A review by elyssam
French Holiday by Sarah Ready

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

French Holiday is such a fun read! You truly feel like you’re jetting off to France. 

Merry is the maid of honor in her sisters wedding. Problem is, her sister is marrying the man she’s in love with. It has always been this way with Merry and Angela. Merry wants something, but Angela somehow gets it. The day is bad worse when she has to walk down the aisle with Leo’s best friend and best man, Noah. Noah doesn’t like her and she’s not too fond of him either. After the wedding and a bad week at work, Merey finds herself fleeing to her godmother’s chateau in France only to find two things wrong with it: it’s in disrepair and Noah has rented it out. The two must learn to live with one another and make the best of their crumbling palace. 

Reading this reminded me of Emily Henry’s novels and Christina Lauren’s Unhoneymooners. It has the lightness of a romcom but both the main characters are haunted by their past. The story is elevated by a small mystery that keeps the reader and characters on their toes. I especially enjoyed the honesty of Merry’s character (to the reader, not to those around her haha). She was always getting into awkward situations and the second-hand embarrassment was felt. I almost thought the romance was rushed, then realized that I had gotten to the end of the book and just hadn’t realized it; I wanted more! The troubles Noah and Merry face force themselves to open up, learn about one another and, most importantly, learn about themselves. 

As for the narration (I read the audiobook), it took me a while to get used to it. Some of the sentences lilted up like Merry’s entire inner-monologue was just questions and a few words at the beginning were pronounced in an uncommon way. Nonetheless, it grew on me. The awkwardness of situations and the emotions that carried the heavier chapters were brought out really well in the narrator’s voice. 

French Holiday is a great summer or vacation read!
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