Another fab book from Beth O’Leary!
I really enjoyed it & will recommend it to others.
Thanks for the opportunity to read and review it.

I really like Beth’s books and this one was no exception. I read a lot of crime and murder books so Beth’s books are a breath of fresh air after some of my other reads.

Izzy and Lucas definitely have a love / hate relationship and when they have to start working together every day they don’t know how they are going to cope. The constant presence in each others lives forces them to deal with their issues.

A nice bit of escapism that I would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced reading copy.

Beth O’Leary has established herself as a solid in the rom com genre. Her 5th outing is as exciting as those that came before.

Izzy and Lucas have work to the eyeballs at Forest Manor Hotel. The busiest season is upon them and the hotel is literally falling apart. Sworn enemies they are forced to pull together when the hotel starts selling its lost property to raise funds, when they uncover five wedding rings they decide to return them. But what follows challenges their bitter rivalry…

I laughed out loud more than once reading this. Izzy is a warm presence steering the story but Lucas’s split narrative adds such a sharp, witty spark. I was annoyed anytime I had to put this one down and enjoyed it so much I was gutted to check out of Forest Manor when I finished.

I had high hopes for this but while I did enjoy the story I also felt a little underwhelmed.
Izzy and Lucas didn't fully grab me. Sure they were cute but something was missing. I wish we had more scenes of them trying to track down the owners of the rings. Or something to build some more chemistry. I found by the end I hadn't been rooting for them to just talk and be honest about their feelings. They were cute together but I needed more.

I really enjoy Beth O’Leary books and this was a very cosy read set in a hotel that seems dear to many of its staff and regular guests however all is not so great between the two main receptionists Izzy and Lucas. There’s a real warmth to this read despite the enmity between the two main characters and the limited number of staff and long term guests meant you could get a better feel of the surrounding characters too. The simple storyline of the struggling hotel sorting its lost property for sale finds sentimental Izzy desperate to return the rings amongst them to their owners. I loved how each ring had a very different story, one providing much more drama than others, in amongst Izzy and Lucas’s own story. Overall, yes this has some predictability, but the story is fresh and has a lot of humour and warmth and a great mix of characters. 9/10

I love Beth O’Leary’s books and read everything she releases immediately. I was very excited to receive an ARC of The Wake-up Call. Typical of O’Leary’s writing, it is full of warmth and great friendships. It is told from the perspective of the two protagonists Lucas and Izzy and I was rooting for them both. Whilst there are no surprises in this story, it has a fab setting and great chemistry between the protagonists. I read it in a day and really enjoyed it!

I found this book a slow burner. I immediately liked Izzy but it took me a lot longer to warm to Lucas. This is not my usual reaction to a Beth O'Leary book. I usually inhale the story as I cannot put the book down.
I got there in the end after confusion had been turned to understanding.
Redeemed itself in the end

I loved The Flat Share however I haven’t read any other of Beth’s book until this, The Wake Up Call.
Very sickly, very predictable, didn’t warm to Izzy much and I wanted to give her a good shake and teach her a lesson on communication. Skipped pages at a time and realised I hadn’t missed much.

Thanks to Netgalley and Quercus for a review copy of this novel. I really enjoy Beth O’Leary’s books and find she has created a particular style and voice that shine through all her books, even in the deepest, moving moments of the books. There is an underlying humour that takes the reader through her stories, but it is so often grounded in a portrayal of human faults, that are often realistic and relatable. In this latest book O’Leary creates an enemies to lovers story that rely on a miscommunication trope that is found in such classics as Romeo and Juliet and leads to tragic or dramatic consequences or combative ones. In this case the two combatants, Izzy and Lucas, work as hotel managers at a struggling luxury boutique hotel in the English countryside, whose doors threaten to close unless the staff can find a staggering amount of money to keep it open. After a huge reward is given in return for the return of a guest’s long lost ring, the owner decides that the remaining items in the lost property box might be a source of significant revenue and duly appoints Izzy and Lucas to oversee the job of returning them. So begins what turns out to be a fierce competition and the two finding creative ways to locate the owners and block the other one from winning. During the process the two get to know each other on a much deeper and more personal manner and come to understand themselves that much more.

The story unfolds with humour, but also compassion and the hotel’s residents make for great, unique characters that are richly drawn and contribute much to the story. There are hints of Fawlty Towers at times, but it is all well done and adds to the enjoyment of the story. Good fun for reading over the holidays and will get the reader in the holiday spirit.

Yes I've just read this cover-to-cover and yes Beth O'Leary has done it again and yes, as with every Beth O'Leary book I finish, I think this is her best and my favourite yet. She writes with such warmth, and her stories are so moving and joyful - even when I'm not sure the setup will grab me, the characters win me over again. It's light and fun and some tolerance of the miscommunication trope is maybe required, but I loved it and already looking forward to rereading at Christmas.

Beth O’Leary is back with another outrageously endearing romcom, cementing herself as the British equivalent to Emily Henry. I love the characters, I love the dual POV, I love the humour and delightfully whimsy setting. I will be recommending this to everyone as the perfect feel good romcom for the Christmas season!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Quercus Books for giving me an e-arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I love Beth O’Leary’s writing, so as soon as I saw this was available o could not wait to read it!

This story follows Izzy and Lucas working together at a hotel that is struggling. In order to help bring it back to life and to help with some of the money issues, they have to work a lot closer together which is a bit of an issue for them. There was a bit of a misunderstanding the year before that's causes some animosity, when Izzy expressed her feelings to Lucas in a Christmas card and she ends up finding him snogging her housemate under the mistletoe.

