I don't even know where to begin with this book!

I wasn't loving life at the very beginning (nothing worse than the heroine's sister getting together with the the heroine's love interest right at the beginning of the story, am I right?) and I was desperate for her to get over Leo (and under Noah).

Merry and Noah's story though... Perfect. I loved the added intrigue around Thomas Arnout and actually really enjoyed Camille and Pierre too.

Noah is my perfect type of hero - starts off as a seemingly gruff cynic and then turns out to be a sensitive, good-hearted dream.

As always, I hate first person narrative but this was so well written that I quickly stopped realising that it was written in first person because it was just amazingly written.

I am now desperate to read everything by this author and am so looking forward to reading more of her work!

Thank you Swift & Lewis Publishing , Netgalley and Sarah Ready for the eARC.

Are you ready for a break from everything ?

The books follows Merry and Noah. It’s a kinda enemies to lovers kind of story.

Merry taught she loved her best friend Leo but that is not true. She needs to learn to love herself and not think she is an ugly duckling. That three month vacation to France is what she needs. You add Noah to the mix and boom a love story.

“Because that’s the best kind of love. The kind where you love someone with your whole heart and they love you with their whole heart right back.”

I received an ARC from #netgalley, all opinions are my own.

Merry has been in love with her best friend Leo for years but never tells him. One day Leo meets Merry’s sister Angela & in the span of a few weeks, they decide to marry. Merry is heartbroken over this but keeps her feelings to herself.

During the wedding ceremonies, she meets Noah, Leo’s best friend from college. Merry thinks Noah hates her, but they spend some time together during the reception & imbibe a bit too much. Merry wakes up the next morning in bed with Noah & thinks they had a one-night stand—she disappears from the room without talking to Noah.

Weeks later, her job has turned toxic so she quits. Additionally, Angela & Leo tell her they’re having a baby. With encouragement from her godmother, Jupiter, she goes to stay at Jupiter's chateau for three months to get over her heartbreak & figure out her next steps.

Upon arriving at the chateau, she finds Noah there. Jupiter tells Merry she forgot she rented the place to him for the next few months as he completes research for a documentary he’s making. Neither is willing to leave so they decide to make it work. Noah informs her, the place is decrepit, only one room is habitable, & there’s only one mattress that they’ll have to share.

What ensues, is an adorable & funny love story. Merry has the funniest things happen to her, like escaping lobsters, or accidentally knocking down a wall with a book. Noah always tends to show up as these events are happening & saves the day. They begin to understand one another & feel like they can share things that they can’t tell anyone else. Merry, has unrequited love patterns due to her dad abandoning her. Leo, has trouble opening up because of his last moments with his mom & never knowing his dad.

While the story is going on, we also learn that Leo is researching a missing artist. The mystery of it all threads through most of the story & comes to a lovely & heartfelt conclusion.

I did enjoy this story, but there was an overuse of metaphors & similes that just started to annoy me. Sometimes, you just need to call a thing a thing & not be so colorful about it, but that’s just me. Overall, it was a cute story & an easy read.

I have struggled with my rating of this a bit.
It's actually a cute, funny, lighthearted romcom with a mystery subplot and some of my favorite tropes: forced proximity, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, and one bed!

That said, it's a bit too long. 450+ pages is much too long for a romcom. It needed some major condensing. In addition, the large cast of side characters seemed a bit unnecessary. Lastly, there were some parts that were just a bit too contrived. I won't say more in fear of spoiling things, but a lot of what went on here just wouldn't happen.

In the end, it was well written and enjoyable enough, so I think a lot of people will like this one, especially if they're able to overlook the parts that are a bit unrealistic. 💗

Thank you NetGalley and W.W. Crown for my gifted eARC and ALC.

Merry and Noah are the perfect detective pair and I love them! I have been loving the romance books that discuss romance tropes, books, and movies within the plot point and this book does that. Poor Merry watching the man she loves marry her sister, but go her for getting a free trip to France. Loved the dynamic between Merry and Noah, especially once they started to open up to each other and really get to know one another. Ends with an HEA!

Merry and Noah’s story is fun and exciting. A little fast paced in terms of the relationship for me (seemed to be a trend with this book, with Angela and Leo too) but I enjoyed it! I liked the mystery aspect with Noah’s backstory - it was a nice change from the usual romance books I read. Overall a very enjoyable read!

I understand living in your sisters shadow. This was a cute coming into your self book. Nothing special, but cute.

When Merry has to see her best friend Leo, marry her sister, her unrequited love is set in stone.. Or so she thinks.
An old chateau in France, a guy named Pierre, food and wine gives life a new perspective. Specially when Noah is also in France, who happens to be the one friend of Leo she can't figure out.

This book is truly about love, and not just romantic love. It's an adorable sweet book with humor and honesty.

Meredith always looked at herself as less interesting and less attractive then her sister Angela. Angela on the other hand has always led a charmed life getting what she wants, including Merry's love Leo. On Angela's wedding day, Merry gets so drunk she winds up in bed with her worst enemy - Noah Wright. Then at work she has to be the person who tells many of her co-workers they are terminated. With all this hanging over her head, she decides to flee to France and have an adventure for herself. Her aunt Jupiter tells her she can stay in the chateau in Annecy her aunt has purchased. Thrilled with the prospect, Merry finds two uncomfortable things when she arrives. The chateau is a wreck and Noah Wright is living in it. A fun, cute romance.

