Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of French Holiday by Sarah Ready.

.425 stars

This was a perfect enemies to lovers story. A heartbroken Merry needs a change of scenery and travels to France only to have her escape waylaid by Noah, the last man she wants to see. Sarah Ready then works her storytelling magic to give us a heartfelt romance. From the characters to the castle, I loved it all.

Sweet escape✨ This book is exactly what I needed!

The story begins when Merry is at her sister’s wedding and her sister is marrying the love of Merrys life!!
I was immediately sucked in!

Merry has sort of lived in her sisters shadow her entire life, with her sister getting just about anything she wants in life, including the guys!

Merry’s godmother has witnessed Merry’s struggle with self esteem do to her upbringing and decides to offer her to stay at her recently bought French castle.

Merry is supposed to be escaping to France to find herself and maybe have a little fling with an interesting French man! What Merry doesn’t know is that her unrequited love’s best friend who is also not her favorite person (Noah) is also in France staying at the castle with her.

Noah is there for “work” since he is a famous documentarian who travels the world exploring the most beautiful, romantic hidden places of the world and documenting them.

As Merry and Noah get to know each other better during their stay in France Merry discovers that there is so much more to Noah than she would have ever imagined. He has a broken past which is the cause of all of his travels. He has spent part of his life searching for answers.

I loved how Merry and Noah’s story unfolded and the mystery and suspense of it all kept me up trying to see what would happen next!

Thank you NetGalley and Swift and Lewis publishing for the complementary copy of this novel

How can you not love a book that was written with France as a background? This book has friendship, romance, humor, plus a mystery, a dashing French neighbor,. It was a charming read that took you to a lovely place.

This wasn't a very good book. It was too clichéd and I didn't really feel like the characters really cared for one another. Yes, I like Chick Lit/Romance but make them a bit intelligent too.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.
This is the second book in the series.
This the the story of Merry and Noah who each have baggage of their own and they have to learn to trust each other.
I enjoyed this book and I am hoping there is another one to follow.

8/10. Adorable, easy rom-com that will make you laugh out loud. Enemy to lovers trope with a slight mystery component, this book is a fun read for the beach or airplane. Makes me want to visit the French countryside—but stay somewhere that's a bit more up-to-date than this castle!

4 Stars

Merry has been good friends with Leo for a few years, all while being secretly in love with him. In the blink of one night, Leo meets Merry’s sister, falls in love, and marries her. While Merry’s life slowly spirals, she needs time away and heads to France to a chateau owned by her godmother. Once there, she dreams of her future only to realize one of Leo’s friends is there. Merry and Noah are forced to make the most of the stay.

Adorable book and a quick read. A bit predictable, but enjoyable regardless. Would read it again.

French Holiday was my first Sarah Ready read, and I am a fan! This story had some romance, some mystery, and plenty of laughs! I could totally picture the crumbling chateau that Noah and Merry stayed in, and I felt like I was there with them! I'm a sucker for a good enemies to lovers trope, and this one did not disappoint! This is a book I will read multiple times when I'm in the mood for a funny, heart-warming easy read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance reader copy of French Holiday in exchange for my honest review!

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC for the advance reader copy of French Holiday!

Merry's life is falling apart. Her sister, Angela, marries Merry's best friend, Leo, whom she had been pining for. Merry quits her job that she once loved. Angela and Leo come back from the honey moon with a baby on the way and want Merry to be the godmother. At this, Merry calls in her own godmother's advise and asks for a stay at her French castle. Merry arrives at the castle only to discover it is already occupied ... by Leo's best friend who had taken an instant dislike to Merry when they first met. The castle is almost inhabitable but together they make it work. The longer they stay there together the more they learn about each other and themselves and maybe learn to love themselves and each other along the way.

The descriptions in this book had me opening the AirBnB app to find a place to stay in the south of France. There were definitely humorous parts (looking at you lobster) and tender moments. At times the story felt uneven. It seemed as if the author was uncertain as to how slow she wanted the burn to be and at times Noah was putting the brakes on when they'd already agreed to go. And it was weird that they couldn't just be beginning a relationship; Merry wanted to be in LOVE.

Overall it was an enjoyable romance and now I'm dying to go to France.

Why did I avoid reading this for so long? What's wrong with me??? I absolutely loved it!!! For some inexplicable reason, I had very low expectations for this book I found on Netgalley months ago. The cover just put me off, and I couldn't muster the motivation to start it. It sat on my virtual shelf for months, even though it had been released for some time. Then, the other day, I noticed I still had two books pending for review on Netgalley, and I thought, 'Let's just try to read at least ten pages of this one.' So, that's exactly what I did, and let me tell you, I began and was immediately captivated by the story.

