A great beach read about a young woman at loose ends who learns to respect herself and find a place to belong after pretending to be her best friend to get a job at Scottish resort for the summer. Great character development, with a plot that keeps the reader turning the pages.

Imagine Bridget Jones trying to fake her way through being a sommelier.
Heather Finch, “Birdy”, has been best friends with Elizabeth since they were six years old. Their family lifestyles were pretty opposite. Elizabeth had a wealthy father (widower) who made his money in the wine business and gave Elizabeth everything she ever wanted. Birdy grew up with an alcoholic father and a mother who spent alot of time covering this up, sometimes to the extent of letting Birdy take the blame for her father’s mistakes. Birdy’s relationship with her parents is non-existent, so when Elizabeth (also her roommate) wants to run away to Italy with her ‘boyfriend’ for the summer, it leaves Birdy without a place to stay. Birdy’s boyfriend, Tim, won’t invite her to stay with him and she definitely does not want to go home to her parents. So why not pretend to be your best friend, a sommelier, at a run down Scottish Hotel for the summer. Who would know? Well, the hotel ends up not being so run down and the kitchen is run by a well known tyrant of a Chef named Russell (imagine Gordon Ramsey). During Birdy’s ruse as Heather, she finds friendship, a sense of purpose, and love. It is a cute and enjoyable story. I just wish that the pace at the beginning of the novel moved a bit faster or at least included bigger climactic events, so much happened in the last quarter of the book. There is a little sub-plot twist that I was not expecting. I could easily visualize the characters, flaws and all, although I was not terribly fond of any of them. Not sure if I would quite categorize it as a Rom-Com, not alot of Rom and some Com…so maybe Rom-Com lite? This is a nice light summer read. #TheSummerJob #NetGalley

I sadly couldn't get into this one very well. I didn't find the main character to be super likeable. I ended up more frustrated with the character to just tell the truth!! This was a fun premise, and a quick read once I finally got into after 5 or 6 chapters.

This book was a delight to read. I was excited to see blurbs from some of my favorite authors on the jacket, including “Beach Read” author Emily Henry. “The Summer Job” did a fantastic job establishing its setting and writing believably about the hospitality industry. I was fully immersed both in the world of hospitality and in the gorgeous, remote Scottish landscape Lizzy Dent brought to life. Dent’s characters, especially Birdy, feel fresh and relatable. After reading the interview with Dent where she mentions some characters from TV and movies that she drew from for Birdy’s character, I think she did a spot-on job of writing a flawed, yet likable female protagonist that you can’t help but root for. While Birdy is the main character, the author fleshes out the other characters well, making them feel like real people with their own stories, shortcomings and aspirations. While I would have been interested to learn more about some of their histories, that’s just a testament to how Dent got me invested in these characters. The writing is clean and easy to read, but Dent’s specific descriptions of food, drink and nature are beautifully detailed. The dialogue felt realistic to me as well. The story allows for its main character to grow over the course of the book, but no so much so that it feels forced. The themes, of feeing directionless when everyone around you seems to have their lives together, and of the importance of family—biological or not, really resonate. Whether you’re looking for a fun summer read with depth, a literary escape to Scotland, a story you can get emotionally invested in, or all of the above, I’d definitely recommend “The Summer Job.”

This book was so much fun! I loved it. I laughed so hard and definitely wanted to be friends with Birdy. If you are looking for a fun summer read, look no further!

Despite a rather implausible set up, this book was a lot of fun. It makes for a great summer read - just the right amount of frothy.

DNF @ 40%
This story focuses on Birdy, she took a summer job in Scotland pretending to be her best friend Heather, a noted wine expert. She knows nothing about wine, except how to drink it. DNF at 40%, While the writing was good, I found that nothing was really happening with the story line or the romance. I became bored pretty early on, but I pushed myself to read another 20 % hoping that it would pick up, but never did. Birdy just kept trying to hide she had know idea what she was doing and kept getting injured which made up the first half of the story I read. I found both main characters to be childish, making poor judgement choices, especially for a noted and rising wine connoisseur. It that really did not fit with how successful she was. Overall, nothing was happening, the romance storyline was barely there. It came off as juvenile and very frustrating.
Trigger warnings: Alcoholism
I received this advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

Liked it and enjoyed the read, but didn't love it. Felt more like women's fiction than romance. But I enjoyed the characters and the setting quite a lot!

Lizzy Dent’s debut novel is a fun foray into the world of fine dining and wine pairing. The story is set in Scotland, at Loch Dorn, an upscale Michelin Star restaurant. In this case of mistaken identity, the heroine, Elizabeth (Birdy) Finch, finds herself acting as their sommelier. It’s a job she knows virtually nothing about but thinks she can fake it, until she sees the 20-page wine list. Birdy, along with the reader, gets a crash course in fine wine and food, and learns the beauty and hospitality of the Scottish west coast. There is humor and charm galore from beginning to end, as Birdy does her best to be herself, while pretending to be someone else. A fun summertime read. Bon appetit!

This was a great chick lit read, but something happened while reading this that I don’t usually experience - I couldn’t help but feel SO ANGRY at the main character, Birdy, for how she treats her best friend! Once I got over it and reminded myself that it was a work of fiction, I really did like the plot and how well the characters and setting were established.

