The opening pages of this book played out like something you'd expect from Fawlty Towers...that's when I knew I was in for a read full of humour and fun.

I love Cornwall, so it was super easy to visualise the surroundings of Porthkara and the hotels interior.

I found the story to flow at a moderate pace, it was an enjoyable easy read. The characters were very marmite and I think I'm one of the few that found them both really irritating with their hesitance and I really wanted to knock their heads together to wake them both the hell up!

The Hotel Room Mix-Up is a heartwarming journey of love and finding it when you're least expecting it.

Second in Lydia Drake’s Renegade Dukes series, The Duchess And The Wolf brings readers back to 1816, where the London Season is in full swing. Heiress Susannah Fletcher is being pressured by her mother to marry the Duke of Huntington, something she is far from inclined to do. Susannah loves the piano and plays exquisitely. She also longs to travel and do as she pleases, free from society’s strictures. Securing a piano-playing engagement as the Red Duchess is her ticket to that freedom. I admired her and loved watching her grow emotionally as her story unfolded. Rafe Winters, owns the Wolf’s Den gentlemen’s club. He is about as far from a suitable match as Susannah’s mother could imagine. I fell for him instantly and could understand why Susannah felt the same way. I loved watching these two get to know each other intellectually and as friends, while the attraction between them simmered away. There is plenty of passion there too and those scenes are beautifully written. This book has been a pleasure to read and while it is part of a series, it does work fine as a stand-alone.

It is a fun, romantic comedy featuring enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity tropes, which produce chemistry and humour between Ella and Callum. The weddings introduce various characters that add depth to the story, and exploring the couple's issues balances poignancy and lighter moments. I like the setting, the cast of characters, and the romance.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

The Hotel Room Mix-Up is such a fun, romantic read set on the coast of a small Cornish town. When two weddings are being held on the same day, the hotel makes an error in booking and has three groups staying in the same room! Everything is booked causing Ella, once popular in the limelight of Hollywood, and Callum, a widower still recovering from the death of his wife two years prior, to seek out lodging elsewhere. The only available option is a dilapidated cottage near the sea. There they meet Jesse, owner of the cottage and large manor house on the property.

As one would guess, the cottage causes quite a ruckus for the pair, bringing them close and forging friendships with the locals. The weddings have their own drama, and we find ourselves cheering for several sets of couples. There is hilarity, drama, and villainous activity abound that makes this tale very enjoyable to read, indeed! The character development is superb, and the descriptions of the quaint seaside town makes me want to go to Cornwall posthaste.

Give this one 5 stars for the amusing story of celebrities, small town folk, and love being found in the most unusual places.

Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

A slow (slow) burn, it took me a little bit to get into the story. I soon fell in love with the characters. I think it's always tricky when one of the main character's has experienced loss, but Jay writes it beautifully.

The POV is clearly written out as to which character is being focused on; however, the book is not in first person so the headers were unnecessary. A fun, quick read. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

This did not hit the spot for me. I did not connect with the characters and felt the story was a bit dragging and boring.

Don’t be fooled by the title as the mix-up occurs right at the beginning and sets off the chain of events that follow. The mix-up ended there.

The mix-up became an afterthought and we were led on a journey of family dynamics, two weddings, a scorned lover, movie sets, home renovations which had the book going all over the place and trying to keep up with the names.

In my opinion, the only redeeming qualities are the setting and the supporting characters who are more mature than both main characters.

If you love slow burn romance with a tiny dash of celebrity drama then I’d recommend this.

I received an advanced copy via Netgalley and the review is mine and voluntary.

Sadly I did not get into this book. I struggled to connect with the characters and thought the opening was muddled.

I was really excited by the premise of how the main characters would meet because of a hotel room overbooking. Yet, I was disappointed that this did not feature more in the story and despite them being shipped off to another cottage to stay, this felt more like a subplot. Instead, the story features Ella returning to acting, Callum running away and almost “discovering himself” and, quite frankly, a lot of back and forth if the two of them actually like each other.

