I loved this book! It is romance with some mystery involved. Definitely worth reading!

Merry has fallen for her best friend, only to have him fall for and marry her sister. Work is terrible, having to tell so many co-workers that they are no longer employed. Merry has had enough and decides to take a vacation to the French countryside, living in a castle owned by her Godmother. Once she arrives, she is surprised to find Noah, the best man at her sister's wedding, of whom she is not very fond. What happens next involves a castle that is falling apart, a Frenchman named Pierre, and some interesting banter between Merry and Noah.

This book had me laughing, rooting for different couples, and wondering how the mystery would unravel.

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC.

Merry DeLuca is no stranger to unrequited love, but suddenly her nightmare comes true, her sister is marrying the man that she loves! What could be worse than that?!

Needing a fresh start, Merry heads off to the French countryside to a dreamy chateau. She’s got plans for a soft, romantic summer filled with vineyards, a charming lover, and rediscovering herself.

Of course, these things never go how they're planned. Merry arrives to find a barely habitable chateau, and to top it all off, she finds the best man and famous travel documentarian, Noah Wright, is also here for a stay.

Noah and Merry have never gotten along, and Merry is furious to find Noah where he will ruin her perfect holiday. After some debating, the two decide to do their best to live together and stay out of each other’s way for the time being.

Merry is in for a summer of new friendships, stunning vineyards, a crumbling, haunted chateau, and a seemingly parallel story to a gothic mystery/romance novel.

💖what I liked:
- One bed trope, a CLASSIC
- The setting. It was gorgeously written and I was totally immersed in the dreamy French summer vibes.
- While the book had lots of stereotypical romance tropes and has a storyline that’s a little out there, you won’t find any one dimensional characters or lack of depth here. The characters feel so real and the whole story is beautifully written. I’m obsessed with the descriptions and with Merry’s inner monologue.
- Louis the lobster!

🤔what I didn’t like:
- Nothing, I honestly loved this read! Going to have a serious book hangover from this. 



Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and NetGalley who provided me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This novel has some fun tropes: Grump/Sunshine; antagonists to lovers; unrequited love; sibling rivalry; complicated family issues. The tone is broadly humorous, particularly in the first part of the story; the rom-com weighs heavily on the com side. This sort of thing isn't my favorite type; I prefer my romantic comedies a bit more subtle and witty, a la Nora Ephron 90's movies style. I found myself getting much more absorbed in the story in the latter half--the characters take on more depth as their backstories emerge, and their somewhat antagonistic relationship morphs into friendship, acceptance, and finally love. The storyline is as improbable as most romantic comedies, but it's fun to suspend disbelief and go along for the ride. There are some appealing features: a crumbling French chateau, a famous missing artist, secret identities, a mother with a tragic past, suspicion of murder, and a ghost story. All in all, I enjoyed the novel, especially the main characters Merry and Noah.

I just struggled to understand, is this a cute rom-com? Turned thriller 😅 There is a lot going on. Like we're ticking off the tropes as we go...


I loved the relationship between Merry and Noah! 💞💞

Another winner from Sarah Ready! This friends to lovers romance has all the trimmings of the perfect romance! Great characters, a charming love story, and all the belly laughs!

I was super excited to get this one from Netgalley and it did not disappoint! Sarah Ready does such an amazing job putting little twists or mysteries in her romcoms. French Holiday had me giggling and guessing at what would happen next! I especially loved Louis and Jupiter! The pacing was a little slow at times and I found the relationship between Merry and Angela annoying. I wish Merry would have had more of an upfront and honest conversation with her sister. Noah was great and I loved the ending! I definitely recommend this one to those who love enemies to lovers and the only one bed tropes!

This was my first Sarah Ready book and I am ready for more (haha bad pun I know). A fun romp in the south of France, who wouldn’t want to escape to a French chateau with a handsome tv presenter, even if he seems to hate you. No one loves an enemy to lovers trope more than me.

I really liked this story, it was fun, had a great set of secondary characters and a wonderful setting. Merry and Noah have great chemistry and I always love a book where there are a bit of mistaken first impressions. There was truly a bit of gothic mystery to the story, which I loved. And I appreciated that even our “villains” were drawn well and like most people, multilayered.

