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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well, this was a fun romp. Two hotel staff go from enemies to lovers and it’s delightful! Beth O’Leary is a little hit or miss for me and while this wasn’t my favorite, I didn’t hate it! It’s just a nice, mid read. I think the pacing was a little weird - like we spent too much time in the will they/won’t they middle and I thought that the main roadblock keeping them from being all in was a little meh. But still fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
might actually come back to this but 1 it’s not the season for it 2 didn’t love the audiobook narrators
2.5 ⭐️
I reeeeeally wanted to love this one, as I have been a huge fan of O’Leary’s previous work. But something about it didn’t quite hit for me.
Izzy was insufferable for 90% of the book and I didn’t really enjoy reading her POV chapters. Perhaps because most of the time she keeps crapping on about how “Lucas laughed at her heartfelt letter”, despite it becoming pretty obvious to the reader that he never received it. The miscommunication trope is really pushing it in this one, and I hated that it dragged out for so long.
And also am I meant to believe an actual 28 year old actually previous to have hand written booking system and is afraid of *digitising*. PLEASE
I reeeeeally wanted to love this one, as I have been a huge fan of O’Leary’s previous work. But something about it didn’t quite hit for me.
Izzy was insufferable for 90% of the book and I didn’t really enjoy reading her POV chapters. Perhaps because most of the time she keeps crapping on about how “Lucas laughed at her heartfelt letter”, despite it becoming pretty obvious to the reader that he never received it. The miscommunication trope is really pushing it in this one, and I hated that it dragged out for so long.
And also am I meant to believe an actual 28 year old actually previous to have hand written booking system and is afraid of *digitising*. PLEASE
What even is this about, I just didn’t want to pick it up which is unusual for me, Beth O’Leary has always been a winner for me.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is EVERYTHING. It's fun, it's cute, it's that special type of cozy that I swear only comes with British rom-coms, it's got some wonderful enemies-to-lovers vibes, and it has a genuine feel to it. Yes, the plot is a bit fanciful at times, but who wants their rom-coms to read like non-fiction anyways!
A warning that this book does require fairly high tolerance of the miscommunication trope. It's also worth noting that the ending did feel a bit rushed.
Also, I think my next read of this one should be around Christmas-time to better fit the vibe! Still quite enjoyed the holiday feelings though!
The side characters in this one just really add to the story, and I love them all. A big shout-out to poor Mandy, who really has her moment at the end of the book. I also loved Mrs. Hedgers, who was a really interesting character in that she was so on-point in her analysis of the hotel staff and also had her shit together so much (her battle with the insurance company reminds me of my mother, and I also loved the bit where she distracted Ruby by being like "bet you couldn't climb up that pole") but at the same time showed vulnerability in that scene near the end with Lucas. Mr. Townsend was also ofc somebody I appreciated, and I also loved Mrs. SB and Barty (the bit where she goes "oh Barty" when they were on the way to the airport at the end and realized that they were way too behind made me laugh). The bit where Jem was like "I'm so sorry but I'm going to be mean Jem right now" felt just like a conversation I would have with a friend.
A warning that this book does require fairly high tolerance of the miscommunication trope. It's also worth noting that the ending did feel a bit rushed.
Also, I think my next read of this one should be around Christmas-time to better fit the vibe! Still quite enjoyed the holiday feelings though!
The side characters in this one just really add to the story, and I love them all. A big shout-out to poor Mandy, who really has her moment at the end of the book. I also loved Mrs. Hedgers, who was a really interesting character in that she was so on-point in her analysis of the hotel staff and also had her shit together so much (her battle with the insurance company reminds me of my mother, and I also loved the bit where she distracted Ruby by being like "bet you couldn't climb up that pole") but at the same time showed vulnerability in that scene near the end with Lucas. Mr. Townsend was also ofc somebody I appreciated, and I also loved Mrs. SB and Barty (the bit where she goes "oh Barty" when they were on the way to the airport at the end and realized that they were way too behind made me laugh). The bit where Jem was like "I'm so sorry but I'm going to be mean Jem right now" felt just like a conversation I would have with a friend.
I have found Beth O'Leary's books to be very hit and miss (The Flat share - HIT. The rest... miss) and was about to give up hope, but I grabbed this in a 99p kindle deals offer and I am so glad I did!
A super lovely story that felt very 'normal' and easy to get lost in.
Lovely to see the character development, but also them staying true to who they are.
I love a dual perspective book!
... and Mandy is such a secret hero, what a babe.
A super lovely story that felt very 'normal' and easy to get lost in.
Lovely to see the character development, but also them staying true to who they are.
I love a dual perspective book!
... and Mandy is such a secret hero, what a babe.
Beth O’Leary is really good at misunderstanding plot lines with great endings. This one is the least painful of the ones I’ve read, but I’d rather read a story that doesn’t have me cringing the majority of the time.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No