To be honest, in some places I thought that the writing was quite rushed and muddled. It didn’t help that I felt that way from the beginning, with the writer introducing an onslaught of characters in a very short space of time. I was confused about which characters belonged to which wedding party, which ultimately fed into whose “team” they sat on – Team Ella or Team Callum. At other times, I thought the story to be incredibly slow with unnecessary detail adding in. For example, the song lyrics towards the end did not interest me in the slightest and I glossed over it.

I enjoyed the cute romance between Ella and Callum but grew frustrated that they couldn’t make up their minds about each other. Often they would privately admit that their feelings were genuine – the real deal – yet this would only display itself by pushing the other person away. It felt like it just delayed the inevitable of them finally getting together. It didn’t help that I disliked some of Ella’s tendencies to whine and be quite selfish.

The Cornish setting was beautifully described and I could picture the beach scenes. I liked how the coast was in tune with the characters and how Jay used it to reflect their changing emotions. From an indecisive, heavily pregnant bride to an arrogant actor, it was a key aspect to the story. In my opinion, it’s just a shame that the cottage that Callum and Ella are forced to stay in did not feature more as it is transformed.

Overall, the actual mix-up was quite a minority element to the plot and I didn’t find it as entertaining and up-lifting as I was anticipating.

With thanks to Harper Collins, One More Chapter and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This would have been a four star, but there were about 10 useless chapters. I literally skipped them, went straight to the last chapter, and it really didn't seem like I missed anything. This had the potential to be really great. I loved the first half and then it just dragged, and dragged and added a lot of unnecessary conflict and miscommunication.

I did enjoy the meet cute, the side characters, the town, and how down to earth both characters were.

I really wanted to get into this book a bit more than I did. Honestly, I had a hard time finishing it. I felt like I enjoyed the first half a bit more than the second half. Ere were so many characters, I got a little bit confused at times. I enjoyed the idea and meet cute of the main characters (and at time the banter). But so many other areas just fell flat.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a digital ARC of this book.

The cover of this book drew my attention right off the bat and the description had me sold on wanting to read it. I loved the forced proximity but the book as a whole kind of missed its mark for me. The 180’s had my head spinning by the end, and the ending was ehhhhh. When Elle and Callum both agree to one night only and then she basically tells him the next morning she was lying and begs him to stay with her and then kicks him out for not changing his mind it just ruined the ending for me. I felt like she was trying to make him change his mind by sleeping with him and when she couldn’t get him to stay by giving him her body she lost her shit. And then him cancelling his move and proposing was just so far fetched. Like maybe cancelling the move was realistic, but proposing marriage before they even enter a long term relationship? That’s just not realistic to me I’m sorry.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is honest, unbiased, and completely my own.

If you are looking for cute, funny light hearted easy to read book, then this ticks the boxes. Thank you netgalley for an advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this one, and it was escapism at its finest. It was funny, sad, and full of romance - at each page turn there was new, old, and second-chance romance. If you like your books with a romance overload, then this is for you. The Hotel Room Mix-Up allowed me time to escape into Callum and Ella’s Cornish world for a few days when my life is just busy and my head is a scrambled mess of lists and too many things to do!

The Hotel Room Mix-Up is predominantly told from alternating viewpoints, that of Callum and Ella, both of whom meet in Cornwall whilst attending separate weddings (not their own, I hasten to add)! There are a lot of ‘will they, won’t they’ moments - and I mean a lot! My head was spinning, wondering whether they were going to get their happily ever after!

Grab this book if you enjoy a story containing whirlwind romances, beaches, the ocean, puppies, laughter and lots of fun!

Thank you to NetGalley, One More Chapter and Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to read The Hotel Room Mix-Up by Kathy Jay.

This book was my introduction to Kathy Jay’s work, and it was a delightful and heartwarming romantic comedy.

