Description: The ultimate sexy and escapist rom com for book and beach lovers. Will delight fans of Emily Henry and Josie Silver. 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. When Alexis offers to bring her in on the deal if Candice helps him deliver a winning book to his publisher, she accepts, and along with Alexis' agent Daniel, they embark on a very unusual summer of love, as Candice tries to teach the men the recipe for a successful romance. But you can't have a great love story, without a great romantic hero. Will Candice find hers before the summer is over?"

I was drawn to this book by the fun bright color and the description. It starts out in the beach café where Candice works and Alexis shows up, refusing to order anything but water and occupying one of their best tables for hours with his computer. And his rude and annoying behavior never gets better. I found him pretty creepy actually, though some of the situations they get into while "researching" for the book were funny. Daniel was sweet and shy but none of the characters are really fleshed out and I never felt the chemistry between any of them. I did like the descriptions of this little touristy beach town in Cornwall though.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was disappointing. I was excited to read it based on the description. Candice has gone to Cornwall, both for a change and to search for an answer. Then she meets Alexis the author and Daniel, his agent.
The best parts of this book are the scenery, and Demi and Makayla, Candice's friends.
This book is not what I would classify as a romance - there is very little in the book related to the relationship that develops.
There are at least two male characters that are super problematic - verbally and emotionally abusive.
More of the book ends up being about Candice's surfing, sightseeing, and the writing process for Alexis' book. Plus a bunch of weird things that happen. Then the situation with the answer Candice is searching for, along with who she ends up going for, aren't resolved until the very end.
I kept reading because I was interested enough to find out what happened, but I wouldn't recommend this book.

So 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 Alecis has been using their courtship as inspiration for the romantic novel he's struggling to write.
When Alexis offers to bring her in on the deal if Candice helps him deliver a winning book to his publisher, she accepts. But can Candice trust Alexis after his lies? And will she keep her focus when Alexis' sweet, handsome and loyal agent Daniel arrives on the scene? Together, Candice, Alexis and Daniel will embark on a very unusual summer of love, as Candice tries to teach the men the recipe for a perfect romance story.

Unfortunately I had to DNF the book around 60%. I tried getting into it but I felt like I was forcing myself to read and finish the book. I didn’t find the plot that interesting. It wasn't keeping me intrigued enough and the main characters? Yeah, I don't know how I feel about it (Alexis talking about u) but I will say I liked the setting and the friendships. Others may enjoy this book but for me it just wasn't it.

Thank you to netgalley and aria aries for this ARC in exchange for my review!!

This book was hard to get through. I am not going to lie. I thought I was going to give up at the 13% mark... and then again at the 25% mark... but I wanted to see if I could get to the halfway point before making my decision.

Ok - so this book had some super lovely moments, some dialogue that really resonated with me - which is what kept me reading. But it also TOO MUCH.

We have so many ideas being thrown into the mix :
*Our main character has left a toxic relationship.
*Her mother has just died.
*She moves halfway around the world.
*She picks a place because she also wants to find someone (but we don't know who she is searching for until almost 60% of the story).
*She starts over but is living in a van.
*She loves romance novels and wishes she could be a travel writer.
*Then she meets a guy - who is a writer and is actually writing a romance! Oh my goodness - what are the chances?!

Too much of the book is left "unsaid" - Candice knows her motivation and the pain/trauma/etc. but it isn't shared with the reader until so much later that it is hard to really care about her journey.

It also doesn't help that she isn't very likeable for the first half of the book. Or that the "love interest" (Alexis) is also terrible. But wait - he isn't the REAL love interest... the real one pops in at (you guessed it) the halfway mark and he is lovely - which then allows her to be lovely?

This book needed to be edited with a stronger hand - some of the ideas could have been better developed, and it all should have moved faster - there is nothing worse than super long chapters when it feels like nothing is moving forward. And that's what the first half felt like.

Apologies - I HATE writing negative reviews - god knows I can't write a book and get it published. This was more of a case of the editor not doing the author any favours. I am giving this 1 star. I thought the idea was solid but it just wasn't edited aggressively enough.

