Izzy and Lucas hate each other. They are rival workers at a charming old hotel that is on the tip of disaster….including a huge chunk of the second floor falling into the lobby. Izzy has found her “home and family” with the hotel owners, other staffers and long time guests after losing her parent as a teen. Izzy id charming, outgoing and everybody loves her. Lucas is from Brazil and in Great Britain to study hotel management. He’s very unemotional, stoic and, Izzy says.he’s a Brazilian God. Last Christmas, Izzy got up her courage to tell Lucas that she liked him but confessing in her Christmas card to him. All she got from him was a basic “Merry Christmas” sentiment and Izzy was hurt and embarrassed. To make matters worse, Izzy sees Lucas kissing Izzy’s bitchy roommate under the mistletoe which leads to a huge screaming match between them. Since then, Izzy has done everything that she can to make Lucas crazy and he’s retaliated in kind. But, they have a spark that can’t be denied. Will they get together and overcome their mutual hate to find love?

I really wanted to like this enemies-to-lovers romance but I had a few problems with it. I will start off with something that I did like and that was the dual points of view. Each chapter alternated with our main character’s (Izzy and Lucas) POV. The location of Forest Manor Hotel and Spa was wonderful, especially for a Christmas time plot. The hotel sounds like a place I would like to visit, an old (emphasis on old) manor house turned luxury hotel. I also loved the eclectic group of guests the hotel has.

Maybe it is my age (57) showing but why the hell can’t adults just sit down and talk and be honest about their feelings? They’re nearing thirty years old and they let a whole year go by without discussing what happened. Izzy was way too immature for my liking and the bubbly facade grated on my nerves. I don’t suffer fools very well and if she was my friend or family member I’d be clipping her upside the head (Yes sometimes violence IS the answer!) and telling her to grow the feck up. And the way she used Louis to get back at Lucas made me angry, that’s a terrible thing to do. Is twenty-eight too young to expect someone to say “Hey, I think you’re cute, smart, funny and I like you, wanna go out?”

The whole Ring Thing was just plain stupid. They should have kept the rings, sold them, used the money to fix the hotel and moved on…Problem solved. If they loved the hotel so much why wasn’t that plan put into place right away? Bottom line, this was just too cutesy for my personal taste but I am glad I finally gave this author a go…it is my year of thinking outside the box as far as reading different genres go, and I can’t expect all of them to work for me.

3.5 stars Solid read

This was sort of an enemies to lover plot. However it was all based off miscommunication. I guessed what happened (minus to the correct person) from the start. Did not change anything for me though.

Lucas was an interesting character. I liked how some people thought he was rude and heartless while the majority of people knew he was reliable and caring.

Izzy…I liked her because she was relatable in a way. How she thought she had to always be upbeat for people and always living in the moment. Never letting someone down, so never relaxing and being herself.

My favorite part was the hotel and the hotel staff. Minus Louis. He was horrid all along. You just knew he was fake.

4.5 Stars

Oh my gosh. What a great enemy-to-lovers rom-com, that while it had some of the traditional tropes, still felt refreshing and new. I absolutely loved the dichotomy of Izzy and Lucas’ personalities, and the side characters provided such depth too the story, I never minded when they stole the spotlight from the main plot.

The story takes place around Christmas, but even for a grinch like me, it was enjoyable and created the right atmosphere. Izzy and Lucas both work at Forest Manor Hotel, a whimsical but ramshackle hotel in England. The hotel is in dire need of renovation and money, so Izzy and Lucas have to find a way to work together even though neither can stand the other. What begins as competitions and minor subterfuge, slowly turns into something else as they both start showing more vulnerable sides and their physical attraction mounts. There was such a perfect mix of comedy and deep moments. Izzy’s upbeat and gregarious attitude matched Lucas’ more somber and introspective demeanor. I fell in love with both of them.

The Wake-up Call is an accidental enemies-to-lovers romance between two competitive hotel front desk co-workers. This was a sweet, slow, romance written in the manner Beth O'Leary does so well.

