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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
Where do I start? Lucy Checks In by Dee Ernst was a breath of fresh air. I am used to reading novels about younger women who are trying to find themselves. It is a rare treat to read about a woman closer to my age. This story touched me on many levels. I loved Lucy’s character. She was strong, yet vulnerable. Fierce, yet afraid. Lucy lost everything to the man she loved. At almost 50, she has to start over and rebuild her life and career from scratch. It tore her heart and confidence to shreds. Unable to trust her own judgment of character, she is afraid to form new relationships. Alongside a lovely and diverse cast of characters, Lucy regains her confidence and learns what love can be. I adored everything about Hotel Paradis. I am ready to pack my bags for a visit. The author enchanted me from the beginning and kept me hooked until the very end. I laughed, I cried. This story spoke to me. Well done. Another excellent novel for 2022.
Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s press, and the author, Dee Ernst, for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review!
Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s press, and the author, Dee Ernst, for providing this eARC in exchange for my honest review!
***4.5 stars***
I will start this review by saying that this isn't a true romance or rom-com. It's maybe more women's fiction with a subplot of romance. And what romance there is, is highly slow-burn and very clean. A lot of people so far are really upset by this and I agree that it should be reclassified. However, I honestly really enjoyed my reading experience of this novel. It's pure escapism set in an 18th century French chateau. All I wanted to do after finishing this book was book a flight to France and stay at this hotel. And the food! I wanted to crawl inside the pages and taste all of it. I was starving by the end of this book and wanted all go to France and eat all of the bread and butter and cheese I could get my hands on.
I do have a couple things that made this not fully a five star read for me. Lucy herself is a bit hard to like or relate to at the very beginning of the book. She is consumed with dreams of a five-star hotel where she can be ferried around in a Bentley, live in a penthouse suite and order around her staff without having to do any of the hard work herself. Now there is nothing wrong with liking or wanting the finer things in life, and she did have those things in her last job. But she comes across as a bit stuck up. Despite her numerous email exchanges with the hotel owner, she expects to have those things when nothing was promised, and in fact the expectations of her were outlined very clearing in her contract. Lucy does change over the course of the book to become a happier, more well-rounded version of herself and in doing so, she became a character I could really root for.
The cover is a bit misleading. It speaks to the 20-30 age demographic. With the average character in this book being about 50 years old, I think a lot of people my age would be put off of this novel once they read the synopsis or started reading the book. There's also the fact that the woman on the cover, who is supposed to be our 49 year old main character Lucy, doesn't reflect what Lucy is described to look like. She has "salt and pepper" curly hair. It would have been nice to see a woman with greying hair who is thriving on the cover of a book.
Overall, this was an easy and relaxing read with an overall hopeful tone. I loved the found-family aspect and how they all worked together to bring a dilapidated old mansion into a world class hotel. Maybe it stems from my love of the Home network but I loved all the renovation scenes.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this novel.
I will start this review by saying that this isn't a true romance or rom-com. It's maybe more women's fiction with a subplot of romance. And what romance there is, is highly slow-burn and very clean. A lot of people so far are really upset by this and I agree that it should be reclassified. However, I honestly really enjoyed my reading experience of this novel. It's pure escapism set in an 18th century French chateau. All I wanted to do after finishing this book was book a flight to France and stay at this hotel. And the food! I wanted to crawl inside the pages and taste all of it. I was starving by the end of this book and wanted all go to France and eat all of the bread and butter and cheese I could get my hands on.
I do have a couple things that made this not fully a five star read for me. Lucy herself is a bit hard to like or relate to at the very beginning of the book. She is consumed with dreams of a five-star hotel where she can be ferried around in a Bentley, live in a penthouse suite and order around her staff without having to do any of the hard work herself. Now there is nothing wrong with liking or wanting the finer things in life, and she did have those things in her last job. But she comes across as a bit stuck up. Despite her numerous email exchanges with the hotel owner, she expects to have those things when nothing was promised, and in fact the expectations of her were outlined very clearing in her contract. Lucy does change over the course of the book to become a happier, more well-rounded version of herself and in doing so, she became a character I could really root for.
The cover is a bit misleading. It speaks to the 20-30 age demographic. With the average character in this book being about 50 years old, I think a lot of people my age would be put off of this novel once they read the synopsis or started reading the book. There's also the fact that the woman on the cover, who is supposed to be our 49 year old main character Lucy, doesn't reflect what Lucy is described to look like. She has "salt and pepper" curly hair. It would have been nice to see a woman with greying hair who is thriving on the cover of a book.