Merry DeLuca’s best friend and unrequited love, Leo, has just married her sister after a whirlwind courtship and now Angela is pregnant, and Merry needs to get away from all this heartache. She escapes to her godmother’s French castle but low and behold, Noah, Leo’s good friend and a man that Merry is very sure hates her, is also there. They are going to have to share space in this crumpling chateau. And there is only one bed, because of course.

Thank you to NetGallery for this advanced ARC.

I really enjoyed the first half of this; the romance was set up nicely and I connected well with the heroine. The second half was still enjoyable with an intriguing mystery, however it would have been nice to see a little bit more build-up for the romance before the resolution. Overall very fun with vivid writing and a great heroine, but I feel with everything else going on in the second half there wasn't much space to thoroughly explore the relationship between the main leads!

This was such a cute read and really enjoyed reading about both Josh and Merry, who made such a cute couple. I'll be honest, to begin with it felt a bit slow and I was not too sure that I would like this book but soon I could not put the book down.
This book was something like I had never read before. Yes you had the falling for your bestfriend's bestfriend trope BUT when do you ever come across French castle romance x mystery x enemies to lover x so much more.
Josh was also just a babe, like I hated him then I loved him but then I fell in love with him so it was completely okay! He was just a little misunderstood to begin with...
Merry too was just amazing. She was confident which was something I really liked.
The plot with Camille and Pierre, although unexcepted, was so cute and sweet.
This was a really good read and I would definitely recommend .

I was provided with an ARC copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

This friends to lovers romance was absolutely adorable. The is my first read by Sarah Ready and certainly not the last!! French Holiday follows the story of Noah and Merry, both unknowingly sent to France promised a holiday in solitude are shocked to see the other there. Their stay is set to last 3 months and so they decide to be friends. Both have dealt with unrequited love and so they make sure to make it known they are just friends.

My only criticism is there were a lot of unnecessary details about the chateau that could've been spent explaining the timeline a bit more.

Thank you NetGalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing, LLC for the opportunity to read this ARC.

4.5 Stars – rounded up to 5 stars. This was a wonderful story!! It all begins with Merry having a crush on her friend Leo. Leo doesn’t see Merry that way and when he meets her sister, Angela, he falls hard and fast for her. After Leo & Angela’s quick whirlwind of an engagement/wedding and impending baby arrival, Merry decides enough is enough and gets out of town after she quits her HR job.

Merry goes to France to stay in a dilapidated chateau for 3 months. So does Noah – Leo’s friend from the wedding that Merry thinks she hooked up with in her very drunk wedding state. Ms. Ready also includes a little mystery intrigue along with way. This was such a cute story. I had a hard time putting the story down once I got into it and it also made me want to pack my bags and head off to France. The descriptions of the food, art and town made me seriously want to hop a plane. Do yourself a favor and read this cute “enemies to lovers” story. I’m looking forward to the next Sarah Ready book.

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and NetGalley who provided me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Good book. I did not like the sister of the story from the start. But Merry the main character was a delight. I wonder how many people have a chance like Merry to go to France for 3 months and live in a “castle” that has no electric with only one bathroom and one bed but have to share it with a man you don’t like at the moment? The story had great detail to what the town was like and Noah, Camille and Pierre add great character to the plot. I would like to read more from this author.

E-arc provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
4.75 “Si tu pouvais lire dans mon coeur, tu verrais la place où je t’ai mise” stars!

If there is one thing about me, it’s that I will always fall hard for the ‘She-thinks-he-hates-her-but-he-is-actually-head-over-heels-for-her’ trope. Always. And I’m in love with this book. 

Everything, right from the premise of her getting over unrequited love (an attack, this), to Noah’s very first scene (I was a goner from his first appearance), to the way the story unfolds in France, was so well done! What I didn’t expect is that along with a delicious slow burn (set in a French Chateau of all places  ), we also have a lil mystery shrouding the castle because there’s a legend (keywords: haunting plus tragic romance)? Like I was SOLD.

“I like foolishly hopeful,” he says. 
I give him a small smile and he smiles back, pulling me in with the warmth in his eyes.
“Like, as in café-au-lait-level like? Or as in marmalade-on-a-croissant-level like?”
“How about Merry-DeLuca-level like,” he says.

Noah and Merry were so cute, I can’t wait to read more of their adventures together! 

PS - So when is it my turn to get a man who will buy me the French Chateau we fell in love in as a wedding gift?

