Merry runs away to her godmother's chateau in France when her crush Leo marries her sister, there he meets again with Noah, Leo's best friend and the broodiest sexiest man ever who is renting the castle, and there is only one bed...

This book is just perfect, nothing is missing.
Mary in Noah are a cute couple, and the food descriptions are magnificent.

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have received a copy from Net Galley. This is an honest review.

Wow, I had not expected this book to be so much fun! I picked it up because I wanted to read something light and romantic and thought to give it a go. I was correct on the light and romantic part, but this story has more layers than I thought.

Ok, so Merry is this American girl whose sister is marrying her best friend, Leo, who Merry secretly loves. After a roller coaster of personal and professional emotions, she decides to take her one-of-a-kind godmother’s advice and sets off to live in a French chateau for 3 months. But who happens to also be there? Leo’s cold friend, Noah, who doesn’t like Merry even though she’s never understood why.

A secret past, a vindictive lobster (yes), curious neighbors and lots of sexual tension are now part of the plot. I initially thought the the story would unravel focusing only on the romance, but it was a pleasant surprise to know more about Noah’s mystery. There are some events that go into a deeper level and make the reader curious to know how it will end. However, some scenes are supposed to be comical but end up being too absurd, and towards the last third I was not interested in all the descriptions any more and skipped straight to the dialogues, hence the 4 stars. But all things considered, a nice read!

3.5 stars (rounded up)!

"French Holiday" by Sarah Ready is not quite as great as "Josh and Gemma Make a Baby" or "Josh and Gemma the Second Time Around," but it's still a (mostly) fun, fluffy enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, only one bed, he falls first, slow-burning romance with a bit of humor thrown in for good measure! I liked following Merry and Noah's stories. Readers get thrown into and immersed in their lives very quickly, and I enjoyed following their journey (and also, I REALLY wanted a croissant while reading)! While I enjoyed both of them as characters, I found myself HATING how Merry got treated her entire life, which impacted how she saw herself as a person. I just wanted to climb into my Kindle and give her a giant hug. Her mannerisms are understandable with all of her baggage and trauma factored into it. I also really liked Noah, but I wish he had gotten his act together a little sooner (if you know what I mean). The mystery aspects dealing with Noah and the real reason he was in France kind of came out of nowhere. I thought these elements of the story were the weakest by far. I *hated* Merry's sister, who was constantly barfing and complaining and being a whiny, bratty little sister. Cut her off, Merry! Geez! It's bad enough she stole your bike, but then she steals the love of your life!? Bye bye! I also hated Leo, what an absolute skeeze. Ugh. They deserve each other. The ultimate destination of this story is obvious, but that doesn't stop it from being a pleasing, beachy read that's perfect for spring and summer. Can't wait to read Sarah Ready's next novel!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Ready, and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC/Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

POV: Single
Spice: 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️

I shouldn’t have been surprised given the author, but I couldn’t put this book down! It gives off 27 Dresses kind of vibes, but in the French country side with a little bit of suspense!

I love Noah, and felt like I got to know him pretty well despite not having anything from his POV. I also really liked Merry and she made for an entertaining narrator. These two had the perfect love hate relationship and the tension was so good!

Beautifully written and mostly light and funny, there definitely are some emotional parts that had me in my feels, but that’s what I love about Sarah Ready books!

DNFd at 30%

I wanted to enjoy this and might do so after a few months. But for the first read, the narration and the writing felt off to me and the description of places didn't land the way it should for a book centred on a 'Holiday'. If I do end up re-reading it in the future, I will edit the review and post it on my socials and GR.

This book was fine. While there were parts I really enjoyed and some truly stand out characters like her godmother Jupiter and Noah, I found the main character to be quite annoying at times. I really struggled to get through the first 25% of this book partially because I found being in the main characters head to be a little frustrating. I found myself wishing that this wasn't only told from her POV. Once I got to around the 30% mark of the book though I found it to be a much more enjoyable listen/read. Overall it was a fine somewhat fun read that gave a little bit of 27 Dresses vibes.

Thank you, Sarah Ready, W.W. Crown and Netgalley for the gifted eARC.

