This book is a total breath of fresh air. It has food, wine, a beautiful Scottish setting, romance, laughter, and a great big heart. I really loved it!

I mean, where do I even start with the questionable decision-making skills of Birdy Finch?! Heading off to Scotland to pose as a world-class sommelier who also happens to be your best friend, without telling her?? Her boyfriend, Tim..? 🤮 And there are plenty of other missteps along the way, for sure.

But, you know, you sort of can’t be mad with her because, ironically, she kind of can’t help being completely herself the whole time. The amazing cast of characters at the hotel accept Birdy into their fold despite some near-disasters and even though she is absolutely not what they were expecting. Chef James was a particular favourite of mine – I wouldn’t mind a few cooking lessons from him!

I have to admit that I was a bit sceptical that there could possibly be a happy ending considering the complete pickle Birdy had gotten herself into. But I was definitely hoping there would be! Because I just loved her and because who doesn’t love a happily ever after?!

The Summer Job is such a fun, uplifting read, which I would definitely recommend! With thanks to Viking for gifting me a digital copy to review.

What a hilarious story! I loved how the author portrayed Birdy , our main character . A young woman who’s life is in a great mess and gets worse with each attempt to make it better. Think Bridget Jones type and you’re al set up for a great few hours of reading.
I laughed so hard at some of her antics and some side characters have made up for some perfect encounters especially the wine tasting ones.
Perfect for any light reading with a glass or wine next to you and the fact that’s it’s made into a tv series it makes it even more a must read story.

The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent

The Summer Job is thoroughly enjoyable romantic comedy set in a posh hotel in Scotland. Warm and lighthearted , this novel is bursting with believable characters and a story that trots along at just the right pace. (I hate how some books in this genre seem to drag on towards the end)
I loved Birdy, I loved the story and I loved all the delicious food & wine references too!
I also really enjoyed this narration by Emma Sid. She did a fantastic job of bringing all the characters and their different voices/accents to life.
The Summer Job is a perfect Summer Read and one I highly recommend.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and to Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really, really enjoyed this book. This is going to be such a fun summer read that everyone will be talking about.

I loved loved premise of Birdie trying to pass herself off as her friend Heather who is an excellent sommelier. It was fun watching as Birdie tried to stumble her way through services, guessing her way through.

I loved all the characters, they each felt so individual and personable. I did find Birdie was maybe slightly irritating at times but nothing that hindered my enjoyment of the story.

While the story line of Birdie trying to pass as Heather was entertaining, I also enjoyed the wider storyline of the employees trying to make the hotel a success. Of course, the side story of Heather & her boyfriend was great too.

Overall this was a really enjoyable, light hearted story that gave me Bridget Jones vibes.

4⭐ from me!

Thank you to Viking Books, NetGalley & Lizzy Dent in exchange for an honest review.

This was a super story that I could just pick up and get right back into it, characters that even sounded like they were there. Well written, easy read for a first book so I am looking forward to the next one by Lizzy. The area this is set in sounds so lovely and makes you want to visit, in the summer though. I was pleased it didn’t load you up with all the details about wine but just enough to keep you interested and wanting to find out more. I had never heard of a sommelier before but when I googled it, the wine waiter came up lol Personally I think we should have more sommeliers as it is nice to know which wine would go really well with your meal.

Brilliant happy, funny story for the summer.

I really enjoyed this book - the book's narrator's sarcasm had me in stitches. I think the author did a great job at portraying a multi-layered character and although I couldn't help but shake my head at her antics at points throughout the story, towards the end I really understood why she did what she did and I truly felt sympathy for her.

I'd recommend this to fans of British contemporary fiction and authors like Beth O'Leary.

