Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - The Summer Job

This is my second Lizzy Dent (The Setup being the first) and I really enjoyed it. I loved all the characters at Loch Dorn and found the story interesting.
I enjoyed Birdy and James’ relationship and I thought they had amazing chemistry.
My one strife is Heather, Birdy’s best friend and sort of the catalyst for this whole plot. She just wasn’t the type of person I would enjoy being around and I kind of felt like she was a bad friend to Birdy. Their friendship was one that crossed many years since they met at age 6, but that kind of felt like their only connection. Just the passage of time and longevity and not actual care for the friendship. I understand she’s needed for the entire plot and surprise ending to exist, but she was just too selfish to get behind.
Overall I’d say I enjoyed The Setup more, but I still liked this.

Crying score: Crying for Birdy cause she’s me too.

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dori39's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kdailyreads's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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nosophiesallowed's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted 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

3.0

hear me out: this book was Camp Rock (the legendary disney channel original movie from 2008 staring the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato) but replace the music element with wine and a summer camp with a luxurious hotel in Scotland.

Birdy pretends to be her friend heather (a trained and talented sommelier) at a run down hotel in Scotland but turns out it’s not as run down as she thought and she struggles to fill heathers shoes as she has literally no knowledge about wine.

It was fun and light with some darker themes running through it, it was a bit too cheesy at times for me and the ending felt a little rushed in 50 or so pages but it was a fun summery book. i’m glad i read outside of my usual taste and finished off my summer holidays with a very fitting book.

(I received my copy for free from Penguin, this has not influenced my thoughts or opinions in any way)

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danidamico's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

La verdad que disfruté esta lectura y hasta me sorprendió un poco. Esperaba un romance como los que ya leí anteriormente, pero me encontré con que The Summer Job no se enfoca tanto, o al menos no tanto como imaginaba, en el romance entre Birdy y James, sino que se centra principalmente en la experiencia de Birdy, los vínculos que va entablando con todos los personajes y también su propio desarrollo personal. Si bien la novela es bastante ligera, me parece que tiene cierto nivel de profundidad, abordando algunos temas complejos como el alcoholismo y traumas emocionales. Sí diría que los personajes secundarios no están tan bien desarrollados como la protagonista, les falta un poco más de carne y hueso. El final es el esperable de este tipo de libros feel-good, pero si eso es lo que uno busca, está perfecto.

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theespressoedition's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I think that sometimes when I set high expectations for a book, it's just that much harder when the book doesn't reach them. That's what happened with this, unfortunately. I wanted it to be laugh-out-loud funny and have lots of great wine tips, but instead, it was a bit somber and even the romance fell flat.

The concept was really creative. Someone pretending to be someone else at a job that's totally "out of their league." I really liked that part! But that's pretty much where it ended for me. The rest of it made me more sad than anything else.

It was a decent enough read. I didn't dislike it, per se, but I also didn't love it. So... it's a 3-star worthy read.

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rayri's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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