The plot was genuinely intriguing, featuring a massive castle, a mystery, and plenty of humorous moments. I enjoyed it immensely, and I instantly connected with Noah and Meredith as the two main characters. It was a heartwarming story with an even sweeter happily ever after. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

I'd like to express my gratitude to Netgalley and the author for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. This review is completely unbiased

I loved everything about this book and read it in one sitting. I couldn't put it down and I didn't want it to end

“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.”

This was our first read by Sarah Ready and we’ll be exploring more of her stories after falling in love with French Holiday. Merry and Noah (talk about swoon!) stole our hearts. We loved their complicated slow-burn enemies to lover’s romance. In fact, we loved the mystery, the unrequited love, and all the other themes Sarah Ready so beautifully wove into French Holiday.

‘If he could see my heart, he would see his name written there.’

Meredith ‘Merry’ De Luca has been in love with her best friend Leo for years – on the verge of revealing her feelings, Leo meets Merry’s sister Angela, and it’s love at first sight. He’s completely besotted by her and instead of fulfilling her love story with Leo, Merry is forced to watch her sister walk down the aisle with Leo, and she’s crushed.

'I already went over this, I cannot, I will not, fall in love with another man who can’t love me back. I can’t do it. I won’t.’

Merry is offered the opportunity to head to France and spend some time in her godmother Jupiter’s Chateau. To regroup and find herself. However, she didn’t count on Leo’s best friend Noah Wright being her housemate. Merry had a run in with Noah at her sister’s wedding and he grates on her every nerve. He’s a grumpy closed book, and Merry’s none to pleased at the living arrangements.

‘Do not, I repeat, do not fall for Noah Wright.’

However, there’s so much to the gorgeous Noah Wright, and Merry slowly gets him to open up and show her the ‘real’ Noah, not just the charismatic travel presenter he reveals to world. Plus, Noah is on a journey of his own, one that leads him to discover parts of himself that’s been a mystery.

“If you could see my heart……”
“I’d see the place you’ve made for me there?”

Told in single person POV from Merry’s perspective, French Holiday was a fun, romantic escape. We felt as though we were there in the crumbling Chateau, baguette in hand with Merry, Noah and the people from the village. The mystery element was a beautiful addition to the fun, emotion and romance this author created. What a great introduction to a new to us author!

Synopsis:

Merry DeLuca's sister has just married her best friend and the only man she ever loved so when she's offered a 3-month holiday living in a romantic castle in the French countryside, she takes it. Until she arrives and finds Noah Wright - the best man at her sister's wedding and the worst man she's ever known staying at the castle. He refuses to leave which means they're stuck together in a crumbling castle, on a holiday where nothing goes right. They strike a truce - they'll cohabit as friends and amicable part ways... but friendship can start to feel a lot like caring, a lot like love.

Review:

This was a sweet read - especially finishing it days before my own French Holiday. It was funny and heartwarming and I loved the setting. I also enjoyed the one-bed, enemies to lovers trope. The only reason I reduced stars was because I didn't *feel* their chemistry and couldn't see how they went from enemies to being so far gone in such a short period of time, I guess something was just missing.

The story easily wove between the main plot and sub plot. I liked the tension built between the characters as well last the supporting characters buit throughout the book.

This book was so cute! I really did enjoy reading it! I loved the romcom style of it as well as the serious, more in-depth bits! The characters were quirky and adorable.

Thanks for the ARC Netgalley!

FRENCH HOLIDAY was my first read by Sarah Ready and it was cute, but forgettable. I enjoyed the French castle setting and enemies to lovers and grumpy/sunshine tropes. What I wasn’t a fan of were the supporting characters and that I couldn’t connect or invest in the MC’s and their relationship. It felt like there was a lot going on so this was just a so-so read for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Swift and Lewis Publishing for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

With thanks to Netgalley and the author and publishers for giving me an advanced copy of French Holiday.

French Holiday for me was a DNF book, I couldn't make it past the 3rd chapter, the idea of the book seemed like the perfect beach/holiday read, but it just wasn't for me.

Judging from the other reviews I was one of the few

This charming novel is clever, heart-warming, and funny. It includes quirky, unexpected characters and some over-the-top physical humor. The plot is multilayered and fast-paced, with some poignant moments.