The phrase 'Impossible n'est pas français!' is one that will stick with me for a long time after finishing this book. With its perfect blend of spice and love, this romantic comedy had all the quirky charm I look for in the genre. As I read, I found myself transported to France, craving café au lait and plenty of baguettes with Brie. The story follows the classic enemy-to-friends-to-lovers trope, with the added twist of a surprising murder mystery subplot that kept me on my toes 😏

Normally I do not read romance books, however I am attempting to read what I normally would not.
This book was cute, quirky, and just a quick read. I enjoyed Merry as a lot of mannerisms and sayings are things I do myself, so I related to her. Everything felt very rushed, but that's common in romance books since everyone wants a Happily Ever After, so I don't fault it for that.
I now want a pet lobster named Louis.

French Holiday by Sarah Ready (coming out April 26, 2023)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥/5

Have you ever wanted to take a vacation from real life? That’s exactly what Merry does when she feels overwhelmed by her life. She borrows her godmother’s flight plan and runs away to France for the summer. What she didn’t plan on was her real-life villain Noah Wright crashing her fairytale summer. With missing artists, ferocious lobsters, and cucumber weapons, will Merry find her “coup de foudre”?

I adored this story because there have been many times that I was tempted to run away from real life. Merry is perfectly awkward and relatable, the setting is awe-inspiring, and the mystery in the air is palpable. After all, who doesn’t wish for a little magic sometimes?

#bookstagram #romcoms #sarahreadyauthor #romancebooks #bookreview

I loved this romance! It's a long but really good read. It has some mystery, some drama, some philosophy, and a slow burn romance. Believe it or not, my favorite character is a side character, Louie, and despite my love for the book, I would have loved an additional chapter with him playing a prominent role in the story.

This is a perfect romance to pick up on vacation or at the beach. Merry is in love with her best friend, but after he marries her sister, she escapes to a chateau in France for three months. But once she arrives she finds Noah, the best man, is also staying at the castle while doing research for a project.

This was fun with lots of tension, forced proximity, and unrequited love. They slowly establish a friendship and heal from their own personal heartaches, finding love along the way. The dilapidated castle and mysterious artist element adds to their chaos and adventures. Cute story overall and I recommend picking it up! This was my first by Sarah Ready but I look forward to reading more of her books!

Thank you NetGalley for my advance copy.

Beautiful setting for an enemies to lovers novel. A lush castle in France with a dreamy French neighbor is all Merry can imagine when she accepts the offer to reset her life in France. Her sister has just married the love of her life and she needs to get away before she loses it. Unfortunately the lush castle turns out to be a crumbling, dusty, full-of-bugs mess and her unwitting room mate ends up being the guy she loathes the most, Noah. Can they share a castle (and a bed) without sharing their hearts? Why does Noah dislike her so much anyway?

Compelling characters, the French countryside and a lot of humor made this a fun, lighthearted read. Definitely recommend! Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Who wouldn't love Noah in this story...he sounds like the perfect guy with just enough mystery about him.
However, Merry isn't interested she has been hopelessly in love with Noah's friend..her best friend Leo.
We hardly hear about Leo though because he is almost instantly forgotten, which makes it a little heard to believe Merry was so in love with him for so long. I do though hate her sister, she is written as a petulant child who is wholly self involved and only thinks about what she wants, so how she gets Leo is astounding.
I enjoyed the story, there are some very humourous scenarios and a beautiful setting for the Noah and Merry story. I also liked that there was more to Noah's story than just being 'The One'
There are some gaps in the storyline that would bother me - I want to know how Merry went from stressing about the future to just staying in France in a Chateau and travelling with Noah..what about family or work etc?!

I absolutely loved this book! The characters are lovable, the background story is intriguing, and and the ending was swoon worthy. I loved the whole thing!

The writing was visceral! It felt like I was in the castle, in the garden, on the bridge, and could even taste the cucumber.

I listened to this book as an audiobook. And I have to say, I would recommend it! The narrator did a wonderful job, really bringing the character to life.

Five stars all the way around!!!

Thank you, NetGalley for the audio ARC!!

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

French Holiday is a beautiful story of unrequited love, finding one's self, and finding love in places you least expect. It made me feel like I was reading a movie script for a Netflix adaptation of someone's life without any of the cringy parts. It gives Eat, Pray, Love vibes with a moving tribute to family. There was comedy, tears (mine, probably not the characters'), and some quotable dialogue that I had to write down. It's a feel good book that made me want to explore a French countryside and tell my family how much they mean to me. Would definitely recommend to others.

French Holiday was a cute enemies to lovers romance set in a crumbling French chateau. Overall, the book had a lot of potential - it was a fun, light read, but the story did drag at times and there were little side dramas that took away from the main characters' stories. The banter between Merry and Noah was very entertaining and it was great to see the amazing friendship they formed along the way. This is the third book I've read by Sarah Ready and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of her novels. Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing and NetGalley for the chance to read this novel.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Merry needs a vacation from her life, especially after she watches the man she loves get married to her little sister. Especially after she has a drunken one night stand after the wedding with the man she hates the most in the world, Noah. So when her godmother sends her off to France to live in a Chateau for the summer, she blissfully accepts. Until she gets there and Noah is already there. Can Merry still have her French holiday?

This book was such a great story that had more depth than the typical romcom. It was poignant and funny (the lobster scene had me laughing out loud). I liked the characters (except maybe Leo) and the way the story weaves it’s way into your heart. The pace was just perfect and I loved the little twisty tidbits.

This book made me want to take my own trip to France!