This book was a struggle to get through for me. Normally I am all there for an enemy to lover's romance. But there was just something about this one that I could not get into.

I did not like Izzy at all. She seems to be a very manipulative individual. I mean at one point she uses another guy to make Lucas the main male character jealous.

The whole point of this story seems pointless and unnecessary. I mean they're trying to save a hotel and they find this mysterious ring that they dubbed the ring thing and instead of selling the ring making money and using that to save the hotel which would have made sense, it becomes this whole other convoluted thing.

On a positive note, I did like the fact that it alternated between perspectives so you got to see the viewpoint of both individuals involved in the "romance".

I would say that if you are a fan of Beth O'Leary to pick this book up because the writing style is very good like her other books. I just did not enjoy the premise of this one as much as I was hoping I would.

This is nice enemies to lovers romance.

The dual narration in this book was fantastic and I really liked there was a real depth written about each of the main characters.

This one is also funny as the main characters are trying to keep the Hotel where they work in business. Part of that is their own contest to find the owners of lost and found wedding rings in the hope of getting monetary rewards to put toward the hotel’s repairs.

Each of the rings held a really fun story and I enjoyed that part of the plot as well.

There is poor communication and a grand gesture as all good romances deserve to make this an enjoyable romcom read.

The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary was very slow getting into since Izzy and Lucas did nothing but snipe at each other, try to one-up or ignore each other. It’s hard to do when you work side by side at a small family-owned hotel as a receptionist with guests going in and out continually. Could their behaviors be masking other feelings? There is no better way to find out than to delve into the book, which is told in alternating chapters by each of the two main characters.

Set in a small town in England, there is some English humor and vocabulary along with Portuguese-Brazilian since Lucas is from Brazil. There is nothing but problems at the hotel once the ceiling falls in, and repairs must be done to remain open and viable.

They learn that the hotel is not financially stable, and they must get creative in how to raise money to stay afloat and keep their jobs. They go through the lost and found and try to return items to their rightful owners—some of which are wedding rings.

The story picks up as the two compete to find which past hotel guests have lost them, adding depth to the story. There are some laugh-out-loud moments as well as many misunderstandings along the way. Izzy and Lucas need to learn to communicate, especially when realizing they might have feelings for each other.

We get to know the other workers and some long-term guests, some of whom are quite interesting. We also learn of Izzy’s relationships with her friends, who are like family, and Lucas’ family back in Brazil.

The story has vivid descriptions and presents a variety of characters who have more to them than meets the eye. As Izzy and Lucas try to put the past behind them, will they succeed, or will it be too little too late?

There is closure with a happily ever after in the offing, but the book ended abruptly for me. I liked the cover’s vibrancy, and the title has meaning to the story.

The Wake-Up Call is set in England and Brazil and takes me there with vivid descriptions and characters I grew to enjoy, especially seeing what they’d be up to next.

I rated it 3.5 stars but rounded to 4 stars here and on other sites.

I have read most of Beth O’Leary’s books and love the combination of romance and deep family back stories. This one sadly was a miss for me. The characters felt flat and the miscommunication drove me nuts. It felt like the chemistry was not there because they fought and hated on each other too much. I did enjoy the banter and Izzy’s BFF.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for access to this ARC.

“I’ve always said that love takes a different shape for everybody. Some of us fall in love the straightforward way, and some of us have a more . . . winding path.”

Two hotel receptionists, who also happen to be arch-rivals, find a collection of wedding rings and compete to return them to their rightful owners, discovering their own love story along the way.

I hold almost every Beth O’Leary book up to The Flatshare and maybe that’s unfair. But I LOVED that book. This one was cute and fun and with enjoyable characters, but it wasn’t quite to that level.

Told from dual POV, Izzy and Lucas, and with dual narrators, this audiobook felt very authentic. There is a lot of heart and soul in this enemies to lovers story and I loved how much Lucas loves the beauty of his native Portuguese language, which really came through in his narration. Their determination to save the hotel and the sprinkling of fairy lights and Christmas cheer made this a sweet, quirky, and overall enjoyable read.

“I would like to believe that I can let a person see me, and that once they have, they might think more of me, not less.” 😕💕

Thanks for the free #audiobook @PRHAudio #PRHAudioPartner and to Netgalley, Berkley Publishing, and the author for the ARC.

