RATING:4/5

THOUGHTS: French Holiday is written by Sarah Ready and narrated by Kelsey Navarro. This was my first ever audiobook and I was pleasantly surprised. If your favorite trope is enemies to lovers and force proximity then this book is for you. Mary who is our heroine gets invited to a chateau in France to get away. Soon Noah shows up to the chateau and tells Mary that he is doing some research for his film. But he quickly shuts Mary's idea down about leaving the chateau because he has paid Mary's aunt Jupiter for him to stay there for a couple of months. As the weeks go by Mary and Noah enjoy each other's company and start to develop feelings but somethings get in the way, Mary tries to get rid of her feelings for Leo who is her friend as well as Noah's but also her sister's husband and Noah tries to figure out this mystery of who his father really is.

This book kept me on my toes, especially when it came to the last couple chapter's when you are trying to figure out who Noah's father is and what happened to Noah's mother. I would recommend this book to those that are also are into slow burns, even though I enjoyed the narration the hero and heroine do not get together until little more than half way through the book.


FAVORITE QUOTES:
"I'm your's i've been your's from the start." -Noah

A cute book overall but boy was I bored.

Merry reminds me a bit of myself. She's a tad neurotic but in a way that you can't help but love.

The cliche of showing up to your expected retreat only to find this guy you can't stand is done in a fairly dull manner in my opinion.

I did enjoy the overall character development and the storyline about Noah's search for his dad but the book just fell short for me.

3.5⭐️ rounded up to 4.

This book was really fun! A romcom set in Europe will get me every time. Admittedly, it was little cliche and predictable, but I still enjoyed it very much. It was funny, sweet, and heart-wrenching. The audiobook narrator was perfect for the part - a job very well done. I’m thinking I may need to try some of Sarah’s other books in the future!

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing and Netgally for the ARC!

Woman runs away to a French castle after her sister marries the man she is in love with? Only to find his best friend there? Delightful.

Okay, so this book has.. unrequited love, forced proximity, one bed, mystery, romance & angst all taking place at a beautiful French castle? Sign me up!

I resonated with Merry in a lot of aspects and I feel as though a lot of people will too. The heartbreak of watching her best friend who she thinks she's in love with marry her sister.. sheesh. I know a lot people might not have been in that situation before, but the way Sarah Ready wrote it, I felt like was totally there.

Merry & Noah! This couple had all the tension in the world. It was such a burn waiting to get to that moment! Throw in a one bed scenario and *chefs kiss*! It made me so much more eager to see when the tension would finally break!

The narrator was also a big part of me enjoying this novel! She read it beautifully and every word kept me interested!

At the end, it said that Amalfi Coast was up next... that is my bucket list trip & I cannot WAIT to read that!!!

This was my first Sarah Ready novel but I am currently adding her entire backlog to my TBR!!

Merry runs away to her godmother's chateau in France when her crush Leo marries her sister, there he meets again with Noah, Leo's best friend and the broodiest sexiest man ever who is renting the castle, and there is only one bed...

This book is just perfect, nothing is missing.
Mary in Noah are a cute couple, and the food descriptions are magnificent.

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

This was such a charming, fun listen! Sarah's characters were comical, relatable, and realistic. Kelsey Navarro did an excellent job portraying the numerous voices in a way that held my interest. Some of the events felt a bit contrived, but the shenanigans the characters got up to had me both laughing and rolling my eyes. A great read for vacation or when you need an escape. Light spice, heavy romance, twisty mystery!

So much to love about this book!

-Unrequited love
-Enemies-to-lovers
-Veggie assaults
-Cuddly vermin
-A lobster with attitude

So many laughs, so many great moments.

This was my first Sarah Ready--something I am planning on rectifying right away.

This is also the first book I have listened to that is narrated by Kelsey Navarro, she does such a great job of capturing the different personalities and voices of the different characters.

3.5 stars (rounded up)!

"French Holiday" by Sarah Ready is not quite as great as "Josh and Gemma Make a Baby" or "Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around," but it's still a (mostly) fun, fluffy enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, only one bed, he falls first, slow-burning romance with a bit of humor thrown in for good measure! I liked following Merry and Noah's stories. Readers get thrown into and immersed in their lives very quickly, and I enjoyed following their journey (and also, I REALLY wanted a croissant while reading)! Kelsey Navarro does a fantastic job bringing these characters to live with her audiobook narration. She even does some distinct voices that I found myself loving! While I enjoyed both of them as characters, I found myself HATING how Merry got treated her entire life, which impacted how she saw herself as a person. I just wanted to climb into my Kindle and give her a giant hug. Her mannerisms are understandable with all of her baggage and trauma factored into it. I also really liked Noah, but I wish he had gotten his act together a little sooner (if you know what I mean). The mystery aspects dealing with Noah and the real reason he was in France kind of came out of nowhere. I thought these elements of the story were the weakest by far. I *hated* Merry's sister, who was constantly barfing and complaining and being a whiny, bratty little sister. Cut her off, Merry! Geez! It's bad enough she stole your bike, but then she steals the love of your life!? Bye bye! I also hated Leo, what an absolute skeeze. Ugh. They deserve each other. The ultimate destination of this story is obvious, but that doesn't stop it from being a pleasing, beachy read that's perfect for spring and summer. Can't wait to read Sarah Ready's next novel!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Ready, and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC/Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

This was an adorable book!! It is an enemies-to-lovers, close proximity, one bed, slow burn trope, and instead of an adorable puppy or kitten sidekick, you have a rescued lobster named Louis. I would totally have one if I knew I wouldn’t kill it with the wrong water balance (haha). Anyhoo, I enjoyed reading Merry and Noah’s story. They both have been mistreated or abandoned in their past and have difficulty allowing themselves to be loved again.

