French Holiday is a contemporary romance novel written by Sarah Ready. The story revolves around Merry DeLuca, who is struggling to deal with her sister's marriage to the only man she has ever loved. In an attempt to escape from her life, Merry agrees to spend three months in a castle in the French countryside. However, she finds out that she has to share the castle with Noah Wright, her sister's best friend and her nemesis.

As the story unfolds, Merry and Noah develop a truce to live as cohabiting friends for three months, but they find themselves falling for each other. The author skillfully weaves humor and romance into the plot, making for an enjoyable read. The book offers a delightful mix of witty banter, picturesque scenery, and delicious food.

The characters of Merry and Noah are well-developed, and their chemistry is palpable. The interactions between the two protagonists are entertaining and full of tension, making the romance aspect of the story feel believable. The supporting characters, such as the neighbors Pierre and Camille, also add depth to the story.

The audiobook format adds to the immersive experience of the story, as the narrator skillfully brings the characters to life. The story's pacing is well-done, with the right amount of drama, humor, and romance in each chapter.

The only downside of the book is that some of the scenes are predictable and corny, such as the lobster scene and allergic reaction moment. However, this does not take away from the overall enjoyment of the book.

In conclusion, French Holiday is a heartwarming and entertaining romance novel that will leave readers feeling satisfied. I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys contemporary romance and chick-lit.

I absolutely adored the FMC of this story. This is not your typical romance story and I really appreciated that. I enjoyed seeing the banter between the FMC and MMC, as they were kind of enemies, but more just did not like each other. I really liked the story line of finding oneself within this book, and taking that time to venture out of your comfort zone to find yourself and your purpose. The narrator for this audio was amazing, and I could hear the emotion in her voice as she played the part of this FMC. From the beginning I was hooked on this romance forming between the characters. I was annoyed a bit at the sister for some of the book, but overall it did not take away from the book's meaning. Being set at this beautiful location in France was another plus for me. I really enjoy when a book is set somewhere unusual, or new. The detail in describing the location and the setting was magical. I also really enjoyed the added mystery element of this one to keep readers guessing about what would happen. Overall, I really enjoyed listening to this one, it was like my own little French Holiday, ha see what I did there, because the book is so refreshing and new.

A light and entertaining read with an engaging narrator. The characters were well fleshed out and likeable and I quickly became invested in the romance that unfolded between the male and female protagonists. The subplots were engaging and well developed but did not distract from the main storyline. Overall an easy and enjoyable romance.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a good combination between Eat Pray Love with its own twists and turns. It wasn't just the female protagonist who was searching for themselves and finding answers/fulfillment I liked that the male protagonist was also lost in his own way and feeling like he needed support and searching for things on his own. I related to the main character quite a bit a lot of people at the moment are feeling unfulfilled by their jobs, want to let go and find their won way and meaning. The only constructive criticism I have would be that some scenes lingered a bit long when they didn't need to be. For instance, opening scene of the wedding was great for context but I found myself feeling a little drawn and wanting to skip through. But I knew I had to stick with it and it would pay off, and it did! Another longish scene is the lobster cooking scene. This is a great summer time beach read and I liked it!

Fun but way way too long. There was some weirdness to the love triangle in France that I didn't need. I liked The main couple though.

After watching her sister marry the man Merry has fallen in love with, who is also her best friend, she needs to put some emotional and physical distance between her and the situation. The opportunity to spend a few months in France is a dream come true until she arrives and finds out the castle isn’t as she imagined and that she won’t be alone.

Noah is a successful travel writer who has things he wants to keep hidden and family history he wants to uncover. He believes that the answers may be in France, so he isn’t about to leave the castle just to make Merry happy. Although they may have started out as adversaries their time together and the adventures they share will have them looking at each other in a completely different way.

Merry had tunnel vision and took some time to realize who was in front of her but once she did she supported Noah while he tries to get the answers he needs. The narrator does a wonderful job of describing the ambiance of both France and the castle as well as the burgeoning romance between the characters.

