I had not an easy time writing this review. Usually I have a big reaction whenever I read a Beth O'Leary book, either I love them, or I can't even finish them. But with The Wake-Up Call I missed the big feelings. I'm smack dab in the middle of it. Which is a shame.

I enjoyed the enemies to lovers feeling, the slow burn and the forced proximity.
But the way it was put together, the pace, and the execution wasn't enough to pull me into the book the way it deserved.

In the end, it's a romance novel that had so much potential, even more so because it's from an author that has such a wonderful witty and enjoyable way of writing.

I'm sad to say that the author's last few books have not hit the mark for me.

But I'm ever hopeful it will change again with the next one.

I have enjoyed Beth O'Leary's books in the past, but this one fell flat for me. The main characters annoyed me and the pacing was all over the place.

The Wake Up Call is a witty, heartwarming feel-good romcom that's full of charm, with brilliant main and supporting characters that you can't help but love.
The Wake-Up Call is set in Forest Manor, a cozy hotel and spa that has been in dire straits. The two protagonists, Izzy and Lucas, both work the front desk and hate each other. They have spent the entire year getting on each other's nerves, bickering and snapping at each other, for the enjoyment - or annoyance - of colleagues, friends, and guests. But it's almost Christmas time and the hotel is in desperate need of funds - the long forgotten lost and found needs to be emptied and as far as there's anything of value sold, same as some of the manor's antiques, but what about the FIVE GOLDEN RINGS - there are five unclaimed clearly valuable rings that have been sitting at the hotel for ages - should they be put up for sale or can they be returned ?
This was so much fun, the grumpy/sunshine trope and enemies to lovers trope worked so well. the cozy setting, the comfort, the found-family aspect, the friendship groups, the secondary characters - especially super chef Arjun and Poor Mandy made me laugh out SO many times, the wit and charm, and the wholesomeness of it all! This was a fantastic seasonal book - it was so fun to read about the Christmas prep at the hotel and all the preparation that went into a beautiful Christmas party ! Forest Manor Hotel sounded so magical! The description made me feel like I was there.

I really enjoyed this one! After loving The Switch, I didn't really jive with The Road Trip or The No-Show but this definitely put a big smile on my face! This one is an enemies to lover romance and you all know by not that I do not like miscommunication tropes at all but this one worked for me! I totally bought into the story of Izzy and Lucas and the setting was just perfect! A beloved hotel during the holidays and a co-worker rivalry keep it fun and engaging. I inhaled this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think this would be a perfect read for a lazy winter day to just cozy up and enjoy the story. This was wonderful on audiobook, highly recommend!

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆
3.5 stars

Having worked in a hotel myself, I was sure that I would enjoy a romance based in an independent hotel – and it certainly did bring back some amusing memories of how crazy the hospitality business can be.

As Izzy and Lucas compete with each other to be the more invaluable, both needing their jobs for different reasons, we get to meet the regular guests, deal with some serious maintenance issues, and get ready for what might be the last Christmas at the resort.

If you like the idea of understanding some of the behind the scenes escapades at a hotel, and the competitiveness of the two leads in trying to save the hotel, you will enjoy this fun story. It is a nice easy read with low angst and some really amusing as well as moving moments.

I'll continue to read everything that this author writes. This wasn't my FAVORITE of hers, but I did really love it.

Not open door, but still some romance, loved that.

Enemies to lovers isn't always my jam, but I did enjoy this one!

I’m a tad bit disappointed by this one. The premise was good but just executed poorly. It seemed to take forever to get to the point and then the ending was a bit rushed. I could’ve done without some of the excessive battling and had more love story. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this copy for read and review

As luck would have it, Forest Manor Hotel is falling apart during the busiest season of all. It’s the time of year for Christmas cheer and the employees at the hotel are having a hard time keeping their spirits up. It’s very likely the hotel won’t stay open past Christmas. Yet the two employees with the biggest commitment to make it work, also CCD ant seem to get along. Lizzie and Lucas join forces to help the owners. Everyone if thinking of ways to help fix the hotel, while not spending to much money. It seems impossible but Lizzie comes up with an idea to go through the most and found items. After she finds 4 rings, her new plan is to find the owners of these rings. Izzy and Lucas have more in common to a the job they might lose. Can they make this idea work? Can they become friends? Can a miracle be pulled off? The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary is a very such a cute read. It has all the things I like, in a Romcom. I have read many books by Beth O’Leary and they never disappoint. Sometimes you just need this kind of book, it has all the feels. I want to thank Netgalley & the author for my copy for an honest review. It is always a pleasure to read and review the authors books. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I’m

The Wake-Up Call centers around two arch-rival receptionists' competition to see who can return more wedding rings from the hotel's lost and found.

Izzy hasn't forgiven Lucas for an incident a year prior, but she tries to put their differences behind her to try to save the hotel they both love. I thought the catalyst to have them work together felt very realistic and I enjoyed the story immensely.

I love Beth's writing and storytelling ability. This one had a great setting and fantastic side characters. She is an auto-buy author for me.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of The Wake-Up Call by Beth O'Leary.

I loved The Flat Share so my expectations going in were a little high. It took quite a while for me to really care about the story/characters. I did find the second half flew by though.
The story also leans heavily on the miscommunication trope which is one of my least favourites.

Overall, I liked it enough to keep checking out other books by the author. Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced reading copy.

Hotels at Christmastime are one of my favorite things! I just love to see the lobbies decorated in festive fare while Christmas music is piped through the speakers, which is why I picked up Beth O'Leary's new holiday novel, The Wake-Up Call.

