Hot To Go had me laughing out loud from the very first chapter. It’s awkward, hilarious but also sweet and relatable. Holiday one night stand turned into more when the MCs realize they teach at the same school and have to take a school trip together 🤭

I enjoyed both MCs and their support systems with their family. You can tell how well loved and protected they are even though some of these cousins were noisy, chaotic and messy as heck. Aside from the over sharing and lack of boundaries, they were an extremely fun bunch to meet and seeing their banter always left me giggling right along with them.

2.5 🌶️ | Scenes weren’t overly explicit that it took away from the book (in my opinion) - short, sweet and to the point.

If you’re looking for a rom-com summer vacation read, I definitely recommend this one!

♡ Dual POV
♡ European summer holiday romance
♡ Strangers to lovers
♡ Forced proximity
♡ One bed

💌 Thank you NetGalley, Kristen Bailey and Storm Publishing for this ebook!

A summery, sweet, fun-loving story of two teachers and a one night stand. As I write this review, it is 97° in the shade. And it is wildly hot on a beach vacation for Charlie and Suzie. While in Mallorca, they connect and hook up for a one night stand. They each give a fake name.

Little do they know that Charlie and Susie ware going to be coworkers, fellow teachers on the same staff in London. This makes things a little awkward. But there’s a lot of great chemistry between them and they have satisfying banter. A great beach read for the summer and a cute one night stand turned relationship story.

I liked this story and read it quickly. There was good anticipation built up as we know the characters are bound to end up together. I very much enjoyed this authors Christmas story We Three Kings so I jumped at the chance to read this one. I didn’t connect to the characters as much, but she still writes really funny situational romantic comedy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC. Book to be published July 17, 2025.

This just wasn’t for me. I’ll keep it brief to avoid spoilers.

Now, I’m not a prude but some of the things that occurred and were spoken about in this book were just crude and disgusting. Maybe some people would find this funny (and I did at first) but as the story progressed I found myself cringing and scrunching up my nose.

If you like characters that talk about everyone’s sex lives, guys that think it is funny to dance around with only a sock on (and not hanging on their foot…), and the nosiness that comes from coworkers and family, this may be the book for you.

*An ARC was received in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this one...the description had me thinking of warm holidays and total escapism.

The problem for me was that I just didn't really fall in love with these characters. Both Suzie and Charlie are just...fine. They don't really have fun, I-want-to-root-for-you personalities.

I will say, my first thoughts were - "this is an interesting way to start a book". Really different (i didnt hate it).

Thank you very much to the publishers and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All views are my own.

Ugh. I'm disappointed. I loved Kristen Bailey's book, We Three Kings (honestly favorite holiday read last year!), finding it hilarious and heartwarming. When I saw the same description for this book, I couldn't resist reading it. Sadly, I only made it through the first quarter of the book, before calling it quits. It is laced with Bailey's signature humor, but the heartwarming description has not come through at all. So far, the only thing standing out is all things sex, and this is only the first quarter. The story is completely getting lost. I'm not giving up on reading more from Bailey. I'll just be looking for more of her works that resonate like We Three Kings.

Consider me a member of the Kristen Bailey fan club. 'Hot to Go' is a romp com with all of her signature warmth, wit and heart that makes for a delightful read. I love her witty humour and style of writing which never fails to make me chuckle. I loved Suzie aka Aurelie and Charlie aka Carlos and how their journey started back-to-front from a hot holiday fling to navigating being new colleagues and getting to know each other properly.

The other thing I loved was the school community, from the students heavily invested in their teachers' personal lives (and vice versas) and the teachers. It was also a welcome return to Beth and the Callaghan sisters, plus Mia, Ed and Zoe. There was so much lovely banter that even the supporting characters felt like real-life people you think about when they're off-page.

At times, however I felt the pace dragged a bit with some chapters that could've been shortened, so it took me a bit longer to finish. I can't believe I'm saying this, but perhaps less of the Callaghan cousins in the start, and some of the school scenes before Seville would've just tightened the story to keep the pace moving. However this is minor.

Thanks to Storm and NetGalley for the ARC.

Laugh out loud read!!! I seriously laughed throughout the whole entire book!
I loved the dual POV between Suzie & Charlie to hear each of their inner thoughts around the situations they encountered throughout the book.
Also, Suzie’s cousins were a hilarious group - I couldn’t put this book down!
Will definitely recommend….5 stars!

