I sadly had to DNF this novel. I felt that the writing was somewhat stilted and the thing that really made me DNF was the Arnold Schwarzenegger reference at the end of chapter 1. I also didn't like how the prologue started with the main character in the future after the events of the book. I just don't like that timeline in a book.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Claudia receives a huge sum of money, from an old relative as her inheritance. She spends that on the purchase of a villa, one that she’s not even seen in Greece. But is thinking that once she’s decorated it according to her taste, everything will be as she wanted it to be.

When she get to the place where the villa is, what she finds isn’t what she was expecting to see, the whole place is in need of repair.

Will she make the villa how she dreamed it would be?

I loved reading this book, the characters and the gorgeous setting.

I highly recommend this book.

Two things are for certain when reading a Sue Roberts book about Greece: there will be a rehab on a cute villa and a hot Greek make involved.
Claudia comes into some money and purchases a villa on Corfu. Greece is in her blood but she has a good job and string family ties in Northern England. Except can drop dead gorgeous Dimitri change her mind.
The romance is tortuously slow to develop. I wanted to jump in the pages and yell I’ll take him since Claudia remains very skittish.
I love Dimitri’s surprise towards the end.
Claudia had to learn to leap and not overthink life.
A good summer read.

I have read many of the Greek series written by Sue Roberts and some of them I have enjoyed reading. This book is slightly different from the rest of her Greek series.

Claudia receives and inheritance, she does something that is beyond crazy--buying a rundown villa in the small village in Greece. When she arrived only she realized her mistake and the villagers think that she was crazy enough to buy the house. But she meets Dmitri, who would help her with the renovations around the house and at the same time, Claudia was having second thoughts whether she made a mistake of buying the house or not.

The problem with all these Greek series is it basically follows the same storyline. Moving to Greece from UK, probably because of a breakup with your boyfriend or death of a relative, then meets a gorgeous Greek man, then of course it will be a happily ever after. For those who are interested in those types of romance stories, then this book will be perfect. Me on the other, even though I enjoyed her previous books, I felt the storyline was the same always though the plot was different. I knew what was going to happen next and also the end so it was predictable for me in certain ways. As a result, I feel this was an OK read to me. Worth only three stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Eh. Concept was sweet but I couldn't connect with the story. Got tired of every other chapter the FMC talking about how great Greece was. And then when she was talking about her house over and over she mentioned "white walls." It felt weird and repetitive. Even the budding relationship seemed forced. I just struggled to read and really enjoy.

The Greek Villa 🇬🇷☀️🌊✈️

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Author: Sue Roberts

“I closed my eyes and imagined gleaming walls and a traditional painted front door. Inside, there would be a modern bathroom, maybe a glass sink, set against open exposed brickwork. I would display art on white walls and have a tasteful mix of modern and traditional Greek furnishings. Windows with wooden shutters would be flung open in the evening so I could listen to the sound of the crashing waves at the nearby beach that would lull me to sleep.”

Claudia has always dreamed of owning a villa in Greece. After gaining some inheritance from her late uncle, she buys a fixer-upper on the beach in Rona. As she renovates her villa, she begins to make friends around the village, including the handsome builder, Dmitri. With the renovations, she runs into disaster after disaster. Has she thrown away all of her money, or will she eventually have the home and life of her dreams?

This book is the perfect summer read! The descriptive writing about the culture, food, and beauty of Greece took me on a vacation in my mind. I can tell the author has personal experience in visiting this area by all of the little details she includes. I would love to read more of her books about Greece and Italy.

I did not like the focus on the supporting characters relationships and problems. I thought these subplots took away from the major plot of the story. I found the FMC unlikeable at times throughout the story. She was critical of the locals, but she became more understanding as she spent more time in Greece.

Overall, this book was a really fun read! If you are a fan of the HGTV shows Fixer-Upper and Beach Front Bargain Hunt, this one is for you!

Thank you @netgalley and @bookouture for allowing me to read and review this ARC. The Greek Villa releases on June 3, 2024.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed and have recommended it to my book club girls already!

Claudia inherits some money from an uncle and decides to buy a villa in a Greek Island that she used to visit with her family as a child. Catch? She hasn't seen the villa! After making friends with the neighbour and the owner of the local bakery, she is finally introduced to this helpful builder she has heard about. Cue handsome man, all the problems possible with the villa and many trips back and forward between England and the Greek villa. A happy ending for many of the characters and their storylines and it was just so lovable! I'm off to Greece in two months and this has absolutely set the scene and got me so excited for it. Not to paint myself unrealistic expectations or anything! Thank you so much Sue Roberts

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. This was a lovely read. The setting was beautiful and I was engaged in the story.

This book wasn’t necessarily my usual style, but it was very much mamma Mia here we go again.
It follows the story of Claudia after she purchases a run-down fixer-upper in Greece after receiving some inheritance money from a relative. She hires Dimitri, a local builder, to help with the renovations. We follow them as their relationship turns from professional to personal, and the trials and tribulations of renovating a very old, falling to pieces villa!
The love story between Claudia and Dimitri is very sweet, easy to read and is very much holiday romance vibes. This book does remind me a lot of mamma Mia (of course in a very positive way), and it was an enjoyable read to wind down with. I did find it a little bland at times, repetitive in the sense of issues going wrong with the villa and not much else, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying the read.

