Short synopsis: With the prospect of the hotel she works at going under, Izzy teams up with her work enemy Lucas to sell list and found wedding rings to hopefully earn some donations.

My thoughts: This was a cute one set in December. I liked how everyone wanted to work together to try and save this hotel. Forest Manor Hotel sounds like it would have been such a hot spot in its hay-day, and definitely somewhere I’d have wanted to visit. Especially with the staff that was so caring.

Okay, I’m guessing lots of people are totally going to hate on the miscommunication in this one. There was such a lack of communication that the MCs went a whole year secretly crushing on each other but not taking about it, and eventually turning into rivals. But! While I don’t love lack of communication I’m going to give the miscommunication a slide here. I’m just thinking how long it takes to develop a relationship where you can talk and understand each other fully. Everyone has their own preferred style of communication and it takes work to find a middle ground.

Hopping off my soap box. I really enjoyed the multiple POV with alternating His/Her chapters so we could get both perspectives. The side characters were great, and the main idea to find owners of lost rings was cute.

Read if you love:
- Workplace romance
- Enemies to lovers
- His and her POV
- Saving the hotel
- Vacations

Izzy puts her heart on the line by leaving Lucas a LOVE declaration on a holiday card, suggesting a meeting under the mistletoe. She arrives, and GUESS WHAT he's kissing her roommate. Now he's enemy #1 now at their workplace.

Lucas doesn't know what he's done to deserve such scorn, and Izzy is unforgiving in her hate. Forced to put aside their differences, they must help save the place they call home, Forest Manor Hotel. What they agree on is that this hotel must live on with its patrons who return year after year for the romantic setting.

Its here in the hotel walls they come across lost wedding rings in the lost/found, and together they set out to find their rightful owners before selling them. Rewards await both monetarily and emotionally as they uncover the love stories behind each ring.

I throughly enjoyed the POV from Izzy and Lucas as they shared their version of their interactions and attraction. Lucas is a true romantic just waiting for his moment. Enemies to Lovers is my favorite trope, and O'Leary delivers again another wonderful story.

Thank you Berkley Publishing for the complimentary copy.

Really fun rom-com. Will be recommending and reading anything in the future from this author. I love Beth's books. Thank you for the title.

I fell in love with this author after picking up The Flatshare in Notting Hill, so I jumped at the chance to read this beauty!
Izzy and Lucas are epic rivals at the hotel where they work, and even if they don’t like each other, they’re determined to save their hotel.
If they can return the rings and get paid a reward for them, it could help keep the hotel afloat.
To make it even more interesting, they make a bet— after the first ring finds its owners, whoever places the next gets to be the boss for a day.
We have a Christmas setting- and mistletoe antics— a grumpy/sunshine romance with enemies to lovers vibes and lovable characters who deserve their own movie. This book was hilarious and full of heart.
For Lucas being considered a “robotic” curmudgeon, he sure had a lot of fun with Izzy, and it was a delight to read.
Their lighthearted shenanigans and dry British humor had me bending over at the waist laughing, but clutching my chest with happiness by the end.
Seriously, this romance was the most satisfying kind. No spoilers, but I loved how solid their relationship became once it developed (despite their obstacles).
You’ll want this Christmas romance in your life this fall/winter season!
All the Christmas tree stars to this story. Our author has outdone herself.

3.5 stars

I'm a huge Beth O'Leary fan and was so excited when I heard about this book. Sadly The Wake-Up Call didn't fully hit the mark for me. There was a lot to love about this enemies/rivals to lovers, grumpy + sunshine, workplace romance though. The Forest Manor Hotel and the eclectic mix of workers and guests was a delight and provided lots of laughs and comic relief. This found family was the sweetest. I also loved the overall message that it's OK to have bad days sometimes. That it's human to not be positive/on all the time.

Lucas had stern brunch daddy written all over him and though he was a bit too starchy and uncompromising in the beginning, he really won me over by the end. Izzy was a little harder to love, but I could understand her hesitation to put herself out there given her tragic history. I just felt that both characters acted pretty immaturely given their ages. Izzy was so stubborn at the end that I started to feel very sorry for Lucas. Almost the entire conflict hinged on a year long misunderstanding, that could have easily been solved if they had just had an honest conversation with each other. The ending was very sweet though and left me with a smile on my face.

I both listened to the audiobook and read the ebook of The Wake-Up Call. The narration by Jessie Cave and Lino Facioli was really great. I thought Jessie Cave was perfect as Izzy, but it took me a little longer to warm up to Lino Facioli's voice. I think the Brazilian accent threw me at first. Overall, it was a wonderful audiobook experience.

