I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The cover and the synopsis had me fooled! I thought I'd be getting a sweet, enemies-to-lovers, palate-cleansing romance with a gorgeous French backdrop.

I didn't think I'd be getting this overworked, campy, throw-spaghetti-and-see-what-sticks mishmash of a plot. There are so many annoying things about this that it's hard to know where to start. The only reason I gave this 2 stars is because it's technically readable.

This is in need of editing. Not the SPAG kind but the structural kind. It's about 100+ pages longer than it needs to be and that's because EVERY POSSIBLE THING THAT COULD GO WRONG HAPPENS. It's too much. If the only way to move the plot along is to constantly have characters interrupt each other or have life "comically" get in the way, there's probably something off with the plot.

The romance is obvious, on all fronts. The mystery was obvious -- and introduced WAY TOO LATE. As one reviewer said, Merry's narration reads like a diary. It's not a diary I want to read. She has some serious character flaws, which I would've loved if she addressed them in any meaningful way. Everything is very surface-level in this story.

And I'm sorry but if you have an allergy like Merry's, you don't just blindly eat food, particularly sweets. Believe me, I have a similar allergy and you just can't do that.

If overdone camp is your thing, have at this. Otherwise, steer clear.

I love this story idea but in practice found the storyline too predictable for my taste. I ultimately did not finish this story. Thank you for the chance to review in exchange for an honest review.

Merry is devastated when her guy best friend whom she have feelings for years is now marrying her sister. Becoming a bridesmaid for their wedding is not easy to do, especially when her bridegroom is Noah Wright the guy she hates so much, and also her brother in law's childhood friend. As Merry want to escape life by going to French to live in the chateau that her godmother allows to live in for 3 month., where believes that she will have a lot of fun, to meet a sexy French man until she arrives and finds Noah Wright is there too.

- Enemy to lovers
- Force proximity (one bed)
- Communication is the key
- Likeable characters
- Family issues
- Grief
- Trauma
- Find comfort with each other

This book is so freaking fun to read, I couldn't put it down, and finish it less than a day. Merry who always believe she's a ugly duckling, and always hate herself did not realize h0w charming she was. I absolutely adores her character so much. Despite her low self-esteem, she still manages to be brave, and speak about her feelings, opened up about her trauma. Noah Wright is the same, charming, funny, serious and grumpy but as the story progress, he just socially awkward and fears of people finding out his secrets.

I love Noah and Merry relationship so much, Their chemistry and banter were insanely overflowing. I love how we goes from enemy to lover and slowly seeing them blossomed into friendship. I love seeing how we don't go straight to romantic stuff but instead both building their trust toward each other, jokes around like a normal friends. The romance is so sweet and straightforward. I love how both were honest with their feelings. There were a bunch of scenes that had me grinning from ear to ear, kicking the air and giggling as they were so funny and cute!

Not to mention, I love the writing style! The details description about French countryside is what making it atmospheric. The food, the scenery, and the art, I could imagine it clearly when I reading it! There's also a hint of mystery that creates an interesting subplot. The mystery is subplot is not what I expected honestly, I just thought it would be purely romance and cute, but it manages to tackles the emotional topics about family, the grief, moving on with life. The mystery is predictable, but how it execute is such a well done.

Overall, it was such an enjoyable read (coming from someone who is very picky about romance book), yess this one is so good. It will be a perfect vacation or summer read. Highly recommended!! Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy. Giving it 4.5 stars ⭐️

I adore Sarah Ready books. This book didn't quite hit the Josh and Jemma level, but I still couldn't put it down.

I can only imagine being forced to live in a one bed scenario in a French castle with two spicy characters!

This book was so fun.

This book is a story of Merry and Noah, they both arrive to stay in a rundown French chateau, thinking they’ll have some alone time!
Merry needs to escape life and also Noah, her new brother-in-law’s best friend!
The storyline is a slow burn to romance, lots of tension and at times, not quite believable goings on.
With Noah saving the day (more than once) and Merry realising that he’s not all bad-this love/hate relationship has plenty of charming moments!