There are some funny books that leave you smiling or even chuckling to yourself. The Summer Job will make you truly guffaw in cathartic bursts - something I really needed as I'm sure many others will too. I still think comedy is one of most underappreciated skills, and to my delight, Lizzy Dent is so effortlessly hilarious with fresh, original jokes to hand after years of the same cliches I've gotten used to. But this is not just full of laughs, it's brightly warm. At its heart, is a story about feeling dizzying lost and snowballing into a series of mistakes you have to painfully claw yourself out (relatable and immensely fun to read). It's also about friendship, respect and best of all - an instant romance - very different to the usual slow burn that has become a common, increasingly frustrating trope. Thank you so much to Viking Books for the advance copy and for inviting me to the launch. xx

A really enjoyable summer read; it reminded me a lot of the Shopaholic books (showing my age!) where the main character is consistently making terrible life decisions but you fall in love with her anyway and desperately want it to work out in the end. Birdy was adorable and extremely funny, and the whole cast of characters were incredibly lovable. I loved the found family element to the story, as they all found their stride together at the hotel, and the romance as sweet & charming. Overall, a total feel good read!

I enjoyed the story despite being light it had a serious side. The premise of the book was interesting and put the main character in a series of believable but unusual situations. Friendships and relationships play a key role and give substance to the story. I would look out for more by this author.

Summery and fun with a gorgeous setting including a lovely hotel and lots of wine!

Birdy Finch is is jobless and temporarily homeless when her best friend Heather leaves on a last minute holiday, asking Birdy to let her new hotel job know that she won't be able to make it. Seeing a solution to her problems, as well as the opportunity for a summer get-away of her own, Birdy decides to pose as Heather and take the job instead. What she expects to be a laid back, wine-filled few weeks away becomes a lot more complicated when she discovers the cosy Scottish hotel is in the midst of a Michelin star fuelled renovation, and they're expecting Birdy to be a top class sommelier!

Birdy moves from one disastrous decision to the next in a narrative that never fails to entertain. The Summer Job's beautiful Scottish setting will leave you desperate for a Highland getaway (and a trip to a fancy restaurant once it's allowed again!)

This novel has excellent romance, of course, but also some brilliant friendships. I loved the bonds Birdy makes with her new colleagues (as well as the crazy complications of becoming friends with someone who thinks you are somebody else).

Romantic comedy at its best. Would love to see this made into a movie!

The main character "Birdy" Finch isn't very successful at relationship commitments, jobs or even keeping a roof over her head. She has a best friend called Heather, who is confident, totally focused and very successful as a sommelier.

Heather is offered a job at a run down hotel in Scotland but decides instead to jet off to Italy with her boyfriend. This is when Birdy decides to take her best friend's identity (as she had done in the past) and take the job in her place. What could be difficult about recommending wines to customers at a small hotel in a quiet town in Scotland?

Birdy is a fabulous character and I warmed to her immediately. Through all her blunders we get to see that she grows to be hard working, passionate about her job and cares about others around her.

There were so many laugh out loud moments for me, especially when Birdy opened a bottle of champagne and the cork hit her in the face!

Although this is a romantic comedy it also deals really well with some more serious family issues. All these were written perfectly and gave us an insight into Birdy's upbringing.

The romance with James was somewhat predictable (but isn't that what we want from a romcom)?

All the support characters in the book were believable and the whole story blended together nicely.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes Romcoms. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. A great summer read to give you that feel good factor.

Many thanks to netgalley, the publisher and the author for an arc. So happy to discover a new author.

They say ‘fake it til you make it’, but what if you take it too far and fake being another person?

In ‘The Summer Job’, Lizzy Dent takes a disaster waiting to happen premise and turns it into a funny, charming and heartfelt story about wanting to belong and be loved.

Birdy Finch is down on her luck with no job and no home. Her only support system is her best friend Heather who, unlike Birdy, has a burgeoning career as an expert sommelier and owns her own flat. After Heather skips out on a summer job in Scotland to be with her new boyfriend in Italy, and Birdy is mistaken for her at a wine industry event, it seems like a no brainer for Birdy to continue the charade and go to Scotland.

Personally I’m not a fan of stories where the main character gets caught up in a snowballing lie, gets close to the people they’re deceiving and cringe waiting for inevitable fall out, but this book had me cheering for Birdy to succeed.