Audiobook Review
Overall 4 stars
Performance 4.5 stars
Story 3.5 stars

CW: death of parents (past), grief, cheating ex, bullying (past), manipulative previous roommate, mentions of bigamy (secondary character), mentions/discussion of the pandemic/lockdown and resulting financial problems

*I voluntarily read and listened to an advance review copy of this book*

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC! The Wake-Up Call, the latest from Beth O'Leary (The Flatshare), follows two hotel receptionists and rivals as they attempt to save their hotel and keep their jobs. Last year, Izzy wrote Lucas a Christmas card confessing her feelings for him, but when she received a laugh and caught him kissing her roommate as a response, she vowed her dislike (bordering on hatred). This year, as each attempt at helping the hotel, including a quest to return missing rings to their rightful owners, brings the two closer together, Izzy begins to wonder if she might have been mistaken. This is a fun and sweet romance with a Christmastime backdrop, lots of quirky side characters, and a misunderstanding that keeps turning the pages until the very end. The Wake-Up Call is sure to please romance readers and fans of O'Leary this holiday season.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! Beth O'Leary is slowly becoming a favorite since The Flatshare, and The Wake-Up Call was just as good, if not better. Who knew I needed a hotel romance so badly in my life? I love the holiday vibe, I love the dynamic between the two characters that is really highlighted with the dual POV. Overall, this book as a joy!

3.5 rounded up 💫 another solid read by Beth O’Leary!! But not my favorite!

✨enemies to lovers (but also frenemies with benefits)
✨closed door romance!
✨found family 🫶
✨saving a family business! The walls are literally closing in!!
✨dual POV (but the male narrator is not the best if you do the audio…)
✨set during the holidays 🎁 but they’re not IN your face

This was super cute but never hit me with the extra OOMPH I wanted - it felt somewhat surface level sometimes. I loved the storyline of returning the wedding rings so I wanted a little bit more from it! But still a funny, heartwarming, lovable opposites attract story 🖤

Even when you know two characters will end up together, you don't know the journey they will take to get there.

Which is why I've never minded romances like The Wake-Up Call by Beth O'Leary. There's this common belief that stories with predictable endings are bad. It's not true -- and this book proves that.

Izzy and Lucas both work at the same family-owned quiet hotel, and both wish the other did not exist. Every shift they share together seems to end in disaster. Is their rivalry the result of a giant misunderstanding? Maybe! Does it all work out fine in the end? Of course it does! What's a holiday romance without a happy ending?

The book takes place around the holidays; technically, you can and should read it any time of year you want. But it does put the reader in the holiday spirit. I'm about to go buy marshmallows to go with my hot chocolate and fuzzy socks.

What makes this book truly shine is that it's fast, light fun. Every now and then you need a book that just makes you smile, root for the love interests when they draw closer to admitting their feelings, and yell at them when they mess it all up. It's the perfect book to read when you need to escape the real world and dive into a wonderland.

You'll love this book if you love romance. It will delight you if you're looking for a book to spend a weekend on the couch with. I'm so sad to say goodbye to Izzy and Lucas, but I'm also glad I got to know them. I wish them all the best in their many happy years together.

Also, is it Christmas yet?

This is such a fantastic new contemporary romance by Beth O’Leary! I loved Lucas and Izzy, the setting and characters, and the love story.

Lucas and Izzy make such a dynamic duo, and I love the grumpy-sunshine vibes that exude from them. The verbal sparring is witty and sharp, and it totally exemplifies the chemistry between them. There are some laugh-out-loud moments as these two opposites work together and repeatedly clash.

Their relationship has become hostile because of miscommunication issues in the past, but I like how they own up to their mistakes and try to make things right. I also like how they go forward with a new way of communicating without jumping to conclusions. They didn’t really know each other well when they had a falling out, and they judged each other harshly and superficially for a long time. However, as they start to look past each other’s facades, they both see a depth of character that is much different than they thought. They both have such powerful revelations about themselves and each other, and I love how they learned to talk and trust and be honest with each other.

The story takes place at a beautiful location which unfortunately is on the brink of closing. It sounds like such a wonderful place to work, with a motley group of workers and guests that I quickly fell in love with. There are definite found family vibes going on, and the connection all of the characters form is lovely.

It also takes place around the holidays, and Lucas and Izzy are trying to find the owners of special rings from their lost and found, which adds to the whimsical, magical nostalgia of the season. Of course, with trying to save the hotel, find ring owners from years gone by, and deal with their complex feelings for each other, there are a lot of mishaps and shenanigans to endure.

And the secondary characters are so endearing. From the family who has come to stay at the hotel to the hotel owners and the hotel staff, they all have strong personalities.

