As a holiday read, I quite enjoyed this. It was light, bright and frequently funny. My biggest issue with it though was the deceit that made the defining plot point - Birdy's posing as BFF Heather by taking her role as sommelier. I found that regularly made for mortifying reading, when Birdy gets herself into all sorts of problems and dramas. Whilst a comfortably predictable story, it had moments that made me mortified and uneasy.

In the middle of a grey and seemingly neverending rainy October, this read was a pure spark of joy. Of course, the plot is simple and it's easy to see where it will go but that doesn't take away from the pleasure at all. Birdy's life is pretty much a car crash and she can't seem to get a lucky break until her best friend Heather asks her to turn down a job as a sommelier at a Scottish hotel that has a small section of wines and is a little run down. Birdy has every intention of doing that until a drunken meeting with the manager at a ceremony for wine awards (Heather offered Birdy her invite, something they do a lot) leads her to the idea that as she's so good at being Heather why not go and take her job at the Hotel. Surely she can pretend to be a sommelier at such a simple, out of the way hotel. After all, with Heather heading to Italy for the summer and renting out their flat, Birdy has nowhere to stay. So, she does it.

And then the problems start. The hotel is now in the hands of a Michelin star chef and the wine list has gone from a handful to over a hundred and Birdy is totally and utterly out of her depth. Let the ride begin.

At times, Birdy is a bit difficult to feel sorry for her and verges on the unlikeable, but as the story goes on and she tries her best to learn all she needs to learn and keep the hotel going you see the strength of a woman who has been hiding from real life for so long and has her own problems that lead her to where she is now

It's funny, it's bright, the descriptions of the area around the hotel and of Skye are just gorgeous and for a little while, I felt a tiny bit transported.

If this is your sort of genre then this is as good an example as you'll get. I loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review.
.

A book full of fun, frivolity and frolics. A light hearted, easy to read book that offers pure escapism! The characters are likeable and funny and the plot was easy to follow.

This is a great holiday book, or one for when some escapism is needed!
The plot follows Birdy embark on a holiday which turns into getting a job in a hotel in Scotland while pretending to be her best friend. It has the hallmarks of a classic chick lit book - plans gone awry, romance in an idylicc setting.

Not the most challenging book to read but it's not meant to be!

Well I just finished flying through the arc of The Summer Job and it was a total dream, the perfect escapism. I love a book where the main character doesn't necessarily need a man to complete her but instead just needs a purpose or (and I hate this phrase) to find herself, and boy, does Birdy find purpose (and also a man, but that's by the by!). I fell in love with the characters at the hotel, from motherly Irene, to enthusiastic Roxy and from rugged Brett to poor old Bill. And then there's James, swoon!! This was such an uplifting, fun book to read, would definitely recommend.

This is a fun book, very easy to read, and very entertaining. I didn't particularly warm to the main character, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It would make a great holiday book.

This may be my perfect summer read. The premise: when Birdy's best friend, Heather, decides to jet off to Spain rather than taking her new job as Sommelier at the Loch Dorn and leaves Birdy in charge of letting the hotel know, Birdy instead decides to try her luck at what she assumes will be an easy few weeks' work. Obviously, not everything goes to plan, as it quickly becomes clear that the hotel is a lot fancier than assumed, and Birdy knows absolutely nothing about wine.
The setting is a bit part of why I love this book so much- I wish I could relate more to romcoms set in the perfect tropical paradise but I much prefer this chilly Scottish scene with its cottages and lakes. The Loch Dorn also offers an array of interesting characters; elegant Irene, gorgeous chef James, and Bill, each with their own secrets to hide. The plot has a lot more depth than one can usually expect with a romcom; I didn't predict a lot of the twists that were to come at the end of the book.
It balances this idyllic setting and humourous plot with the constant suspense that Birdy will be caught out. At times, I don't find Birdy very likeable- she has her own issues and I'm glad the book didn't end with her falling in love and magically solving every problem. I'm also glad that there are real consequences to Birdy's actions; I was concerned that it would end with her being found out but being instantly forgiven by all, but I was happy with the ending. Overall, I really would recommend this book to anyone- even people who usually dislike the romance genre. It definitely wasn't what I was expecting, but it was better.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for allowing me early access to this book!

This was so much fun.

The Summer Job is the story of Birdie Finch who steals her best friend's identity and summer job! Birdie is so wonderful, relatable, and funny. I fell into her world easily and got as swept away with Scotland as Birdie did.

There're heartfelt feelings throughout this lovely book, done compassionately but with wit too. I loved the hotel, and could just picture its refurb and how well that went down with the locals! Brilliant side characters, the wonderful Bill, and the irritating Russell.

Swoon-worthy Scottish men too. What more could you ask for?