Izzy and Lucas both work the reception desk at the cash-strapped Forest Manor Hotel, and they are arch-rivals. Izzy confessed to Lucas that she had feelings for him in a Christmas card a year ago, and he kissed her flatmate that very night. When Izzy locates the owner of a wedding ring found at the hotel and receives a substantial reward, the hotel starts trying to locate the owners of the rings they've found to raise cash. Izzy and Lucas compete to find the ring owners, and sparks fly!

I have loved all of Beth O'Leary's books, and this was no exception! Charmingly set in a cozy hotel during Christmas and full of sweet characters, this was delightful! Enemies to lovers, grumpy sunshine, workplace romance, this had some of my favorite tropes, and it was all wrapped up in a heartfelt holiday story. It took me a couple of chapters to get into it, but once I did, I could not put this down, and by the end, it was tough to say goodbye to these characters. Quirky Izzy and buttoned-up Lucas were memorable characters, and their slow-burn romance full of chemistry had me rooting for them as a couple.

The book also has themes of found family. Izzy and Lucas had both endured loss and found each other and a wonderful group of amazing friends. When returning the lost wedding rings, the people they encountered brought a whole range of stories, from sweet to scandalous! This might be the most light-hearted of O'Leary's books, which works well for a holiday read, but as you would expect from the author, Izzy, and Lucas are well-developed and complex characters, and the story is layered. This feels modern and nostalgic, making for a heartwarming holiday book. If you are looking for a holiday romance with some substance and characters you will grow to love, add this to your tbr!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to review this ARC.

I'll be honest, I didn't think I was going to enjoy this book. I'm always hesitant about workplace, rivals-to-lovers romances because the characters always come across as so immature and annoying, and this book definitely followed the trend. But I've loved every Beth O'Leary book so far so I wasn't giving up!

I'm so glad I pushed through because OH MY LAWD this book was so adorable!!!! Once I learned backstories and built those connections with the characters, I fell in love.

The rivalry was enjoyable, the found family was perfection, and the romance was steamy and sweet at the same time.

I do think this book would be better around the holidays since the story takes place around Christmas, but I highly recommend you add The Wake-Up Call to your TBR at any time!

I loved this enemies-to-lovers challenging romance. Lucas and Izzy are delightful and their chemistry so playful and fun even when they aren't getting along. The secondary characters add so much to the found family vibe of this story and I thought they were especially well-written. I've worked in a hotel before and I enjoyed the setting and atmosphere. The audiobook was very done and I'm sure I'll listen to this one again.

I adored this latest romcom from Beth O'Leary so much! It's basically like if THE HATING GAME took place at a super cozy hotel during the winter. Just a ton of fun, with excellent characters and wonderful, laugh-out-loud humor. A must-have for everyone's winter tbr!

I loved O'Leary's The Flatshare and I was excited to read O’Leary’s new book, The Wake-Up Call. It is wonderful! This story features Izzy and Lucas, arch rival receptionists trying to save the hotel they love and their jobs. It’s a sweet, enemies to lovers romance that’s full of charm and low on angst. I loved it and I think most romance readers will too.

Last Christmas, a year ago, Izzy was crushing on Lucas. She wrote him a letter letting him know how much she liked him and that she hoped he might feel the same way about her. She asked if he'd meet her under the mistletoe, but something went wrong (we're not sure what yet) and they did not become a couple. Now, a year later, they are competitive rivals at work and always trying to outdo the other. They do things to get a rise out of each other and I found their daily banter and antics really funny.

The family hotel where they work has been struggling and is in desperate need of renovation. It’s so run down that when Izzy and Lucas are discussing decorations for an upcoming wedding (Izzy wants more decorations, Lucas wants less) half of the ceiling falls down. Luckily no one is hurt, but the owners finally decide to make repairs. They raise extra funds by selling some antiques and ask Izzy and Lucas to help with odd jobs including cleaning out the lost property room. As they're doing this, Izzy and Lucas find four wedding rings in the lost and found and Izzy decides they must find the owners.

Lucas is a handsome Brazilian who is serious about his work but gets grumpy, especially with Izzy. He has an uncle who helped out his family when his father died, but is pressuring Lucas, telling him he needs to work harder if he wants to be a success. Lucas is good with computers and spreadsheets but it’s hard for him to open up about his feelings plus he was seriously hurt by an ex-girlfriend who called him ‘cold hearted’. Luckily, Izzy thinks Lucas is pretty hot! Izzy is creative and caring and so upbeat, even while she is afraid of losing her job and close friends at the hotel. This romance has classic grumpy/sunshine action, which I loved.

