Reviews - Hot To Go | The StoryGraph

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86 reviews for:

Hot To Go

Kristen Bailey

3.68 AVERAGE

mini_mo_bsfy's review

3.75

funny slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

bookswithlexi_t's review against another edition

i had to DNF this book at 11 percent i just couldn’t get into it unfortunately. this was an ARC read and i really did try maybe i needed to read more but i just couldn’t when i read a book i need to get into it the first few chapters and this book didn’t do that for me unfortunately.

christi_books's review against another edition

4.25

Hot to Go is equal parts hilarious and spicy. Suzie and Charlie meet on holiday in Mallorca using fake names and nationalities and their chemistry is off the charts. Unfortunately fake names also means missed opportunities to stay in touch. But what if the stars align, and the universe crosses their paths in their ordinary lives? Can those sparks exist in everyday London?

This is a perfect summer vacation read - there's laugh out loud banter and shenanigans, there's steamy love, there's familial and found family love and not one but two trips to Spain. I especially enjoyed the side characters of Suzie's fiercely loyal Callaghan cousins and the motley crew of teachers at the school. When I'm looking for another book full of banter and sizzle, Kristen Bailey's back catalog will keep me busy with those characters in her previous Callaghan series and Sex Ed and Textbook Romance.

Thank you Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the digital galley. #HotToGo #NetGalley.

margotvangogh's review

3.75

funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This is a sweet story about two basically star crossed lovers who keep finding their way to each other only to be interrupted by inopportune life events. I want to say this upfront because there are some flaws that readers should be aware of going in, but I don’t want them to seem like deal breakers or to turn you away from giving this a go.

I’ve seen other reviews suggest an issue with the editing. However, it’s not the editing, it’s the formatting that’s confusing.

Examples:

Dialogue is written with single apostrophes instead of quotation marks. This makes it less obvious to the eye when conversation starts and ends.
Internal dialogue is not differentiated between narrative and internal dialogue. We’re used to see this on separate lines and italicized, in Hot to Go it’s just another sentence in the same paragraph.

Both things take some getting used to, but you will get used to, but they are not insurmountable.

This book is also written with a heavy English voice. It’s mostly in the first third of the story, and gets less bogged down by slang as you go. Or maybe this is something I got used to? Maybe I’m now just so well versed in London slang I could go on Holiday!

Despite the description, this book is not as spicy as I thought it would be. I’d put it at a 2.5 using the Romance.io rating scale, somewhere between glimpses and open door. Come for romance, not the spice. It’s not unsatisfactory, but it’s not…inspiring, if you know what I mean.

Overall, I really liked the characters and their connection. I wish they met up sooner in the story so we got more time with them (it’s about 17% of the way in where they finally meet). I would read more about them if I could! However, this book is not without its flaws, none of which should be deal breakers. Give it a go, you wanker!

Content Warnings

nickybeereads's review against another edition

3.5

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This was my first book by this author and overall I found it to be a funny and enjoyable read. The Aussie and British humour is quite similar, so I really enjoyed the banter and I was giggling throughout. With that said, this book would have benefited enormously from tighter editing. As others have mentioned, it switched from first to third person, and at times the narrative wandered and would have read much snappier with extra fluff and repetitiveness removed. This was particularly noticeable for me around the 80% mark. I really would have rated the book closer to 4.25 stars up until that point however the next 20% was so unnecessary and it could (and in my opinion) should have ended there. By indulging the extra 20% of the story it felt like the characters hadn’t made progress at all and I started to feel over it which is a shame because I hadn’t felt that way at all up to that point. Prime example is a whole chapter dedicated to the FMC talking to an older French lady at a bar. I get it, it’s cute and she’s a killer side character however it made absolutely no sense to be dedicating that much superfluous side storyline that late in the book and it was irrelevant and frustrating as it didn’t move the plot along and felt like filler. This reads as if I didn’t overall enjoy the book and I actually did. I was happy with how it ended but not with how we got there in the end. I would read the authors next book though because she is definitely talented and it was a lot of fun

thefitishreader's review against another edition

4.0

funny

Loveable characters: Yes

I really enjoyed this book—it’s a fresh, fun take on the holiday romance trope with just the right balance of heat and heart. The setup had me hooked straight away, and there were plenty of mic drop moments, near misses, and well-timed twists that kept things moving.

Suzie’s journey from heartbreak to healing was equal parts funny and satisfying. Her chemistry with “Carlos” (aka Charlie) is electric, and the tension when their paths unexpectedly cross back in the real world? Chef’s kiss.

I loved the setting, the heat, and the chaos of their school trip reunion. I’d gladly read more stories set in this world.

Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

#HotToGo #NetGalley #TheFitishReader #RomComReads #HolidayRomance #SummerReads

seersh_'s review

3.0

this one kinda disappointed me from 70% on… just was LACKING

apaperboat's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

nyx_bix's review

4.25

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This was such a cute and charming read! I found myself giggling throughout, it’s definitely one of those “don’t take me too seriously” romcoms that’s meant to be pure fun. The main characters were delightfully goofy, their families were adorably kooky, and the entire supporting cast added to the playful, lighthearted vibe.

There were a few moments that felt a bit drawn out, especially in the inner monologues which dipped into repetitive territory at times.

Overall, this book felt like a breath of fresh air and made for the perfect summer read. Light, fun, and full of heart.

Des fous rires et de la romance à gogo!

pia___'s review

3.0

adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I found this to be a quite entertaining read especially for the warmer seasons. This book had me laugh out loud quite a few times and it was really easy to read. It also kind of reminded me of back to friends by sombr which I found kinda cool. Some things that bothered me a bit though were for once that in the middle of a chapter it sometimes changed from first person to third person narrative in one sentence which confused me. It also had quite a lot of miscommunication which bothered me because it would’ve been really easy to dissolve. All in all it was entertaining and light🥰.

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