Although I don't dislike slow-burn romances, this novel felt particularly so. The main characters' relocation to Greece and the villa's renovations take up much more storyline than the developing romance. There didn't seem to be any chemistry between Claudia and Dimitri, and there wasn't a build-up in their relationship that made me want them to be together. I would even say that I was bored with their relationship.

I also did not create any connection to Claudia, as a character, she got on my nerves often. I found her pretty selfish, for instance regarding her house renovations, I did not find her really comprehensive.

However, I did like the description of the Greek landmark, I found myself wanting to visit Greece and especially Corfu really soon.

Thank you Netgalley and Sue Roberts for an advanced copy, in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I love everything about Greeece, the food, the scenery, the people, the culture. I wanted to feel like I was there but I didn't. I wanted to be sucked in by vivid descriptions buti wasn't.
It lacked excitement for me and the storyline was completely predictable.
I wanted to love it but ended up liking it.

This would be good for a beach read! Unfortunately just wasn’t for me. I thought the descriptions of Greece and Grecian food were wonderful but the characters didn’t do it for me. Again this would be a perfect book for a quick beach read! Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

📖: The Greek Villa
✍🏻: Sue Roberts
⭐: 4

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this gifted copy! 

This was my first introduction to Sue Roberts' work from The Greek Villa! The cover looks so stunningly beautiful, and knowing that it was a rom-com, this book checked all my boxes. Sue has a way to immediately grab the reader's attention from the very first chapter of her book.

Sue Roberts' does an exceedingly good job when it comes to writing up a summer read just in time for the upcoming holidays. Using summer as a focal point in the book made me more excited, and I had been looking forward to seeing what came up in the book. Roberts immediately transported me from my bedroom to the island of Greece with the descriptive language that she used in her writing. Adding on to that, I could instantly see myself in the actual scenes of Sue's book transpiring right in front of me, as she has a way with her writing as if you were seeing the characters interactions in real life. 

I had such an amazing time with the characters throughout their journey in this well-crafted summer rom-com. The plot, characters, and setting all gripped my attention enough to make me stay up late and continue reading The Greek Villa, as I literally couldn't stop reading and wanted to know more about how the story was going to pan out.

After receiving a life-changing inheritance from a beloved, quirky older relative, thirty-two-year-old Claudia has done something wild they would approve of – she’s bought a run-down villa in Greece! Though she’s never seen it in person, she’s sure that with a lick of paint, it will be everything she’s ever dreamed of…
But, arriving at her new home on the gorgeous Greek island of Corfu, Claudia is met with a shock. The cracks look more like chasms, plants are growing through the tiled floor, and the view of the sparkling blue sea would be perfect – if there was a window instead of a hole in the wall.
I can't wait for this to come out and for y'all to lose your minds. if you had doubts about preordering, don't. you're going to want to read this one

It took about a quarter of the book to read before I really got into the story. I enjoyed the time spent spent in Greece and found myself speed reading to those sections. The Greek Villa is a quick read with a little, light romance, great location and characters. It was predictable but still enjoyable.

Corfu! Claudia's decision to buy a villa on the Greek island was definitely impulsive and now she's looking at it- it wasn't such a great idea. But then she meets Dmitri, who works not only on the problems with the villa but also on her heart. You know there's gonna be a problem in this sweet tale and it comes in the form of Dmitri's ex, who wants him back. Fans of the genre know that it's probably going to work out well for Claudia (or will it?). Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

The Greek Villa is a heartwarming read that will transport you to the sunny shores of Greece and leave you believing in the power of taking risks for love and happiness. Recommended for anyone in need of a feel-good story with a perfect blend of humor, romance, and a touch of Greek magic.

I honestly could not get into this book, and I had to force myself to finish it just to see how it ended. It felt more like a home renovation book with the tiniest side of romance. This book took "slow burn" to a whole new level.

Pros:
The descriptions of the villages in Greece were lovely. It truly made me want to visit Greece.

Cons:
*The main character was extremely selfish. Anything that went wrong with her home renovation sent her into a pity party. An older man literally fell through the 2nd floor of her house due to rotten floors, and she was concerned about how this was going to impact the house being finished. -_-
*I wouldn't even classify this as a romance. The two main characters somewhat started flirting after 50%. Honestly don't know if I could even consider it flirting. They got together (closed door) at 84%... and the book ENDED at 88%.
*The entire book was about Claudia's renovation on her villa in Greece. I'm pretty sure I could renovate a home now with everything I "learned" from this book.
*It felt like this was written by a high school student. The wording throughout the book and dialogue were cringey. "She had a face like thunder." Not even sure what that is supposed to mean.

Meh. Just meh.

This was a super quick read. A great summer Rom Com . Lighthearted with fun characters and beautiful destination of Greece.

I liked the way the author entwined multi generational relationships, and I really enjoyed the descriptions of the beauty of Greece.

That being said, I was not as invested in the romantic relationship as I wanted to be, but it did come to a satisfying ending.

The Greek Villa is my first Sue Roberts book and I know I will read more of her releases. If you are looking for a light summer read this is a great pick! It has all the feels and whisks you off to Greece for a magical holiday that you will remember. It makes me want to buy my own Greek Villa! It is set to release on June 3, 2024 just in time for summer!

Thank you Net Galley, Sue Roberts and Bookouture for the opportunity to preview The Greek Villa. All of the opinions shared are my own.