My favorite part of the story is when Izzy and Lucas make a bet with each other that whoever returns the next ring gets to have things their way for a day. The upshot of this wager it had me laughing out loud. Along with the very funny humor, the chemistry between Izzy and Lucas is palpable. When they do finally act on their mutual attraction, the love scenes are spicy and add to the story.

If I have a quibble, it's that the story was a little predictable but, overall, that didn’t really bother me. I just enjoyed the back and forth slow burn and wanted to see them happy together. There’s a group of colorful characters at the hotel and even a quick cameo from Tiffy from The Flatshare. There was a 'big misunderstanding’ that I wished they had talked about sooner, but the ending is wonderful and pleasantly satisfying. This book will lift your spirits. I recommend it to readers looking for a happy and upbeat romcom with humor. The Wake-Up Call had me smiling the whole way through and I bet it will do the same for you!

A sweet romance that gets a bit bogged down in the hating each other (but not really!) trope.

Izzy and Lucas are both receptionists at the Forest Manor hotel. A year ago, Izzy declared her crush on Lucas in a Christmas card to him but he thought it was funny and kissed her flatmate under the mistletoe instead of Izzy. Since then it’s been a quiet war and free-spirited creative Izzy and buttoned up Brazilian (yes, that is a bit random but diversity!) Lucas have mostly managed to avoid each other.

But then with the hotel crumbling, both physically and financially, they have to work together to save it. Izzy comes up with a scheme to reunite rings from the lost and found with their owners in the hopes of a reward. Lucas is quite sneery about the “Ring Thing” but gets involved anyway.

Though, judging by the cover and the blurb, this is meant to be the main plot line, and it is indeed a cute one, it all gets rather lost in the romantic drama of the two protagonists. I knew the romance was not working as well as it should when I found myself much more invested in whether the hotel was going to survive than whether (or, given the genre, when) Izzy and Lucas were going to get together. Anyway, it all comes together in the hotel’s annual Christmas party, which also interested me, but once again got subsumed to the swoony stuff.

I loved the author’s first two romances, The Flatshare and The Switch, and have consequently been excited to read her subsequent novels. I have mostly found them a little disappointing (especially The Road Trip) so I was enthusiastic that The Wake-Up Call seemed to be going back to the simplicity of the earlier ones. While it didn’t charm me as much as I hoped, it was definitely a cut above and, for me, that made it a good read.

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

✨ Book Review ✨

A big thank you to @berkleypub @netgalley for the #gifted copy of #TheWakeUpCall !!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary

Two hotel receptionists and arch-rivals, Izzy and Lucas, find a collection of old wedding rings and compete to return them to their owners finding their own love story along the way.

Wha to expect:

🥊 Enemies to Lovers
☀️ Grumpy/Sunshine
💘 He Falls First
🧬 Found Family

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️/5

Quick thoughts:

✨ Very cozy atmosphere.
✨ Holidayish.
✨ Awesome chemistry between Izzy and Lucas.
✨ Made me smile.

Overall thoughts:

After pouring her heart out to Lucas in his Christmas card and being rejected, Izzy intentionally makes Lucas as miserable as possible when they work together. Triggering the competitiveness in Lucas, the two are now seemingly at war.

When Izzy finds a box of unclaimed wedding rings at their hotel she makes it her mission to find all the owners. Eventually it becomes another source of competition between her and Lucas, inadvertently bringing them closer together.

It’s hard to summarize this book properly without giving the story away but I truly loved every second of it. I will say this books foundation is a murky miscommunication which bothered me but it bothered me in a way that made me want to read faster to see it cleared up.

I loved the tension and chemistry between Izzy and Lucas that slowly builds and catches on fire throughout. Especially this second chance, enemies to lovers situation they have going on. It was fun to watch them spiral.

This is a he falls first romance which made me all warm and fuzzy. There is spice in this one but it’s fade to black.

The cozy atmosphere of the hotel was perfectly paired with the light holiday vibes. All of the secondary characters were lovely as well. I loved the friendships and found family aspect of the story.

If you like stories that keep you wondering this one would be a good pick for you!

