A strange read. Got better. Did not like the sexual word references. Had the makings of a 5 star book. I reviewed it. No. The main character came to Cornwall to find her birth father. She was surfer who had also escaped an abuse marriage. . She had lost her mother and found a lovely community in Cornwall and had dreams of being a writer . I won’t spoil the plot. It had a neat ending but just did not flow .

A quick, easy and enjoyable read that I read in one sitting. It was well written with a good storylibne and well developed characters that I really liked.

Holiday Read by Taylor Cole was an excellent rom-com.

Wow, this was different than I expected.
I knew just by looking at the cover and reading the synopsis this was going to be a fun time.
This was very cute, and surprisingly really enjoyable.
The romance and a bit of the humour was great IMO.
The characters kept my attention and kept reading.
Overall, I liked it.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Aria & Aries,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

Great beach read for romance lovers! This was a fun book with likable characters- will definitely be reading more from this author!

CW: consent issues

In this story, a struggling surf instructor trying for a fresh start in a UK surfing town meets Alexis, an author who's a bit stuck on his current project--a romance novel. As their relationship unfolds, it comes to light that Alexis has been using Candice as inspiration for his writing, and then Candace decides to help him with the book.

Conceptually, this book has an interesting premise. The writing is also textured and distinct, with unique characters and dilemmas that pull you in.

But I don’t think this book is quite hitting the emotional cues it’s meaning to.

While miscommunications and social cue mistakes are totally okay (especially in an autistic or autistically coded character, as Alexis appears to be), being autistic is not an excuse to take advantage of someone, and readers in the romance genre do not want to be second-hand victimized by the male lead.

Alexis asks her to come over after again she’s refused the night before expressed a desire to keep the relationship simple and work-focused. He offers her alcohol, and as the day progresses, Candice becomes totally inebriated, and then Alexis kisses her without clear consent and takes things further. (It doesn’t matter if she’s somehow impulsively interested, as little sense as that makes given the development. She’s not of clear mind, and cannot give full consent, even if she had voiced it--which she did not.) At that point, they’re interrupted and she finds the notebook and what he’s really writing about. Despite them brainstorming for a separate story idea throughout the day, this notebook has notes including details about Candace, going into commentary about her body. Candace is understandably shaken and disgusted. Alexis claims the notes were only for him, that he messed up, etc.

It doesn't matter if the notes were only for him. He's a creep for ogling her body AND for writing it down AND for lying about it AND for using her AND for disregarding her clear "no" the day before and continuing to ask/try to finagle an opportunity to get with her AND for getting physical with her while she's intoxicated. The narrative describes Candace as having trouble walking, at this point. This is deeply, deeply disturbing. It's not something that women readers want to see in a romance novel. It's something some of us have been through and feel traumatized by. The male lead should be the person who INTERVENES and keeps things like that from happening. He should be the person holding other men accountable and respecting her decisions. Male leads can be flawed, they can misunderstand, but in a romance novel, I would argue that they can't have a solid arc where they learn how to not behave predatorially after behaving and making choices in that manner. That's a very, very different type of story, and one that should be undertaken quite cautiously and with lots of input from sensitivity readers.

As a reader, at that point, I don’t think Alexis fully understands why using someone else in this way is not acceptable (because if he does, then that’s even worse), and I don’t know that I want Candace to be the way he learns better. I want better for her, especially after her traumatic past. Lots of women have been there, in the "Oh, you didn't mean to pressure me/make me feel unsafe/make me uncomfortable and now you feel bad? Well, let me just help you learn to navigate these social dynamics better" role, and it often just leads to being on the receiving end of continued creepy behavior. That's not romantic. That's stressful. That's crying into your hands late at night, feeling like a terrible person because you're not sure if your friend/work mate/class peer/etc. is TRYING to make you feel scared when they continually make comments that are off-color despite prior conversations asking them to be more respectful or continually disrespecting boundaries you've set just a little bit. That's not Emily Henry. That's not sunny, cute, cartoon beach scenes.

If I'd read the first third of this book without the cover or marketing material, I'd have thought this story is a literary fiction novel about a dysfunctional man and a traumatized woman colliding into a potentially dark and gruesome situation. But it's trying to be a romance, and it's not working.