Ah, I had such high hopes for this one! I quite enjoyed The Flatshare and (especially) The No-Show, but this one fell a little bit flat for me. I think the fact that just a grown-up conversation between the two main characters would've resolved it all rubbed me the wrong way. Just TALK, people!! I know that was the whole premise of the book, but it just drove me up the wall, honestly, as they were acting like children. I never really grew to love any the characters, unfortunately. It did keep me all gripped, but it was a little too much like a Hallmark movie for my liking, and I would've enjoyed some more depth instead of constant pranks and arguments. But I think that's just me as people who act like that can be somewhat triggering for me.
Nonetheless, looking forward to what O'Leary comes out with next!

The Wake-Up Call is a delightfully steamy, cozy, and romantic read that will have you laughing out loud with this unputdownable rom-com that offers everything you could ask for.

Beth O'Leary is a favorite contemporary romance author for me - however this didn't quite hit the nail on the head. Situated at a small inn, struggling to stay afloat, two employees who love to hate each other compete to find the owners of many years of lost rings.

Misunderstandings are a trope I am not a fan of. Family problems meant to add depth but feel awkward and underdeveloped. Silly side characters that don't manage to steal the show. And the setting just didn't make sense to me.

Sad to not love it

I am a big fan of Beth O'Leary so I was very excited to see she had a new book coming out. This book hits a lot of romance tropes - enemies to lover, misunderstandings, failure to communicate - but she has a fun writing style that it still pulls me in. The book is humorous and is set around the Christmas holidays which adds to the cozy romance for me. If you are a fan of O'Leary or just love a light, funny romance, this is the book for you! Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Sulking, grump of a man with an accent - sign me up! Full of pep, Izzy, and her coworker Lucas are always at each other’s throats because of an incident that occurred last Christmas. Forced to work together to try and save the hotel they begin to realize maybe there is something more between them.

A wonderful cast of characters, a boutique hotel as the setting, and an enemies to lovers trope, this book has it all. I laughed and smiled my way through this novel. Great if you are looking for a light read, good banter, and very little spice.

Beth O'Leary creates such exciting and beautiful worlds that feel so real. I could see these characters so clearly and I can absolutely imagine these perfectly flawed characters working in this perfectly flawed hotel. I loved getting to know each of these characters and thoroughly loved this book!

3.75

I thought The No-Show was one of the most unique and surprising romcom plots, so with that, I dove into The Wake-Up Call with very high hopes. As Beth O’Leary writes in her acknowledgments, she’d had no intentions of writing a book any time soon. Therefore, with those caveats, I was a bit disappointed.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a cute romcom. It’s been a while since I read The Switch, I believe the only other as Beth O’Leary book I have read, but I think it was more on par with that and some of the same small-town, family-isn’t-always-related settings. Incidentally, I tried to listen to The Flatshare once, but the narration bugged me so much and I couldn’t get very far.

Izzy and Lucas are rivals, so you know immediately this is a enemies-to-lovers trope. The first thing we read is a profession of love by Izzy, followed by a generic holiday greeting by Lucas. It is with that that Izzy’s abhorrence grows. Not only did Lucas’ response not mirror her interests, but he was seen laughing at the time, and then kissing her roommate under the mistletoe. The roommate knew full well about Izzy’s feelings. Now they are mortal enemies, although I think Izzy is the only one who thinks that and Lucas is just responding to her spitefulness. Poor Mandy, that’s the characters name, is stuck in between them. She’s a fun character and gets her do at the end.

Wouldn’t you know it, disaster, strikes this old manor shortly before the holidays, and all of the upstairs rooms and the staircase are out of commission. There is a lot of cuteness and, if it weren’t for the sex (not too terribly steamy), and the grittiness some of the characters, this could, and probably has been a Hallmark romcom. This is one to have on hand when you need a good romcom escape, but it wasn’t anything that bowled me over or left me impressed like the creativity like The No-Show.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for providing an unbiased review.

Another five star read. Beth is just too good at what she does. This book is a bit different than her others in the sense that it follows more of a “trope” guide but it was very well done. It was cute, but not cheesy. Light hearted but also dealt with emotional topics. I love this book and I really do recommend.

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of The Wake-Up Call. Beth O'Leary is an autobuy author for me, and I loved this book!

