Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this book!
This book was a DNF at about the 30% mark.
Now I know I shouldn't compare books but I can't be the only one who thought this book would be an Emily Henry type of book, right? Especially with the cover and of course the title. This caused me to go into this book with high expectations and sadly it was not what I expected.
I think this book has potential. Some bits are good but some bits are also not very good. Some parts of the book didn't feel as flushed out as others, especially in the beginning where it felt to drag on for a while. Same with the characters, I didn't feel a connect of any sort with
them.
All in all I think this book would be an okay read if I were to give it another try but right now it's not on my tbr list or any future list of mine.

I just reviewed Holiday Read by Taylor Cole. #HolidayRead #NetGalley. I want to thank them for this opportunity.
This book was not at all what I expected since it had nothing to do with being on a holiday nor did it take place on a holiday.
Things I liked: I enjoyed the friendships of the women in the novel and how supportive they were of one another. However, I was not vested in the relationship and after everything the protagonist had been though in her marriage, I thought this was a poor match. Also, the plot was confusing and hard to follow.

What a privilege to read this as an advance copy! This would be a great book to read on your holidays! Set in Newquay in Cornwall, Candice is working in a café and also offering surf lessons. Candice has left her husband in Hawaii and is in Newquay for a specific reason which isn’t revealed at first so it kept me intrigued as to what her story was. Whilst working in the café she comes across Alexis, a stranger who sets himself up to work from one the tables. Its not until Alexis books a surf lesson that they really start to get to know each other. Everything is not as it seems though, and I loved how this developed throughout the book and the turns it took and how Candice’s life takes an unexpected turn. I was hooked on the story and how this story developed it’s a really light read and there are many laugh out loud moments in the book.
I loved reading about Newquay and enjoyed how the characters came to life, I wasn’t a fan of Makayla at first but she soon grew on me and I enjoyed the humour that her character brings to the story. I loved the friendships that developed and how the stories all pulled together for a great ending. Recommend this book, light, funny, intriguing with great characters,

Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book. It reminded me too much of beach read by Emily henry which I enjoyed way more. I'm sorry!

Thanks to NetGalley for this early read. I finished it which was a bonus but the story doesn’t really match the title and I had a hard time with the formatting and dialogue. There were times I had no idea what the characters were saying and it felt like the author knew more in their head that needed to be put on the paper. The main character was interesting but sometimes I had a hard time liking her and also wondered if her motives.

The resolution to her main reason for being in town happened real fast and I felt like it could have had more involvement. I also felt like the issues with her ex were also unresolved.

I really wanted to love this one!

I was so excited for this book and I tried so hard to like it, but I just couldn't get into it. It just felt all over the place and I didn't really enjoy the characters :(

It was a cute read. Like the characters of the couple. must read this book. go and read this now. read it today if you can. A total new fan.

I'm disappointed to say that I really struggled to get into this book. It wasn't until the 50% mark that I started to enjoy it. So I'd say I didn't love it, but didn't hate it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the ARC!

I'll start by saying that though I didn't love this book, I didn't dislike it either. I just wish there had been more. For me, it lacked depth. The romance was totally glossed over, and I wasn't convinced that there was any spark or passion between the FMC and MMCs. Then there were the random subplots throughout, which were interesting, but not fully explored. Again, I just wanted more.

I did love the blossoming friendship between Candice, Makayla, and Demi. It was natural and authentic. Makayla is hilarious (tit limpet and chub rub 🤣)! This is a group of woman that you want in your inner circle.

Lots of potential, and a cute idea, but too much going on to fully connect.

To be honest, I didn't have super high hopes for this one. In that sense, it didn't disappoint.

Based on the title and the description, I was expecting a beachy, summer romance. What I got was a messy love triangle amidst so many other subplots. Two words... too much.

The intention was there but the execution of all of the different plotlines was not successful. I was disappointed because even though there was a slow burn element, I wasn't rooting for anyone to fall in love... I couldn't remember backstories like her looking for her dad or her working through a divorce until they were randomly brought up at random moments in the story.

The only saving grace was the theme of female friendship and the beach setting, because who doesn't love the beach?

Thank you to Net Galley and Aria & Aries for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to love this book but I couldn't get there. It was only ok for me in the end.

I felt the author could cut at least 1/4 of the book and it would've been a more cohesive read. Too many unnecessary details, scenes, etc. just took me out of the story at different times.

Candice searching for her father was a great plotline but how she found him was just a bit too perfect. I don't think every book (or plotline in a book) needs a perfect HEA and this book didn't really play out the dramas in a way that I found satisfying.

I wouldn't recommend this book, unfortunately.

This book felt so casual and a little aloof until suddenly it didn’t. I felt like it was a light and breezy read with a borderline sinister undertone, and then suddenly it was a whirlwind of secrets and urgency and miscommunications. And I loved it.

