From the publisher:
Named a Best Beach Read by Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, New York Post, Bustle, Country Living, Parade, Fortune, and more.
Beach Read meets Sweetbitter in this laugh-out-loud and ultimately heartwarming debut of a good friend’s very bad decision and the summer job that stands to ruin or make her life.
What if you could be someone else? Just for the summer…
Birdy has made a mistake. Everyone imagines running away from their life at some point. But Birdy has actually done it. And the life she’s run into is her best friend Heather’s. The only problem is, she hasn’t told Heather.
The summer job at the highland Scottish hotel that her world class wine-expert friend ditched turns out to be a lot more than Birdy bargained for. Can she survive a summer pretending to be her best friend? And can Birdy stop herself from falling for the first man she’s ever actually liked, but who thinks she’s someone else?
One good friend’s very bad decision is at the heart of this laugh-out-loud love story and unexpected tale of a woman finally finding herself in the strangest of places.
Birdy offers to help out her best friend Heather by cancelling her summer job as the sommelier at Loch Dorn for her. Heather is chasing some guy across Europe, and Birdy likes free drinks so she attends a party in Heather’s stead by using her name.
The lies start there but really get out of control when Birdy doesn’t cancel Heather’s job, but shows up in her place. Free room and board for the summer seems like the best deal she’s going to get, but with one small hitch; Birdy knows nothing about wine.
James is the sous chef and is kind to the newcomer. Birdy finds him very attractive and before you know it, a romance is born in a bed of lies. No good can come of that, at least not without a lot of trouble and that is half the fun of this story.
I couldn’t help but like Birdy, despite all her lies, and wanted her to get her happy ending. James is a good guy, and their romance starts off slowly but builds as the summer flies by. I loved the Scottish setting and the characters, and there is a lot of humor, too. This was a really fun read, especially for a debut, and I look forward to more from this new author. Rumor has it that a TV adaptation is in the works!
THE SUMMER JOB by Lizzy Dent. G.P. Putnam’s Sons (May 18, 2021). ISBN: 978-0593328118. 384 pages.
Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™ 