Izzy and Lucas work on reception at the Forest Manor Hotel in England. Last Christmas, she wrote in his card that she fancied him. But next minute he is kissing her friend Drew under the mistletoe. Since then, relations between the two co-workers have been rather curt.
When the ceiling collapses in the lobby, the hotel is down to only a few guests while repairs are undertaken. And with the hotel under the threat of permanent closure due to the owners’ financial troubles, they decide to sell off all the unclaimed lost property to raise some funds.
But Izzy can’t bear the thought of people losing their precious rings and endeavours to track down who the five bands belong to.
This was a fun enemies-to-lover romance told from both viewpoints, with plenty of banter between the perky, kind-hearted heroine and her brooding nemesis.

Thank you for this advanced readers copy from Berkley Publishing! For fans of The Flat Share and The Hating Game…

~ “I hate that I love you” ~
~ enemies to lovers ~
~ holiday rom-com ~
~ dual POV’s ~
~ easy reading, brain candy comfort read ~

Make room in your heart for some new characters. Author Beth O’Leary sold over a million copies of The Flat Share. Now, she is bringing a light holiday rom-com to us.

The opening was well written. It grabbed me as I sped through to find out “where did the relationship go wrong - and did it finally go right?!” I liked both of these main characters so much. It started a little slow but really picked up in the last half. I LOVE a good competitive spirit and these two brought out the best and worst of the holiday season!

I highly recommend The Wake Up Call for anyone who wants an easy reading, brain candy comfort read this fall or winter. I received this arc voluntarily, and all opinions are my own.

The Wake-Up Call by Beth O'Leary

Meet Izzy, close to thirty, who acts like she's an immature fourteen year old. Last year her heartfelt feelings were thrown back into her face by her co-worker, Lucas, and Izzy went from being madly in love with him to hating his every gut. That moment will never be discussed, ever, ever, ever! Stomp feet!

Forest Manor Hotel, where both Izzy and Lucas share duties, is on its last legs. Or its last roof. Part of the roof has fallen in so rather than having lots of rooms full of guests, this Christmas the hotel will only be able to fill five bottom floor rooms/suites. Most of the staff has been let go and Izzy and Lucas will be filling in everywhere. Izzy loves her job and the hotel but if there isn't a miracle, the hotel is going out of business and this will be the last Christmas in its crumbling halls.

A plan is hatched to sell off as many of the antique pieces the hotel holds and to also sell off the valuables in the lost and found larder, if their owners can't be found. Izzy and Lucas begin a competition to see who can get the most rings back to their former owners. For Izzy, it's a competition fueled by hate while mature, quiet, stoic Lucas still has no idea why Izzy turned on him last year and has been treating him horribly ever since. Lucas is swoon worthy and if only the two could talk to each other, really talk about that last Christmas. Sorry, I blame Izzy all the way, impulsive, childish Izzy. But the story is still cute and funny, with a nice cast of interesting characters to support both Izzy and Lucas in their anger (hers) and puzzlement (his). This is a nice story for any time of year but with fall at our doorstep and Christmas almost here, now would be a good time to pick it up.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.

My first Beth O'Leary and I really enjoyed it!

This was a sweet, heartwarming read. I loved the romance, but I also loved the other story lines taking place and the setting of a beautiful family-owned hotel. All of the characters were really likable (except the ones you weren't meant to like) and by the end I just wanted to hug all of them. I will say this book took a little while to pick up, but once it did I was eager to put my headphones on. This would be a great book to read as we head into the holiday season.

A couple things I didn't like:
-Fade to black. Ugh. GIMME SPICE.
-Miscommunication trope which leads to our main character holding on to her "hate" almost the whole book.

Audiobook Narration: I ended up really liking the audiobook. Truthfully, at first I found the male narrator REALLY hard to understand. But that only lasted for a little while and then I loved his voice. Same with the female narrator. Great listen!

Read if You Like:
-Enemies to Lovers
-Workplace Romance
-Opposites Attract
-Grumpy/Sunshine
-He Falls First
-Competition
-Funny books!
-Hotel Settings
-Christmas
-Found Family

This was slow to get going, but in the end I had a fun time with it. Sweet story and really likable characters. Thank you to Berkley for the eARC and Penguin Random House Audio for the ALC.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

I don’t always love the enemies to lovers trope. The aggressive snipping hostility that these characters have towards each other feels so unnatural. In real life when two people can’t stand each other they ignore each and talk shit about the other behind their backs- like proper adults. Plus, I find that the heroines in friends to lovers books always seem shrill and immature, neither of which is a flattering look. This one starts like that- but evolves to so much more!

Izzy and Lucas (who is a super hot Brazilian man) work together in a charming hotel in the English countryside. After a confusing misunderstanding Izzy sours towards Lucas and they carry on as work enemies. They are forced to come together when their hotel is financially floundering and they need to help raise funds to keep things afloat.