This was a very light, entertaining and delightful read. Merry’s sister has just married her best friend, and the only person Merry has ever loved. So when given the chance to spend three months in a French Castle, she jumps at the chance. Only problem is the ‘best man’ also turns out to be staying there, and to say she dislikes him is putting it mildly.

This was a very enjoyable read with sone great characters, great interactions between them, and plenty of laughs along the way. Of course you could feel the direction the book was heading in, but this didn’t spoil the reading experience at all. Before long you find yourself rooting for Merry. There are a fair few twists and turns along the way, and it also deals with some difficult themes that have impacted on Merry and Noah. This RomCom is brought to a very good ending that has you cheering for Merry.

If you like a good RomCom I would definitely recommend this book, and enjoyed it more than a previous Sarah Ready book I read. I listened to the audiobook, and this book was almost made for the audiobook format, and I really enjoyed the narration of it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The story is about Merry who is devastated after her sister marries her crush. She then meets Noah Wright and their interactions made her think that he hates her. While being in France, she meets Noah and sparks fly.
I loved the story and the romantic interactions of the characters. As it was an audiobook, the narration was highly interesting. There were a lot of subplots and the ending was a great one. This is totally a good read.

Really liked this book, innovative plot, a perfect book to read this summer, in particular, if visiting a castle.
The characters were interesting and their chemistry was good.

Wow! What a surprise. I really enjoyed this book. After seeing her best friend and secret crush marry her sister our main character Merry needs a hard reset in her life. After quitting her job and reaching out to an over the top family member she finds herself heading to France. Unfortunately her best friend's best friend, who happens to strongly dislike her (the feeling is mutual), Noah also happens to be staying at the same French villa.

This book is full of twists, turns, and tons of laughs. The author does a great job keeping you laughing and focussed on the rom-com elements (enemies to lovers, one bed trope, etc.) with so much more building behind the senes. I loved that even after the potential relationship happens there is still more to the story. It kept the characters from feeling one dimensional to me and I found myself really rooting for them individually as well as together as a couple.

Overall, I recommend this book for anyone looking for a light hearted rom-com with a hint of wanderlust. Thankyou NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

A sweet enemies to lovers story. Set in France but isn’t described much. A story about different kinds of love

From the description and the cover, I expected this book to be light and fluffy, but it was a bit darker and more mysterious. Though it was unexpected, I appreciated it for that.

At the beginning, I pegged this as a predictable, Hallmark-movie type plot, but I was wrong! The characters surprised me, and I really enjoyed the mystery elements as you learned more about Noah's background and his search for answers. The banter and chemistry between Merry and Noah was sparkling, and it was fun to see them move from antagonists to friends to lovers.

I enjoyed the exploration of unrequited love and the different ways that can manifest in someone's life. Part of this exploration deals with difficult parental relationships, so mind the content warnings if that is a problem area for you. Though it deals with some challenging emotions and situations, overall this story is on the light side. I would recommend for a deeper than you might expect, but still fun, romance in a picturesque French setting.

4⭐️

The love of Merry’s life is marrying her sister. How much worse could life get? Well it does. First Merry spends a very drunk night with her nemesis and then loses her job, welp. So Merry decides to take up her aunts offer to stay in her Chateau in France for three months. Until she arrives and finds her nemesis, Noah, already at the castle, with her aunt giving him the same free three month stay. Noah refuses to leave the Chateau, so they are stuck together, and even better the luxury castle is actually falling apart.

French Holiday is a single first person POV, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, one bed, forced proximity, slow burn, with some spice, romcom!

I loved this book! Merry is going through a midlife crisis, been there, and needs to escape life and live in a fairytale for a little bit, also been there. Merry’s chemistry with Noah is so good and adorable! They are literally the perfect match. The side characters were also very enjoyable, especially Aunt Jupiter, she was hilarious! This book features a little bit of a mystery as well, which brought a lot to the story! When you read so many romance books, they can be predictable, and this addition of a mystery was a great way to keep me on my toes and keep the story interesting!

I received an audiobook version which was narrated by Kelsey Navarro, would did a wonderful job! She kept the story moving and really added to the emotions and humour of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for an advanced audio copy for an honest review.

