This book was not what I was expecting and I’m not sure if that was a good or a bad thing. The book itself is a short and easy read, which made me happy because I’ve been in slump the past few days and haven’t been able to get through anything.

I thought the book was going to be British because it’s a Harper Collins UK book, but it is actually French. I didn’t catch that the book itself was originally written in French and translated to English when I picked it up until I started noticing a few instances of odd phrasing. But as a whole the translation was very good and some readers may not even notice.

I absolutely adored Sarah. As a fellow lover of books she really spoke to me. I really felt her when she said, “I’m happy here, among the books and far away from reality,” because it perfectly captures my love of books. Max on the other hand is a walking talking red flag. He’s a “bad boy” loner with rage issues and a secret that could ruin his acting career if it comes out. I get that he is a romance hero but he is painfully cliche (and I say that as someone with a very very deep love for the romance genre). Also other than admitting his feelings and buying people flowers I never saw him grow and develop into a more mature / better person.

I struggled with the pacing of the book. Where the book was short I felt like Sarah and Max’s relationship was very fast and didn’t have a lot of build. I know that it was technically over an entire summer but because the book wasn’t enough of their growing attraction on page for me. I also thought that the twist that takes them to Paris came way out of left field and felt out of place in the book as a whole.

Overall I did enjoy my time reading the book and because it was short I’m not overly mad upset about the things that didn’t work for me. If I had the opportunity to read another one of Emily’s books I would.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.