Thank you to the author, Aria and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was... A LOT. Marketed as a feel-good romcom, there are glimmers of what it could be, e.g. the love of surfing (never done it, but the descriptions really made me want to try), the friendships between the female protagonist and her two close female friends. However, the overarching theme is a misogynistic hellscape with a male protagonist that exhibits a lot of completely unacceptable behavior, and that can only be immensely triggering for a lot of readers. Overall, this does not work, and I cannot recommend.

I could not finish this book. The writing was so awkward, as were the characters, and not in a quirky/silly/funny way. So many phrases or sentences were thrown in for no reason that made me go "what??". For example: Female MC sees male MC across the beach watching some birds, and the author writes that the baby birds are "waiting for [their mom] to throw up their lunch." Why can't he just be watching the birds?? This, sadly, was the tip of the iceberg. It's clear that female MC wants to keep their relationship professional and help him with his book, but it's clear he won't settle for that, and questions of sexual consent arise (NOT OKAY!! Literally what year is this??). The two characters, at least by 35% of the book, had absolutely no chemistry. This "romance" novel was like a sketch drawing that hasn't been painted yet. It was following the plot points of a romance novel without any of the fluff that gives you butterflies as you wait for them to get together. Overall very disappointing and just weird.

Here's a British novel by an author I've never read before. Taylor Cole brings adventure and romance to intertwine in her book, Holiday Read. Candice has escaped to Cornwall after some marital issues and the sad death of her mother. Candice is trying a new life out for herself with her love of surfing on a minimal budget.

She meets a mysterious customer at the cafe she works at for some regular wages who turns out to be an author. He shares what his next novel is supposed to be, a romance, but he's struggling. Candice finds herself assisting him with the novel as well as briefly having some feelings for him. Until...his literary agent comes to town to make sure the author is doing what he's promised.

Daniel is mysterious and kind and Candice starts to fall for him in a weird and awkward way. The story had me definietly wanting more but I felt like it fell a little flat. The romance was a little disappointing and boring. I often had to guess who Candice had feelings for, if she had any. My rating of this one was a 4-star; I liked the story, but felt like it could have used a little energy booster in there and a little more touchy feely, direct romance in there.

It comes out on May 11th, so if this sounds like its up your alley, pre-order it now!

#NetGalley #HolidayRead

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity of reading this book in exchange of an honest review.

I guess this book might be a chill summer read for some people, but it took me a couple of months to actually get to it, it just wasn't for me. I strongly believe that both the title and the cover are too much alike "Beach Read" by Emily Henry, and I don't think that is the best marketing option here.

I was excited to read this particularly by the cover and the title so couldn’t wait to get started.

However, I did find the storyline a little slow to start with but once it got going, found it to be a rather enjoyable read.

It was lighthearted in parts but with more serious themes threaded through and the characters were relatable.

Overall, it was a pleasant summer read.

The story of Holiday Read follows Candice and her friends, Demi and Makayla. I really enjoyed this trio. They are in a small beach town called Cornwall. Cornwall is full of cafes and surf shops.

It also followed Alexis who is also known as “Laptop Guy”. Alexis is a well-known author. I liked Alexis' character in the beginning. I even felt bad for him during some early parts of the story. Unfortunately, as the story went on he seemed to become a bigger jerk who just used people.

Then Daniel is thrown into the mix. Daniel is Alexis' agent and it seems like Candice didn’t like him at all. There were parts when you can see they were trying to make Daniel win her over but it just felt forced.

The storyline started off well but then seemed to jump a little all over the place making this a tough one to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for an eARC in exchange for my honest review

I really enjoyed Candace and Alexis! Their story had great tension and I loved the banter. I love books set on the beach and this one was so much fun. I'll definitely be on the lookout for more from this author.

1.5⭐️

Holiday Read unfortunately did not hit the way I was hoping it would.

I did not connect to the characters or the storyline. I can see why people DNF this by 30-50% in; it was extremely difficult to see where the book was going and why the reader should continue with it.

SLIGHT SPOILER: I read the book till the end, and the main character, Candice, does not actually end up with Alexis (the first man introduced whom all the reviews are rightfully shitting on).

I remained confused as to who the romance was supposed to be about, and was shocked that at 75% in, I was still with my doubts as to who Candice would end up with. This also didn't work for me, as this clearly meant that the chemistry and emotional connection between the couple did not shine through at all (or even exist).

Also, this is such an irrelevant point, but the most unrealistic part of this was when Candice called soccer/football 'soccer', and NEITHER of the two English men she was speaking to corrected her to football.