The Wake-Up Call has made Beth O’Leary an auto-buy author for me. It’s the third book I’ve read by the author and is my favorite one yet. I would definitely recommend it to readers of contemporary romance or contemporary fiction, and I’m so grateful to NetGalley andBerkley for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

The Forest Manor Hotel holds a special place in the hearts of both Izzy and Lucas. Both work their rears off to make it run smoothly but there is just one problem. Ok fine, there are two…the hotel likely won’t make it past the new year finance wise, and also, they hate each other. As they start to sell things off that had been left behind, Izzy finds several rings and instead of selling them, wants to find their owners. When the first owner leaves a huge reward, everyone decides the ring project should continue. It means Izzy and Lucas have to work even more closely though…

This book contained so many of my favorite tropes and I loved it for that! I adored the idea behind trying to find the owners of these wedding rings that had been long lost around the hotel, and how it forced Izzy and Lucas together. The miscommunication started to drive me a bit nuts at some points, because it was so obvious neither knew what the other was referring to, but it was necessary for the book! I loved how quirky Izzy was compared to the perfectionist Lucas and how the two personalities butted heads, while also making sparks fly! I always love O’Leary’s books and this was no exception!

Beth O'Leary just gets better and better with each book she writes! My all-time favorite of hers is THE ROAD TRIP, but I think THE WAKE-UP CALL might have surpassed it. Such a great romance!

“You’ll know what to do. If you really like her, it’ll come to you, because if you’re make for each other, you’re made to heal her when she’s hurting.”

I fell in love with Beth O’Leary’s writing when I read The Flatshare. O’Leary has the type of writing that makes you kick your feet and squeal under the covers, blushing as if you’re receiving swoon-worthy lines from hot Brazilian hotel receptionists instead of the quirky British lead. While The Flatshare embodied the one-bed trope, The Wake-Up Call is the epitome of enemies to lovers.

Synopsis:
Izzy and Lucas have two things in common: they both love their job working reception at Forest Manor, and they both hate each other’s guts. After a fabulous display of miscommunication and broken hearts at the hotel’s Christmas party the year prior, Izzy and Lucas entered the New Year determined to make each other’s life hell.

But as the new Christmas season approaches, Izzy and Lucas find themselves in a bind; after spending most of the year on opposite shifts and battling each other through Poor Mandy (the third receptionist), they are being forced to work side-by-side five days a week in an attempt to save Forest Manor from closing. Following a severe lack of funds during the pandemic and then the unfortunate costs of repairing the fallen-in roof, the owners of Forest Manor are desperate to keep doors open, which not only means pairing Izzy and Lucas at reception, but also leaving them in charge of selling items from the lost and found, a last-ditch attempt to gain money.

When Izzy finds a collection of lost wedding rings, she is determined to return the rings to their rightful owners, rather than sell the sentimental jewelry for a profit. While initially skeptical, her bosses encourage the idea once the first returned ring brings the hotel a reward of £15,000. Of course, the new stakes added to the Ring Thing as Izzy calls it forms a competition between her and Lucas—who can return the most rings, and who can bring in the most money.

However, as these situations often do, heated competition leads to something even more heated, and Lucas and Izzy quickly find themselves questioning the hatred and vitriol they’ve been spitting at each other all year. In fact, the hate may be turning to lust—and maybe even tolerance? Crushes? Good God—could the two sworn enemies actually like each other?

My Thoughts:
I always love Beth O’Leary’s stories. I don’t know what it is about the UK at Christmas, but this story felt especially cozy, despite the constant bickering between the two leads. I loved having dual points of view from Izzy and Lucas, allowing me to get to know each of their backstories and groan at their constant miscommunication and misunderstandings. I also really enjoyed the setting of Forest Manor. O’Leary did a beautiful job describing the ornate hotel and its folklore-esque surrounding woods. This is the perfect book to read while listening to Folklore and Evermore on repeat, and I can’t wait to recommend it to people as Christmas gets closer.

Overall:
If you’re a fan of enemies to lovers, workplace romance, People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, the Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon, or any of O’Leary’s previous novels, this is a must-read.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Izzy poured her heart out in last year's Christmas card, and Lucas laughed when he read it. This was the event that marked the beginning of a tense relationship between the two. When they learned that Forest Manor was on the brink of bankruptcy, they joined forces (sort of) in a quest to save the hotel. Their mission was to reunite the owners with their lost rings, but would Izzy and Lucas be able to overcome their hard feelings to get the job done?

I am still trying to figure out the connection between the story and the title, but regardless, this was another marvelous book from Beth O'Leary. As I hinted, there was this BIG rejection that started all the trouble between Izzy and Lucas. I don't know about you, but I thought for sure that there was more to THAT story. If the miscommunication trope is one you don't enjoy, you may struggle with this book. I was sure that if they just discussed that night, all would have been quickly resolved. But regardless, I rather liked the way the truth unfolded.