I'll be honest...ETL in contemporary romance is not always something I like. I can't explain it. I always love it in a fantasy book, but in contemporary books....I usually get frustrated with any type of ETL plot line. That being said, I LOVED the enemies to lovers journey of Lucas and Izzy. I thought their work antics were fun and had an edge of flirtation without being too overly sensational. I especially liked that their arguments were based (usually) in how things should be done at work - booking systems, supplies organization, guest relations - because those seemed like natural things coworkers might disagree on! Plus, when you add in the miscommunication of "last December," the small arguments made perfect sense. Their chemistry was so well-written, and their relationship gave us a nice blend of sexy, sweet, and endearing moments as they got to know each other.

Also, I just loved the cast of characters in this book. It was definitely a found family trope, too, in many aspects, and it just felt like a warm hug. The hotel staff, the guests, MR. TOWNSEND...all of the characters added something to the story and pushed the plot along. Beth O'Leary has a way of creating characters that feel like family by the end of the book, and she definitely gave me two new family members in Lucas and Izzy. Their wit, charm, intelligence, determination, and so much more completely endeared them to me. I found myself tearing up a few times throughout the book, but it's not quite as emotional a read as Beth O'Leary's last book (The No Show). This book honestly felt different than any of her others, and I think I loved that the most about it! It's unique and stands on its own.

I was really torn on my rating for this one because I love Beth O'Leary's books, and I truly loved this one. It's not quite a five star for me, though, because the plot does drag just a bit at points. I ended up going with a four star rating, but I could easily see this being an easy five star romance for a lot of people! It blends the sweet and the spicy together while still mostly fading to black on the sexy scenes, but the BUILDUP to those scenes is so steamy IMO. Plus, it has an adorable grand gesture of love at about 85% in that will give you Love Actually vibes.

This book is so good, and you still have time to get your preorders in! It doesn't release until the end of September from Berkley!

While I don’t feel like this is the most original story ever, it was still a fun one! I loved the Christmas time vibes. I’d say it’s a good mix between The Hating Game and Lovelight Farms. Lots of workplace romance, miscommunication and slow burn tension. It’s a great read for this fall

I didn’t realize this would have so many Christmas vibes! Love a good romance that gives off Christmas vibes! It did take my some time to get I to the book, as it was a slow start. I found Izzy to be a tad bit immature for the majority of the story. Oh and the infamous miscommunication trope, UGH couldn’t stand it. It’s my least favorite and gets under my skin. I wish that the characters back story would have been explorer more. Overall, a good read

The Wake-Up Call felt so different than the other books I’ve read by Beth O’Leary. It was a bit… lighter. It was a fun enemies to lovers romance that had a competition that kept a smile on my face.

Izzy and Lucas work together at a hotel that is struggling. In order to help bring it back to life, they have to work more closely together which is a problem for them. There was a bit of a… misunderstanding the year before that’s causes some animosity. Izzy loves everyone except Lucas and he has no clue why. I love that we got both of their pov’s and we really got to know Lucas, because he was great.

I liked both of these main characters so much. To be honest the first half felt a little slow for me, but with time it picked up and I really loved the last half. This is another win from Beth O’Leary and I’m so glad I read it!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I don’t think this author’s writing style is for me, so I DNF’d around 25%.

I think a lot of people will love this though, and I wish this author the best of luck!

Such a fun enemies to lovers romance! A little slow, but lots of fun and much lighter than other Beth’s books.

Beth O’Leary, you have done it again! This is exactly the type of romance I want to read, and I hope you keep writing more.
Lucas and Izzy work together at a failing hotel and constantly irritate each other. But underneath that irritation is a simmering attraction, if only they can learn to truly understand each other.
Things I loved:
The pacing. So many times the characters said what they felt and the miscommunications between them were relatable and not contrived.
The setting. The hotel and its guests and employees delighted me, and I felt like I was part of their world.
Lucas. He was such an interesting character, and I think I started to fall in love with him a bit.
The ending. So satisfying and sweet. I never wanted to put this book down.
I read this on vacation and it was absolutely perfect. Thanks to Berkeley for the advance copy of the ebook!