At the beginning of this story we meet Merry as she is dreading walking down the aisle to watch the man she loves marry someone else. Merry’s life keeps going downhill from there until she finally reaches her breaking point, and her godmother throws her a lifeline to go stay at her chateau in France. Merry runs off to France expecting to have a beautiful and romantic break from her life, a chance to shed her ugly duckling ways and turn into a swan. But when she gets there the chateau is in disrepair, and her godmother booked someone she loathes to also stay at the chateau with her. As Merry and Noah figure out how to coexist together, secrets are revealed and there is an interesting mystery we get pulled into as well. The characters were great, the descriptions of the food and scenery made me feel like I was there with Merry, and the enemies to more tension was perfect. This was my first Sarah Ready book, but now I’m off to go read some more! I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.

For five years Merry has been inlove with her best friend Leo, but he is about to marry her sister Angela. A few weeks after the wedding Merry decides to go on a three month holiday to France and spend it in her godmothers Château, but what she doesn't know is that Noah (a man she cannot stand) is also staying at the Château. What could possibly go wrong.

Overall this was a good book, it was humourous, romantic and it had a mysterious élément.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Meh. This was one of those books where all the elements I love were present but... but... but... I just couldn't connect with the characters or care that much about their story. I also found some of the crumbling castle situations kind of gross.

There was one very funny scene with a lobster that had me laughing out loud.

I liked the book enough to read it all the way through but ended up skimming some of the screwball comedy scenes.

No profanity. Yay! Graphic sex.

Ok. Mixed feelings here but I still enjoyed the experience.

The books starts with Merry about to walk down the aisle. Not for her own wedding but the wedding of her sister to her best friend Leo, whom she has been in love with for years. She finds herself later with the best man Noah, whom she wholly dislikes. Through various circumstances they find themselves in France together at a chateau Merry’s aunt purchased. Merry is there to escape her life-loveless and recently jobless. Noah is there to work on his book and travel documentary and you find out for much more as well.

Forced proximity
1 bed trope
Grumpy x sunshine
Quirky moments
French countryside

All ensue from here.

For me there were parts of the book I enjoyed and found lovely. However, some of the dialogue and internal monologues felt clumsy. The MMC was downright confusing at times. Overall this book felt like it was trying to do too many things. There are some fun secrets that unfold but the writing gets a little confusing at times. This book also felt like it could’ve been a little shorter.

I’d give it a high 2.75 stars. I overall still enjoyed myself and was able to make it through the book but things never really got past surface level for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC!

I devoured this book in three hours. Merry and Noah are super cute enemies to lovers characters with well-rounded personalities, although I could pretty much guess what was going to happen next (except for the rampaging seafood, lol) the author's writing style kept me entertained and I love her descriptions. SPOILER: If I thought I had sex four times in one night it would be because my hooha was sore, not because I found four discarded condoms in the room. Just sayin'. I received this as a Netgalley ARC.

I love a good forced proximity vacation romance!

We meet our heroine, Merry, at the wedding of her sister and her best friend (who she’s secretly in love with). Merry is feeling pretty sorry for herself and down on love. Merry is given a French vacation by her godmother Jupiter and it’s too good of an opportunity to pass up! However, there is one small catch: Her new brother-in-law’s best friend Nick happens to be there too! What ensues is Merry and Nick learning to co-exist and maybe even catching some feelings?!

I really enjoyed this book! Merry and Nick had fun banter. I was rooting for them both the whole time. The French vacation backdrop was also a very nice addition in this book. It made me want to pack my bags and board a place to the French countryside. Bonus points if I can also fall in love along the way. This was my first book by Sarah Ready, and I cannot wait to read more by this author.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I love when main characters are a hot mess and woo boy did Sarah Ready deliver.

Merry has just stood up as the Maid of Honor in her sister's wedding to her best friend who she believes herself to be in love with. After getting spectacularly smashed with the standoffish best man, and then quitting her job a few weeks later, she finds her way off to castle-sit(?) for her godmother. This giant transformative moment is foiled when the cranky best man walks out of the castle to ask why she's there.

They end up both staying and splitting the one bed (because of course there's only one) and existing in relative harmony when they both work through a few things. She's looking for a version of herself that she can stand and he thinks he has a lead on who his mysterious father is. They both end up guest starring in field trips for each other's journey and it was nice to see them gradually become friends and then more.

I loved the domestic scenes around the house of these two just snarking at each other and being interrupted by the creepy crawlies of this castle but especially the lobster. What a scene stealer.

Thank you to Netgalley, Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.