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

This book perfectly filled the Sweetbitter sized hole in my bookshelf that's been living there since I finished that novel. I was happy to escape to the world of Scottland and emerge myself into the unknown world of wine with Birdy, as she ventured on this crazy journey. The cast of characters she met along the way were an added, lovely bonus.

I thought this was great!! I loved the character development and it was just the right pace. The story itself was familiar, yet completely unique. I would definitely read more from this author.

#TheSummerJob #NetGalley
Lizzy Dent’s, The Summer Job will not disappoint. It is a story about Elizabeth “Birdy” Finch, a woman whose childhood had much to be desired. In place of her family, she has her wonderful childhood friend, Heather, who has a love for wine and a much better home life.
An opportunity for Birdy to change her uneventful life arises when Heather decides she would rather run off with her boyfriend to Italy than to show up for a job as a sommelier at an Inn/Restaurant in Scotland. Unbeknownst to Heather, Birdy takes on her identity and becomes an uneducated sommelier at that Inn. Through a comedy of errors, new friendships, and love, Birdy discovers more about herself and where she wants to be in life.
This was a wonderful summer read, and so entertaining. I would strongly recommend it to all who love a heartwarming, funny story. Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons for this ARC.

I was drawn to the description of this book having worked in a restaurant with no experience. Birdy is a 31-year old hot mess. Her best friend, Heather, is a well-known sommelier who bails on a job in remote Scotland at the last minute to travel to Italy with a love interest. Birdy is without a job or a place to live, so she takes Heather's place at the "run-down" inn to have both. Impersonating Heather and her wine knowledge, Birdy has a series of mistakes and cringe-worthy moments. The Scottish Inn is not so run down as it is undergoing a ren0vation, has a new and improved extensive wine list and a Michelin-rated chef. Will Birdy be found out? Will she find her passion? Will she sink or swim?

I loved the restaurant aspects of this book: the long hours, comradery and drama. Lizzy Dent's characters were inspired by people she worked with and entirely relatable.

Thank you to Penguin Group PUTNAM and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

For some reason, I came into this book with low expectations but I really loved it. Birdy comes from a horrible family background-her only grounding relationship is with her friend Heather. Heather comes from a lovely family background but has a hard time finding a committed healthy relationship with a man. At the beginning of the story, Birdy is lost professionally and personally with nowhere to turn. Heather has decided not to take a sommelier job in Scotland but instead to run off to Italy with the unsuitable Christian. She lets Birdy make the call to the resort to decline the job. Birdy instead tries to take the job in Scotland in order to escape her life in London. How hard can it be to be a sommelier? Ummm ;). I found Birdy a little unlikeable up until this point but I really had to root for her as she tried very hard to be 'Heather'. I loved the little family of people at the restaurant/resort in Scotland. I won't get into any more of the story in order not to reveal any spoilers but it was really enjoyable.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC in return for my honest, albeit late, review.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. There were times I wanted to stop reading and other times when I really liked it. Overall I think it was a little long and parts could have been cut out.

I went into this book after a slog of books I just did NOT enjoy and was dreading another meh read. Thankfully The Summer Job finally was the book to break from the dulls I've been reading.

Normally I HATE this kind of premise where the main character in a book is lying and being deceitful but I bought the reasoning in this book and the background behind it. While I still was annoyed it wasn't the deal breaker it can be.

The best part of this book is the setting. The author does an amazing job drawing up the area in your mind and the hotel this takes place at.

I also loved all the characters in this book - they all were flawed but enjoyable in their own ways.

Definitely an enjoyable read I was delighted to spend time with!

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Summer Job’ by Lizzy Dent was a cute summer read! It definitely wasn’t too deep or thought provoking but entertaining to say the least. And I learned SO MUCH about wines! I can say that because my knowledge is minimal. There’s red, there’s white, there’s bubbles. 😂😂😂

Once you know the synopsis of this book, you pretty much know how it will end.

Heather and Birdy are best friends. Heather is a sommelier (a wine expert) and seemingly has it all together. Birdy has no passion and is just kind of coasting through life. When Heather decides she doesn’t want to spend her summer working at a ‘run down hotel’ in the Scottish countryside, Birdy goes in her place. I mean, what else does she have to do? Just drink her days away with her lousy boyfriend Tim. Of course Heather doesn’t KNOW that Birdy is impersonating her, as she is summering in Italy. And obviously while Birdy is at this hotel faking her way with minimal knowledge of wine, she falls for James, a cute chef. Oops!

This book was a fun read, I chuckled a few times and it made me quite thirsty! I enjoyed most of the characters but not so much Birdy… and she was the main character! She was just so self centered and careless. James is too good for her. Anyway… she did get better. There were a few unexpected bits but mostly it was not a very surprising end.

I do want to point out that impersonating someone like this is major fraud. What about signing employment papers and what not? Like, if Heather was this huge sommelier shouldn’t they have know what she looked like?? Minor details, clearly.

Thank you @putnambooks and @netgalley for providing me with the physical book and the digital copy! Read this book if you enjoy light rom-coms (no steam) and witty banter.

I had to remove this title from my TBR because I have too many novels committed to.
This rating is not a reflection of the author's writing or the quality of the book. It was simply cut from my stack as I have other books that are calling to me more strongly.