Merry DeLuca has just watched her sister marry the love of her life, who also happens to be her best friend. When life starts to get overwhelming and Merry needs to get away from everything for a while, she takes her godmother's offer of a three month getaway to a French countryside castle. Merry has her sights set on a perfect holiday until she arrives and finds Noah Wright, the best man from her sister's wedding and her enemy, at the castle. Merry and Noah come to an agreement to be friends and live together for the next three months. But their feelings of friendship start to feel like more than just friendship.

French Holiday is a forced proximity, one bed, enemies to lovers rom-com. I enjoyed this book so much because there's so much more to this story than just a love story. I found both Merry and Noah's characters a delight to read about. You can't help but root for these two to fall in love from the very beginning. Merry has such a great personality. She's so full of life and funny, and she keeps the story light-hearted. Noah is serious, yet underneath, there's a soft side that only Merry can bring out. Merry and Noah have amazing chemistry and fit together so perfectly. The descriptions of the chateau, the village, the pesky lobster, and the neighbors add so much to the story. There's even a bit of mystery to the story that adds a bit of intrigue. This is by far my favorite Sarah Ready read to date.

A perfect rom com ❤️ Just loved everything about this - the set up of Merry’s sister marrying her crush, the initial interactions of Merry and Noah, the romantic French chateau setting… And then, I was pleasantly surprised by the late addition of a mystery element to the plot! Too good. And the epilogue was adorable 🥰

Merry is devastated when her best friend-whom she secretly loves- falls for and marries her sister. Seeking an escape, she ends up falling into an opportunity to go stay in a French chateau. She finds out too late that she won’t be staying there alone. Her nemesis Noah is also there.

This was a breezy read, an enjoyable use of the enemies-to-lovers trope. I finished it in one day, and though it was a bit heavy on the everyone-should-fall-in-love-and-get-married-right-away, it was still a delightful story from start to finish.


*I read an ARC in exchange for a review.*

This adorable romance has everything!

Merry needs a break from reality after her best friend, whom she's secretly in love with, marries her grabby little sister, and her godmother happens to have an empty chateau in the French countryside. Merry embarks on three months of beautiful vistas, delicious food, and hopefully romance - except the chateau is a crumbling ruin and it's already occupied by Noah, an acquaintance she despises. Merry 'is determined to overcome these obstacles and find her holiday romance - if only Noah weren't determined to get in her way.

French Holiday has so many great tropes: enemies to lovers; forced proximity; lavish descriptions of food. Even better, it has two great leads. Merry and Noah are wonderful foils for one another - she is sunny and a bit bumbling, while he is dashing but rather grim - and they are both kind and thoughtful. Plus, they both experience real evolution during the novel. There are subplots involving Noah's research and Merry's sister's new marriage, which provide depth and drama near the end.

My only complaint was that this end could have come a bit sooner - the book is a hefty 450 pages, and while many of these pages are character development and plot (there are a lot of side plots, include a silly but mostly entertaining one about a lobster) there are also many, many pages about sitting in the grass in a flowered dress and eating cheese.

First I would like to say thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for this eARC! Merry DeLuca's unrequited love, recently wed her sister. She has no escape strategy, and her life is gradually degenerating. Merry jumps at the opportunity to spend a three-month vacation living in a picturesque castle in the French countryside. The best man at her sister's wedding, Noah Wright, is staying at her castle, much to her dismay. As Noah won't leave, they decide to put their differences aside and live together as friends for three months before parting ways and never seeing each other again.

Merry DeLuca is a quirky, eccentric person who will go over and above for her younger sister. Noah Wright is a well-known travel documentarian, he comes off as stern and unfriendly. Merry and Noah had wonderful chemistry and were both entertaining. The cuisine, landscape, and art were so brilliantly portrayed within the story. There is some mystery that makes for an engaging subplot. My only complaints are that a few of the secondary characters didn't appeal to me. Also the romance did feel a bit rushed for my personal taste. Overall i think this is an easy and great rom-com to read!

Merry DeLuca's best friend and her unrequited love Leo just married her sister. Her life is rapidly spiraling down the drain and she doesn’t have an escape plan.
So when Merry is offered a three-month holiday living in a romantic castle in the French countryside she leaps at the chance.
To her utter dismay arrives she finds Noah Wright—the best man at her sister’s wedding staying in her castle.
Noah refuses to leave the castle so they are stuck together in France, in a crumbling castle. They decide to set aside their animosity and strike a truce to cohabitate as friends for three-months, and go their separate ways never to see each other again.

