On the way to a wedding in Barcelona, the maid of honour, the bride’s brother, and a work colleague of the groom are delayed and diverted to Orly Airport in France. What else do they have in common apart from being invited to the same wedding? Each of them harbours a secret hope that the wedding will fall apart on the day.. even if it means they are the one to ruin it. Gemma, the maid of honour, is furious at being overshadowed by the bride, especially after she swooped in and stole the promotion Gemma had worked so hard to secure. Leon, the bride’s brother, thinks the groom is rude and controlling, turning his sister into someone he barely recognises. Meanwhile, Francesca, the groom’s work colleague, believes he’s her “one that got away” after a romantic night together before he met the bride and she’s convinced he still returns her feelings after years of flirtation.

This book was a real mixed bag for me. I spent the first half actively detesting all the characters. Alternating between the POVs of the three main leads, none of them initially had many redeeming features, and even the bride and groom seemed genuinely awful. However, the story takes a real turn when the emotional undercurrents and backstories of the characters are revealed. It becomes clear that this isn’t just a story about a wedding gone wrong, it’s about discovering who you really are, confronting the reality of the people you’ve trusted, and recognising what you truly deserve. I found it to be a really beautiful story of self-discovery and personal growth, with each character having their own insecurities and self-esteem struggles, and ultimately finding the strength to say, “I deserve more.”

The synopsis pitches the story as the ultimate romantic summer read with forced proximity, rivals-to-lovers, and grumpy/sunshine tropes. However, these tropes aren't used in the traditional sense. The romance is definitely second place to the story of friendship, personal relationships, and self-discovery. Also, since the story takes place over roughly 24 hours, it’s a bit of a stretch to call it a rivals-to-lovers arc, it’s more about two people meeting under stressful circumstances, initially misjudging each other, and slowly building a truer picture of each other.

That said, I really did enjoy the second half of the book. I liked how my initial dislike of the characters gradually turned into empathy and understanding. I particularly felt for Gemma, when you’re alone in the world, even if you’re assertive and blunt, it can be incredibly hard to let go of the one person who's always been there, even if that relationship is ultimately toxic. Letting go is hard. Leon has taken on the mantle of being his family’s protector, which means he’s been putting his life second place to that of everyone around him and once again, it can be hard to let, and watch, the people you love fail. I also really felt for Francesca, she’s at a place where her friendship group is settling down and she’s always been the one that’s picked the wrong men. She’s built up this incredibly romantic notion of the groom being in love with her and rushing in at the last moment to declare her love which she feels is return by the cruel way he’s been stringing her along but giving her just enough interest to think her feelings are returned. I think in some ways she’s clung on to it because it’s safer than putting herself out there and risking being hurt by picking the wrong person again.

It's clear to see that this one definitely had a real emotional pull that made the characters you initially think are pretty awful, actually being really quite nice, and overwhelming kind to each other. My one lingering wish is that there had been an epilogue to show how the characters moved on after the wedding. It felt like the story was missing just that little bit of extra closure. However, I still enjoyed the story overall, and I found the author's writing style really engaging. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from Beth Reekles in the future!

Let me start with saying… This is my type of romance book. I get the point of a romance book is the romance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I need every chapter to be hot and heavy on the lovey dovey front. Beth Reekles is an absolute wizard at making romance happen around other events, themes, narratives and The Layover is no exception! This book is FABULOUS!
 
Opening with a protagonist, Gemma, teasing us with some content that could upheave the whole wedding and getting the reader to actually despise the bride is a genius, and unexpected by me, move. Normally a trope of this genre is to feel sorry for the bride or, if the bride is dislikeable, the bride is more of a forefront character than Kayleigh. Through this introduction, and then the perceptions of Kayleigh through the two other protagonist’s eyes too, it was a truly marvellous way of delivering a 360 character without them being a main character.

Leon and Francesca’s stories are equally as relatable. I’m sure we’ve all known someone who’s harboured feelings for someone getting married and I’m also certain we’ve not always loved who our friends and family have dated. However, it is their dynamic together that steals the spotlight for me within The Layover. Their fast-paced quips at one another partnered with stolen glances here, jabs that may be too harsh there, will they/won’t they energy was brilliance when countered against Gemma too! I could’ve happily read a sequel straight away after I finished!
 
Now for the setting of it all. When I realised a good portion of the book was going to be set in an airport with minimal change of setting, I did panic a tad (although as I’ll explain it was completely unfounded!). Airports are where some of us get to our most stressed, and the thought of spending an entire book adventure in this settling felt like it would evoke those emotions, but it never happened!
 