Looking back, there was also an issue with dubious consent in the beginning surrounding drinking, and Alexis was overall an ass in general for attempting to make money writing a romance book while simultaneously being condescending toward the genre.

I rounded this up to the two stars due to Candice not ending up with who I originally thought she would, and for the strong female friendships and bonds she had throughout the book. Her friends were very sweet!

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria and Aries for the eARC, in exchange for an honest review of the book!

This book really did drag until at least 60% through, just because the characters felt under developed, and to be honest, they didn't actually do anything. A Cornish surfing school, which is what grabbed my attention, wasn't really a surfing school. The love interest (spoiler) wasn't really a love interest and he was just an absolute idiot. Which, given the last 40%, made sense but still. You could really just read the first few pages and then skip to the last three-quarters of the book.
That was the interesting part, the part that actually grabbed my attention and made me want to carry on- action, tension, confusion, all of which was lacking before. The fmc's friends became a lot less stereotypical best friends and started developing their own personalities! This was really the saving grace.

If you're an extremely patient person, I would absolutely suggest this book and if you're like me, I'd still suggest it, just ignore the middle, for your own sanity.

Couldn’t even get past 15%… it’s a no from me. Main characters were so unlikeable, it was hard to read and honestly seemed very similar to a lot of other books I’ve read.

It did start promising and giving off Emily Henry’s “Beach Read” vibe, which I loved very much. But then you read and read and read and nothing happens. It is just talk and not really much of action or romance or plot. And when the “plot twist” comes and a family mystery gets solved, you already forgot there was one.

Very underwhelming.

This was....bad. It was super bad. The cover and blurb seems like they're trying to recreate Beach Read, but they definitely didn't get there.
Hopefully some major edits can happen here.

2.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance review copy. I requested it because of the obvious Beach Read parallels/piggy backing, and… well. It’s not quite what I expected. Sexy and escapist? Nope.
Things I liked: the setting, very well described and an integral part of the book. The author has a definite knack for dialogue, and has created some strong side characters, Makayla in particular. However, the narrative is entirely in first person from Candice: her style is prosaic, bordering on detached, and it didn’t work for me. I don’t need excessive drama and angst and third-act breakups from every romance novel I read, but I do want to feel invested in the main characters and their progression into love. Even when Candice describes her emotions, it’s just that: a description. I didn’t feel anything for her or her relationships. I was annoyed by Alexis, which I assume was the aim, but even then he felt like too much of a caricature. I came away feeling that I’d read something that could easily occur in real life - which is fine, but in a lot of cases, the way relationships develop in the real world doesn’t translate into a book I’d want to read. Some good ideas, but rather like Alexis’s novel, it needs more.

Alexis or Daniel? Candice moved to Cornwall to find her father, to escape her marriage, and to start her surf school. But it's not going well so she's also waitressing. She meets Alexis, who, as it turns out, has been using her stories to write his novel, She's not happy about that but then she meets Daniel, his agent,. Less visibly dynamic but a really good guy, Daniel moves into her heart as well. This is light and entertaining with an ending that felt a little rushed, Thanks to netgalley for the ARC, A beach story for a beach read.

dnf'd at 20%.

this book had an interesting premise but fell flat for me. i thought i would like it as it's marketed towards emily henry fans but i couldn't get into it at all. the start was fairly slow & the writing felt like it was dragging on a bit which made it harder to keep reading.

thank you to netgalley and the author for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

did not finish.. i agree with most of the other reviews on this book. could not stand the male main character

The only commendable aspect of this entire book was the descriptive writing. 10/10 for imagery.

The only likable character was Candice. The characters that were supposed to be "good" really missed the mark for me. We saw her stand up to the bad characters but it would've been nice to see that done with everybody else as well.

Some aspects were underdeveloped while others were overdeveloped.

This may be a great read for others but it just wasn't for me.

I’m sorry to say I really tried with this book. It had so much promise. A very interesting premise, but I found it slow to get into and I couldn’t connect with the characters. I’m giving this three stars though because I don’t think the hard work of the author should be penalised because I didn’t connect with it. This book will have fans, just not me. I would read another of the author though as they have a fab imagination for a premise so I will try again next time. I do wish this book every success though.

Honestly this felt like someone read Emily Henry and then tried to replicate it. I couldn't honestly recommend this one.

I loved so much about this book.
Even before I opened the book I was in love with the cover, the premise and so excited to see where it went.
It did not disappoint I read it in one sitting as the characters and story pulled me in. In love with this book.