It’s a credit to Dent for creating a well-rounded character in Birdy, a woman who has had to cope with an alcoholic father and gaslighting mother. She’s funny and clever, able to size people up and act accordingly to charm them (a very good skill in hospitality, but lacks the confidence and support to find her niche. I loved her funny observations about people and her sarcastic one liners.

Additionally I loved the secondary characters and Dent seamlessly woven in backstories for them, along with serious issues such as alcoholism and parental abandonment.

This book is a true delight and another one to add to your burgeoning TBR pile.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking/Penguin for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Birdy is in trouble. She barely has any money left and can't afford to stay where she is. She is pretty much out of options. So, when her best friend, Heather, calls her to tell her she ran to Italy following the man she loves and asks Birdy to call the job she was supposed to take to say she won't be coming. But things happen and Birdy ends up going to Scotland herself, pretending to be Heather. How hard can it be to be a sommelier, right? Especially in a rundown place. Except the place has been renovated and is now a luxury hotel and restaurant…

I was given this ARC because "I liked Beach Read" and I did. But this was nowhere close to Beach Read.
Truth be told, I hadn't read the synopsis before I accepted the invitation to read this and maybe I should have. I just… did not like this. At all.
I didn't like any of the characters. I really really didn't like Birdy or Heather. I found the love interest to be just meh and bland. All around, I found the characters to be pretty one-dimensional. And I wasn't into the plot either. I just found the entire thing to be disrespectful of the food service industry… I was so so surprised to found out that the author had actually worked in hospitality. Birdy thinking she could just be a sommelier anywhere without training or experience was really upsetting, as was Heather not bothering to call the person who had hired her for a competitive job to go on a holiday instead.
A lot of things also didn't make sense. I feel like employers check IDs and stuff like that and draw contracts before someone starts a job, no? Well, not here.
The main character also didn't make sense, it's like she changed personality from page to page. It just wasn't consistant. She was, however, consistant in her selfishness, from start to finish.
The only thing I did like was the setting. Gotta love Scotland.

Yeah, just a big miss for me... Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh

*3.5⭐️

Birdy has never been someone who's sure about what she wants to do in life. But when she accidentally ends up impersonating her best friend, Heather, Birdy sees it as an opportunity for some fun. However Birdy is out of her depth. She must pretend be a wine expert at a hotel in Scotland, all while trying to be someone else. She also finds herself falling for the chef, when he doesn't even know her real name. Can Birdy convince the staff she's a different person without Heather finding out?

I really enjoyed Birdy as a main character. She's definitely lost when we first meet her. She has a rough family life so her best friend Heather is all she's really got. I loved seeing her grow in confidence throughout the book. She's quite a funny and charming character.

I really enjoy the premise of the book and think it was well delivered for the most part. The overall pacing of the story was good in my opinion, until the ending. I found it not very satisfying and a bit rushed.

Please take my review with a grain of salt as while I have read women's fiction that I enjoyed, I don't tend to gravitate towards it. Therefore I found the romance to be cute, but ultimately not very exciting as there's more of a focus on Birdy and her development. This is in on way a critique or a bad thing. I have just come to realise that I prefer to read contemporary romance than this kind of book.

From the small bits we saw of it, I liked how the nature was written. I felt transported to the Scottish countryside.

As for the rest of the characters, they were well done in my opinion. I loved the rapport that Birdy had with the rest of the staff. I felt very natural and like she found somewhere she belonged.

All in all, I thought this was a decent read, perfect for the summertime. Having said that I personally can't rate it more than 3.5/5 as I will forget it soon enough. I do think it's good for it's genre though.

This was a mostly light-hearted read with a few laughs a long the way. It did have a more serious underlying tone where the main character is tangled in her own lies of trying to do the right thing and for that you could only feel sorry for her.

