French Holiday is a charming romantic novel with a hint of a mystery involved that just grips you tight and doesn't let you go until the end. The half ruined castle and it's goth romance vibe was a weirdly perfect setting for the novel, the enemies to lovers with a spark between them so well shown is something everybody needs to read on a warm sunny days.
I loved how the author didn't throw in the unneeded miscommunication between the main characters, instead they got over their problems by talking to each other. I also loved how pictured were the sister relationship, and the best friends relationship. The red bike metaphor was used perfectly through the whole book, however, I didn't like the scene with the best friend in the ending, I could have gone without him proclaming love in the spur of moment.
Besides that this novel was one of my favorite reads this summer, and I will be thinking of it for quite some time, for sure!

Enemies to lovers
One bed
France
A runaway lobster

It was cute and the lobster made me laugh.
Also teared up a little with his story line.

I adored this light-hearted rom-con set in a dreamy (although crumbling) French chateau…

Noah was the perfect book boyfriend

A notable mention to Louis the lobster🦞 , he had me cracking 😂

The cover is really cute and it actually turned out to be much better than I expected. The story is super adorable and I enjoyed the French countryside setting. I don't remember if I ever read something like that before. Definitely an entertaining read for the summer!

Fast read. Met all my trope expectations (forced proximity, one bed, enemies to lovers). Honestly wasn’t sure how their love story would unfold and was surprised by the twist in the story. Enjoyed the humor and playfulness. Also, I’m getting a pet lobster now.

I enjoyed this book so much! It was a perfect escape to France, and the chemistry between the characters was a delight to read. This was my first book from Sarah Ready, but it won't be my last. Now to get a paperback copy to add to my bookshelf!

French holiday is an enjoyable romance book, Enemies to Lovers, with a twist of gothic and comedy. I read it very quickly. Aside from a few plot holes and coincidences, I found it very enjoyable. The characters are quirky and charming. The descriptions of scenery and food are lovely, as you'd expect in a book mostly set in the French countryside. The family dynamics were just complicated enough, but never got very dark. A great summer read.

French Holiday follows the story of Merry and how she travels to France after watching her best friend and the man she is in love with marry her sister. At the castle, she finds Noah who she can’t stand. This is an enemies to lovers story. A slow burn as well. It was a sweet love story between Merry and Noah. It was a fun read! I really enjoyed this book. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I would read another one of her books again.

I loved this absolutely charming and fun romcom! I adored Merry and Noah’s banter and slow burn romance, the castle and its history, the Parisian setting, and the mystery which was an unexpected delight! The lobster scenes had me laughing out loud!! This is a perfect summer/beach/poolside read and I highly recommend it! I will definitely read more from this author!

With hints of "Under the Tuscan Sun" and "Eat Pray Love," Sarah Ready gives us a rom-com with heart and home repairs, love and adventure, and the familiar enemies-to-lovers trope with some snappy dialogue and chemistry.

This was a cute and fun read, and I recommend it as a beach read for those who would like to escape to France, but it might be out of your budget this summer.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC. All opinions are my own.

This was my first book by the author. I haven't read a romantic comedy style book in ages so the over-the-top-ness of some parts of this took some while to get used to, but I mostly enjoyed it after I settled into the story. It's largely predictable and tropey but I appreciated how it didn't have a third-act breakup and the characters, instead, communicated (actually, for much of it, with the FMC's resolution to be more direct). I feel like there were too many side-plots in the second half of the book and they overshadowed the main thread of the FMC and MMC as well as their individual growth arcs. The extra plots also took page-time away from the location (the story takes place mainly in the chateau and some of it in the nearby town of Annecy; but there was so much potential to include more of the local French countryside). Still, an enjoyable romcom to spend a lazy, summer Sunday with.

This book was absolutely adorable! Thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was enemies to lovers done absolutely right!! After her sister marries the man she was pining for, Merry escapes to France to her godmother's chateau to get away from it all. Except her new brother in law’s best friend is already there, and they do not get along.
The scene with the lobster had me laughing out loud!
Will absolutely recommend this book to everyone!!

French Holiday by Sarah Ready
*thank you to NetGalley for the free eARC*
*possible spoilers ahead*

After her sister marries the guy she’s in love with, Merry DeLuca flees to France to stay in her godmother’s newly purchased chateau. Unfortunately, the chateau is falling apart… and her godmother has already rented it out to Noah Wright. Noah is a travel writer, and happens to be the Best Man from the wedding. Oh, and he hates her guts.
Can Merry move on from her unrequited love? And can she an Noah learn to get along?