I also don’t understand why Candace is attracted to Alexis much at all. He has two fleetingly positive moments with her amidst a myriad of her cringing at his pretension and lack of regard for others. It’s like the story decided it was time for her to like him because he finally expressed desire more overtly, and the expectation that she would just return that immediately is…not realistic. Also, it seems out of sync with the baggage she's walked away from her last relationship with. You know, the one where she was always the giver and never the receiver. The one where she was constantly taken for granted and manipulated. If Alexis is supposed to be the male lead, we need to see DIFFERENCES between how he treats her and how her ex did. We need to see him RESPECT HER AGENCY. His behavior is doubly uncomfortable because of the clear socioeconomic gap between them. He's paying her for lessons, and she's living out of her van.

He can BE weird. He can BE uncomfortable. He can fail to notice when he’s inconveniencing people!! He can be self-absorbed! But he doesn't have to disrespect her "no" or make moves while she's intoxicated. And the reader can discover his endearing and wonderful traits along with more of his vulnerability as Candace does. That connection has to build more organically than it has. He can still be awkward. But show us more of his simple, authentic reactions to things like surfing or getting his foot stung.

I absolutely adore neurodivergent rep in romance. It makes me feel seen and understood. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are just a handful of things in this first third that make the book not a romance novel.

He absolutely cannot tread lines of grey/no consent or outright disregard for her wishes (and neither can she, for that matter. Consent goes both ways). Because then, that makes this a nightmare, rather than a romance (as it is marketed). Right now, he’s acting as though he thinks he can just keep trying to convince her into whatever he wants (a relationship? Just something casual? We have no clue), and it’s not romantic.

No means no. Full. Stop. “I want to keep this simple” should be read by him as “I want to keep this simple” until she directly says otherwise. That is not an invitation to ask again the next day. If he's misunderstood what she meant there, having them have an awkward encounter the following day where she spells it out more clearly would be fine, so long as it's clear to the reader that he genuinely didn't get what she meant.

I love the idea of him struggling to write and her helping him. As a writer--I've been there! I really, really wanted to like Alexis.

But I hate his not listening to her clear “no” and his lack of respect for her agency. It made me feel uncomfortable as a reader, and I really, really hope the writer makes some changes to address this before the book is released.

There ARE elements that work here. The love of surfing (chef's kiss), the bits of his social dysfunction (his nerves, his self-remonstrating comments when he realizes he's been inconveniencing them at the diner), and Candace's need for something more and independence—all of those can mesh together to tell a cool story. I just think the first third needs some critical dialogue and plot elements retooled.

Taylor Cole, I am begging you to give this first third another try. You've got a unique voice, and your settings (especially Demigorgons) are so cool! But, I'm worried that most readers won't make it past the first third because of the issues mentioned above.

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

I was immediately disappointed when I realized this book has absolutely nothing to do with the holidays. The characters are flat and boring and the male character is unbearable. I couldn't even finish it.

I jus 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.

The hero is exploiting the success of romance novels without showing enough respect to the genre. It seems like only thing is important for me to get paid handsomely and do everything he can to achieve his plan including using heartbroken woman as a muse to bring him more commercial success!

Even the cover resembles “Beach Read” so I decided to stay with the original concept and doing something I really don’t like by choosing my dnf option!

I wish I enjoyed this read a little more!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Aria&Aries for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

special thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC!

unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. i loved the setting and female friendships between some of the characters but overall, it felt the plot was all over the place at times and for some reason i kept getting lost.

What can I even say with this book? The cover trys to draw the reader in with a Emily Henry esque premise and cover. It’s just not great. The characters suck, the story is weak, and it just feels like a cheap EH knockoff

First, I'd like to thank NetGalley and Aria for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. As both a reader and a writer, I am always humbled by the opportunity to read a book before its official debut.

Unfortunately, this is a book I couldn't finish and will not be recommending.

To begin, the title of this book is misleading. It doesn't take place during the holidays, it doesn't really appear as if anyone is 'on' holiday, either. This feels like it was an attempt to draw in readers who like Emily Henry (i.e. Beach Read), and this book is not comparable to Beach Read, or any other Emily Henry book, in the slightest.

As a writer, the pages I did manage to make my way through were not enjoyable. The dialogue feels forced and uncomfortable, and it doesn't sound believable. It felt as if someone was trying really hard to make dialogue that sounded real that they wound up making it sound fake. There are also pages upon pages of exposition that don't feel necessary to the story, though it's a little difficult to understand what the story is given that we spent the better part of 3-5+ pages talking about limpets. I would have to imagine books go through an editing process before they're approved for reader's eyes, but it looks as though this came straight from the writer's computer.

