💕 ARC REVIEW 💕
French Holiday by Sarah Ready

This book deserves all 5 ⭐️ and would honestly give it 10 if I could!

Description:
Merry’s best friend and the man she has been in love with for years is marrying her sister. Following the wedding, she decides that she needs an escape plan to get out of her everyday life and get over him once and for all! But, fate has a different plan for her and once she arrives at her god-mothers French Rivera chateau she is faced with Noah. The man that she hates and supposedly hates her. Will they survive the next 3 months living under the same roof?

My thoughts:
I absolutely loved every second of this! Merry is such a fun and independent and ridiculous character. She is relatable and kind and someone you could easily have a good time with!
Noah is the perfect mix of mysterious and intriguing. A strong character that you quickly fall in love with!

I constantly laughed through this book and felt like I could easily be Merry with all the things that happen to her in the castle! Louis, I’m looking at you! And I’m pretty sure we can all agree that bugs are a big no.

Overall, I would gladly reread this and I cannot wait for it to come out so I can add it to my shelf!

Thank you Swift and Lewis Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I quite enjoyed French Holiday by Sarah Ready. The concept is simple - after her longtime crush Leo marries her sister Angela, Merry DeLuca quits her job and takes her godmother Jupiter up on her offer to stay in a French chateau, sort of a "flight plan" for three months. There's only one issue: Jupiter also leased the place to Noah Wright, a travel documentarian, Leo's best friend, and Merry's enemy. Well, and the other issue: there's only one habitable bedroom and one bed.

Slowly, Merry and Noah open up to each other (as they see it, the stakes are low since they don't like each other and will be strangers again soon enough), But the more they get to know each other, the closer they become. And when Merry starts to help Noah on the secret mission he's come to France for, their hatred turns to friendship and then more.

As with any sweet romance novel, there's some cheesiness at play. But this one stood above for me since there was no classic third act breakup - the point of this book was to see two people open up about their vulnerabilities and work together to heal some long-seeded personal trauma. Any miscommunications were far in the past and easily resolved. I felt like Merry and Noah were compatible as written, and even the expedited timeline of their romance felt as authentic as one can in a book like this. Some plot points felt a little unrealistic to me, but I finished the book feeling happy, and that's always the goal.

Highly recommend for anyone looking for a sweet and not too saccharine read. Some open door steam, although not too spicy or graphic. Gorgeous descriptions of France and the food. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Josh and Gemma make a baby is one of my favorite books! I was very excited to see that Sarah came out with a new book.
This book did not disappoint. I thought the M.C. had fantastic character growth throughout the book and I felt myself relating to the M.C. at some points. Overall, it was very cute and funny. I found myself laughing out loud many times.
One aspect of the book that I did not like, was the MC's sister. I found her quite annoying and frustrating at times. I thought the advice that she would give the MC made me roll my eyes a few times.

I will definitely be rereading this when I need a lighthearted rom-com.

Thank you to Swift & Lewis Publishing for an arc

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishers LLC for the eARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I liked this book, but thought it started off a little slow. The characters were interesting and fun. Merry was a bit obvious about her crush on Leo, and hence Noah's animosity. This is a sort of enemies to lovers book. Merry and Noah end up sharing a delipidated castle. This book has a bit of mystery, romance, and wine (loved the descriptions). 4 stars

French Holiday is a wonderful contemporary comedy novel written by Sarah Ready.
Where the maid of honor and best man at a family wedding end up in France on a three month holiday in a rustic, yet beautiful crumbling castle. Let the merriment begin!
This book was perfect to intrigue my mind with the intrepid characters and delightful teasing dialogue. The love scenes were not graphic, but described titteringly perfectly.
This storyline was woven beautifully and meaningfully with a satisfying ending
Perfect for a Lifetime Movie. I’d watch it.

Sarah Ready’s latest novel French Holiday was a great combination of a laugh out loud comedy, romance, and mystery.

After watching the man she loves walk down the aisle with her sister, Merry is certain she needs an escape. So when she’s offered a chance to stay in a French chateau, she knows she can’t turn it down!

When she arrives, she’s floored by the natural beauty of France and the stunning chateau with five turrets. It all feels like a dream come true, until her one night stand groomsman Noah shows up. She accosts him with a cucumber and this was already after I had laughed aloud at least four times.

I should warn that not everything in this book is lighthearted. There’s a great deal of loss explored in the book, which only enhanced the romance for me. However, I wanted to put the warning out there.

Merry has a bit of Amelia Bedelia in her. She just has some unfortunate luck at times that has such great comedic effect. I listened to most of the book thanks to @PRHaudio and the narrator was fantastic. I did also read some of it on my kindle, but I highly recommend the audio! I love when books make me laugh and smile as I read.

