Plenty of good romance troupes including secret identities, miscommunication, and a bitter ex. All in all a heartwarming story that is entertaining, the drama broken up with humor by the side cast of characters that are well formed and interesting.

Third time is a charm.

Before diving into Kristen Bailey's latest, I was a complete Bailey virgin. But let me tell you, this little summer treat, while starting slower than a sloth on tranquilizers, eventually picked up speed faster than my credit card bill after a shopping spree. If you're in the market for a lightning-fast read with just the right amount of chaos and a potential new fictional crush (because who has enough of those?), this is your jam. Bonus: I'm now practically bilingual in French and Spanish, thanks to this book!

Hot to go was a very funny and light read. I really enjoyed the trip to Mallorca and the dynamics between Suzie's cousins. I had such a fun time and the cousins were honestly hilarious. I loved how their story was very realistic and showed how every love story might not be perfect.

Some internal dialogue felt a bit weird for me, like it was actually a conversation and the quotation marks were missing, so I often had to go back and re-read to understand what was going on. That being said, I liked both Suzie and Charlie, but Lucy really stole the show for me. I can't wait for her book!! Overall it was a very fun and lighthearted summer read!

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion 🫶🏽

It wasn't really my kind of story line
It started off strong holiday romance that wasn't meant to be but obviously the universe has other ideas
But unfortunately it wasn't something that kept my focus throughout

(This review was given as I received an early arc copy )

I found the will they won't they finally get together a little tiring after a while and felt maybe they should forget trying to get together
Started off strong and fizzled out for me by the third try

i DNF’ed this one halfway through. it started out funny, and it’s definitely fast-paced, but for me personally, i just didn’t really connect with the characters and i didn’t really care if they ended up together at the end. so thankful for the ARC though!

I really liked the concept of this book but the execution just didn't really work for me personally.

The writing itself was easy to read and the characters were likeable but where I just found it a little jarring for my personal taste was some of the humour just felt quite forced (bordering on slapstick) and the crude sex references were just a little much. And I don't mean spice, I literally mean the talking about sex with anyone that will listen element- it just pulls me out of the story a bit as I find it so jarring as its just not something I'd relate to in real life (although that could be the norm and I'm more prudish than I thought!) I also think the romance would have benefitted from being a little punchier as it was too long in some places and too short in others, a bit more focus on the romance in terms of pacing might have helped this for me personally.

I had moments where I really enjoyed the book, and I thought some of the banter with the cousins was really good and it was definitely an easy read in those moments.

Overall I would say that I am probably not the target reader of this book but if you love over this type of humour this one most definitely would be for you.

Who doesn’t day dream of a hot summer fling? But none of us daydream about it following us home!
I really enjoyed this - I felt like I was on holiday and got into the spirit by pouring an umbrella drink at home to enjoy each page of this wild and sexy tale of re-self-discovery and love.

What a fun, sweet rom-com! I laughed out loud several times and had an audible "awww" at least once. I'm a big fan of dialogue and the banter between Charlie and Suzie is excellent - light-hearted, occasionally angsty, and more or less realistic. But, also the dialogue between the cousins/friends is really good and supportive. I love strong, female relationships in books, and this had that without being heavy-handed and or overly sappy. The main characters are pretty young (mid 20s) but they've both been through some difficult situations, so they don't come off as immature, even to this Gen X reader.

There's no question where this book is going to end up, but I wasn't expecting the twist to play out the way it did.

As an American, some of the particularities of the schools was unfamiliar to me, but it didn't really matter. Some of the conversations between the students and teachers seemed a bit familiar, but that might be a cultural thing, too (e.g., teasing one student about her crush on another,). I did have to look up what a vest-top was *(for the Americans - it's a sleeveless top, like a tank top, or maybe I'm the only one who didn't know that).

The spice is 3 🌶️🌶️🌶️. The spicy scenes are relatively short but they are descriptive and there are several. But, it's pretty vanilla (excepting some public places). The author writes the spice well, getting the "feel" (pun somewhat intended) without being blow-by-blow (pun totally intended).

