**One Island, One Villa, One Bed**. You had me at one bed! I knew I had to read this book. The story revolves around Bea, who is tasked with organizing her grandmother Golly’s retirement and 70th birthday party in Santorini. The villa is reserved for Gib, a CEO looking to relax and disconnect from the world. Unfortunately for Bea, this is the only cottage she has ever stayed in; it happens to be occupied and has just one bed!

Watching their relationship evolve from an awkward initial encounter to a deeper understanding of each other was a delight. The characters demonstrated maturity in their relationship, and thankfully, there was no unnecessary third-act breakup that would leave readers frustrated with the main characters.

I loved Golly’s eccentric personality and her playful antics, as well as the dynamic between her and Bea. This was a fantastic low-stakes rom-com that I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

This was only ok for me. I was intrigued by the tropes and it delivered in a general sense, but the book also felt rushed and chaotic and just in need of editing to create a tighter story.

An unexpected delight! One Bed threw me for a loop, largely due to not reading many third person POV romances. There's a lot to catch up with as you start the book, but I found myself enchanted by the ensemble of interesting characters surrounding Gibson and Bea. Bea's godmother Golly is fascinating and hard to pin down, but clearly looking out for Bea. I found the two main character's inner conflicts interesting, as they struggled with their feelings for each other. Bea has been through so many challenges with her parents and past relationships. Gib clearly has issues with vulnerability, and is finding his limits tested by Bea's warmth and presence during his holiday. Their tension and chemistry is very hot, with lots of romantic scenes. Unexpected, but enjoyable!

Do I dream about a villa in Santorini? Yes, absolutely. The location made the rest of the story light up for me. My only hang-up with this romance is emotionally-unavailable men are a tough sell, given how unpleasant these men are in real life. Luckily, Gib has a lot of fine qualities and is still someone to root for.

I think most romance readers will find this to be a gorgeous Greek escape.

Special thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for this ARC.

What an adorably smutty romance! It doesn't break any barriers in the romance genre, but I do love the "one bed", childhood friends trope!

Bea & Gibson were childhood friends on her godmother's villa in the Greek islands and things took a turn when Bea comes back to throw her godmother a retirement party. One thing leads to another and they are forced to spend time together and there is only one bed to stay in.

Things get steamy and they have to figure out of healing their old wounds will lead to a beautiful relationship.

Thank you so much to the author, NetGalley, and Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

Joss Wood’s "One Bed" offers readers an escape to Santorini, weaving together humor, heart, and the perennial charm of the “one bed” trope. While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel of romantic comedies, it does deliver some emotional depth and steamy chemistry.

The plot: Bea, a popular children's book author who's kinda like JK Rowling if she weren't a hateful, whiny cow, retreats to her godmother Golly’s idyllic island cottage to cure her writer's block and throw Golly a retirement party. Enter Gibson, a flirty but emotionally guarded businessman who also has a claim to the cottage. With only one bed and a lot of unresolved childhood history, the two must navigate their individual emotional baggage and a “holiday fling” that becomes increasingly complicated.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This book follows Bea and Gib. Bea is an author writing under a pseudonym struggling to write her next book and is in desperate need of an escape. Gib is a big-time businessman who needs to get away and hopes to relive his favourite childhood vacation.

As the title already insinuates, the two are forced to share a bed in the only cottage available to them and a romance develops from there.

All this sounded right up my street but unfortunately, the writing just didn't do it for me. The story took ages to get going and I honestly felt no chemistry between Bea and Gib. There was also a lot of telling instead of showing going on. Both Bea and Gib tell us a lot about themselves and their surroundings but it just feels like an info-dump.

I felt like some of the plot points weren't sufficiently expanded upon:

1. The whole bit about Pip being based on Gib was glossed over. Nowhere did Gib clock the similarities and discuss this with Bea. The fact that Bea mentions it constantly would imply that it is an important plot point but it just never gets wrapped up properly.

2. The fact that Bea writes under a pseudonym seemed very important and I assumed this would be the main driver of the story. But it gets put on a back-burner until we almost reach the end of the book and it gets solved way too quickly.

3. What was up with the Gerry guy? The man felt so one-dimensional and had zero redeeming qualities, the same goes for Bea's mother. And Gib's mother to be honest. They didn't feel layered and seemed to function exclusively as backstory for our main characters' trauma.

Personally, I feel like the book had great promise but it was trying to do too much at once. Most of the characters feel one-dimensional, too many plotlines aren't properly explored, dialogue sometimes feels cringy and unnatural. I think a lot could've been solved by only including one POV instead of two. Right now it feels like both main characters are only half developed.

Overall, I wanted more from this book. It has potential but if I'm honest, I would have DNF'd this if I hadn't received this for review.

Thanks to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks So much to Joss Wood and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter | One More Chapter for the eARC of this book. I enjoyed reading about Bea and Gibson. It was a slow start but got better the further you read. There is spice as well.

The eccentric side characters, the Santorini setting and description were what made the story for me. The main characters, Bea and Gib, had some great chemistry and turns out, they knew each other briefly as children. She's now a successful author who writes under a pen name and he's a successful CEO . However, both have their own issues - traumas from the past which they still haven't healed from. The story may have been quite far-fetched, but it worked.

