“And then it happens and my eyes are still open when it does, I’m in such shock. His lips are gently on mine, and I can feel the light brush of his nose on my cheek. I drop my shoes. It’s a softer kiss than I thought it would be. Soft, but determined.”
Lizzy Dent’s The Summer Job is like a party in book form – a great time right from page one.
Birdy’s life is in shambles. She has no job, no place to live, and no idea what to do. Her best friend Heather has taken off to Italy for the summer, leaving behind a job offer at a Scottish hotel. Birdy is supposed to call and cancel the job for her, but in a moment of desperation she takes it instead, pretending to be Heather. Except Heather is a sought after sommelier and Birdy knows nothing about wine other than it comes in different colours. How hard can it be? Very, it turns out. Can she pull off a whole summer of pretending to be Heather? And can she resist super hunky chef James who thinks she’s someone else?
I was hooked from the very beginning of this read, I couldn’t put it down! Birdy is absolutely awesome. I just loved her as a character. “Disaster” characters can sometimes be a turn off for me. You know the ones that just can’t seem to get their life together? I don’t know why (after all, who hasn’t gone through a period of “what the heck am I doing?” in their life?), but sometimes they really rub me the wrong way. I am happy to report that is not the case this time. Lizzy Dent has crafted a superbly relatable character in Birdy. Despite her shortcomings, Birdy is extremely lovable, and I found myself rooting for her.
This book is funny. Birdy is an absolute laugh riot from start to finish. I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions as I read. It’s my kind of humour anyway, which is more clever and sarcastic funny than say, fart jokes funny. It’s witty banter, not whoopee cushions. Know what I mean? For me it was spot on.
Let’s talk romance because this one is a humdinger of a relationship. It’s a bit of a roller coaster and I was all in. James as a love interest is just the right amount of hunky-but-sweet and did I mention he can cook? The scenes where he is teaching Birdy to cook are swoon-worthy to be sure. I enjoyed their whole “nah, this will never be something…Oh wait but I want it to be something…But no, it can’t be something” thing they had going on.
I won’t spoil the end for you because we don’t do spoilers here at Romance By The Book, but what I will say is there is a bit of a twist at the end that makes for a VERY satisfying ending. It may be a party in book form, but the HEA won’t leave you with a hangover. Overall, a great read.