Merry DeLuca is funny, offbeat and a big sister willing to do anything for her younger sister. Noah Wright, a famous travel documentarian, is gruff and surly until you get to know him. I loved both Merry and Noah, they were hilarious and had great chemistry. The food, scenery, and art were beautifully described, it felt visceral. My favorite character in the book was Louise, the lobster, his antics cracked me up. There's a hint of mystery that creates an interesting subplot. The romance felt a little rushed and I didn't like a few of the side characters. Overall its a faced pace rom-com with beautiful art and a hint of mystery. I listened to the audiobook and Kelsey Navarro Kelsey Navarro did a wonderful job with the narration.

Okay, I really enjoyed this one a lot!! So cute! So sweet! I loved getting to see the relationship between Merry and Noah unfold - who doesn’t love a good enemies to lovers story?! The French countryside landscape added a particularly romantic touch! I am absolutely already planning a trip to Annecy so that I can live my best, romantic fairytale life!

I went back and forth on whether or not I should give this one 5 stars, and ultimately I decided to go with 4. I can’t quite put my finger on it exactly, but I think maybe the pacing of things towards the end felt a little rushed. That being said, I would absolutely recommend this book! It reminded me of the movies 27 Dresses and Letters to Juliet, which are two of my favorites!

I would like to thank NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What do you get when a cucumber, a rat, a lobster & a ghost all live in a French chateau? A love story of course!

French Holiday by Sarah Ready was a 5 star read for me! This is a new to me author, but I will definitely be reading more of her work! This book was so good & really kept my interest. It was like if 27 Dresses & Emily in Paris had a baby! I especially loved the descriptions of France. It was descriptive enough for me to put myself there & feel its beauty, but not overwhelming & overly factual. The writing felt like contemporary women’s fiction in a few parts but read mostly like a rom-com which I really enjoyed! This book made me cry a little & laugh a lot & it was a fun & easy read. French Holiday is a slooow burn, with low angst. There is a whole chapter devoted to a great love scene that’s more tender than spicy, but all the BUILD UP to that moment just makes it 10x better!

I loved this book from the very beginning of Merry DeLuca dreading walking down that aisle. Merry was a great FMC & I was able to feel all the emotions of what she went though: from her “should I tell him?” friendship with Leo, to Angela always getting what she wanted, & Noah seeing right through her. I have never been in any of those positions but my heart hurt for her each step of the way & when it was time for Merry’s flight plan, I was ecstatic that she was finally getting a chance to have her magic! Merry was seen by other people in her life in a bit of a pitied way, so I am glad we get to see her open her mind more & grow - even if it was in a “cliched” fantastical way. Plus, her pure joy & delight for France & innocent willingness to “just go with it” made up many of the humorous parts of the book!

Noah was also a really good MMC. He’s exactly what you want from a love interest in a rom-com - slightly detached from his emotions, ultra focused on a niche thing (travel documentarian) that will inevitably work its way back into the plot somehow, & quick to put up road blocks with the FMC despite going along with her shenanigans. Noah was funny & clever & I appreciated how he adapted when it was time for him to open up. That aspect of his development worked because it made the book more mature. There was no third act breakup or miscommunication which I love! It’s definitely refreshing to have a hero who knows how to communicate!

What shocked me the most about this book is that I had an inkling of where it was going, so I was anticipating a happy family reunion - but I have to say I was utterly surprised (I won’t spoil anything!) when Angela made the phone call to Merry detailing the “terrible secret thing” about Noah. I really wasn’t expecting that at all so it just made me even MORE invested in the book! I feel like that turn came at such a great time & was able to move the story past just a budding romance into something more intriguing. We love a found family trope! I also thought the supporting characters were so amazing! I mean, Angela was meh but… they all made a great cast for the plot!

Overall, highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Merry needs an escape plan after her life starts becoming a series of unfortunate events. From quitting her job, parental issues, and watching her best friend/love of her life marry her sister. Yes, you read that last part right! She escapes to the French countryside for a much needed break only to find she won’t be spending her getaway alone.

This book was cute and had a lot of the classic and fun romcom tropes (enemies to lovers, one bed, etc.) but also had an underlying mystery subplot that helped move the story along. While I did enjoy the story, I found it was slightly confusing at times and had a bit too much “fluff” that could have been condensed so we could get to the good stuff quicker!