With that out of the way, I want to share some highlights:

• The Ring Thing - There's something so romantic about reuniting a person and their lost token of love. Some of the stories weren't quite the epic romances I was expecting, but all were super entertaining, and others were really touching too. These Ring Thing adventures usually precipitated some fantastic rom-com antics as well which amused me and made me smile.

• The Forest Manor Hotel - I was so taken by this place. It may have been a bit rundown, but the hotel was not about its structure or the furnishings, it was about the people. It was an especially important place for Izzy, and its inhabitants had become Izzy's family. I could feel the love and support inside that building and adored all the people who called the hotel "home".

• Izzy and Lucas ❤️ - This was such a great grumpy-sunshine pairing. Izzy's default was sunshine smiles, but she wasn't all that sweet to Lucas. Not mean, but she challenged and needled him. She would call him robotic, and one of my favorite parts of this story was when Lucas set out to change her mind. He was such a sweetheart, and like all the heroes that win my heart, he was a man of action. I collected all those precious things he did, those small acts of kindness, and I put them in my heart. Needless to say, my heart was almost full to bursting by the end of this story.

Overall, The Wake-Up Call was a rollicking good time for me. This grumpy-sunshine/enemies-to-lovers romance was so much fun while also extremely touching and heartwarming. Fantastic characters, a great setting, delicious chemistry, witty banter, some mad-cap capers, and a holiday party made this a solid hit for me. I was left with lots of laughs and happy tears, and I greatly enjoyed rooting for Lucas and Izzy as they attempted to save the hotel while falling in love.

This is a cute holiday romance - it gives you the warm, cozy vibes of a Hallmark movie! It was terribly predictable, but kept your interest! The plot was fun - it's about to rival hotel receptionists who can't stand each other until they have to come together to save the hotel they work at. There's a plot with finding the owners of lost wedding rings?

I don't know, there was just too much going on in these books. There were so many subplots and things going on, I felt like the ending was rushed.

And while there is some spice, it's not graphic, so I'd give it a one chili pepper.

Enemies to lovers? Check!
Forced proximity/workmates? Check
Slow burn? Check

Lucas and Izzy have all of the above in abundance. They cannot be any more differnt - she is quirky and fun, he is straight out serious.

And they hate each other... or do they>

I did find the whole reason Izzy hates Lucas a bit tiresome after a while, adn when we find out what happened it was all, OK, yeah I get it, but the amount of energy she puts into it was a bit OTT.

The pacing felt a bit off to me too. We go from getting ther, to the whole "ring thing" in the main part of the book dragging, to rushing to the end. But again, this is probably just a me issue.

I liked the characters that surround Lucas and Izzy (for the most part, anyways.)

The Wake-Up call is enjoyable enough,but not my favourite Beth O'Leary book. I do look forward to more from her in the future though

It’s the busiest season of the year, and Forest Manor Hotel is quite literally falling apart. So when Izzy and Lucas are given the same shift on the hotel’s front desk, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and see it through.

The hotel won't stay afloat beyond Christmas without some sort of miracle. But when Izzy returns a guest’s lost wedding ring, the reward convinces management that this might be the way to fix everything. With four rings still sitting in the lost & found, the race is on for Izzy and Lucas to save their beloved hotel—and their jobs.

Fun little rom-com, and O'Leary/s fans will lap it up. #TheWake-UpCall #NetGalley #SaltMarshAuthors

Izzy and Lucas work together at a charming but finacially challenged hotel. Izzy and Lucas can not stand each other and delight in making each others life at work difficult. When managment decides to sell off the lost and found items to raise some money, Izzy and lucas must find a way get along and get the job done. A contest to find the owners of lost rings puts their relationship to a test. Great characters, funny moments and misunderstandings make this a delightul novel. One roots for Izzy and Lucas to figure out just how things between them got so bad and find a way forward.

Beth O'Leary writes romcoms for the big screen, and I mean that as a true compliment. It's just so easy to picture her settings, characters, even their mannerisms. Once you get a feel for her characters you can really identify with them, even the ones that might not match your personality. All this to say this is a very cute Christmas love story. I'm not the biggest fan of miscommunication tropes, so it was a little difficult for me to buy into this one. These coworkers had been at odds for a year over something that could have been taken care of with a very simple conversation. But... I can see how it would have played out this way. After all this is a romcom, and quirky love stories are what we're looking for!

i love an enemies to lovers trope and i love a good rom com with good banter. but dear god do i hate plots where things can be easily solved if they literally just sit down and have a ten minute conversation about it. the 'enemies' part feels forced and written as plot device and it just doesn't become enjoyable then.

but beth o'leary's writing is so fantastic and funny and smart. love her, didn't love love the plot.