My first by this author and it was good! 3.5 stars rounded down. It’s light and fun and funny with a steamy scene. Merry and Noah are both fairly likeable and they kept my attention throughout. I would say the plot and overall tones are similar to Sophie kinsella books!

Thank you for the advanced e-copy!

This novel was really well written, the descriptions put you perfectly in the middle of a French countryside. Merry is clearly a little bit of an adult mess, but who can blame her? Her little sister marries her best friend who she was in love with. Oh, and just get rough at work, and with the encouragement of her godmother, she runs away to a French château. Noah Wright is there who happens to be her brother-in-law’s best friend, who she also hates. I love how things are just a little bit unexpected and the friendship that blooms between Merry and Noah. The middle of the book got to be too long and just felt like it wasn’t going to end at some points. However, once we got to the mystery of the château things got a lot more interesting and I didn’t want to stop listening. I think the growth Merry experiences is wonderful although some details and plot lines feel rushed. It annoys me somewhat that she wanted to find a purpose, and it became more about her finding someone she loves, and jumping on their purpose. However, the story was really sweet and it certainly gave me the travel bug. 4⭐️, 2.5🌶

This was such a fun travel-inspired read! I was instantly hooked and felt like the characters had so much chemistry, so it was really easy to get into this. Plus, it’s set in France, which made it feel even more exciting and fun. I really enjoyed the bit of mystery here as well, and even though I had a strong hunch that turned out to be correct, it’s a great story that makes you want to keep reading and find the answers. Having a little bit of mystery mixed in with the romance made this feel really unique, and I definitely recommend it if you’re a fan of traveling and want to pretend you’re somewhere else! Be sure to add this one to your TBR when it comes out on 4/26/23!

This is an ARC and my first novel by this author and I think I’m in love. She did an amazing job at making me feel like I was in France right along side of Merry. I love the way the novel outlined the scenery and the way the author’s words poured over the page in a beautiful and all encompassing way. I haven’t been this swept away by a romance novel since Emily Henry’s last book and Sarah Ready has the same kind of magic with her words that has me staying up past midnight, unable to pull myself out of the romantic story she’s created. 🥰

I also genuinely loved Merry’s character and saw a lot of myself in her. I too feel like I’m the background character in everyone else’s story and I desperately want to pull a Merry and move to France for three months. Unfortunately, my godmother doesn’t own a chateau, but I could work around that minor detail. Overall, Merry’s character was wonderfully structured and bold with a beautiful soul. I also had a deep understanding of why she did the things she did and the deeper meaning behind her thought process. Sometimes authors miss the mark and forget to round out their characters, but Merry was perfectly written. 🥹❤️

As for Noah—I loved him too of course. He was dark and brooding, but yet he was still emotionally mature and not a pyscho like some MMCs can be. Also I’m a sucker for a grumpy mysterious man so Noah was my bread and butter. Even though the story was from Merry’s POV, I still felt like I knew Noah on a personal level and I felt like the author did a great job of bringing his character to life.

I could go on for pages about how much I liked this book, but to conclude my review, I’d like to say I’m not a fan of fast whirlwind romance BUT this novel made it work in every way possible. I can’t wait to read more from Sarah Ready and I’m already adding some of her stand-alone novels to my TBR. 💁🏼‍♀️✨

From the moment I started reading French Holiday I was hooked.

French Holiday by Sarah Ready was a brilliantly executed story that was filled with so much passion and emotion, I honestly couldn't put it down. I was mesmerized by the intriguing and complicated characters. A truly amazing read!
The two main characters Merry and Noah were really fun to get to know. Along with the side characters.
I thought the build and pace to the story was amazing and the descriptions were spot on
A fun enemies to lovers story and one I couldn’t get enough of.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Thank You NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This is a very light predictable romance that didn't really grab my attention. Merry DeLuca is in love with her best friend Leo but never had the courage to tell him. When Leo meets her younger sister Angela, they fall madly in love and get married very quickly. At their wedding, Merry is forced to spend some time with Leo's best man Noah Wright - a famous travel writer.
To spend some time away from all this she goes on a three month holiday to France. As she arrives, she finds the castle is unexpectedly dilapidated. Worse than that, Noah Wright is also at the castle.