This started as a hate fueled work enemies story but it blossomed into a story about love, found family, and being honest and brave about feelings. What I liked about it was that both characters actually questioned their feelings and had some insight into why they felt the way they did. Lucas was confused as to why Izzy disliked him so much, Izzy distrusted Lucas bc of the prior misunderstanding. Everyone around them was like “will these two idiots just bone already?!” Their slow epiphany at the end was fantastic and worth the wait.

Loved this low steam romance. It was a slow start for me but once it got rolling I was enamored with the deep cast of characters and the sweet storytelling by @betholearyauthor. Def recommend.

Smut- 1.90 stars
Romance- 4.76 stars
Story- 4.58 stars
Having the audacity to hate your super hot Brazilian male co-worker- neg 8.43 stars

Izzy and Lucas work in the same failing hotel. Last Christmas, Izzy wrote Lucas a card laying her heart out on the line saying she wanted to kiss him under the mistletoe. But Lucas laughed at the card and kissed Izzy's roommate instead. For a whole year, Izzy and Lucas have been pushing each other's buttons and have basically become arch-enemies. But neither can deny the physical attraction they feel towards one another and neither of them want to leave the hotel and staff they have come to view as family. As the hotel runs out of money, they start to sell "lost and found" belongings. Among the items, they find a few wedding rings. Can they go back through hotel records and find who they belong to and maybe get enough of a reward to save the hotel?
I loved all the characters in this book so much. Izzy and Lucas both had such an in depth backstory and the fact that we get both their POVs is so important. Lucas is buff and basically described as a "robot-man with no heart" by Izzy. But there is so much more to him. He was partly raised by a very strict uncle who made him feel like he was never enough. He also has a mom and sister who he cares deeply for. Izzy lost both her parents at 21 in a boating accident. She has a few very close friends who she now considers her family. She is outgoing and wants to make the most out of her life because she knows how it can all change in a second. The banter between Izzy and Lucas was top notch, the chemistry was 100% there.
All the other characters were great too. The other hotel employees, Mrs SB and Barty the hotel owners, Arjun the cook and Ollie who also worked in the kitchen, Lucas's family, Izzy's friends. Especially Poor Mandy, who got the name because she was the go between for Izzy and Lucas when they weren't talking which made me laugh. Even the hotel guests like Mr Townsend left an impression on my heart.
It felt like there were kind of 2 plots to this story. There was the relationship between Izzy and Lucas and then the "ring thing"/saving the hotel. As much as I loved the banter and chemistry between Izzy and Lucas (SPOILER) it was obvious that there was a miscommunication about the Christmas card from the very beginning and I HATE the miscommunication trope. The first half of this book and Izzy and Lucas's relationship I loved. But once they got into the "co-workers with benefits" and Izzy made all these rules, they stopped her from really opening up and kept her from accepting the nice things Lucas wanted to do for her. This part of it felt SO drawn out and I really felt this part of it could have been shorter. But I was so invested in everything else in the whole story that I was able to fly through that part and read the last 30% of the book in one day.
(END SPOILER)
I also loved the hotel side of the story. I don't know what it is, but I just love a hotel setting, especially when the staff is like a family. I loved the fact that Izzy cared enough about these rings that probably meant a lot to people to try to get them back to who they belonged to. I love the underdog hotel (probably) getting a second chance by the end of the book because this is the type of book where that happens. I love seeing all of that unfold and I really love how it did end up unfolding in this book.
If you love workplace romance, grumpy/sunshine, found family, I would really recommend this book!

I'm not sure what is in the air but I've been reading a lot of romances this year. I feel more than I normally do. I saw this on someone's blog it caught my attention. I feel I was hooked from the start. I loved that these two were helping to save the hotel. I do wish the ring storyline made it in a little bit more. I thought it was so fun seeing them hunt for the people's who rings they were. It was nice reading about the people being reunited with the missing rings. I feel it was a focus for a bit then got sidetracked by the romance. I do have to say I'm also not a huge fan of miscommunication. I do get if that didn't happen then this story wouldn't be a thing. I just wish for better communication. Overall this is a fun wintery romance. I'm so happy I picked this up. I've been wanting to read Beth O'Leary and glad I finally did. I'll be reading more from her.

*Thank you so much Netgalley and the publisher for the free copy in exchange for my honest opinion.*