This would be a perfect summer vacation, beach read. ;

The cute cover and synopsis pulled me in but sadly, DNF at 48%. I tried so very hard to enjoy this book or at the very least finish it. But after 7 days and still not even half way through I just knew it was going to get worse before it got better. The story has such promise of a good book but there is so much unnecessary drama and side plots that the romance is second to none. The book started off strong with a MFC getting over a cheating ex being drug along on a birthday vacation meets MMC on his brothers bachelor trip; and their chemistry is off the charts!!! But immediately after their first meeting the whole book goes south. I hate to not finish this book since it was gifted to me by NetGalley, but I have to be honest and move on before I get into a book slump.

I just finished the book and I absolutely loved it! Thank you for the arc copy, I am very thankful for the opportunity. The characters are so relatable, as well as the settings. I started laughing pretty much at the first page. I loved the blend of sharp humor, emotions, emotional depth and the slow-burn tension.

Thank you for the refreshing and hilarious story! I had a hard time putting it down even as a busy mom of three who works full time and is also in grad school.

3.5 ⭐️
Release date: July 18, 2025

I finally had time to finish this one, and I had such a great time reading it! It’s a perfect summer read, it captures the essence of the season so beautifully, especially in the scenes set in Mallorca: the warmth of the sun, the salty breeze, the sound of the waves, and that feeling of freedom, joy, and endless possibilities.

The story follows Suzie, a French teacher with a broken heart, and Charlie, a Spanish teacher (appreciation for a bit of Spanish, loved that! 😂) with the kindest of hearts, who unexpectedly find themselves in a one-in-a-million kind of connection. Their bond forms in the most unusual way, and it’s both funny and sweet to watch it grow as they navigate work, life, and second chances.

As someone from Latin America, I’m not super familiar with London-style banter but I somehow totally got it and really enjoyed it!

I absolutely loved the cousins, they were hilarious and brought so much energy to the story. Lucy totally stole the show for me; I need her book, like, now. She had me cracking up constantly.

The romance between Suzie and Charlie was really sweet, though I would’ve loved a few more meaningful moments between them to fully feel the emotional buildup. Still, this was a fun, light, and really cute read.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Kristen Bailey for my first ARC! I’ll definitely be reading more from this author. ☀️📚💛

I mostly picked this one because of the Chappell Roan inspired title, but it was such a fun summer read! Great banter and a nice balance of romance and comedy. I loved the dual POV and both main characters, as well.

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for the eARC! Publishing 7/17!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback.

This is a solid 3 star beach read. It’s not super deep and you can easily put it down if it’s time to take a dip in the ocean. The dialogue is hilarious and I absolutely adored “the Cousins”. My biggest issue with this is that there felt like very little chemistry between the FMC and MMC which is why I’m not giving this a full 4 stars.

This one’s pure summer rom-com, full of mistaken identities, steamy mishaps, and hilarious moments. It is fun, flirty, and awkward in the best way.

I knew I wanted to read this book from the title alone and it was not misleading. I was hooked from the very first page. The first part absolutely nailed the feeling of summer romance, it was passionate, intense and as hot as I know Spain is in the summer. There is a big group (or two groups) introduced right at the beginning, which I thought I'd be able to keep up with but couldn't. Eventually, they all merged into on character with many names.
I found the second part, when they meet after summer to be incredibly realistic and relatable, I know they use the metaphor a lot but it's very much like they were different people. Eventually, a bit after half of the book had gone by, I felt things started to slow down a bit, which is very common but that's where there should be a secondary storyline or some other event to keep our attention glued to the book. It's not a bad thing but that's where it started taking a bit more energy for the read.

I felt like the author stuck too ridgedly to the dual POV structure of the chapters. For the most part, I loved it and it made it interesting, but on some occasions it felt like the situation was being dragged on just for the sake of maintaining both POVs, even having some chapters ending in a weird place probably because of this.

I absolutely loved the humour, it had me literally laughing out loud, I loved the sarcasm and the puns, how they matched eachothers banter. It's a very british book and I loved that even more, however I can imagine it might be difficult to translate to international markets, specifically for that reason. I also found really amusing and accurate how they slipped in and out of languages so often, being bilingual. Luckily, I understand both well enough to be able to read it smoothly, but I can imagine some readers won't, which is why it would be helpful for the flow of the story to have footnotes with the translations or general meaning (often happens on books that are translated from english in case there's a phrase that needs to be kept in the original language).