This Christmas-lite book follows two English countryside boutique hotel employees over the holiday season as they attempt to save their place of employment from ruin. The Forest Manor Hotel is in need of major repairs, but alas, there are no funds to start, much less complete, the project. Arch-enemies Izzy and Lucas are tasked with sorting through long discarded lost and found items and selling them to turn a profit. However, among the forgotten items are four wedding rings that were lost at the hotel and never claimed.

When Izzy is able to track down one of the ring owners and receives a sizable reward to put toward the hotel repairs in return, finding the other rings' dearly departed seems like a surefire way to make some quick cash for Forest Manor. The race is on as Izzy and Lucas compete to see who can find the rings' owners the fastest. As the rivalry between Izzy and Lucas heats up, so does the unacknowledged chemistry between the two. Despite acting as if they hold an intense dislike for the other, Izzy and Lucas, in truth, harbor secret feelings for each other. But will they act on what's brewing in their hearts?

The Wake-Up Call is a lively and spirited romp through the holiday season! The increasingly difficult challenge of returning four "golden rings" to their rightful owners adds a fun twist to this enemies to lovers rom com. The competition between Izzy and Lucas is intense as they tear each other down in their attempt to come out on top!

On the other hand, I found the pacing of The Wake-Up Call to be quite slow and the writing to be not entirely engaging. There were some quick transitions sprinkled throughout the novel, and I often found myself lost as to time, character, and location. However, the pacing and engagement factor picked up significantly toward the latter part of the book making this a redeemable read in end.

This was sweet enough but this author is so hit or miss for me. Sometimes her stories are so heartfelt and give me all the feels but this one just didn’t hit for me unfortunately

I *love* Beth O'Leary but I've come to the conclusion that her books are hit (THE FLATSHARE, THE SWITCH, THE NO-SHOW) or miss (THE ROAD TRIP) for me. Unfortunately THE WAKE UP CALL was the latter. It sounded on paper like exactly the sort of book I love (rom-com, festive atmosphere, set in England, enemies to lovers) but I had such a hard time getting invested in both the characters and the plot. I got about halfway through and couldn't imagine how a whole other half of this novel could be sustained. I'm so sad because, again, I adore Beth's writing. THE FLATSHARE is one of my favorite books of all time. But this one didn't hit the spot for me. I'll be looking forward, as always, to her next release!

Beth O'Leary has done it again! Her characters are witty, and people I want to spend my days with. I laughed, cried, and laughed some more. This rom-com is perfect for even the most reluctant romantics, tis the season for a light hearted read!

The Wake-Up Call is another contemporary romance from Beth O"Leary who is a fantastic voice in the genre. In this book we follow Lucas and Izzy, co-workers at a failing hotel. After something goes wrong last Christmas these two have been nothing short of enemies but as disaster strikes and they are forced to work in closer quarters than ever before will these two work it out?

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

ON HOLD at 13% I adore Beth O’Leary and would probably enjoy this the more I got into it. But for the life of me, I cannot get motivated to read this. I’ve picked it up twice and have put it down both times. I don’t want to be in a reading slump in December when I have so many books I want to read, especially holiday stories. I’m calling it a soft DNF but there’s a solid chance I don’t revisit this one until later next year.

Beth O'Leary's last book before this one literally brought me to tears so I was very excited to read her newest novel. That being said, I started it as soon as I received the eARC from NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review, but then paused because I wasn't ready for it to be over and to have to wait for the next book she writes. The Wake-Up Call takes place during the holidays, so it's the perfect time to read it!

This is a grumpy sunshine, enemies to lovers, miscommunication romance story and I loved every bit of it. Izzy and Lucas are work rivals who "hate" each other ever since a situation at one of the holiday parties left Izzy feeling rejected and Lucas confused about why she's so nice to everyone but him. The two of them compete on everything at work but when the hotel is in financial trouble and part of the solution is returning wedding rings from the lost and found, they find themselves working together and their relationship turns from hate to something much more complicated.

Told in the alternating first-person POV of Izzy and Lucas, this story is unique and entertaining. The tension between the main characters is obvious from the first chapter and the chemistry is undeniable as the book goes on. Lucas is grumpy and serious compared to the exuberantly outgoing Izzy who is super considerate of everyone around her... except for Lucas. They come off as total opposites, part of which is due to the fact that they purposely try to annoy one another. Their verbal sparring and banter made me smile and the insight into both of their minds through the dual POV made both characters more relatable.

There are a lot of little things throughout the book that really pulled me in. First, my mom is from Brazil so of course I LOVED that Lucas is Brazilian and his sister even has my name! At some point in the book Izzy mentions her Sarah J Maas book collection and as one of my all time favorite authors I was delighted to see her referenced. These are just a couple inconsequential things that probably did not matter much to most readers but made the book that much more enjoyable for me and let me relate more to the characters. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for whatever Beth O'Leary comes out with next!

The Wake-Up Call was published on 9/26/23 so if you haven't already read it, what are you waiting for?

This review has been posted to Goodreads, Instagram and Amazon as of 12/5/23.

An intriguing and thoughtful story. I loved the intertwining and the heartfelt love story. It blended the line of love and hate. Lucas and Izzy were just lovely. I wasn’t sure where this was going at first but it bloomed into a honest and delightful romance. Really. Just so great!

CW: swears (f words included), open ish door. Not descriptive but you know what is happening.

I really enjoyed this Christmas-y romance from Beth O'Leary. I love an arch-rivals and grumpy-sunshine workplace romance! Izzy and Lucas had great banter and I loved the supporting cast of characters just as much. This is a feel good book, perfect for holiday reading!