This book was not for me. The writing was all over the place and lost me so many times. I wanted to like this so much with it being said that it’s great for fans of Emily Henry, but it feels kind of like a joke that this writing was compared to Emily Henry. It’s not even on the same level. This needs some major editing and rewrites to make it a sellable book

📖 ARC REVIEW 📖

Thank you Aria & Aries for an early copy of Holiday Read by Taylor Cole. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🤍

Blurb from Goodreads:
The ultimate sexy and escapist rom com for book and beach lovers. Will delight fans of Emily Henry and Josie Silver. 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?

The blurb was very interesting which was why I requested to read an ARC of this story, but it the storyline itself felt like a mess. I found the main characters bland as well. I tried to enjoy it until the end, but I’m sorry to say I wish I hadn’t wasted my time reading this.

Rating Holiday Read ⭐/5.

While I loved the setting and premise of this book, I unfortunately found this book to be both boring and annoying, with Candice’s inner monologue to often go on for way too long. This book in general was a bit long for me; it seemed to drag out, and I found myself groaning and asking it to just get to the point.

I also found the multitude of pop culture references to be a bit annoying. Talking about Bridgerton and WAP seemed to date it immediately, and I found myself cringing through them. I also thought it was an interesting choice to include so many Jane Austen references — not everyone is going to understand those.

Most of all, I found this book to be predictable. I didn’t like Alexis from the beginning, and I thought it was so obvious that she was into Daniel, so why didn’t she just go for him instead??? It was frustrating and annoying.

GENERAL INFO

Year Pub: 5/11/23

Date read: 5/18/23

Format: Kindle

Source: e-ARC. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Page Count: 396

Setting: Newquay, England

Genre: CR, Rom-Com, sports romance

Tropes: small beach town, slow burn romance

Standalone/Cliffhanger/Part of a Series: standalone

HEA/HFN ending: HEA

Epilogue Included: no

Character(s)POV Spoken: h Candice

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Synopsis/Plot Summary: Romance-fanatic Candice meets writer Alexis. He takes lessons at her struggling Cornish surf school, and they hit it off. 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.
-From Amazon

M/F-M/M-M/M/F-etc: M/F

Representation: romance writers and readers, gay couple, being Hawaiian and Cornish(customs/lifestyle)

Contains Cheating: yes, Candice's husband cheated on her w/ her bff

Contains Children: no

Flashbacks: yes, Candice recounts her deceased mother meeting her father and life w/o father @ home. Also thinks back to her marriage "red flags" about Joseph.

Jealy/Possy/OTT H/h : no

Amount of Sex In The Book: none, but there's a little nudity

Overall Smex Rating: 1

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION

Hero: Daniel

Hero Description: Alexis' literary agent. Comes from London to help Alexis with his new novel. Runs interference between Alexis and Candice after she finds notebook of Alexis using her words and likeness w/o permission. Gets her to agree to be co-writer and researcher for money.

Hero Likability Rating: 5

Heroine: Candice

Heroine Description: 29, from Hawaii. Gives surf lessons and waitresses @ Demigorgons Cafe. Moved to Newquay, lives in a van on Demi's property in search of something. Romance fanatic, dreams of being a travel writer. Separated from husband but still wears wedding ring to keep men away-not looking for relationship/fling. Still grieving death of her mother, was not supported by husband.

Heroine Likability Rating: 4

Secondary characters:
Alexis- 32, "Laptop Guy" Candice meets @ Demigorgons. Gives him a surf lesson, friend turned colleague. He's writing a romance novel. Doing research and uses Candice for it.
Demi- Owner of Demigorgons. Mother figure to Candice-compassionate, protective.
Makayla-24, coworker, sister figure. Helped her w/ job and place to stay when she came to England.
Jeremy-55, Demigorgons chef, gay and married to Elliott.
Joseph-Candice's husband. Cheated w/ ex bff Issy and got her pregnant. He and Candice had surf shop together. He never wanted kids, wanted Candice at home cooking and cleaning.
Rick-Candice's brother, worried about her and wants her home.
Janice-Candice's deceased mother

H /h RELATIONSHIP INFO

OW/OM/Exes: Candice's husband-Joseph. He was a controlling, selfish, narcissist.

Cheating Before/During/Outside H/h Relationship: yes, Candice cheated on before meeting Daniel.

CONTENT WARNINGS/TRIGGERS
parental death, abusive husband, grief

AUTHOR OVERVIEW
Taylor Cole
New or read before & any favorites: new author

PERSONAL OVERVIEW

Overall Rating: 3*

Do You Recommend This Book: yes

Will You Re-read This Book: no

Would You Read More Books by this Author: yes

Who's the audience: avid book lovers, great beach read

COMMENTS/NOTES: I was confused by Alexis' motivations. He was so flighty. Did he even have feelings for Candice? He was selfish but, Candice held her own against him, especially when he was inappropriate with her. She challenged his crazy takes and tolerated his wandering. I liked Makayla's character the most. She made no apologies for dating and sleeping around. She was very comfortable in her own skin. I loved her profess wanting marriage and kids to shocked just proclaimed boyfriend Travis. I liked this novel, notwithstanding having to google a lot of British slang.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Candice and Alexis. Candice runs a surf shop and Alexis is an author. There is an instant attraction. Candice thinks she has found her happy ending. Candice figures out that Alexis has had trouble writing his novel so he is using her and his relationship to write his novel. Alexis offers to bring Candice in on the writing of the novel. There are some problems but they work them out.