Another thing that I found hard to grasp was their inner monologue, when they wanted to say somehting else than what they were about to say. This wasn't clealry marked and it was a bit hard to understand wether it was intentional or if it was actual dialogue.

All in all, I really liked the book, it's not a sickening romance, it's nice well balanced and accurate when it comes to the other aspects of normal day-to-day life. I love that it doesn't fell too juvenile like many others in this category.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I liked this story a lot! It was a really cute premise with a lot of funny moments. I loved Charlie and Suzie! (For Paul, I wish that every time he needs a condiment, they’re all out so that he has to eat his food plain.)

I did struggle a bit with the style. The dual perspective within each chapter took some getting used to, and it seemed like the chapters would end at some random spots sometimes. There was a bit of internal monologue that wasn’t really differentiated (like in italics or something), so that took some getting used to as well. There was a lot of foreign language (which was fun!), but with no translation or hint to what it meant, I was looking up a lot of it. I can get pretty far with Spanish, but I’m completely lost with French. It also was the most British thing I’ve read so far, so for my uncultured American self, I had to look up a few references to get the full picture. I think overall, it’s maybe not the most accessible for all readers, but it’s definitely a good story!

This romantic comedy was just that, a story fueled with one night stand turned full blown romance that made me laugh out loud. From the banter to the lighthearted moments, I was giggling and kicking my feet the whole time.

Two people who have a vacation fling find out they are new co-workers 😳

Suzie is heading to Mallorca (an island in Spain for us geography challenged people) for a trip with her cousins and Charlie is going with his brother and his friends for a Stag do (bachelor party for us American people)

They meet on the beach and end up having a fun and sexy night together. They agree to meet up again the next day but Charlie doesn't show up. Suzie assumes it was just a vacation fling but inside she is disappointed.

When they both start their teaching positions at a new school, it's quickly revealed at the beginning of the year staff meeting that Suzie is the new French teacher and Charlie is the new Spanish teacher. Mon Dieu! Dios Mio!

Awkward doesn't even begin to describe what Suzie is feeling and now she must navigate a new school with new students and new co-workers all while trying to avoid her vacation fling. But what happens when these two realize that maybe it's more than just a fling and real feelings start to emerge?

I cringed in the best way at times with how awkward their interactions were. It was able to feel the embarrassment from both characters just as I feel like it would have been in real life. There is no way you don’t feel weird in this situation and she nailed these feelings perfectly. Some of the story was over the top and almost too comical but overall this was a fun summer read.

Kristen Bailey always knows how to bring the laughs and British humor that I love.

Huge thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

Ahhhh!!! this book was amazing! It was so funny and i felt very emotionally attached to the characters! It was my first Kristen Bailey book but certainly not my last!

☀️ LIBRO PERFETTO PER L’ESTATE ?☀️
📚 Hot to Go di Kristen Bailey

Una commedia romantica frizzante, leggera e assolutamente divertente! 💃🏼🔥
Suzie, insegnante di francese dal cuore spezzato, parte per Maiorca in cerca di relax… ma trova molto di più: un’affascinante avventura estiva, bugie bianche, identità confuse e tanto, tanto imbarazzo – il tutto condito da una chimica irresistibile! 😏🇪🇸

Ho adorato:
✨ la leggerezza della narrazione
✨ i personaggi ben costruiti e inseriti alla perfezione nel contesto
✨ il romance: dolce, coinvolgente e con una tensione ben dosata
✨ le situazioni imbarazzanti e ironiche che ti strappano sempre un sorriso

Un plauso anche ai personaggi secondari, a cui viene dato tanto (forse a volte troppo 😅) spazio – ma contribuiscono a creare un’atmosfera piena di vita, famiglia e caos adorabile.

📖 Se cercate una lettura romantica, simpatica e spensierata per le vostre giornate al sole, Hot to Go è proprio quello che fa per voi! 🌴🍹