Thank you Netgalley and Aria & Aries for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I was looking forward to reading this because it seemed like the perfect book to read for summer/holiday vibes, but sadly, I had to DNF at 44% in because I just could not continue to force myself to get through the rest. I was not into it from the start but I wanted to give it a fair chance and see if it would possibly change my mind, but unfortunately I just couldn’t see it through any longer.

I had a lot of issues with this book but one of the main things was how unlikeable the “love interest” is. I quote love interest because after reading other reviews I now know there’s a second love interest, who we don’t even officially meet until 40% in. Prior to that he’s introduced as some mysterious guy the main character Candice comes across in the town she lives in. If I hadn’t read reviews, I wouldn’t have known Daniel is her actual love interest and would be under the impression that Alexis the “love interest” is who she’s ending up with and based on what I did read of the book, he is awful. I don’t care how hot a guy is (we get it, Makayla, he’s hot), if he’s always sighing and whining, I’m not into him. Not to mention the conversation he has with Candice where he 1) puts down booktok and actually refers to “booktok made me buy it” 2) makes eye roll worthy comments about how Mr. Darcy probably had a mistress (this personally offended me) 3) makes offense comments about the hype around Bridgerton and 4) has decided that as a writer he’s going to write a romance because he thinks it’ll be an easy cash grab. There were so many red flags and that doesn’t even touch on the lack of consent where Candice and Alexis get drunk and hook up. (That entire hook up scene was very uncomfortable to read, I didn’t find it sexy at all)

Oh and Candice finds a journal with notes where he talks about her nipples and how to write about them in a non pervy way (because he’s actually getting inspiration for his book by writing about her)

Speaking of Candice - I love a character who’s on a journey, and Candice is on exactly that after she’s left an emotionally abusive husband and is trying to have her surfing lesson business take off, which would’ve been fine until all of a sudden, out of nowhere, it turns out she moved from Hawaii (where she and her husband are from) to Newquay (in Cornwall) to find her father. It literally came out of nowhere and didn’t really fit. I think the author could’ve kept it as simple as she was just starting over after leaving her husband.

Some of my other issues are minor - some of the writing was too descriptive and was like reading a dictionary or encyclopedia, so I skimmed at some parts. There was some inconsistency in the length of chapters too — some were sooo long and never ended and then I came across a chapter that was two pages.

Going back to Candice, she was going through a lot of emotions and thinking a lot, and I think the author was trying to convey that she was grieving and trying to figure her life out but it was a lot of “telling” and not very much showing, so I couldn’t really connect with it.

I think this had potential but unfortunately did not meet my expectations and was not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria & Aries for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

My Instagram grid has been a little dark lately with bad girls and hitmen and morticians. I felt like it was time to brighten things up a little bit with this cute summer read.

Candice is a Hawaiian surfer who escapes to Cornwall, England after several tragedies in her life. In Cornwall, she has a bodacious group of friends, who are hilarious, a little wild, and made me very happy with their dirty mouths. Candice meets Alexis, a total himbo- all looks, no substance who is struggling to write a romance book. Alexis’s agent, Daniel arrives and complicates everything with a little awkward love triangle.

This def started off slow and many of the plot points were underdeveloped- I think there were just a few too many moving parts. Also- this book has zero steam. In fact, anytime, somebody even hinted at physical intimacy, they were interrupted by something or someone. While I did have literary blue balls for this whole book, I still enjoyed it. See, you can still have a good time without getting drunk off of dopamine. But I’d be lying if I tell you, I wasn’t hoping for a threesome between Candace, Alexis, and Daniel. But, alas, it never happened. Overall- I didn’t hate the book- it was a generally nice, fluffy read that made me LOL several times.

Smut- 0.8 stars
Romance- 3.5 stars
Story- 3.8 stars
Literary blue balls- neg 2.6 stars

I was so excited to read this one but unfortunately i don’t think it was for me. I attempted to start this a few different times but had a hard time connecting with the story and the characters. Based on the blurb, I think this could be a successful read for someone else!

The knockoff of Emily Henry's Beach Vacation...

The title is misleading and the plot was much too close to EH's.