Overall, this was an easy and relaxing read with an overall hopeful tone. I loved the found-family aspect and how they all worked together to bring a dilapidated old mansion into a world class hotel. Maybe it stems from my love of the Home network but I loved all the renovation scenes.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this novel.
This book will take you on a beautiful journey. Lucia has been dealt a hard hand. She has lost trust and faith in herself but finds it again among the the residents of the hotel paradis. The setting, the heroine, the secondary characters all drew me in. A little bit of a slow burn but in away I adored. My one thing I wished was that there was an epilogue. The ending seemed a bit abrupt. Thanks to Netgalley the publisher for sending me a copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-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
https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2022/04/lucy-checks-in.html
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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:
No
Dee Ernst makes this book relatable and heart warming. It makes you cheer for Lucy. I love how well written then characters are and how Lucy is in her 40s.
This book is set in Paris where Lucy has gone to run a big hotel. She is running from past and herself. She has been let down, thrown under the bus and kicked by her boyfriend (figuratively) people have judged her for her career and her past. Lucy just wants a clean start to rebuild herself.
Hotel Paradis is looking for the same thing. A new start only difference is the people love this hotel and all it stands for. Can Lucy bring it back to life while healing herself and maybe find love?
This book is set in Paris where Lucy has gone to run a big hotel. She is running from past and herself. She has been let down, thrown under the bus and kicked by her boyfriend (figuratively) people have judged her for her career and her past. Lucy just wants a clean start to rebuild herself.
Hotel Paradis is looking for the same thing. A new start only difference is the people love this hotel and all it stands for. Can Lucy bring it back to life while healing herself and maybe find love?
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion
I personally found the side characters to be the most interesting part of this story (besides the gorgeous setting of course). I didn't really like Lucy and found her annoying for the first 75% of the book and felt the same way about Bing. However, the other people living and working in the hotel (and Julia) really saved the day. Also I need a story all about Marie Claude and Phillippe because they were amazing. I also found that sometimes the plot could be quite abrupt and quickly change out of nowhere. However, I think the interesting setting of an old hotel in France with the quirky occupants was quite fun
I personally found the side characters to be the most interesting part of this story (besides the gorgeous setting of course). I didn't really like Lucy and found her annoying for the first 75% of the book and felt the same way about Bing. However, the other people living and working in the hotel (and Julia) really saved the day. Also I need a story all about Marie Claude and Phillippe because they were amazing. I also found that sometimes the plot could be quite abrupt and quickly change out of nowhere. However, I think the interesting setting of an old hotel in France with the quirky occupants was quite fun
adventurous
funny
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death of parent
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I received an e-galley of Lucy Checks In by Dee Ernst from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a light and fun read about starting over and building a life (and hotel) again. Lucy finds herself with a new job in France after two years of investigations into being involved in her boss and partner's disappearance with all the money from the NYC hotel that Lucy had fun. Here in France, she meets an assortment of characters who live and work at the Hotel Paradis as they attempt to bring it back to working order. While it was a nice light read, I don't feel like I really felt too invested in any character's stories.
This was a light and fun read about starting over and building a life (and hotel) again. Lucy finds herself with a new job in France after two years of investigations into being involved in her boss and partner's disappearance with all the money from the NYC hotel that Lucy had fun. Here in France, she meets an assortment of characters who live and work at the Hotel Paradis as they attempt to bring it back to working order. While it was a nice light read, I don't feel like I really felt too invested in any character's stories.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A once successful NYC hotel manager finds herself jobless after a scandal involving her boss and partner stealing millions from the hotel. Lucia Giannetti finds herself heading to France to manage a fancy and extravagant hotel or so she thinks. Hotel Paradis as it turns out needs some improvement and Lucy is just the one to do it. As time moves on Lucy must make sure Hotel Paradis succeeds all while making the best of her second chance.
Ernst does a good well in describing the assortment of characters that all reside in the Hotel, as well as giving detailed descriptions of locations. While the book seemed to be advertised as more of a romance novel the focus is more on Lucy’s second chance as she gets her life back on track.
It took me a few chapters to start enjoying the story and to get all the characters straight but it eventually pulled me in. Overall I enjoyed the book and was pleased with how it all wrapped up in the end.
ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for a review.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident, Death of parent