A lovely light hearted read that had me rooting for Anthony and isme from the start! Perfect for loosing a few hours in the sun to.

Isme's life seems to be stuck in a rut—caught in a mundane job, her romantic life nonexistent, and her mother's persistent matchmaking attempts looming over her. When she seizes an opportunity to escape to Greece for a much-needed break, she expects a relaxing retreat but finds herself swept into unexpected cooking classes, adventurous climbs, and a sudden family crisis that turns her plans upside down. And just when she thinks chaos couldn't escalate further, a surprising proposal emerges, complicating everything.

I breezed through this book! Isme's struggles with her job and family dynamics really resonated with me. Despite the occasional overwhelming moments with her family, there was a genuine bond evident, especially with George, her brother-in-law.

As for the proposal, it did frustrate me a bit—I won't spoil it, but it was clear where her heart truly lay. Yet, I understood her dilemma, torn between personal desires and familial expectations. Her interactions with her nephews were incredibly heartwarming, and her best friend provided invaluable support throughout.

The ending, while somewhat predictable, left me feeling satisfied. It wrapped up the story in a heartwarming way that I found quite enjoyable. Overall, it was a delightful and uplifting read.

Isme’s life is going nowhere fast—stuck in a boring job, no love life to speak of, and constantly dodging her mum’s relentless attempts to marry her off to a “Good Greek Boy.” So when work gives her a chance to take a break, she heads to Greece for what’s meant to be a chilled-out reset. Instead, she ends up in random cooking classes, scaling rocks, and dealing with a family emergency that throws everything off track. And just when you think things can’t get more chaotic, a surprise proposal shows up… and it’s complicated.

I flew through this one! I really felt for Isme—between her mum’s matchmaking and her dead-end job, she needed that escape. Her family could be a bit much at times, but you could tell there was real love there (even George, her brother-in-law!).

The proposal kind of annoyed me—no spoilers, but it was pretty obvious who she should be with. Still, I get why she felt torn, trying to do the right thing for her family. Her moments with her nephews were super sweet, and her best friend was a great support too.

The ending was satisfying, even if a little predictable—but honestly, I didn’t mind that at all. It was a fun, heartwarming read overall.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Isme is the second daughter in a Greek-Liverpudlian household. Her mother is full on My Big Fat Greek Wedding whereas her father was adopted and raised as English. Her elder sister is married to George and has twin sons. Isme's mother's mission in life is to get Isme married to a 'Good Greek Boy' with lots of money and she has set her sights on Carlos the son of the local fish and chip shop entrepreneurs, never mind that Carlos takes his fashion sense from the seventies and can't alk about anything but fish and chips!

What Isme really wanted to do in life was bake cakes, but everyone (her mother) said she should get a real job, so she tried to train as a solicitor but failed and now has a job as an admin assistant at the same law firm. A colleague, Zara, is also someone Isme has known since childhood, her parents once owned the business and she is a solicitor there. Although Zara treats Isme as a friend, she isn't averse to poking fun at Isme, and Isme suspects that Zara only pretends to be friendly because she fancies Anthony.

Since they were four years old, Isme and Anthony have been friends, everyone thinks they should get together but as Isme says, when you've wet your pants in front of a boy (even if you were only five) it does tend to preclude romance. Nevertheless, the two of them spend lots of time together drinking, watching Netflix, attending the same Greek church etc.

After a few home truths are spoken, Isme is put on leave and decides to go on holiday with her sister Maria, which morphs into the entire family spending the summer in Corfu at Uncle Stavros' villa, where Isme discovers that there is an ulterior motive for her mother's obsession with her getting married. Now Isme has to decide what she is willing to do for her family.

This was pleasant enough, it felt like a mash-up of multiple books/films I have seen before and what brought it down for me was that frankly there were only two characters I liked (a clue, Isme wasn't one of them). Maybe I'm too old but Isme struck me as very immature.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

I really enjoyed reading this one! Ismeena what a gorgeous name BTW was a great character and really grew over the course of the novel. I highly enjoyed reading her journey and learning to make her own decisions and stand on her own too feet. The setting was gorgeous as well and it was a beautiful relatable escapist novel.