French Holiday by Sarah Ready

One (crumbling) French castle. Two enemies-at-first-sight. The holiday of a lifetime.

Merry DeLuca has a problem—a big problem. Her sister just married her best friend and the only man she’s ever loved. Her life is rapidly spiraling down the drain and she doesn’t have an escape plan.

So when Merry is offered a three-month holiday living in a romantic castle in the French countryside she leaps at the chance. Merry knows her French holiday will fix everything—there will be mouthwatering pastries, delicious (meaningless) flirtations, and languid strolls through vineyards at sunset. Her holiday will be perfect.

At least, Merry believes that until she arrives and finds Noah Wright—the best man at her sister’s wedding and the worst man she’s ever known—staying in her castle.

Famous travel documentarian by day and arrogant devil by night, Noah refuses to leave the castle. Which means that Merry and Noah are stuck together in France, in a crumbling castle, in a holiday where nothing goes right. Not for Merry and not for Noah.

So they strike a truce—they’ll live as cohabitating friends for three-months, and then they’ll amicably part ways, never to see each other again.

But the thing about friendship? Sometimes secrets are uncovered. Mysteries revealed. Hearts laid bare. And friendship can start to feel a lot like caring. A lot like love. It can even make you wish that the holiday never has to end.

French Holiday was exactly what I needed, right when I needed it. I love escaping to other places through books, and the French countryside was a delight. I’m not usually an enemies to lovers fan, but these characters quickly make up for their irritating bickering in the beginning. I also love a close proximity romance! Merry and Noah both find themselves staying in this old, rundown, isolated castle together and I had so much fun reading about all the adventures they had while living in what are essentially ruins. With an escape artist of a lobster (this lobster added so much fun to the story!). I loved watching Merry and Noah go from hating each other, to becoming friends, to falling in love. They are a super, super cute couple with great chemistry. I loved the descriptions of the food and the scenery. There’s some deeper issues in both characters’ backstories that created depth. There’s also a lot of humor, especially in Merry’s inner monologues and thoughts that were both melodramatic and endearing. I listened to the audio, which was very well done!

I’m going to keep my eye out for more Sarah Ready books! She has some very cute covers, and if the stories are all like this one than I’ve got some fun reading ahead of me!