Thanks to Penguin and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. I have pre-ordered my copy already.

I really enjoyed this book and think it is a fantastic debut! It was funny and heartwarming with plenty of laugh out loud moments. The premise is a little unbelievable (especially with everything online these days) but that was made up with the lovely characters. I would recommend this book to my friends.

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

I enjoyed reading this so much that it was finished during one day....I was so happy to find a new author that I went directly to Amazon to buy ( I almost NEVER pay for books!) all her other novels. Imagine my surprise when I find out this is a debut novel, it doesn’t read like a debut novel and I read a lot. The characters are cleverly written and completely believable, they even feel like people I know, which is why I was so invested in their lives that I wanted to continue and find out where they go and what happens next. Even if this isn’t eventually a series I want to read more from such an accomplished storyteller, so many thanks to Lizzie for writing this and Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to have a copy in exchange for an honest review. I had a total escape today from the weather, covid and Brexit.

So what is this about:

Well Birdy Finch didn't just imagine it. She did it. Which might've been an error. And the life she's run into? Her best friend, Heather's.

The only problem is, she hasn't told Heather. Actually there are a few other problems...

Can Birdy carry off a summer at a luxury Scottish hotel pretending to be her best friend (who incidentally is a world-class wine expert)?

And can she stop herself from falling for the first man she's ever actually liked (but who thinks she's someone else)?

What to say about this?! I really enjoyed this book. I just loved Birdy, she is such a good character. This book is foody's dream.
And James how cute is he?!
I must say that this book gave my a little anxiety. I was expecting other shoe to drop the whole book. That is way only 4 stars. This book gave my nerves a work out. Lol.

Birdy is a ypung woman who hasn't yet got her act together so when her sommelier friend Heather goes to Italy leaving a Scottish hotel without a wine waiter, Birdy steps in. After all how difficult could it be? She looks at the website and sees a run down hotel with a pretty small wine list and decides to have a go. Trouble is, she has no qualifications and little idea of wine. And the hotel is clearly on the up with an ambitious chef and a massive wine list.

This is an ok read. I didn't warm to the character of Birdy. I've read too many similar stories where a young woman gets herself into a pickle and i certainly didn't find it 'laugh out loud'. It's redeemed slightly by a sympathetic take on alcoholism and an attempt to explain Birdy's behaviour by attachment issues. This latter though was sketched over and clumsily done.

I also wasn't convinced by the setting. The west coast of Scotland in summer and no references to midges? Come on!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

A sweet read. I wondered how Birdie managed to get herself in such a pickle, and I enjoyed reading about her adventures in a remote hotel in Scotland where she is working as a sommelier, even though she isn’t....... I came to like Birdie and understood her reasons for getting in such a web of deceit towards her best friend, employer and her colleagues. The book is about self discovery, friendships, love, secrets and what can be achieved through hard work. An enjoyable debut novel and I’ll definitely be looking out for Lizzy Dent’s next book. One for the suitcase, if we’re ever allowed to go on holiday again!

What Birdy thinks will just be a fun trip turns in to something more as she pretends to be her best friend Heather to get a live-in job in a posh hotel in Scotland. she soon realises that she risks letting a lot of people down, not just Heather, but James who she meets and works with in Scotland. Will she be able to dig herself out of the hole she created?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's a book that makes me pretend that I could be on holiday. Will definitely re-read it. Loved it.

I enjoyed this story and I flew through it. It made me feel as if I was in the Highlands, which is a great release during these covid times. The character of Birdy is complex but compelling in this chick-lit, which I thought was refreshing.

I absolutely loved this book! Thanks to Penguin General and Netgalley for the early review copy.

Our heroine is Elizabeth Finch (nicknamed Birdy). She is a perfect rom-com heroine, funny and loveable.

She finds herself working at a remote Highland hotel and we follow her journey working there, through the funny and sometimes testing times.

The author also deserves credit for tackling alcoholism, as it is unusual for this topic to be included.

Perfect for fans of Beth o'Leary, Mhairi McFarlane and Lindsey Kelk, I will definitely be recommending this book to my Instagram followers when it is released - a five star read!

I really enjoyed this book. The main character is really interesting because she’s so flawed (essentially committing identity fraud against her favourite person in the world) but it’s so easy to warm to her. I loved following her story, meeting the whole host of characters around her and I absolutely want to go and stay at that hotel now.

I really hope we get more from Lizzy soon.

If we were still able to go on holiday for beach reads, this would be a great book to take- a sweet rom com starring Birdy, whose life isn't going too well, so she takes the place of her oldest friend Heather as a sommelier in an exclusive Scottish highland hotel. Throw in a hunky man or two, lots of outdoor romantic settings, a misunderstanding or two - plus lots of wine on hand- and we're away.