Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this arc read! This romance was full of little twists that I did not expect! I also had no idea where the romance part of it was going at some times which kept me on my toes. There were so many lovable characters and different personalities throughout the story to make it an easy and fun read!

Started quoted interesting and then I was like “what in all the world?” I pressed through and it was quite a satisfying read. There are fun references to other books that make my literary heart happy.

Thank you, Aria & Aries and NetGalley, for an advanced copy!

This book had me on the fence for the first 25%. After that, I felt too invested in the characters to put the book down. This wasn't necessarily a fast read for me, but I still finished it in less than a week. If you're looking for a fast-paced read, this isn't it, but if you're down to go for a stroll with an enjoyable read, you found your book. There were twists and turns that I did not expect, and when I though the book was going to go one way, it through me for a loop and went the other way much like the curveballs that life will throw at you.

Our main character, Candice, runs away from her dead-end marriage in Hawaii to take on a new adventure and find her long-lost father in Cornwall. While waiting tables and running a struggling surf shop, Candice meets Alexis who is in the process of writing a romance novel, but much like the surf shop, the struggle is real. The two make a deal for Candice to help Alexis with his book, but we all know that catastrophe will await them including the entrance of Alexis's agent, Daniel. Will the marriage work itself out? Will the book get finished? Will Candice find her dad? Read on, my friend. Read on.

Okay talk about inflated male ego.
I did not like this book one bit and hated the main male character. I knew this had to be written by a man because there is no way a women could write a man like this.

The main character in this wants to write a book thats romantically 'accurate' because he thinks the Bridgerton series is not historically or romantically accurate. But throughout the book the only feeling I got was that he was more interested in the money the romance genre gets rather than the genre itself. I would not even give this a 1 star but I am not a monster.

I tried... But this book really didn't do it for me. I tried to push through to read this book but it was just something about it that just didn't hit for me unfortunately. The dialogue doesn't feel real or authentic. It was just a disappointment tbh. Nevertheless, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this book.

Thank you to Aria &Aries and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC!

Taylor Cole has written such a great story about new beginnings, love, and not giving up on yourself. While the main character didn’t fall for the guy I thought she would, she made an even better choice. I would have liked more closure around her and the husband who left her, but that’s a bit of a moot point. This book makes me want to visit the area that it was written in!

There is a huge discrepancy between the reviews here on NetGalley and those on Goodreads, and I'm not sure why, but I wholeheartedly align with the public-facing reviews.... I had to close this book and move on at page 125. I highly appreciate the opportunity to review this from NetGalley and the publisher...but this honestly was just a trainwreck.
I'm not sure what this story is trying to be. The cover screams Emily Henry / modern romance, but the story is muddled and confused. Are we searching for family? Are we looking for romance? Are we broken hearted over someone cheating? Is that cheater actually an abuser? There's a writer - turned - lover potential, but the writer is just really misogynistic, confused, and misguided. The over-the-top descriptors of story writing don't match the background of the characters, and I'm not sure that I truly understand the characters in the first place.
I don't think this book knows where its going, what it wants to be, or how to get there. The characters, minus Demi, are completely unlikeable, and the story is strange.

I really enjoyed’Holiday Read’, very well written , excellent storytelling and a great cast of characters. Add into the mix that it was set in Cornwall it was perfect for me.
Thank you Netgalley, the publishers and of course, the author.

Unfortunately I did not like this one. It was so boring and I did not click with any of the characters. I thought the banter between Mikayla and the MC was so immature. The first chapter, where they discussed guys being a limpet was very drawn out and beat the point to death. I hung in for several more chapters before my growing TBR pile pulled my attention and I left this one behind. It just was not for me.

Thank you for the advanced copy of Holiday Read.
I set my expectations a bit too high for this one and thus was let down. While this book had a slow start, it did pick up towards the middle and I was happy with the ending. I would be happy to read more from Taylor Cole in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the ARC!

I tried. I really tried. This book was not it. The story was okay. The characters were okay. I didn't feel an attachment to them, nor did I really want to find out what happened next.

Even with the lack of story and character development, my biggest qualm with this book is the writing style. The run-on sentences and lack of appropriate sentence structure made it very hard for me to read. Maybe I'm being to harsh, but the entire first paragraph of this book was one sentence. One. sentence. paragraph.

If not for the writing issues, I may have rated it a solid 3 stars. But because I struggled so much to even read it, I'm downgrading to 2. At least point, I would not recommend to friends, but I hope it can undergo some revision!

Holiday Read had so much potential to be the next emily Henry lookalike. It follows an American woman who is living in Cornwall and working as a waitress and a surf instructor, this is where she meets budding author alexis and his agent Daniel. Alexis basically wants to write about a romance in Cornwall even though he has never written in that style and wants to use the main character as his muse. I couldn't stand alexis, he was way too misogynistic and acts like a baby but Candice wasn't having any of it. I liked the whole research and the experiences they go on as a couple and a trio and I'm happy about how it ended however it felt a bit unedited and I think they could have included the side plot about her parents a bit more. I'd be happy to pick up another book from this author!

This started strong, but it got repetitive and long-winded. The conversations between the main characters weren't flowing. The supporting characters were fantastic!

Holiday Read is a story about Candice, who flew to England from Hawaii to break free from her marriage.

Candice is a struggling surf instructor who also works as a waitress at a café, where she met Alexis, an author.

Alexis is an annoying and unbearable character who doesn’t know what consent is. He is misogynistic. He’s writing about a genre he doesn’t like and looks down upon, yet he wants to make a profit out of it. He has no respect for Candice’s contribution to his book. On the other hand, Daniel, Alexis’s agent, is the opposite of him. He is a likeable character. He helped Candice whenever he could.

There were lots of unnecessary details in the plot. The sudden backstory of Candice’s life in Hawaii. Random things happened in the book that were forgettable. Things like Candice looking for her dad or the sudden appearance of her husband were so random.

I liked Candice’s growth, her taking control of her life, and her friendship with Makayla and Demi. I also liked the summery beach settings.

The title says “Holiday Read,” but none of the characters was on vacation. It could be misleading.

Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me.

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. Will recommend it to everyone I know!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review. I really thought this would be a cute and fun quick read but unfortunately I just couldn’t stay interested in the book and had to DNF it. It just wasn’t interesting enough for me to want to continue, it felt like it was dragging on but not necessarily in a good way and I didn’t really like the characters much. I’ll update if I change my mind and decide to give it another read.

Pleasantly surprised, had more substance than anticipated. Great musical references. Will recommend to my romcom readers.

Thanks for letting me read, however I didn't love the book it was not a very interesting read for me and the blurb definitely made me think it would be more of a fun book than it was

I love the holidays, beaches, and fantastic characters. This book had everything. I loved it and I cannot wait for the next book from this author. It gave me beach reading vibes and I would love to be sitting on a beach with a cup of iced tea, reading this book.

Thank you to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for sending me an eARC of this novel! While I enjoyed Candice's character, I didn't feel drawn to anything else about this novel. There are many reviews lamenting the misogynistic love interest at the beginning of the book, and I completely agree, but I do want to note that the book actually ends with a different love interest. So if you are enjoying the writing otherwise, I'd push through. I did not enjoy the writing. I felt like there was no connection between any of the plotlines, and sometimes it felt like Cole randomly included scenes just to make the book longer. This book could have been 100 pages shorter. Lastly, I felt no chemistry between her and any of her love interests, especially the one she ends up with. I didn't understand the conflict and I didn't understand why they wanted to get back together. Unfortunately, I would not recommend.