The book was a good quick and fun read. I loved the idea of unrequited love being a theme through the book. It was fun how the book switched into a slight mystery with the search for the MMC father. I will/have recommended the book to other friends with similar taste.

Merry is having an existential crisis. Not only did she just attend the wedding of her sister to her best friend (who Merry has been in love with for years), but she loathes the best man at the wedding. Every time she and Noah have interacting, he's been cold, judgmental, or downright rude.

And he sees right through her and her love for the groom. Somehow, despite this, they end up spending the night together, starting a chain reaction of events that all lead to a castle in France.

There's always a risk that the plot will be predictable in enemies-to-lovers books. After all, you KNOW the enemies will eventually become lovers; the question is, how will it happen?? I didn't find Noah and Merry's path to be predictable at all. The author did a great job of dropping a few red herrings then allowing the characters to build a solid relationship together.

Speaking of Noah...can we just take a moment to appreciate this man? He was kind, intelligent, dedicated, had an interesting, unique career, and he kept Merry on her toes. His references to gothic romances was such a clever way of weaving his past into the story without being totally obvious, and the scene on the bridge...::fans self::

French Holiday by Sarah Ready was hilarious, romantic, with just the right amount of cheese. The mystery aspect of the novel was unexpected but welcome. It was fun watching Noah and Merry work together to uncover the mystery! It added some fun layers to the story, as did every interaction with Pierre and Camille.

I was given an e-ARC of this book for an honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the opportunity!

Favorite quotes:

"I’ve never felt anything so repulsive in my life as lobster legs molesting my breasts."

"His face twists into a startled expression and then he steps toward me, reaching, and I do what any sensible person would do, I smack him over the head with my elongated cucumber."

Ahhhhhhhhhh 😭🥹😩
What a book!! Omg i wasn’t expecting it to be honest. This was such a funny, warm and thundering read! I couldn’t put it down for real. I loved merry and Noah so much! Especially Noah!!!( for instance, there was this part were he said such a cute warm thing that I bawled my eyes out!!! I wish I was kidding)!!! I couldn’t ask for me even if I wanted to. We’re presented with enemies to lovers, one bed, forced proximity, a lovely fc/mc, this beautiful chateau 😍😍, the city of love. It seams a bit cliche but it seams like I was reading a romance novel 😭😂. Sorry. But really, this book gave me a lot of feelings and in all it was amazing! 😭🥹😍

Enemies to lovers

Merry’s sister married Merry’s best friend who she also loves. Her godmother offers her a stay at her French castle, and she has also forgotten that she was going to let Noah stay there too.

This book felt very rushed, seemingly to get to a situation that seemed to get to a situation that comes out of nowhere. Even though this written in first person, I didn’t feel like I knew who Merry was let alone anyone else. It’s a quick jump from hate to love. It’s a quick read

** spoiler alert ** French Holiday is the classic book about a girl, Meredith "Merry" DeLuca who feels like she is an ugly ducking and just needs to escape to find herself. She takes up her "Fairy" Godmother's offer to spend three months in a French chateau, but when she arrives she finds a run down castle with no electricity, and her mortal enemy, Noah Wright, famous travel documentarian. They decide to stay at the chateau together, and find that the reasons they thought they hated the other came crumbling down as easy as the walls of the old chateau. HEA

I received this book as an ARC and I couldn't even remember the name of it when it came time to write my review. It felt so unmemorable that I will probably forget the details of it in a week. Self-conscious, woe-is-me Merry feels bland and reasonless, with the antagonist, Noah, having some interesting characteristics, but we barely get to see below the surface of him. Merry's internal dialogue jumps from wanting a whirlwind France romance to hating her roommate, to liking her roommate? She can't quite figure it out. She comes to France to escape her secret love, her now-brother-in-law, but just quickly falls out of love with him, just like that? This book felt surface level, at best.

This book was funny, charming, romantic and touching as it took you through stories of love, both romantic and parental.

Merry was such a fun character. A bit crazy, in love with the man her sister just married and desperate to escape the mess her life was turning into. Noah was kind and caring, her perfect match.

My heart hurt for both characters and their struggles, but that made them getting their happy ever after that much more beautiful!

I laughed so hard at the Louis the lobster debacle! And my favorite quote was her hilarious sex rhyme 😝 “Let’s have sex, I said. Let’s do it in the closet, I said, in the bathroom, in the hall. Let’s do it against the wall.”