Well. This story was not what I expected. Some of it was predictable – enemies-to-lovers, fluffy romance, happily ever after… but the actual plot points were not.
Things I liked:
The ending. I’m a sucker for a happy ending.
The build up to Merry and Noah’s romance.
Things I didn’t like:
It felt very unrealistic, even for a rom-com. Certain events just left me going ‘that would never happen’.
Merry’s lack of French/knowledge of France. It felt like there was no research done about life in France.
Overall: 2.5/5

THIS WAS CUTE AND FREAKING HILARIOUS

I mean who doesn’t wanna find love in France?? I’m glad Merry got over her fantasy of finding a Pierre and found her Noah 🥹

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my eARC.

Merry’s younger sister gets everything she wants – so of COURSE Merry’s long-time crush / best friend fell for Angela immediately and they had a whirlwind wedding. Merry’s eccentric aunt offers Merry a three month stay at her castle in the French countryside, and she leaps at the chance to have her Eat, Pray, Love moment – until she gets there and finds her worst enemy, Noah, there too. I always find the enemies-to-lovers trope a bit cliched and predictable, but this had some fun insights on relationships that I enjoyed, and the mystery that ran alongside the main story was fun too. Overall, a sweet and fun light read!

3-stars. It was alright. I don't know, something just never clicked with me in regards to Merry and the tone of the writing. It was a quick and easy read, it hit all the right beats of the genre, it just didn't blow me away and it was easy to put down. I think it was so rom-com at times that it came off too goofy for me but that's a personal taste thing. It's a solid example of the one-bed and enemies-to-lovers tropes. The mystery was a nice twist and I'll give it another star for going the extra mile to challenge the plot a bit. For me, it's not a favorite but if you enjoy the lighter side of romance this might be a good pick for you.


Note: I received a free electronic edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank them, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to do so.

4⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for this book.

“When I first saw you, you were the first bright thing I’d seen in years. You were the beginning of the end for me.”

💜Enemies to lovers
💜Forced Proximity
💜One Bed
💜Slow Burn
💜Unrequited Love

This was a really cute book that was a breath of fresh air for me. It was a great beach read. I loved Merry and Noah’s banter and them slowly learning about each other.

French Holiday is such a sweet, heartwarming story. I really enjoyed the plot and the way the romance was developed. The characters were relatable and Merry, the FMC, has a great internal dialogue. I thought she was hilarious. I loved that there was no third act breakup and no basic misunderstanding that tears them apart. The scene was painted beautifully, the characters were witty and had diverse personalities, yet all they all meshed well together. There was very little spice and it was more romantic than steamy. The book focused on the relationship rather than the sex. I look forward to reading more of Sarah Ready's work.

Thank you to Sarah Ready, Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC, and NetGalley for a digital copy of French Holiday.

Enemies to Lovers, One Bed Trope, and Forced Proximity?! All my favorite tropes in one book? YES PLEASE!

Merry escapes her crumbling life to a dreamy French castle that's basically uninhabitable. And just when she thinks her day can't get any worse, in walks Noah - the worst guy she's ever met. Forced together for the next few months, Merry and Noah strike a truce in hopes of making the best of their situation. Secrets and mysteries unfold while friendly banter turns to love.

Thanks to NetGalley, Swift & Lewis Publishing, and Sarah Ready for allowing me access to this book. All opinions are my own.

French Holiday is a charming romantic comedy with an air of mystery. Overall I enjoyed this entertaining and light read. I even audibly laughed at a few of the situations Merry managed to get herself into. Additional bonus: Sarah Ready utilized some of my favorite romance tropes:

❣️Unrequited Love
❣️Enemies to Lovers
❣️Forced Proximity
❣️One Bed
❣️Grump x Sunshine

At times, I found myself wishing for Dual POV so we could hear Noah’s thoughts, but Single POV with just Merry was also great. I occasionally found some of the writing style to be slightly immature, but the overall character development and plot progression compensated for it.

This one is perfect for summertime and lounging by the pool!

Thank you Sarah Ready, NetGalley, and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the eARC of #FrenchHoliday in exchange for an honest review.