Beth Reekles keeps the action coming quick and heavy with the narrative moving along at a most enjoyable speed that I often forgot they were still in an airport! It shows a real excellence in writing to take such a confined setting and be able to make pretty much a whole novel pass by without it becoming a frustration of the reader. Massive kudos to Beth for this and it shows why she’s such an industry powerhouse in the genre!

Whether you’re in an airport bookshop or just browsing online, The Layover is the perfect adult read for this upcoming summer! I encourage everyone to get a copy, pack it away and hop on a plane… One that I hope doesn’t have to make a layover!

This was a brilliant book!
As soon as I saw it listed I was hoping I would be accepted! Thank you for the ARC copy of this I really appreciate it!

This was such an entertaining read.
We have three different characters, all with their flaws who come together in the most unexpected way to form a friendship that makes them realize what the meaning of a true friendship is!
Very funny, very relatable. A slightly entertaining way to talk about heavy topics such as toxic people and toxic relations.
The characters are raw and realistic and the plot is intricate in the best way possibl

This book had drama in all the right and wrong places - a lot of real life drama. While the premise promised a juicy, emotional read, it took far too long to get to the main reason we were all here. The main characters, particularly Kayleigh— was not my fave but she could have been worse. The final 100 pages ish did pick up, but overall, this one wasn’t my fave but I could see why people may enjoy it

The Layover is a fun and quirky take on the enemies to lovers trope. However it definitely ends up enemies to friends and friends to enemies!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

In the Layover we have:
Gemma - the brides best friend and maid of honour
Leon - the brides brother
Francesca - the grooms work wife
When they all find themselves stuck in an airport together, with their flight delayed and desperately needing to get to the wedding, they develop an unlikely sense of kinship.

Because all three of them have a secret. And all three of them need to get to the wedding to stop it from happening. But the only question is, will they make it in time?

I did enjoy The Layover, although it definitely wasn’t what I was expecting! I just found it a little slow at times.

Thank you Beth Reekles, Little Brown Book Group and Netgalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. The Layover comes out on June 26th!

I really enjoyed this book. I love books with unreliable/unlikeable characters where your opinion of them completely change throughout the book. I started off the book really disliking the female characters, their reasons for wanting to sabotage the wedding seemed really self-centred and delusional, but as the book went on I found myself understanding their frustrations more and more, until I was rooting for them by the end of the book!

This was a really fun premise for a novel. With 80% of the book being set in an airport, there was a chance that it could quickly become dull, but that never happened with The Layover, there were so many funny situations the characters found themselves in, mixed with more serious and emotional revelations, I ended up racing through the book because I couldn’t put it down.

I also really enjoyed how we got Gemma, Francesca and Leon’s narrative voice in the chapters. It really helped give a deeper insight into why they didn’t want the wedding to go ahead. And it was really interesting to see how the bride and groom acted differently around each of the central characters, it added a layer of depth to their characters and really helped me want to see the downfall of the wedding as well!

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It’s a really fun summer read that will have you questioning your friendships and self-worth while still having a great time.

This book had drama in all the right (and wrong) places—escalated crushes, toxic friendships, broken family dynamics, and one chaotic wedding. While the premise promised a juicy, emotional read, it took far too long to get to the heart of the story. The main characters, particularly Kayleigh—off page, were hard to root for, and a large chunk of the book felt frustrating rather than fun. The final act did pick up, but overall, this one didn’t land for me the way Reekles’ previous books have.

Wow! I love Beth Reekles and this proves why. Beth is my auto buy author given the beautiful stories. This one strikes all the right chords. It brought a smile to my face and completely pulled me in. I literally read this in a day as I couldn't stay away.

The dialogues and banter is very well written. I love the themes of love, friendship, family, loss, self love/worth and dysfunction. While a rom-com, it brilliantly incorporates deeper themes naturally into the storyline. That made this book extra special for me.

I also love the premise of unlikely characters coming together and the airport layover which comes out amazingly well. Also loved some of the pop referencing and friendships that make it oh so relatable. My first five star read for the year! Absolutely pick this one up!

Thank you Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange of my unbiased review.

This was such a fun and easy read, an ideal summer book.

Written from 3 pov’s we have Gemma the maid of honour, Leon brother of the bride and Francesca friend of the groom/madly in love with him. All three of them are forced together at the airport and spend the night trying to justify why they want to break up the wedding.

I was a little worried at the start that I wasn’t going to like the characters, I especially worried gemma wouldn’t have enough redeeming qualities, glad to say I was wrong!

The romance felt like more of the background story as we watched these three face some home truths about themselves and their choices. I loved the growing friendship between Gemma and Francesca, it felt natural and made me glad to see Gemma realise what a toxic person she was with the wrong people. I was a little gutted not to get a little epilogue at the end just to show us where she ended up after it all.