I feel like I want all romance books to be like that: lighthearted and deep at the same time with a hint of mystery. I love how the story went and how we got to know about some characters' past. I also love the foreshadowing even though I didn't pick up anything. The story took a completely different turn and I loved it even more than I expected.

Thanks to Netgalley for the Audio( which was the first book I EVER listened to on audio). I totally was here for this book listening. The Narrator was really good she did all the voices and the accents perfectly. She might have been better than the narrator (me in my head) The comedy was off the hook I found myself laughing hysterically till I coughed (thank you allergies)

I love following Noah and Merry on their French holiday adventure. With a crumbling castle, a ghost story, and a lobster, it sure makes for a wildly hilarious story. The secondary characters were also wonderful. And the mystery part was entertaining and fun to try and solve along with the characters.
Overall, this was such a fun read.

Kelsey Navarro did a wonderful job narrating. Her voices for each character were distinct which makes it easy to follow the story.

A super fun enemies to lovers with a twist of mystery that's intriguing enough to keep you involved for more than the romantic elements. There are also bits of family drama, French references, and self-discovery. And I can't forget the fight with a lobster! I really enjoyed it and recommend it if you like romantic comedies.

I really liked listening to this audiobook. I’d say 3.5 stars- it caught my attention even for being so far fetched. Perfect amount of 🔥.

[Actual Rating 4.25] French Holiday is my seventh read by Sarah Ready as I have read six novels from her Soul Mates in Romeo series. I like Ready’s style of taking simplistic storylines and make them seem like more for the reader. There are some moments in almost every novel that border on the ridiculous, but they are surrounded by many other “calmer” great ones. This story begins with 28-year-old Meredith (Merry) DeLuca at the wedding of her sister, Angela, to her best friend, Leo, after the two shared a whirlwind romantic beginning. While Merry is trying to be happy for the couple she can’t help but feel heartbroken as she has secretly been in love with Leo for the past four years and never worked up the courage to tell him. Merry has also felt inadequate to her “prettier” and “more perfect” sister, so this wedding day is tough on her.

Before beginning the rest of the story, it made me really question Merry’s relationship with both her sister and Leo. It is clear Leo did not know about her romantic feelings, but it is unclear about Angela. The couple get engaged after one day together, but it bothered me a lot that they got together in the first place without checking in with Merry first. Other people may feel differently, but even if Merry did not have any romantic feelings involved, both Angela and Leo crossed the line. For me, I would have preferred Leo and Angela to be left out of the rest of the story as I wrote them off. Unfortunately, this did not happen in the actual novel, but it did not take away from my enjoyment of the writing. While they are included more, the main story does focus on Merry’s three month stay at a French chateau after her godmother, Jupiter, gifts it to her. (I would love to be given a free stay at a chateau!) When Merry arrives, she is surprised to find another guest is already there and this guest happens to be famous travel documentarian (and Leo’s best man), Noah Wright.

The novel is narrated by Kelsey Navarro who does a great job at telling the story from Merry’s POV. Since the reader sees Merry’s side, they do not get to see what is going through the heads of the other characters. Noah seems to have a lot more going on than meets the eye, but, like Merry, the reader has to wait and have everything be revealed in time. I loved these two characters getting to know each other and slowly become more vulnerable with the other. I also loved how their lives integrated with their French neighbors, Pierre, and Camille. They were fun additions to the story, and I love how they played a role in Merry’s journey to moving on. The French setting provides a nice escape for Merry to explore and grow. There are a lot of details about her day-to-day for her time in France, so this may not be for everyone. I enjoy Ready’s writing, but there were a few moments that I felt could be streamlined a bit. Overall, this was a nice easy yet still very enjoyable read.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed are completely my own.**

I absolutely LOVED this story. It was so different and unique and just hilarious and fun. I love a good romance book with hijinx and this had it in spades, but it also had tender moments too and I loved the combination. I could probably have listened to another hour of Merry and Noah's story. This is definitely going on the list of one of my favorite books this year.