I have never read a book by Sarah Ready before. I feel lucky to now read through the rest of her novels!

I requested to read and review this book for free from Swift and Lewis Publishing LLC. This book will have laughing, possibly some tears, some angry moments. The story line has romance, mystery and some drama. Is love at first sight a thing or is it just lust? How do you know if you are meant to be with someone? Merry is girl that has always put everyone else needs first when is she going to decide her needs come first? Noah has a hard time trusting due to things out of control. Can these two find happily ever after? Will it be with each other or with their neighbors? Can what you dream up be reality? This book is for a mature reader and can be read anywhere.

I really enjoyed this romantic comedy, there were a few moments in the beginning that I didn't sit well, as explained below, but once the story moved to the main setting in France, I was hooked. I really enjoyed the blossoming friendship/relationship between Merry and Noah and how Merry’s opinion of Noah changed after spending more time together. I really liked the discussions about the different kinds of love, and how relationships with parents can affect a relationship later in life. I liked the mystery of Noah’s past and the setting was super swoon-worthy, it made me want to book a flight to France.

The beginning of this book was a rather rough start for me, with the author using insults like demented and schizophrenic - it just pulled me out of the story and I think there are better insults to use than these two mental illness/illness related ones. The second being the timeline of the sister’s pregnancy didn’t really make sense, she knew she was pregnant after 2 weeks?

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
Your classic summer Romance. A chateau in the countryside of Annecy, France, filled with good food, wine and handsome men. The perfect combination. I loved that there was a deeper layer behind Noah. Which really added to the story. You could feel the spark between their denial. It is quite a slow burn and it could have easily been a lot shorter than the 450 pages. I felt like more could have happened and it was too quickly wrapped up. But overal a really enjoyable read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Short chapters
French Chateau
Confined space Romance
Character built

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘋𝘦𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮—𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯.

𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦-𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘹 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘈𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘕𝘰𝘢𝘩 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯—𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦.

𝘍𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭 𝘣𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘕𝘰𝘢𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘰𝘢𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦, 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘕𝘰𝘢𝘩.

Where to begin? This book was great! I adored our two main characters and the slow burn, building relationship they had. The landscape and foodie details we received as they wandered around the French countryside was brilliant. I was also very impressed with the author’s writing style. You’ll get hooked and read in a few days, easy. There were several parts I actually laughed out loud because it was so funny (the rat, lobster, and dye incidents to be specific). Typically the books I end up ranking as “5 star” have the perfect blend of heart warming, humor, a little angst, and sweet romance all wrapped up in a nice little package… This book was it. I will most definitely be reading her other books!

“At the end of your life, it’s not what you did that makes you happy, it’s who you loved and who loved you.”

Rating: 5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was adorable; a very easy, quick romcom that was actually funny (rare, I feel.) I loved the characters I was supposed to love and despised the ones I wasn't. I loved the character development of Noah. The setting was divine.... It was amazing. Highly recommend.

Merry is in love with her best friend, who also just so happens to be marrying her sister, and hates his best friend, who she ends up having to live in a crumbling French chateau with for three months. I think you can guess what happens…

I loved the writing style of this book, it was super easy to read with a quick, punchy writing style and short chapters that kept the page turning.

There were fantastic, crazy side characters, an underlying mystery, a hilarious incident with a lobster and overall love, in all its many nuances.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I haven’t read the Josh and Gemma books by this author so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I absolutely loved it. Merry, after seeing her unrequited love Leo marry her sister and quitting her job, escapes to her godmother’s chateau in France for three months for some alone time to get over Leo. A dream right?! Until she sees her nemesis Noah staying at the chateau as well.

It’s a sweet romcom with enemies to lovers and close proximity tropes. It was funny (the lobster!) but also dealt with the heaviness of childhood family issues. This book had me hooked until the end, dreaming about spending time in the French countryside with a baguette and fresh cheese. Je suis amoureux!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a really fun read.

A huge Thank You to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for my advanced e-book and audio copy of French Holiday!

What I Enjoyed-

✨The Cover Art- Super Cute. The cover art really caught my attention first and then I realized it was Sarah Ready. It's all I really needed to know before diving in.

✨ The Audio- Kelsey Navarro was frickin fantastic.

✨ The Entertainment Factor- I am here for the drama 🤣. This book was so entertaining. I was never bored.

Why This Book Lost a Star 🌟

The Romance- The Romance wasn't BAD but the progression of the relationship was just unrealistic to me.

Overall- This was a great read / listen. This is my third Sarah Ready book and every single one has been a hit. I can't wait to read whatever she decides to release next. ❤

Quite a fun story that has some interesting twists and turns. One of the few female romance protagonists that I actually really enjoyed. Loved the setting of a French chateau too. One of those books that you can enjoy without having to think too much.