Hot To Go - Kristen Bailey (Gifted ARC)

I loved this, it had strong Sophie Kinsella, Helen Fielding vibes and I genuinely adored it, read it all in one evening! It’s just such a sweet and wonderful romance, it’s funny, occasionally laugh out loud so, and has some peculiar Britishisms that I really enjoyed! Which incidentally really reminded me of Bridget Jones. (Completely agree about the whole too hot to shag thing, this heatwave has been grim … FANS AND CALIPPOS AT THE READY!) I loved Suzie, and her character development. I also really appreciated her relationships with her cousins, the kinda girl gang every gal needs. Charlie was so sweet, and funny, and sexy, and endearing! All the students were hilarious, it reminded me of secondary school in both a horrifying, but also amusing way, because I’m luckily far gone from that now! This was a great rom com, that I really enjoyed, (it would make a great film, I’m just saying!) Definitely recommend picking it up when it’s published, which is July 18th 25, for a wonderful summer read. Have your fab lollies, and possibly a sangria or two at the ready! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I cannot stress this enough: do not read this book in public unless you’re okay with laughing like an absolute loon in the most inappropriate of places - like in the middle of a doctor’s waiting room. Once again, Kristen Bailey absolutely delivered on the humour. She really doesn’t spare her characters any embarrassments and I really feel for them 😅

This book has such a unique narrative voice that makes it stand apart. The characters’ thoughts are so vivid and unfiltered that it feels like you’ve climbed inside their heads and are experiencing the story right alongside them.

Also, I’m keeping this one close by for future reference… because the insults in here are so inventive. I aspire to be this creatively unhinged 😂

But beneath all the madness and humour, is a really lovely, heartwarming story about love, family, and the strange comfort of finding your person.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kristen Bailey and Storm Publishing for providing me with an e copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I fully enjoyed this perfect-for-Summer romantic comedy as we follow Suzie, a French teacher, and Charlie, a Spanish teacher, as they meet on holiday in Spain and somehow each pretends to be from the countries they teach, with Suzie adopting the alter ego Aurelie and Charlie becoming yoga instructor Carlos. All is going well until Charlie unavoidably misses a date with Suzie and they each leave without coming clean and exchanging their actual details. What are the odds that they’ve both been hired by the same school? Yep. They have to navigate this new situation and see if Suzie and Charlie get on just as well as Aurelie and Carlos.

With settings in the UK, Spain and France, this romance takes us on a few memorable journeys and you do have to suspend belief a bit, or believe in fate a bit, but it all works well and I liked both Suzie and Charlie and thought they made a lovely couple. I liked the side characters, including all of Suzie’s many female cousins and Charlie’s siblings.

There was humour, lightness and sadness throughout this story and I thought it was well-rounded and flowed really well.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

I was ready to hate the characters, main and secondary, for their behaviour in Mallorca in the first chapters (I've been on a plane to Mallorca full of drunk stag and hen parties in the early hours of the morning, I wouldn't wish it on my enemies).

I'm rarely sold on insta-love, but I did spend a year abroad and know that the temporality of it all does intensify feelings, so I get where Suzie and Charlie are coming from, and while their implausible meet-cute requires quite a bit of suspension of disbelief, I found their chemistry makes up for it and the awful lot of clichés about Spain (hasn't Mallorca suffered enough?). Because it kept a smile on my face for most of the reading time, however, this was the rom-com that I needed to kick off the summer.

Just a tiny nitpick: as a native speaker of Spanish, it threw me off that Charlie, who is supposed to be a Spanish teacher, made very basic mistakes in conversational Spanish, like "señors" instead of "señorEs" or "mI llamo" instad of "mE llamo". I can't say the same for the French sentences, because my French is a bit rusty, but I think the book might have benefited from getting a native to double-check this stuff (which according to the acknowledgement pages it did?). Bonus points for calling them "bunyols" in their native Catalan, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and for the ARC copy.

Hot to Go is a spicy, summer romance about two strangers who meet while on vacation in Mallorca, Spain. Sparks fly instantly, they hook up, and then they part ways, expecting to never see each other again… only to find that they’ve both been hired to work at the same school months later!

I’m still new to this genre, however I really enjoyed this one. The two leads were both relatable and written with depth, and their struggles were believable. This was quite funny as well! I especially enjoyed the FMC’s cousins - Lucy in particular was hilarious. Overall, I think this is a great summer read for those in the mood for something romantic, but light-hearted - perfect to take along on a vacation as well. Four stars!

Después de descubrir que su pareja de años le fue infiel, Suzie decide dejar atrás su vida en Brighton, su relación rota y su antiguo trabajo como profesora. Se muda a Londres para empezar de cero: nuevo departamento, nuevo empleo y, sobre todo, una nueva actitud. En el proceso, encuentra consuelo y fuerza en sus primas, un grupo de hermanas caóticas, entrañables y absolutamente divertidas que la reciben con los brazos abiertos.