As a reader, I am, truthfully, offended. I am proud to be a romance reader, despite the fact that it's a genre many people look down on, especially men. So imagine my surprise when I find that a female author has decided to write a male character who is misogyny personified and make him a romance writer...even though he doesn't understand or like the genre. I read romance to escape into a world where grumpy men (not sexist, just grumpy) have cinnamon roll hearts and are GOOD humans. I trust romance writers with my heart because I know they'll take good care of it. And the choice to have a character prominently featured who makes fun of the romance genre and those who enjoy it felt like a slap in the face as both a romance reader and a woman.

As much as I would love to say this book had redeeming qualities, I can't. Perhaps it gets better as the book goes on, but if I've given a book about 30% and it STILL isn't keeping my attention, it's just not a good story. Plus, I'm not in the business of being made fun of when I'm trying to enjoy a book.

I won't be recommending this title to anyone. The title is misleading, the description is lacking, the female characters are mediocre at best, and the male main character is offensive beyond belief.

This review will also appear on Goodreads.

I really enjoyed this. A bit surprised by some of the less favourable reviews. It does frustrate me when people review badly and then critique when they didn't even nearly finish the story. One here criticises the jacket for suggesting it's set on a beach when it's not(?) It's set in Newquay, a major beach town in the UK! But you can't set literally every scene on the beach. Where would the characters sleep?

I found the relationships between the heroine and Alexis and Daniel really engaging, and the dialogue is brilliant. So funny in places. Demi in particular is great. I did find Candice a bit grating at times, but overall she won me over.

I'd read more by this author.

I was drawn in by the beautiful cover and the fun title of this story! Then I was a bit concerned this was going to be a carbon copy of Beach Read but was happy it wasnt! After that initial thought, I didn't compare the novels once. This was my first novel from Taylor Cole and I loved it. It was fun and sweet but also found myself loving the characters and rooting for the couple!

Alexis arrives in the vacation hot spot of Newquay to find inspiration for his next book. He meets Candice, a local waitress and surf instructor, and attempts to strike up a relationship with her. Candice, however, does not want to be used to become the main character of the book, but she strikes up an agreement with Alexis and his agent, Daniel, to be a co-writer on the book. They spend their time going on adventures for research of their book.

I wanted to like this book. Besides Alexis and Joseph, I found the characters so pleasant. I was not entirely sure where the love story was or if it was going to be a love triangle or what not. There was a lot going on and I was not really sure about any of it until the very end.

Thank you Net Galley and Aria & Aries for the eARC!

Ugh I wanted to love this book so much but the cover was misleading which annoyed me, and then all the subplots that were unnecessary ultimately made this fall short for me

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review

I was enthralled by the premise, but the execution failed to grab my interest or draw me in. Stopped at 10%. I don’t see this going over well with our usual crowd.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria for the ARC.

The title and cover of this book were confusing in the sense that it wasn't based on a beach... I think this is a marketing ploy to give off Beach Read by Emily Henry vibes but I hate when a cover feels irrelevant to the book.

There were a lot of plots going on in this book and I didn't fall in love with any of the characters. It was hard to keep up with everything going on and all of the plots were drawn out. However, the book felt extremely rushed at the end. I was surprised the book ended because there were so many plot holes left that needed to be filled in.

I left this book feeling unsatisfied

I'm confused by the title of this book, as this was not set during a holiday and none of the characters were on holiday, a marketing ploy perhaps?

This book was full of subplots, so many, way too many for a reader to be able to fully focus on them properly. While the ending of the book was unfinished and rushed (I checked to see if I was missing any pages), the rest of the story was incredibly drawn out.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Read for NetGalley:

When I originally saw the cover, title, and front blurb, I was worried this was going to be a Beach Read knock off.

I was pleasantly surprised that other than the title, there was very little connection to Henry's wonderful (and in a good way).

Candice, trying to make a name for herself in a startup surf business in Cornwall, long ways from Hawaii and her cheating husband, is working on finding herself. While she seems to make new friends working as a waitress, after some twists and turns, she is given the opportunity to fulfill some of her dreams working alongside an author.

This novel packed a lot of feelings, fun characters, and sweetness of finding one's self so very far away from home.

Really enjoyable read.

Overall I thought this book was ok, I didn’t love it. I felt like the synopsis sounded better than the book actually is. Thank you to Netgalley, for an opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

Reminded me of beloved author Emily Henry's "Beach Read". Perfect for a beach day- this book packs the charm and romance typical of this genre. Solid choice!