The setting did make me want to have my own holiday in a quaint hotel in Scotland but other than that didn't bring very much excitement. Overall it's an easy read with a sprinkling of romance which I would probably suggest is enjoyed best in just a few sittings rather than drawing it out.

I’ve been postponing this review for months, not because I didn’t like it but because it was so sunny and shining that I wasn’t sure I would empower it enough.
This is a book of hope for second chances, to follow our dreams and fight for them; because we are the only ones that can fulfill them!
Birdy Finch life’s blocked, so she decides to take her friend’s discarded job, in a remote village in Scotland. Because, even if she doesn’t know anything about wines, for sure it will not be so difficult to be the sommelier, or at least that’s what she thinks (or hopes!).
This is a story full of light and hopes; there’s romance, friendship and a long list of delicious wines, what more can you need to disconnect? 😉
I like when a story moves you, gives you electricity to make some changes in your life; because let’s be honest, Birdy is a good person, but she really doesn’t know what she loves/hates or what to do with her life, she simply “lives” but taking this job will change her life. Not because she likes to be a sommelier but because she wants the hotel to succeed and to not disappoint the friends and co-workers that have started trusting her. This will be a long and difficult journey for Birdy, she will have to make changes in her life but when dreams start feeling real you would do anything to avoid losing them. The main character of this story is Birdy, but all the secondary ones have their own place and story to tell, making the read more full and with a real touch.
This is a happy book, it will lift your mood and warm your heart; are you ready to take “The Summer Job”?

The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent is about Birdy, who always screws up her jobs, and chooses the wrong man.  Heather, her best friend, is a sommelier, and chooses to follow a man to Italy, instead of taking up a position in a Scottish hotel and restaurant that she was due to start.  Birdy is currently penniless and homeless, and so she winds up taking the job.  After all, how hard could the job be?

Hard, as it turns out.  There are cringeworthy moments, but this is written so well, with such an enjoyable story that I raced through the book.

If you like Beth O'Leary or Laura Jane Williams, then you'll enjoy this book!

 The Summer Job  was published on 15th April 2021, and is available on  Amazon ,  Waterstones  and  Bookshop.org .

You can follow Lizzy Dent on  Twitter ,  Facebook ,  Instagram  and her  website .

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, and so my thanks to NetGalley and to  Penguin .

This was warm, sweet and so much fun. I didn't want to put it down. The perfect book to cheer you up

My thanks to Penguin General U.K./Vintage for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Summer Job’ by Lizzy Dent in exchange for an honest review.

This proved a delightful romantic comedy. Elizabeth ‘Birdy’ Finch is between jobs. Her best friend, Heather, has accepted a summer job at Loch Dorn, a hotel in Scotland. Yet Heather decides instead to go to Italy with her new boyfriend and asks Birdy to call and tell the hotel that she wouldn’t be coming.

Heather describes Loch Dorn as being a “rundown old place in the middle of nowhere”, and as Birdy has some experience of bar and waitressing work, she adopts Heather’s identity and takes the job. What could possibly go wrong? Well first off Heather is a world class wine expert and the hotel has recently been extensively renovated and is now hoping to gain a Michelin Star rating with its new fine dining menu and wine list. As the restaurant’s sommelier, Birdy is expected to suggest suitable wines to customers and also pair wines with the daily menu.

Birdy didn’t tell Heather what she was going to do and certainly doesn’t want to ruin her friend’s professional reputation. In addition, she really likes other members of the staff. Whoops! Can she bluff her way through the summer? What about her attraction to James, the handsome chef who is the manager’s son?

This was great fun and everything that I look for in a romantic comedy: great escapism, light-hearted, and heartwarming. In her acknowledgments Lizzy Dent writes that the novel is a love letter to her time living and working in hospitality in Scotland. She also invests the novel with a vivid sense of its Highland locations.

Following my enjoyment of this appealing novel, I will look forward to news of Lizzy Dent’s future projects.

Sweet, warm, character-driven.

I did feel as if the ending was a little undeserved, just because the important parts were off page!