La oportunidad de ir a Mallorca con ellas para celebrar un cumpleaños se convierte en el escape perfecto. Ahí redescubre quién es, lo que quiere y lo que no piensa volver a tolerar.

Paralelamente, conocemos a Charlie, un encantador y torpe profesor de español cuya última relación terminó en escándalo… con una presentación escolar accidentada y un video muy revelador. También busca un nuevo comienzo, una nueva escuela y, quizás, una nueva oportunidad para el amor.


--

Disfrute la lectura hasta los capítulos finales cuando Charlie hizo su tontería.



Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest

I’m exhausted. This book was like a long, boring, cringey soap opera.

It was supposed to be a one-night-stand-turned-romance, but the romance was just a clumsy subplot in this sorry tale about nothing.

Charlie and Suzie had all the ingredients to be lovable characters — Charlie, a guardian to his younger siblings; Suzie, a woman trying to bring balance back into her life after her longtime partner cheated on her.

And yet… they didn’t work. There was too much cringe, fabricated drama, and general blandness to get invested in this story.

I kinda hated the side characters too. At first, I thought the cousins’ dynamic was wholesome, but then it went downhill fast. There was way too much nosiness and a complete lack of boundaries for my taste.

The cousins not only pried all the juicy details from Suzie, but they also shared what they knew with other teachers at the school where Charlie and Suzie worked. That’s beyond inappropriate.

On the other hand, Suzie just wouldn’t shut up about what happened with Charlie, so the cousins probably didn’t have to work hard to get all the details. What’s with everyone oversharing their sex life? With people you literally JUST met?? With COLLEAGUES you just met?!?! The cringe! Where’s HR when we need them! 😭

The writing wasn’t bad, but it didn’t save this mess.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

As if I couldn't love Kristen Bailey anymore and then she brings the Callaghan sisters back together, to bring more fun and chaos to Suzie's life.

Suzie's life crashes when she finds out her husband has been cheating! Heartbroken, she leaves her life as a teacher in Brighton and returns back to London, to buxom of her family. Whilst celebrating a 40th birthday in Mallorca, she meets Carlos, aka Charlie who is her new work colleague, they just don't know it yet.

This was a fun summer read that would be perfect on any beach or by the pool.

Thank you to Storm and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

Fun, Frothy..
A fun, frothy and witty romcom, sizzling with Summer feels as a holiday fling suddenly goes awry when back on terra firma - leading to complications aplenty. With a well drawn cast of characters, some well imagined settings and a pacy plot riddled with banter galore this is a perfect beach, or armchair, read, for Summer.

There is just something about a holiday fling isn’t there? Immersed in balmy climates, stunning views and new experiences, you can try new things and even become a new version of yourself…which is just what happens to Suzie and Charlie. When Suzie encounters Charlie for the first time during a skinny dip that went wrong, she assumes a new identity; Aurelie. Two can play at that game because Charlie has become Carlos. They have an intense spicy holiday romance and that all it needs to be right? Wrong, because come September, they find themselves teaching in the same department of a high school and things are about to get more complicated….

Let me just start by saying this author is brilliant and her latest book is no exception. We all have a mental list of what we want to encounter when we read a romance novel and Kristin Bailey goes above and beyond with every book. I really enjoyed the witty banter, the camaraderie, the spice and the feel good vibes I got from this book. The characters are relatable and you root for them straight away. The ending is super satisfying too. It’s the perfect summer romance read. Prepare to show yourself up laughing your head off as you read this by the pool.

Thanks for the author, publisher and NetGalley for a chance to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Loved the whole premise of this book. Some real "laugh out loud" parts. Loved Charlie, Suzie and the cousins. A fabulous read.

This novel follows the story of two language teachers who meet by chance during a trip abroad, both carrying the emotional weight of recent, difficult relationships. Their paths unexpectedly cross again in London, where they find themselves teaching at the same school.

What begins as a casual connection slowly evolves, as they navigate misunderstandings, shared moments, and the complicated emotions that come with starting over. The story builds through well-loved romance tropes like strangers to lovers, forced proximity, and the classic one bed scenario, all blended in a natural and engaging way.

The writing is fluid and warm, and the romance develops at a pace that feels genuine. While there are a few sensual scenes, they are never overly explicit—I’d rate the spicy level around a 6/10. It strikes a nice balance for readers who enjoy romance without needing a heavy focus on physical scenes.

The male lead stands out as emotionally mature and deeply caring, while the female lead is portrayed with simplicity and sincerity, even if she feels less distinct at times. Together, their dynamic works well, creating a story that feels comforting and hopeful.

This is a lovely, light read—ideal for anyone looking for a feel-good romance with a happy ending, well-developed characters, and just enough depth to keep you emotionally invested. Perfect for a weekend read or a few quiet afternoons.