hate having to write bad reviews buuuuuuut here we are. I was honestly expecting an Emily Henry knockoff based on the title/description/cover and while there were some similarities, this book had so many subplots that never felt fully resolved and an incredibly misogynistic character. With the love triangle, it felt like the one character was chosen simply because he was less awful than the other love interest and did the bare minimum. Also, one of the main characters is very anti-romance and goes on a long diatribe about how terrible romance is… in a romance book.

What I enjoyed:
-the descriptions of Cornwall/the locals/surfing
-strong friendships
-found family theme
-all the dogs!

Unfortunately, this is just not a book that I can recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and Aria for the advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review.