Francesca and Leon were just cute.

I really did like this more than I thought I would, oh and don’t forget about the cowboy stripper, poor guy!

This is my first book of Beth's and I loved the outline of the book from the moment I picked it up. This is a quick, easy read from Beth with characters that I wanted to keep reading about, The writing is in such a fun, entertaining way that keeps you hooked and wanting to keep reading about the schemes of the three.

Looking forward to more books by Beth. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advance reader copy.

This is such a fun and relatable read.
It’s a romance book but it’s also about friendship and family relationships too.

Three people, all bound for the same wedding, find themselves stranded at an airport, unaware that they each have their own secret plan to stop the ceremony.

I really enjoyed reading all three different POV and the references to films (Harry Potter), TV shows (hello the Vulture from Brooklyn 99) and even MSN made the millennial in me feel more connected to the characters.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and I felt invested in the characters. It seems to be an odd choice to have the maid of honour, brother of the bride and the groom’s work wife all stuck together but it worked and just showed how we can often misjudge people.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early.

I had a good time with this one! The triple POV worked well overall—it gave the story some nice depth and allowed space for each character’s backstory and perspective to unfold. That said, I did find all three main characters a bit irritating at times (Kayleigh in particular is a lot, and Marcus definitely gave me the ick), but somehow I was still rooting for them to figure things out. Maybe not happily-ever-after exactly… but something.

The writing style is accessible and easy to get into, even if some of the dialogue felt a little stiff here and there. The pacing dipped in spots, but not enough to throw me off.

It’s worth noting that although this is marketed as a romance, the romantic plot is definitely more of a slow build and takes a backseat for much of the book. That didn’t bother me too much, but it’s something to be aware of going in.

Overall, a fun, readable story with some great character connections and layered perspectives. I’d recommend it if you enjoy contemporary fiction with a light romantic thread.

This was a fun read. I enjoyed the triple POV and while I found all three characters slightly irritating at times, I was generally rooting for them. Kayleigh is an absolute piece of work, and Marcus made my skin crawl, so I’m a bit gutted that more didn’t go wrong for them in the end.
The writing style was good and, although at points I felt the pacing was a bit slow and some dialogue was a bit stilted, I found this easy to read.
My main issue was that the romance felt a little rushed at the end, it was built up well but Fran’s seemed to get over Marcus quite abruptly in the end.
I also would have liked an epilogue to see how the three characters ended up a few months to a year after the wedding.

Thanks to Little Brown Book Company and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Layover is a quick, fairly easy read where three individuals heading to the same wedding get stranded overnight in France. There is a bit of romance and a lot of introspection, and a satisfying amount of character development. Not a book I'd go back to, but I did really enjoy it while I was reading!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

While I liked the idea of the story, I don't think the execution of it was the best.
The ending was very anticlimactic and at points the wiring style of this author was not enjoyable, although I can see growth from it,
The book also makes several pop culture references which I did not find funny and will date the book by the end of this year.

Imagine three people, not perfect, right? They're kinda messed up. But, get this, they become friends! Like, real friends. They learn what it means to actually be friends.

It was funny! And I could see myself in them. Also, they talked about hard stuff, like people who are bad for you, but in a light way.

The people in the story felt real, like people you know. And the story itself? It was like a puzzle, but a good one!

I thought the premise of this sounded really fun, but although I enjoyed part of this book - it ultimately just didn’t work for me.

I liked the airport setting, and I liked how we kind of got snippets of each of the three main characters and their plans to sabotage the wedding - I think it was paced well and I was definitely intrigued to see how it all panned out. There were some really fun parts of their layover at the airport that had me giggling: the picnic, the obstacle course especially.

My main issue with the story was that there was no action taken for the bride and groom in the end? I just felt like there was so much build up about how terrible they were and then they just…lived happily ever after I guess? Bit anticlimactic?

I also felt like there story ended at a weird point, it would’ve been nice to have an epilogue showing where all the characters ended up.

The pop culture references really gave me the ick too, there was SO MANY (Brooklyn 99, Taylor Swift, TikTok, Vines, ACOTAR, Harry Potter, Dua Lipa).

This was an entertaining read overall, and I did devour it pretty quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Little Brown Book Group for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

a big thank you for the opportunity to read this book!
unfortunately, this story was not for me… I didn’t really connect with the characters and the plot line didn’t really effect me.

Ah I loved this book! It might be my favourite Beth Reekles book so far!

I’m a sucker for a dual PoV so having three was even better 🤣

Grumpy x sunshine is one of my favourite tropes and this was executed brilliantly, making me laugh out loud too.

Perfect holiday read!!