The story revolves around Callum and Ella, two strangers attending separate weddings in Porthkara. However, a mix-up with their hotel rooms leads them to share a quaint local cottage instead of the originally planned accommodations. The narrative unfolds as they navigate the challenges of getting to know each other in unexpected circumstances.

What struck me most about this novel was its charm, adorability, and the genuine connection that develops between the characters. Callum and Ella’s journey is not only entertaining but also filled with moments of vulnerability and openness. Despite the initial hiccups, they gradually warm up to each other, creating a captivating dynamic that kept me engaged throughout.

I will certainly be on the look out for more books from this author.

This is a cute and fun read, this is a typical ‘will they won’t they’ love story, but I did like how Callum dealt with his grief and showed how it is not easy to just ‘move on’.

The mix-up with the names and wedding cracked me up, I want to go to a circus wedding 😂.

Aside from the love story, my favourite pats we around Jessie and Old Rose Cottage and the changes 🏠

***** I have received and read an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for giving my honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.*****

Cute read, but too many characters and too much backstory to call it an easy read.

Great concept, but overwritten and needs a serious edit.

We all know i love an English romance!
This was a cute, easy on the spice, quick romance read.
It was a dual 3rd person POV which was nice because both MC's had issues they needed to deal with or overcome.
I loved the setting and the way that it was detailed. I also liked the celebrity aspect of it. Ella was an interesting female mc and I loved how she found herself and her strength and was able to stand up to people by the end!
I also liked Callum, the male MC and I liked how part of his story revolved around being part of the foster system. That definitely brought a lot to the story and it was interesting to read about.
I found that the story dragged on a bit at the beginning and then sped up at the end.
I also just don't like the miscommunication/ lack of communication trope lol. It annoys me! I never understand why characters have such a hard time just communicating lol.

Thank you Netgalley for this story.
This one just wasn't for me. I struggled through this: I thought the beginning (meet-cute, forced closeness trope) was cute, but there was far too many characters, back story, and interwoven plot to really make any sort of sense. I struggled heavily with the chemistry, or in my opinion lack-thereof, between the characters. I think being a widower is tough for a male lead, especially when they meet somewhere so heavily tied to his dead wife.
I also thought the pacing was really just all over the place. It made the tension of the plot just not come together.

The hotel room mix up is the first book I have read by the author Kathy Jay. This was such a cute, adorable, admirable, and loving romantic comedy novel about two strangers who find love when they're not expecting it while attending two different weddings. Two strangers named Callum and Ella are both attending different weddings in Porthkara but on arrival day there ends up being a mix up with the booked hotel rooms resulting with the two having to share a tiny local cottage instead of the nice hotel rooms that were planned. They face challenges getting to know each other but start warming, along with opening up to one another. This was a fun, enjoyable novel I loved every second of reading. I really loved how the two main characters were vulnerable with each other and open to getting to know each other. This was a 4 star read and I can't wait to read more books by the author Kathy Jay.

The main female character in this is so insufferable, also the plot was a bit strange like everything felt like it was happening so fast and the writing wasn't the greatest unfortunately.

Ella and Callum, two strangers, both arrive in Porthkara for two separate weddings, when a hotel room mix-up results in them sharing a local tiny cottage instead of the luxury hotel rooms they had planned. They are both facing different challenges going into these weddings and end up opening up to each other during the storm that arrives that night.

I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to read, and although the two main characters are facing quite difficult circumstances there is a light-heartedness to the book which made me smile throughout reading it.

I really enjoyed the two lead characters, Ella and Callum. I found them both kind, vulnerable and lovable. It was clear that they connected but also that they each had a lot to deal with personally and difficulties to overcome. Despite the connection, this definitely a slow burn romance as they each face their personal insecurities. I also found that they each had a part to play in helping the other deal with these.

Grief is a key aspect of this book and I felt that the way Kathy Jay has written and presented it was both sensitive and accurate. Grief, as we all know, is complex and I felt this was portrayed through the characters wonderfully.

This was a feel-good, easy read and I will be keeping an eye out for more books by Kathy Jay.