The following review was posted on my blog two days ago, on Tuesday, May 9th, two days before publication. It will not be shared on Instagram as to not push out low-rating reviews, but has already been posted on Goodreads. The blog post includes links to order the books and to its Goodreads page, so readers can add it to their to-be-read books.



Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 2 stars
Spicy Meter: -1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discusses infidelity and contains a scene with questionable consent. Big trigger warning on being drunk and that dubious sexual content.

“Holiday Read” follows Candice, a surf instructor and romance lover, and Alexis, a writer struggling to finish his next romance novel. That’s how they end up in the weirdest of situations—Candice being Alexis’s secret inspiration and then Candice getting extremely pissed when she found out that’s what his interest in her was all about.

What do you get when you mix great writing but a question plot and not-so-relatable characters? A 2-star read apparently. Based on the premise (and the book cover) I thought I would enjoy this read, but sprinkle in some sexual assault and I was immediately turned off. I had to DNF at 32%, I could not find redemption for that situation.

Nonetheless, I really liked Taylor Cole’s writing there for a bit and I wouldn’t be against reading more of what she has to offer—as long as it doesn’t include drinking and tipsiness around a first hook up, explicitly after said drunk character had expressed their desire not to hook up.

That’s all for this review. If you’re into teacher-student relationships and aren’t repulsed by the no-consent thing, you might like this. I didn’t, but that’s just me.

If you click here, you’ll be redirected to Goodreads, so you can add the book to your TBR list.

Or you could click here, and be redirected to Amazon, so you can order the book.

ARC provided by NetGalley and Aria in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: May 11, 2023

DNFed at 37% as I didn't feel connected with the characters at all and didn't feel I should finish the book as I didn't see the potential of the story getting better. It just felt like a lot of copycat stories into one but with bland characters.

I'm not exactly sure what it was about this book, but I could not get in to it. The writing felt awkward and unclear. I just could not read it. I was disappointed because the plot sounded interesting.

Thank you NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

DNF unfortunately
Started a few times, but I personally did not click with the writing.
The general idea has premise, just not for me sorry.

This was another DNF for me🤦🏼‍♀️
I was SO hopeful for this book, especially with it being comparable to Emily Henry. But it really fell short for me and I just couldn’t connect to the characters at all. It had potential but it wasn’t meeting it for me.

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.

I really wanted to like this book, but I was never able to connect with it. The story is cute, but the characters are too whiny and flat, the story is longer and wordier than necessary. The potential was there, but I found myself skipping many parts and not missing anything important. The romance part is cute, so if you are looking for just that, definitely give it a try.
Alexis is a romance writer, struggling to write, until he meets Candice at her surf school. Alexis offers to bring Candice in on the deal, if he can deliver a winning book, and she accepts. But can she trust him? Candice spends her summer trying to teach Alexis and his agent Daniel about the perfect romance story. Will Candice find her happy ending?
Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy!

True, if you are a lover of Emily Henry, rest assured that this book will delight you.
Too bad that, broadly speaking, Holiday Read is very reminiscent of Beach Read by Emily Henry (also the cover).
It's not a bad book, but I wish I'd read something different.

Thank you Aria & Aries, Aria for this arc. I was maybe expecting more from the book with that cover. It was a lot of inside dialogs and lots stories around not knowing why. And then finally the twist and the end. I guess next time will works better. I like storiea about second chances and friendships, love searching.

DNF at 10%

I enjoyed the setting and the characters. I just found a lot of what happens to be repetitive and a bit much. It’s one thing to have a grumpy female character, but she came across as disgruntled more than anything. And the male main character came across as aloof. But it didn’t really seem like there was much else to them. Ultimately, the constant repetition made it difficult to follow or find myself engaged in the story.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I didn’t like or connect to any of the characters so I wasn’t invested in their story at all and to be honest I was bored. I did try to push through and continue but it just wasn’t working for me.

I won’t be reviewing elsewhere as I didn’t read enough to give a full and fair review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review,

This was just terrible. It was boring to start out with and you don't even meet the actual love interest until 40% through the book. And even then I don't think they talk enough. It seemed like it was trying to be beach read with a twist but it failed on all accounts.

I received an arc through netgalley.