Overall, this was a fun, lighthearted read.

I had high hopes for One Bed by Joss Wood based on its intriguing premise, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. While the story had potential, I struggled to connect with the characters, which made it difficult to fully immerse myself in their story.

My biggest issue was with Gibson. His rude demeanor and commitment-phobic tendencies made him so unlikeable. It felt inconsistent when, after resisting commitment for most of the book, he suddenly decided in the final chapter that he wanted to be in a relationship with Bea.

Bea deserved so much better. Her warmth and patience were wasted on someone who, in my opinion, didn’t demonstrate enough growth or effort to earn her love. Gibson’s lack of grovelling only amplified this sentiment, leaving the overall feeling of their story, anticlimactic and unsatisfying.

Let me start by saying I loved the cover of this book and I liked the idea of the plot and I'm always up to try a new author.

I loved the setting, I mean who wouldn't a greek island? and I liked Bea immediately and the way her character grew through out the book was very well done, and Golly, well she could have had a lot more of book and I wouldn't have minded one bit. These were all the best bits for me.
Gib, well him I didn't like so much, I didn't feel like he came across very well and as the Main male lead, he left me a bit cold.
I would recommend it just for the female characters .

One Bed starts slowly, with a focus on setting the stage and peeling back the layers of Bea and Gibson’s personalities. Their dynamic builds gradually, and the chemistry between them evolved slowly - That can be a good thing but in this case also felt a little slow to get into a relatively long romance book overall.

However, the characters’ growth and the progression of their relationship seemed relatable but just felt repetitive at times. Bea’s sharp humor and Gibson’s guarded demeanor created a nice balance of personalities though.

✅ Bea Williams, 30, author with writer’s block & Gibson Caddell, 35, works for his family business
✅ they are both in Greece on vacation
✅ for romance reasons, there’s only 1 bed
🌶️: yes

A very fun romp in Greece!

This book is sweet with a little bit of spice. But I will say I didn’t love how vulnerable the fmc was when the MMC wouldn’t give her anything in return. I know it was part of their relationship arc to work through that but their relationship felt very immature to me because of it.

Although I enjoye dthe story, I found the characters a little hard to connect with. Would have loved more of the godmother in the wiritng.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

i’d give it three and a half stars if i could ⭐️

as it’s title suggests ‘one bed’ is filled with all the well-known and well-loved romance tropes. it’s fast-paced, with a cast of quirky and interesting characters, set against the warm backdrop of santorini (a drastic difference to the current uk weather scene.) i liked the romance, though their conflict wraps up rather quickly and i’d have liked to have seen more of their growth apart before they came back together.

Bea, an author who writes under a pen name, is organising a fabulous retirement party for her godmother Golly and
Gibson is a CEO in need of a holiday. It turns out they are both staying in Golly's cottage on her property in Santorini, the problem is there is only one bed. Is that really a problem? Not when these two are instantly attracted to each other, but Bea and Gib get to know each other more as the party planning proceeds and they spend more time together. They agree it's a holiday fling but neither wants it to end.

As the story progressed I was more and more interested in Bea's character, she had initially been so focused on her past relationship with her ex that once she started to see what it could be like with Gib, someone who cared about her, who treated her well, she started to feel her worth and stand up for what she wanted both for a relationship and for her future as an author. Gib has his own past issues that are holding him back from wanting a relationship, but they both deal with their issues although not always before hurting the other.

The other characters in the story were charming and it was wonderful to read their friendships alongside the main story. I'd recommend this book to anyone wanting a good holiday romance!

This is a good light read for me! I enjoy the writing although sometimes I het confused on the perspective of the story, I think I’m just not used to the style but it is very easy to understand!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book! It was a fun read. I need more of the Godmother though! She was a hoot.

I expected this book to be a light-hearted and entertaining romance featuring chickens with a hint of intrigue. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a predictable and cringeworthy experience.
The main character, Bea, is helping her godmother Golly, who is hosting a party in Santorini. Although Bea usually stays in the guest house, Golly has also rented it out to a friend named Gib, leading to an awkward situation with only one bed available, leaving one of them without accommodation.
Surprisingly, it takes Bea until three-quarters of the way through the story to realize that Golly set up their meeting. Given Bea's close bond with her godmother, this revelation felt quite obvious. As Bea and Gib's relationship develops, the narrative becomes increasingly uncomfortable. Bea's innocence and lack of experience often prompted laughter, as their interactions fluctuated between declarations of love and brief romantic moments. The dialogue felt disjointed and unconvincing, undermining the potential charm of a romantic getaway.
While the setting initially seemed believable, it quickly lost its appeal and could have taken place anywhere. Santorini vibes were lacking. Overall, the book did not meet my expectations..

In terms of romance, I couldn't connect with the characters, I couldn't feel their chemistry. I understand that this was supposed to be a “one bed” trope, but I just couldn’t get behind the reasoning for their forced situation. And their past situation too. Why couldn’t Gib have stayed with his father at Golly’s cottage rather than with a younger girl that he’s never met before? Thank-you for the opportunity to read this book though!