Thanks to Swift and Lewis Publishing, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sarah Ready's enemies to lovers, romantic trip to France story was fun and difficult to put down. The characters were believable, easy to like, and easy to root for as the plot unfolds in enjoyable yet predictable ways. The setting is full of details that pull you into the story alongside the characters.
If you are a fan of this type of romantic trope, or you simply want to fly way on a French holiday full of fun, humor, triumph, and joy then rush out and read French Holiday now!

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for this dARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book takes the reader right to the French countryside with wonderful descriptions of the nature, town, and food, making me eager to pack my bags and leave for an adventure.

This enemies-to-lovers romance was cute and easy to read. Forced proximity with only one bed is always a bonus! I think the mystery around family secrets was a good extra and kept the plot going. But unfortunately, I did not enjoy it as much as I would like. I cannot point out a specific thing that bothered me. It is more of an overall feeling that it was a bit too boring in some places, too ridiculous in others (the lobster stuff was over the top), the side characters were not the greatest (especially her sister), and it had insta-love all over the place!

This book was an enemies to lovers, and it was perfect! Such a good rom-com with a hint of twists/mystery. Forced proximity, one bed. The spice level was low, but the book was a good slow burn.

Merry watches her younger sister get married to her 5 year long crush and best friend. It devastated merry. She takes a trip to stay in the chateau that her godmother had purchased. When she arrives, she is star struck by the beauty of the place and how marvelous it looks from the outside. Little does she know, she has an unwanted guest by the name of Noah; whom she hates.

Throughout the book you can see their hatred for each other grow into a friendship and from there it turns into a relationship.

I highly enjoyed this book and definitely would recommend!!

Omg!!!! This book was so much freaking fun! It’s been a long time since I’ve had a read that I wanted to stay up all night and read, but that’s exactly what this one did! I was up until 2am and could not put it down. And it was so unexpectedly funny! I’m talking laugh out loud moments. There was a bit of mystery too that keeps you hooked and I loved the way that part is the story payed out. This would make the perfect vacation or summer read. It was light, intriguing, swoon worthy, and so cute.

This was enemies to lovers but light on the enemies, mixed in with one bed/forced proximity. Once they waved the white flag, it was so fun to watch their tentative friendship blossom into this swoon worthy romance. Their chemistry was undeniable and I loved the back and forth banter. Noah and Merry were so perfect together. There were times when I just wanted to shake them and make them confess their true feelings for each other, but their hesitations were understandable. I wish we would have gotten dual POV but overall I had such a fun time reading this one!,

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

Merry was a good MC like Noah but I didn't really buy into Merry's feelings. All of the sudden she had feelings for him? There was no prelude and it got there too fast for me. Then the mystery with Noah's father felt forced.

The setting was fun but the scenes with the lobster...really?? Edit it out :)

I know that I have found a good book when I read when I should be doing something else. French Holiday by Sarah Ready hooked me from the beginning. Merry DeLuca must stand by and smile while her sister marries her best friend/secret crush. Escorting her down the aisle is the groom's best friend, Noah Wright who appears to loathe her. Through an unlikely set of circumstances, Merry ends up in France at a chateau to figure out how to rebuild her life. Her path to love and redemption is full of farcical interruptions, but the author, Sarah Ready, manages to keep the reader invested. This is my second Ready read and I am adding the others to my To Be Read List. A quick, fun, satisfying read.

French Holiday by Sarah Ready was a swoon worthy rom com set in France. While it was a slow burn for me, I still enjoyed the story and characters. You can't go wrong with a French chateau hosting the enemies to lovers. I love the mystery twist to this rom com as it elevated it from a traditional rom com story. Overall a great read!

This book was textbook chick lit, from the cover image to the storyline to the trip to France. Merry is upset that her best friend and secret crush Leo is marrying her sister Angela. And worse yet, Angela becomes pregnant shortly after. Merry finds her escape when her flightly godmother offers up her chateau in France. The chateau is a wreck and barely livable, but the worst thing is that Merry’s nemesis and Leo’s best friend Noah Wright is also there. Merry and Noah coexist together and grow to like each other. The book drones on a bit as Noah and Merry fight, but you know they will get together in the end.