I’m French and found the author’s French references and details of the characters to be pretty accurate and very entertaining! I loved how detailed she was with the description of the village, the chateau and of course the cheeses!
I especially loved when she mentioned that Noah’s mom was from Saint Martin because that’s where I was born and raised and I have to admit I’ve never read about it in a book considering it’s a 37 square mile island not many people know about!

It was a slow burn, but once it burned it was so worth the wait :) I’ll definitely be reading more by Sarah Ready!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sarah Ready for this amazing ARC!

4.5⭐️
It was way more than just a French holiday and I loved it :) Rom-com mixed with mystery making it a perfect combination.

Absolutely loved it!

The characters were relatable, especially with Merry needing to get away to fall out of love with someone. Especially since that someone just married her sister. However, I wasn't expecting all that was to come. I couldn't and didn't want to, put it down.

Well written, it felt like I was right there with them.

I gave it five stars, but if I could give it more I would!

📖 Cute story with a feel good happy ending all the way around
📖 It felt very slow for me, I was over half way done and still waiting for something to happen
📖 Unrequited love
📖 I did love the location and supporting characters quite a bit

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. I was very excited about reading this book but wow it was a sure miss for me. I absolutely cannot stand the main female character or the main male character also. And the plot is absolutely so unrealistic. The main female lead is 30 years old and she acts like a teenager.

When Merry's sister marries her best friend, the man she is currently in love with, Merry doesn't know how she can move on. When the opportunity to live in a French castle arrives, Merry embraces it wholeheartedly and leaves as soon as she can. But she doesn't expect the castle to be so rundown and needing so much work. She also doesn't expect travel documentarian and best man, Noah, to be there as well. I won't say any more :)

This was a super sweet destination romance. I was lucky enough to receive a copy of both the audio and ebook so I spent most of it reading while listening along. The narration was excellent and the author's writing style is commendable, emphasised by my struggle to put this one down. I loved both our main characters and loved the ending. I'm definitely keen to read more by Sarah Ready!

Where do I even start with this adorable story? If ever you've dreamt of leaving your life behind just for a little while to breathe in some delicious tiny-provincial-French-town air whilst eating fresh baguettes and brie.. French Holiday is the book for you!

More than brain candy, but less than a dramatically heavy romance, Sarah Ready created a swoon-worthy romance ripe for the 'one-bed-trope' rom-com lovers everywhere. Set in a 'romantic' (i.e. scary with cockroaches the size of mice) mid-evil French castle, Merry must figure out what it means to really be in love and to have confidence in herself. She's the girl that has to learn to love herself and let things go! (Very much giving 'Something Borrowed' vibes? But without the cheating.)

-- I also love that we get to see the importance of kicking that thankless corporate job to the curb if you can once you realize that it's no longer getting you to that next step in life!!

For the girl next door pretty types that mayyy be just a smidgeon in love with the guys that don't necessarily see them for the gems they are.. you'll find your happiness on day with stories like French Holiday along the way to keep you company!!

NOTES:
- Travel inspiration! (Set in a lovely little French town)
- 🌶️🌶️/5 - Lot of tension and a great ending!!
- Nemesis to lovers / Definitely made me laugh a few times!!
- Fast read / listen (would be a great audiobook!!)

**Thank you Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

When I first saw this book, I'll admit that I judged it by the cover. I thought this would be a frilly, very light read that didn't send the butterflies tingling in my heart. However, after reading the entire novel in two sittings, in one day, I have to say that this read was phenomenal. I gave it four stars, closer to 4.5, because the added spooky concept of the story didn't seem to fit quite as well, but I appreciated the effort.
I loved the scenery descriptions in the story - I've never been to the setting where the book is set, but it felt as if I could truly see it in my mind. The descriptions were a stunning portrayal and made the story extremely enjoyable. This novel was incredible and I loved how the stories of the characters played out.

What a perfect read! I accidentally read this in one sitting because I could not put it down. Merry and Noah were delightful to read about - their banter was sparkling and their characters seemed fleshed out. The ambience of French Holiday was just lovely, with such vivid descriptions of life in the countryside. It made me want to move to France, start a garden, and drink stovetop coffee. Ready reimagines some classic romance novel tropes for a light, funny, and charming read.