This book has the miscommunication trope, which basically this whole storyline would be easily rectified if either of the main characters was just like ‘WTF is happening’ and actually spoke to each other. However, I do admit this was done really well in the story and I didn’t hate it as much as I usually do.
It also has grumpy to sunshine, which is one of my favourite tropes. And then of course, my personal favourite trope, enemies to lovers. You get to see the two of them go from hating each other (although it’s more of a strong mutual dislike due to a misunderstanding) to falling in love, even though either of them don’t want to admit it. You also see the male MC Lucas seem to understand his feelings first, which I always find so sweet, especially when he’s the grump in the story.

It does start off a little slow, but oh my god I ending up loving this and could not put this down. The little explanation at the end, which’s explains how the misunderstanding came to happen was so subtle and easily done, it was great! This felt a little different to the other books I’ve read by Beth O’Leary, it felt a lot lighter and I loved this was set in a place that was so close to home for me and a beautiful place to experience.

This is Beth O'Leary's latest rom-com, boasting a wonderful winter location with a lovely dilapidated much loved hotel in dire financial straits that looks certain to go under, set during December and the run up to Christmas festivities. Amidst a background of losing their jobs, Izzy Jenkins and Brazilian Lucas Da Silva will do anything they possibly can to raise money to save the hotel, the owners Barty and Mrs SB, and the other staff feel more like family. The pair could not be more different, Izzy is still feeling the loss of her parents, leaving her relying on her friends for stability, except her friend, Jem Young, is now living in the US, and Sameera and Grigg, with their young child, now live in Edinburgh. She has a bright, bubbly, smiley, sparkly, kind, caring, and spontaneous personality.

However, when it comes to her co-worker, the good looking Lucas, she feels nothing but hatred, inspired by her giving him a card the previous Christmas, revealing her feelings and attraction to him, which he apparently rebuffed and laughed over, not to mention kissing her flatmate under the mistletoe. Since then, her hurt emotions have led to spite, ensuring Izzy has made his life a misery for a year, willing to stoop to playing dirty, and never once having an adult conversation about what occurred. Lucas is a logical, level headed, considered man, doing a part time degree, organised and at home with spreadsheets, often frustrated by Izzy's more chaotic way of operating. Beneath their competitive interactions, there are intense undercurrents of passion as they try to win at finding the most owners of the lost rings in the tupperware, romantic symbols of dedication and eternity, hoping they can raise enough to contribute towards saving the hotel. Can they overcome all that stands between them?

This is not my favourite book from the author, I found Izzy rather difficult to stomach much of the time, she has made her disappointment in her personal life a reason to make a co-worker's life a living hell, surely a HR issue, and not an appropriate or professional response, even if Lucas had been guilty of what she thinks. This might seem a pernickety response from what is a piece of fiction, but O' Leary succeeds in making Izzy seem far too young for her age and unlikeable, which is probably not her intention. Imagine if Lucas, a big man, had behaved in an identical manner towards Izzy. However, I liked Lucas, and the brilliant set of supporting characters, including chef Arjun, the generous Mr Townsend, the Hedgers, and Ollie. Overall, an enjoyable rom-com and I look forward to O'Leary's next book. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

While I adore the concept of working at a hotel and spending the holidays trying to save it, and then wow there's a mystery love story (surprise surprise), I cannot stand romances that revolve around a miscommunication that could easily be solved with one tiny conversation.. I find it so annoying to read. On top of that, I couldn't connect with the characters and just didn't care for them at all so sadly this was a book with a cute concept but a disappointing read

Also the mention of covid & lockdowns is a major ick of mine within books, so that made me stand offish with the book from the very beginning

I hate to do this to my gal Beth O'leary but unfortunately I did not love this book like I had hoped to

2.5 stars rounded up cause I feel bad

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Possibly my favourite O'Leary to date. Izzy and Lucas were so real and vibrant and the enemies to lovers storyline was a lot of fun. A really warm and cosy read with a good dose of festive magic. Will be perfect for readers this Autumn and Winter to snuggle up and read.

*NetGalley* Gentle rom com with a festive twist. Some of it was quite predictable, and did tip into triteness occasionally, even though there was an attempt to acknowledge this with some winks towards the tropeyness of it all. However, it was a fun and fast read with some engaging characters, especially some of the background cast.

I have enjoyed all of O’Leary’s books so far but I think this is the best yet! Really loved the setting, can fully imagine this lovely hotel and the great ensemble of characters that inhabited it.
The chemistry between the leads was amazing, Lucas is so hot! Very sexy but also incredibly romantic and made me cry in places. Would recommend as a lovely Christmas time read too!

A light enjoyable romantic novel - I have read all of Beth O’Leary’s books and have enjoyed them all.

This is the tale of Izzy and Lucas - both front of house staff at Forest Manor Hotel - polar opposites with a love/hate relationship.

This plays out against a backdrop of saving the hotel and returning a collection of rings to the rightful owners.

With a lovely cast of additional characters this is a lovely read - to be recommended.

I absolutely adore Beth O Leary and her books! I am very excited to read, review, and acquire this title. I apologize for being a but behind in my reviews at the moment due to illness, but I absolutely loved this book. I loved how our two main characters landed up meet8ng and their mission to return the engagements rings led them to find love with each other. This was one of my favorite Beth O Leary books. I loved it and I know our readers will as well!

More to come…,

A fun, lovely book with terrific characters and such a sweet story. As suits the genre, the ending is predictable but the fun ride to get there is top class. A really good example of the modern rom com.