I loved this book so much because it is nonstop hilarious! I read rom com all the time, but it I have never read one that had me laugh almost the whole book or so hard that I cried. My boyfriend kept giving me weird looks and asking me what was so funny and normally he does not ask me questions about the book I am reading.

The start of the book is a little sad because it starts out with Merry's sister Angela (who I cannot stand and if she was my sister, I would have probably punched her over the red bike) marrying Leo who is Merry's best friend/love of her life (so she thinks). Once we get to the reception it picks up and starts to be funny especially when Merry gets to France. Noah is probably my new favorite book boyfriend; he turns out to be a really nice and caring guy and I loved how the book ended for Merry and Noah!

Even though most of the book is set in France it kept reminding me of two movies set in Italy, Summer Villa and Under the Tuscan Sun.

Thank you, NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

French Hoilday - Sarah Ready
Pub Date: 26 Apr 2023
Rating: 4.75⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

🇫🇷 🇫🇷 🇫🇷
✔️ Enemies at first sight
✔️ forced proximity
✔️ Enemies to Lovers
✔️ Grumpy x Sunshine
✔️ Unrequited love
✔️ Quirky godmother
✔️ Mystery

If I've not said this before, I'm saying it now.... I absolutely love Sarah Ready, in my eyes now, all her books are absolutely worth listening or reading.
This is my 3rd and as usual I wasn't disappointed.
I love a very good rom com... fun, beautifully written with so much depth... n this was it.

I listened to the audiobook and read it at the same time, finished the same day but in 2 sittings and it's worth every bit of my time. I just couldn't get enough of Noah and Merry. It was relatable and brought a whole host of emotions.
The Mystery part was a bonus.
I loved the narration.

Thank you Sarah Ready, to the publisher Swift & Lewis Publishing, LLC and NetGalley for allowing me to listen and read to this book for an honest opinion

Merry is in love with her best friend but her best friend is about to marry her sister she needs to get out and away from them so she can find herself again. When she has to quit her job she takes the opportunity to live in her godmother's villa in France for a few months. Little did she know that the best man would be there

Merry doesn't like Noah, they had a bad first meeting

Noah is in France to work alone but now has Merry to deal with.

The house only has one bed and it needs a lot of work but Meery is determined to make the best of it while she gets over her crush and tries to move one

This story was more than meets the eye - Noah has a mystery being solved throughout the book. That's what makes this more than a romance.

I enjoyed Merry and her narration throughout this book - there was a lot of talk about past traumas and how one gets over them. As well as how that trauma affects how we love
A great romance with a lot of moments of overcoming past traumas

The narration was awesome - all the characters were distinct and I could hear the tones and meanings through her voice

I loved reading this book!! The enemies to lovers, the south of France setting, the wine, the art, an old château in a thunderstorm…what more could you ask for??

Merry DeLuca is in love with her best friend and suffers quite the shock when he falls in a whirlwind romance with her sister. In a series of unfortunate events she goes from maid of honor at their wedding, to quitting her job and running away to France for a three month vacation from her life…and to hopefully get over her unrequited love. Imagine her surprise when by a twist of fate the best man from the wedding, a guy Merry cannot stand, ends up at the same rundown château in France to work on his latest travel-related project.

Thanks to NetGalley and Swift & Lewis Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was my first novel by Sarah Ready and I’m now a huge fan! French Holiday, releasing April 26th, is such a fun contemporary rom-com that had me smiling, laughing, swooning, and tearing up.

Merry De Luca is trapped in unrequited love hell; pining for her best friend Leo, who quickly falls in love and marries her sister. After the wedding, Merry flees to France for a three month break from reality as a caretaker of her godmother’s beautiful chateau. She encounters two huge problems when she arrives= the chateau is in complete disrepair AND her godmother has also rented the chateau to Noah Wright, a grumpy travel documentarian and Merry’s arch-nemesis.

I love a good ‘only one bed’ trope, and the tension between Merry and Noah was so rich! There is plenty of laugh out loud drama around faulty plumbing, cooking without electricity, and runaway lobsters, and even broken walls and beds. The author gave both MCs detailed and complicated pasts that added depth (and mystery) to the plot. The descriptive writing had me feeling like I was strolling through the vineyards, tasting delicious wine and food, or exploring the local idyllic village. Neighbors Pierre and Camille were a fun addition that included some fun double dates and increased tension between Merry and Noah. The slow burn romance was one to root for and led to breath-holding tension, and eventually some highlight worthy swoony dialogue.
This is a perfect beach read, so add it to your TBR.

Readers will adore:
Gorgeous, escapism French setting
Laugh out loud banter
Enemies to Lovers
Only one bed; forced proximity
Past family traumas
Relatable and funny heroine
Cinnamon roll, yet pensive hero

I'll be posting my review to Instagram @jens_toweringtbr the week prior to release!