The ending felt a little rushed, like I could have spent a few more days watching the loose ends get tidied up, but ultimately I liked the neatness after the lovely mess of a middle and all the complexities that came with it.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I rarely DNF books, but I just really couldn't get into this one, because I did not like any of the characters, and I really wasn't very enthralled by the plot either. I was especially uninterested in the dialogue between Candice and Makayla, and just felt that there wasn't actually much content to the book. I also didn't like Alexis at all, and felt as if he was constantly belittling women for his own pride. I thought that it was deceiving through its title, as this was not the up-beat, vacation read that I was expecting going into it based on the title and cover of the book. I feel bad saying all of this, and I wish that I had better things to offer, and other people may have very different opinions, but this book really just wasn't for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Aria for this ARC!

“Also, if I had time to spare, I’d use it to read a few more pages of the Unhoneymooners”
“There is my future, there is my chance, and I am here to take my shot”
Never too late to read a summer romance, right? Even if you’re closer to winter than the actual summer season but … who cares when you’re reading such a good book!!
I had real fun reading this book. A romance story worthy of Beach Read but where the main couple is not what it first seems !!!
Candice’s story went from betrayal to trying to figure out who she is and what she wants from her life and her past and I loved how much supportive and fun were the people around her when she is in Cornwall. A romance reader meets an author and his agent … what can go wrong right??
Honestly Alexis was such a crazy amazing character to meet and Daniel … well … I’m in love !! I don’t have anything to say.
I really liked how the author developed both the main plot of the story and the romance in it.
I’m really thankful I had the chance to read it and I cannot wait for this one to be out !!!
“It’s simple enough. Everyone loves romance”
“Proud people breed sad sorrows for themselves”

Holiday Read by Taylor Cole gets a 2/5 for me. The potential for a great romance book is there, but it didn’t totally do it for me.

I enjoyed Candice, the main character, and her group of friends. They felt well-written, fleshed out, and layered. However, I do not feel the same about Alexis. I am a massive fan of the sunshine/grumpy trope, but Alexis was just pretty awful with very few redeeming qualities.

The setting, a beach holiday, was lovely and I could absolutely see how a romance could unfurl in that setting. I just couldn’t begin to like Alexis, so it all just fell flat.

Thank you to NetGalley, Aria, and Taylor Cole for the opportunity to read and review this e-ARC. Holiday Read is out July 4, 2023.

I always enjoy a good romance novel. I like meet cutes, friends to lovers or enemies to lovers plots. Holiday Read had some good potential, a great location with a really likable main female character and great female friends. However, the main male character was really unlikable and based on some of the initial actions, I can understand why in some of the other reviews people did not finish the book. The last two thirds of the book improved slightly as we got to see more of a romance blossom between our main female character and a second male character. I mostly, however, enjoyed the scenes between all the female characters as they felt more authentic. Based on the title I was expecting something different and this book didn’t fully meet my expectations.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria for sending this book for review considerations. All opinions are my own.

“‘Everyone loves Bridgertion,’ he says, sighing. ‘You can never talk women out of it.’”

Thank you, Taylor Cole, Aria & Aries, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Available 05/11/23.

When romance-fanatic Candice meets writer Alexis, she thinks her happy ending is finally on its way. He walks into her struggling Cornish surf school, and they hit it off straight away. Until she discovers that Alexis has been using their courtship as inspiration for the romantic novel he’s struggling to write. When Alexis offers to bring her in on the deal if Candice helps him deliver a winning book to his publisher, she accepts, and along with Alexis’ agent Daniel, they embark on a very unusual summer of love, as Candice tries to teach the men the recipe for a successful romance. But you can’t have a great love story, without a great romantic hero. Will Candice find hers before the summer is over?

I want to preface this by saying I really wanted to like this book. I was hoping that it would be a romcom similar to the likes of “Beach Read” or “The People We Meet On Vacation”. It was not. I don’t know if this was suppose to be a grumpy/sunshine trope, but the male main character was completely insufferable. I’m talking that if I met a man like this in person I would be without words. He not only puts down mass market romance, but he also puts down major classical works written by women like “Pride and Prejudice”. There seemed to be some internalized misogyny going on here and I wasn’t a fan. I DNF’d this book 40% of the way in, because I could not stand how awful this character was when he was talking about women. Romance books already get looked down on, we don’t need a romance book with the entire premise doing just that. I gave the “Holiday Read” 1 ⭐️.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Yes, the characters could get annoying sometimes- the author did a great job of making Alexis a complete jerk that you just wanted to reach into the book and smack. And yes, the ending did feel a bit rushed… too many strings to tie together, I think, to satisfy all the loose ends. But overall, I found myself highlighting entire passages that spoke to me (some probably because they discussed my favorite author, Jane Austen), and that definitely elevates a book in my humble opinion. I’ll be looking forward to additional works from this author.

I was so disappointed with this book. The characters were all so disjointed, I didn’t believe for one minute they would even be friends with each other so when a romance suddenly developed, it felt really forced. There didn’t really seem to be a storyline just people lurching from one event to the next. Unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend this.

Let me first say thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Truthfully, I only made it 25% in before I had to DNF the book! The male character epitomizes every reason why romance novels get a bad rap.