Oh hey Taylor Cole, can we be besties?

So, I have a life update .

I found a new author to obsess over . Taylor Cole is everything I never knew I needed in my life and Holiday Read slipped right into my number one spot of most favored books of this year.

To think I was once a “I only read thrillers” kinda gal.

Wow, I was quite the snob.

I’m glad I finally saw the light and jumped on the Romance/RomCom train .

Holiday Read is the perfect book to pack up in your tote and head to the beach .

The characters all flawed but real, will steal your heart. The flow of the chapters was executed with perfection and I love how the ending came to tie everything together.

This book screams “summer hit”

Don’t take my word for it, this showstopper is free on kindle unlimited

Teaser :

The ultimate escapist rom com for book and beach lovers! Perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Josie Silver.

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?

Candice meets Alexis when he is on holiday in the town in Cornwall where she is currently living and working. Then she meets Daniel, and things become more complicated. A great read.

Did not love this one, it felt choppy and disjointed at times. I did enjoy the honesty between characters and how they felt like real people.

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

This one was just not for me. Unfortunately, I added this to my list of DNF reads. I just couldn't get into the characters and it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I love reading to escape especially when I am feeling stressed and romcoms are my absolute favorite. This one just missed the mark for me.

I hate to join the chorus of DNF-ers, but I made it to about halfway through (it's hard to tell because my e-proof had a lot of formatting nonsense at the back it turned out) and then skipped to the end and read the last ten percent, because it didn't seem like it was getting better, only worse. And amusingly there was some good news there, but it wasn't enough to make me want fill in the gap that I'd missed.

I don't think the cover and the comps really do this any service at all - I found it neither funny nor romantic, and having read the new Emily Henry a week or two back that has some serious stuff in it but it is all balanced with actual humour and not... well whatever this is.

This is a straightforward story with few unexpected twists or turns. While it has its flaws, it still offers a pleasant escape for readers seeking a simple and undemanding story. At the end of the day I just feel bad for this woman and was surprised to find a familiar storyline.

I could not finish this book which is something that's very hard for me. I do not DNF a book often but I just couldn't get behind this one.

It wasn't a lighthearted beach read and the premise wasn't great. It felt like Alexis was exploiting Candace and going behind her back.

I could not see what she saw in him and the chemistry was not believable.

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
Ehhh this one was okay. I wanted to enjoy it but it just fell flat

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Surfing
Unique plots
Found family
Strong female friendships
Character development

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
The setting

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
The characters weren’t really relatable
There were a lot of words/references I had to look up
The way Alexis acted
There was too much going on

Candice is a long way from home. She grew up on the water in Hawaii and sufing is second nature to her. Here in Cornwall England she is surfing, living out of a van and working at a cafe. When a stranger walks into the cafe and takes up the best table to type at his laptop Candice starts a journey of self discovery. She will learn who her friends are and what is her true calling in life.

But so many questions. Why is Candice in Cornwall? Is she running to something or running away from something? What will happen when her past catches up with her? And who is the true hero of this story?

This was more of a fiction than strict romance. It is a story about Candice learning more about herself and who are her true family. I found it a little long winded and I had to push through to finish this one. Not really what I am looking for in a book but I did learn that there is actually surfing in England, which was enlightening for for me, an Australian with an English mother.

This one just wasn't for me. I was expecting something different when I read the description/title. It is also long and took everything for me to get to 40% before not finishing.

Holiday Read by Taylor Cole was just ok for me. It took a little for me to get into it and even then I struggled for most of the book. There is not a whole lot of romance, small glances/touches, or anything like that, which is something that I love about romance novels. I would not classify this as a romance. The story was off and I went into it hoping for more.

Based on the cover I thought this would be a lot like Emily Henry's book Beach Read. While there may be some similarities, the plots are different. Candace is trying to start over after leaving her cheating husband behind. Candace is a romance reader and when she meets Alexis, a romance author she thinks it might just be love. Things however take a turn when she discovers that this author is using her as inspiration for his next novel. This was a fun read and I enjoyed the chemistry between all the characters.

I've tried really hard to like this book but it's not for me. It's labeled as a romcom and it's really not. Candice leaves Hawaii after a failed marriage with an emotionally and verbally abusive husband who cheats on her with her best friend and said best friend is now pregnant. She comes to Cornwall to find her bio father and finds herself sleeping in a quasi-camper van, working at a tourist cafe, and trying to start a surfing school. She meets Alexis, a handsome writer who takes up space at the best table in the cafe while not ordering anything and slightly befriends him enough to help him write a romance novel so he can make the most money possible.

While this book may have good intentions, it just falls flat. The possible romance with Alexis (whose first novel was deeply misogynistic) turns into a possible romance with his friend/literary agent, Daniel. The best part of the book was the friendship between Candice, her boss Demi, and her coworker Makayla. Their friendship/found family was great and I wish that was what the book was about and not this romance thing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for this eARC.

This was a pretty good book. It took a little for me to get into it and even then I struggled for most of the book, but once I figure out that it is not your typical romance, then I was able to get more into it. There is not a whole lot of romance, small glances/touches, or anything like that, which is something that I love about romance novels. If that is something that you can enjoy, then I would recommend!

I'm very thankful to have been given an ARC of this book from Netgalley. For me it was a miss, though. The story just didn't really resonate with me. I pushed through because it felt like the right thing to do. I hoped it would pick up or get interesting, unfortunately it never did. I feel like a lot happened, but nothing happened. I wouldn't even be able to give specific examples of things I liked, because I can't remember any.