Overall, I thought this was a cute and fluffy romance that’s perfect for a beach read or while on a little getaway yourself!
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eArc in exchange for my honest opinion!

Merry decides to go to France after her sister marries the man she is in love with. She finds herself in a crumbling castle with Noah, a taciturn videographer. There is a bit of a mystery as Noah is trying to find a famous artist. A romance develops as expected.

"At the end of your life, it's not what you did that makes you happy, it's who you loved and who loved you."

French Holiday is an adorable, light and fluffy romance. Merry's life isn't quite going to plan, her job is becoming toxic, her parents aren't always the kindest to her and to make matters worse, her sister, Angela, is marrying Merry's best friend and the man she has been in love with for four years: Leo. Merry is a victim of unrequited love and everyone can tell, especially Leo's best friend Noah - who she ends up having a deep and meaningful conversation with at the wedding, despite the fact that they don't like each other very much. To run away from all the horrible things in her life, Merry quits her job and takes up an offer to go live in a Chateau in Annecy, France, to hopefully find inspiration and fun with a Frenchman in a vineyard while spinning around in a pretty dress. Until she arrives at the Chateau and things are not quite what they seem, and low and behold, Noah is staying there too.

The idea for this book is very sweet, it has beautiful themes and prose about love, in all of it's forms, and a captivating setting which makes you want to go to a Chateau and live out Merry's dream right alongside her. But aside from that, the story is quite cliche and doesn't quite have the right focus to really stand out. I think I may be biased because I live in France, but the stereotypical French characters in this story and simplistic ideas about what France is like kind of put me off a bit - the book is definitely better suited for an audience who hasn't been to France before and is enamored by the idea of it. I would've loved a bit more depth in the side characters and the descriptions to make the story feel a bit more realistic and authentic. The fact that the first man and woman Merry meets in France are immediately pegged as competitive love interests to the main characters own developing love story just felt a bit immature, unfortunately.

The plot also gets a little bit confused along the way. The back stories of the two main characters are quite good, Merry was treated less loved by her divorced parents than she deserved and Noah grew up without knowing his father so their connection really did feel genuine - although I think there may have been too much added drama to really absorb yourself in this story line. I really wish the plot had focused more on Noah and Merry, and how they could both help each other heal and develop a proper friendship rather than complicating it with all the other subplots happening in the background. I think a touch more refining of the plot would've made this really interesting and still could've included the gothic-esque themes, haunted mansion/murder mystery type vibe without it feeling as trivial as it did.

I did enjoy this as an easy to read, cutesy romance - it's a little bit silly and a slightly overdone idea but aside from a few things I didn't love it was really fun and there were some really humorous aspects to it too. The tropes include miscommunication and friends to lovers, which are both done moderately well and overall this a nice standard, middle range romcom with a happy ending. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Merry just watched the love of her life marry her sister, and to make matters worse, she slept with one of the groomsmen, Noah, who is also Merry's sworn enemy. After quitting her job, Merry creates an escape plan to stay at her godmother's French chateau to figure out her next step. However, it's not quite the romantic setting she imagined, with the chateau actually in shambles, and an unexpected chateau-mate in the shape of her one night-stand from the wedding.

The French Holiday has all of the classic romantic-comedy tropes (enemies-to-lovers and only one bed to name a few), but the descriptions of the French countryside makes them feel less cliche than usual. Noah's mysterious backstory, and his search for a missing painter, added a nice touch to the plot that made me want to keep reading. I did wish Merry and Noah's relationship would have been a bit more slow-burning, as it seemed slightly out of character for Merry to jump in as quickly as she did, but overall, it felt like the book form of a warm and cozy Hallmark movie.

Great book, from start to finish it had me turning the pages and investing in the storyline, one for the beach this summer

This has to be my favourite read of the year so far. It was fun, sweet, and kept a smile on my face the whole time.
If you like easy to read romances, the enemy's to lover troupe ( kind of) and the only one bed troupe, you'll definitely like this book!
I haven't read any other book by Sarah Ready but if they're all as delightful as French holiday I will definitely be reading them.
The main characters Merry and Noah are loveable and complex. Their character development is steady and believeable. There's nothing I hate more in a book then characters who start to grow and evolve just to end up 2 steps back. This didn't happen with Merry and Noah. Both characters continued to grow and really tried to understand the lessons they learnt.