Merry DeLuca is in love with her best friend, Leo, but he is marrying her beautiful, little sister, Angela. Merry has always taken care of Angela and given her anything she wanted, but Angela wasn’t overly appreciative of these gifts in the long run. She tends to toss them aside after about two weeks.

After the wedding and a bad experience at her job, Merry is gifted a three-month stay in her Godmother’s (Jupiter) old French chateau. Upon her arrival, she finds Joe’s best friend, Noah Wright, who is already staying at the chateau. Noah has seemingly disliked Merry ever since he met her no matter how hard she tried to be nice to him. Due to circumstances, they both end up going ahead and staying there, while they try to avoid each other, even though there’s only one bed. And thus ensues some great banter, some crazy scenes with a cucumber, a kitten, a super-cockroach, and some lightning. There are also a few underlying mysteries that are uncovered throughout the book that take on a story of their own. For rom-com fans, I think you’ll like this one and it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if they made it into a movie.

Thank you to @NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this title.

I thought that the story was solid, but did think that some of the side plots and characters did distract from the heart of the story. I think there was just too much outside that took away from the heart of the story and from me fully enjoying this.

I thought that the narration was great, and enjoyable. Overall it was solid.

This book was fine. While there were parts I really enjoyed and some truly stand out characters like her godmother Jupiter and Noah, I found the main character to be quite annoying at times. I really struggled to get through the first 25% of this book partially because I found being in the main characters head to be a little frustrating. I found myself wishing that this wasn't only told from her POV. Once I got to around the 30% mark of the book though I found it to be a much more enjoyable listen/read. Overall it was a fine somewhat fun read that gave a little bit of 27 Dresses vibes.

Thank you NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the audio ARC. I really enjoyed the audiobook of French Holiday. The narrator was great. I enjoyed the mystery of the story and the twisty turns and the giggles it gave me in parts. I would definitely recommend this if you want a light easy and funny romcom. 3.5/5

This was such a cute romcom! I usually don’t read many romcoms but I needed a palette cleanser after my last read. I loved the MC and watching her grow and progress into a new woman by the end of the book. Some parts were cheesy, but I feel like that’s what you get with this genre! Enemies to lovers. French countryside. Talk of French cheese and pastries. Can’t go wrong!

Awesome narration as well! I would recommend! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

This was such a romantic, but funny, read!! Main character Merry flees to her godmother’s French castle after her sister marries her unrequited love/best friend. However, Merry shows up and discovers that her nemesis, and said unrequited love’s best friend, Leo, has been invited to stay at the castle as well! What ensues is such a cute story about overcoming differences, self-discovery, righting the past, and in the end, finding love in the unlikeliest of people.

Merry is devastated when her best friend-whom she secretly loves- falls for and marries her sister. Seeking an escape, she ends up falling into an opportunity to go stay in a French chateau. She finds out too late that she won’t be staying there alone. Her nemesis Noah is also there.

This was a breezy read, an enjoyable use of the enemies-to-lovers trope. I finished it in one day, and though it was a bit heavy on the everyone-should-fall-in-love-and-get-married-right-away, it was still a delightful story from start to finish.


*I read an ARC in exchange for a review.*

Merry DeLuca's best friend and her unrequited love Leo just married her sister. Her life is rapidly spiraling down the drain and she doesn’t have an escape plan.
So when Merry is offered a three-month holiday living in a romantic castle in the French countryside she leaps at the chance.
To her utter dismay arrives she finds Noah Wright—the best man at her sister’s wedding staying in her castle.
Noah refuses to leave the castle so they are stuck together in France, in a crumbling castle. They decide to set aside their animosity and strike a truce to cohabitate as friends for three-months, and go their separate ways never to see each other again.

Merry DeLuca is funny, offbeat and a big sister willing to do anything for her younger sister. Noah Wright, a famous travel documentarian, is gruff and surly until you get to know him. I loved both Merry and Noah, they were hilarious and had great chemistry. The food, scenery, and art were beautifully described, it felt visceral. My favorite character in the book was Louise, the lobster, his antics cracked me up. There's a hint of mystery that creates an interesting subplot. The romance felt a little rushed and I didn't like a few of the side characters. Overall its a faced pace rom-com with beautiful art and a hint of mystery. I listened to the audiobook and Kelsey Navarro Kelsey Navarro did a wonderful job with the narration.

Great witty, funny and The right touch of romance. Enjoyed this book thank you 4 stars from me.. I would recommend this book to others..

I have read quite a number of romance books now and as much as I would like to love this book, I have to admit that the premise and the setting is interesting, but the writing style is unoriginal and lacks witty banter as expected. Main character is also unlikeable. Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook.

This was really cute (and I especially loved the audiobook narrator). This was a quick, easy read that was engaging and very easy to binge. The premise starts out a little dark (Mary is in love with her best friend (Leo) who has just had a whirlwind romance with her sister, and Mary is now the maid of honor at their wedding, then Mary has to fire dozens of people at work and quits her job in depression) but is then a traditional rom-com as she runs away to a French chateau, hoping to have a mad love affair with a French man named Pierre, but instead she must share the only bed in the crumbling chateau with Leo's friend Noah who she's convinced hates her, but through the magic of forced proximity and "there's only one bed", they grow to like and respect one another. It's not completely a closed door romance, but it's very close to it. If you like forced proximity and "running away from your life" or books in France and closed door isn't a deal breaker, I'd recommend this.