This book was a miss for me. The overall plot line was promising, but it the characters' actions and responses seemed incredibly unrealistic. All 3 couples in the book were engaged within a month of dating. The "instant love" trope is very hard for me to get behind even for one couple in a book, so having it for 3 couples was just too much. There were too many sub-plot lines, and while each had potential, none were developed enough.

This was a slow start for me and wasn’t sure what to expect but I’m glad I stuck it out. However there were some things that didn’t felt thought out. For example, how were phones charged the whole trip when they were using battery powered lamps.

Very. Cute. In France. *swoon* Great for a rom com movie. Love the cover, it's so adorable!! Not quite enemies-to-lovers trope but definitely one-bed trope! I loved the backdrop of a French chateau, even if it is falling apart and dingy. lol. Will definitely be reading more from this author!

Sarah Ready books can be hit or miss for me; I've really enjoyed some of her works and have cringed at others. This one is a solid 3 out of 5 stars for me. While I liked the characters, there were some moments that made me sigh heavily (not in a good way) and roll my eyes. I like the idea of the main characters getting away from their lives for a bit and falling for each other in close quarters, and the setting of France was lovely, but I felt like the story didn't have enough to keep my interest. I think this would've been a great novella, but a full novel felt like it dragged. The lobster parts were just so random and out of place that I couldn't help but shake my head. I get that Ready was trying to be funny and quirky, but an escaped lobster living in the walls of a chateau? I couldn't tell if it was a romcom trying to be serious or a drama trying to be funny. It was a cute, but kind of forgettable, romance.

I did like the story with Noah though; I could feel him really struggling with who he was for so long and the heartbreak of not knowing where his parents were. I was glad to see that closure for him. I know that it was in the POV of Merry, but I think having a split-POV with her and Noah would've taken this book up a notch.

Thanks to NetGalley, Swift and Lewis, and Sarah Ready for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ready is definitely a hit or miss author for me, and I found this one to be somewhere in the middle. It has tons of personality and a fun, rom com feel. I loved the vacation vibes and the playful tension between this couple, and the setting was interesting. Forced proximity is a win, and peeling back the layers of the hero was great. I did think some of the humor was over the top and distracted from the actual relationship development, and parts of the story were wildly implausible. I enjoyed the romance the most, and think the story could've been tightened up a bit, I typically think Ready's rom coms are too short, but this one was significantly longer than usual, and that wasn't needed here. It dragged a bit, and I ended up losing interest somewhere along the way - switching to skimming by the end.

Audio note: The audio was fantastic! Kelsey Navarro does a great job, infusing a lot of humor and quirkiness into her performance. It was perfect for the low angst, rom com vibes of the book, and made the listening experience even better. The story itself was also ideal as a workday listen, with little to no spice and an upbeat tone that was relaxing. A little on the long side, but a solid listen for sure.

This was a bit of a slow burn. Enemies to lovers and forced proximity tropes at work here. It did end up capturing my interest, so stick with it past the beginning bits. Spice level of about a green pepper: it’s there, it adds some flavor, but not a lot. It did make me much more emotional than I was anticipating though! They storyline was a good one, it wasn’t just about the main romance. I wasn’t a fan of the sister in this, but she’s a main character and doesn’t show up a whole lot 😅 overall, a good book!

Noah. Everyone fawns over him, except Merry. And he doesn’t seem to care for her either. And she has to walk down the aisle with him at her sister’s wedding. To the man she has loved forever. Everything is fine. She can do this. And her godmother provides her with a perfect place to escape to for a bit to get her head on straight. But she forgot to mention that the perfect French chateau Merry is staying at for the next 3 months, she had leased to Noah. And neither one of them is willing to leave.

LOVED every moment of this book!

One of the things I look for in a romcom the most is that it entertains me and makes me laugh out loud, Sarah Ready delivered! I stayed up way too late to finish this one--on top of the romance and comedy in this book, there is an underlying mystery--which elevated this book to the next level.

The banter, the lobster--it was perfection. This book absolutely made it into my Top Reads of 2023 list!

So good!