From the publisher:
Two hotel receptionists—and arch-rivals—find a collection of old wedding rings and compete to return them to their owners, discovering their own love story along the way.
It’s the busiest season of the year, and Forest Manor Hotel is quite literally falling apart. So when Izzy and Lucas are given the same shift on the hotel’s front desk, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and see it through.
The hotel won’t stay afloat beyond Christmas without some sort of miracle. But when Izzy returns a guest’s lost wedding ring, the reward convinces management that this might be the way to fix everything. With four rings still sitting in the lost & found, the race is on for Izzy and Lucas to save their beloved hotel—and their jobs.
As their bitter rivalry turns into something much more complicated, Izzy and Lucas begin to wonder if there’s more at stake here than the hotel’s future. Can the two of them make it through the season with their hearts intact?
“O’Leary returns with a humorous and poignant rom-com set at a boutique hotel in southern England…Add in some charming supporting characters and stakes that feel high but believable, and the result is exactly the cute contemporary romp that O’Leary’s fans have come to expect.”―Publishers Weekly
“O’Leary’s is full of heart, humor, and a sprinkle of holiday magic. While this will easily find a spot on holiday displays, it will also appeal to readers who love enemies-to-lovers storylines with supporting characters who shine.”―Library Journal
https://amzn.to/3rBfjpR
I’ve read all of O’Leary’s book, and I love them. That said, when I looked at my previous reviews, a pattern has emerged. All of her books start out slowly, and this one does as well. But I stuck with it, and enjoyed the reward.
Izzy and Lucas work the front desk – and wherever else they are needed – at a small hotel in England. The owners are terrible at the business end of things, but have turned their staff into a family. Except a year earlier, at the hotel Christmas party, Izzy gave Lucas a card, telling him how much she liked him. It was a very brave thing to do, so when he opened the card and laughed, and then kissed Izzy’s roommate under the mistletoe, Izzy lost it. Lucas became her arch nemesis, and that’s where this story starts.
Over the course of a year, they work together and torture each other as only competitive co-workers can. But then something starts to change. Izzy’s feelings for Lucas have never gone away, she only buried them as best as she could. And Lucas is developing feelings for Izzy, but both of them know to avoid one another as much as possible, despite their attraction.
Best laid plans and all that – of course they end up sleeping together, again and again. They are at crossed points. Izzy wants a not-friends-with-benefits situation, and Lucas wants Izzy to really see him as the good person he truly is. It’s complicated, to say the least, but no worries, a happy ending is reached.
There are a lot of laughs – the things they do to one up each other are often hilarious, but I think the poignancy of this story was the real hook for me. A lovely Christmas read – I hope you’ll give it a try!
10/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE WAKE-UP CALL by Beth O’Leary. Berkley (September 26, 2023). ISBN: 978-0593640128. 368p.
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