REVIEW: French Holiday by Sarah Ready

French Holiday by Sarah Ready: It would be fair to say that life is not going the way that Merry DeLuca had hoped, after all her sister did just marry Merry’s long time crush. With her entire world coming crashing down around her and her heart in much need of some TLC Merry is in desperate need of a little break, which why when her Godmother Jupiter asks her to take her place in France for the summer Merry jumps at it. After all spending three month in the beautiful French countryside is just the thing that Merry needs to help mend her fragile heart.

However she did not expect to be sharing her romantic French castle with Noah Wright. If there was one person that Merry would have rather not share this holiday with, it would be Noah, not only is he the only other person that knows about her feelings for Leo but Noah is also majorly annoying. With neither of them willing to leave the castle, the two decide to come to a compromise and share the castle as amicable ‘friends’. Between a dilapidated castle, one bedroom and a whole lot of tension the lines between enemies to friends begin to blur so much so that some very real feelings begin to form… could Merry actually get herself a real life French love story?

LOVED!! French Holiday was just perfection, as a total sucker for the enemies to lovers trope this book just worked for me, add in the fact that it was a forced proximity romance and I was totally sold. One of the best parts about any Sarah Ready book is how easy it is to get invested in her characters and this was most certainly the case with Merry and Noah. I loved the way their story developed and all the incredible detail that went into describing the chateau, Ready did a great job with painting this picture so much so that it felt as if you were right there with Merry and Noah.

“Because that’s the best kind of love. The kind where you love someone with your whole heart and they love you with their whole heart right back.”

Merry was such a brilliant leading lady, I loved seeing her fully flourish and let her heart experience love after feeling so broken. I really liked that she was so keen on the idea of finding this magical kind of love story with in France, this only made the connection she built with Noah all the more sweet. I really enjoyed getting into her back story and seeing her facing her issues with seeing her self worth. More than anything I loved seeing Merry grow into a person that she herself loved. As for our hero Noah, well he was an interesting one. I loved that he had this entire backstory that we did not see coming. This added an interesting twist to the book and I was definitely all for it. Aside from being one annoyingly charming hero I loved that Noah was always there to help push Merry in the right direction.

These two characters were just incredible and I just loved getting to see them build their relationship as the book progressed. The banter and chemistry between them was so on point, they totally worked that enemies to lovers vibe to perfection. I really enjoyed getting to see them bring down each others walls and really connect. This wasn’t the most steamy book but there were loads of super cute moments that really won me over. Also I absolutely loved Louis the lobster, this entire bit was just comic gold! There were so many laugh out loud moments in this book that just helped keep things light and fun.

French Holiday was an absolute treat to read and one I would highly recommend! It had the perfect combination of forced proximity, enemies to lovers romance and loads of laugh off loud moments. This was just the type of perfect picturesque French love story that will draw you right in from the very first chapter.

Book Info:

Publication: April 26, 2023 | Swift & Lewis Publishing LLC |

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.