Book review: The Summer Job.

I overestimated how much free time I’d have over the Easter holidays (you’d think I’d know by now). Three library books was always going to be a stretch but I had, stupidly, saved the best till last.

After I received the email telling me The Summer Job was due to be returned, I binge read it in a day. However, I think the quality of writing and a fantastic, if slightly unbelievable, plot, would have made me read Lizzy Dent’s debut quickly, even without the deadline (only afterwards did I remember I could renew online).

Here’s the blurb:

Birdy Finch just got her dream job. The trouble is, it’s not hers . . .

It was a simple accident. Well, maybe a tiny fib. OK, maybe an all-out, blatant, mayhem-causing lie. Because the life she’s just claimed is hers actually belongs to her best friend, Heather.

Obviously she’ll tell Heather (eventually). And the first guy she’s properly liked in forever (probably). Absolutely nobody will know – just till she sorts herself out . . .

So can Birdy carry off a summer at a luxury Scottish hotel pretending to be a world-class wine expert? And can she find the courage to fall in love, even if it means telling the truth?

~

From the start, you know it’s all going to come tumbling down around Birdy. What you don’t know is how and when and I think that’s what makes it hard to put down. There are several instances throughout the book where it could go horribly wrong for her. The deeper she gets, especially with Chef James, you know the harder she will fall.

I’ll admit, at first, I wasn’t really taken with Birdy but the more I read, the more I grew to understand her and like her. She is funny from the start but it’s a raw sort of humour. Even though pretending to be someone she’s not is far from ideal, by the end I kind of understood why she thought it was okay and I was rooting for her to have her happy ending.

I’ve never worked in hospitality but this book definitely gives you some insider insight. It seems like hard work and more than a little chaotic but also fun being part of a tight team. There’s a lot of talk of food and wine but not too much to put non-foodies off.

One of the reasons I brought the book home, other than liking the sound of the story, was because I was thinking of places to visit with Freya this summer and the Scottish highlands is way up on the list. Reading the beautiful descriptions in this book made me even more determined to go (I just need to win the lottery to afford the train tickets).

If you’re going on holiday and know you have time to sit and read, I’d say this is a great book to take with you.

My rating: Four stars.

Thanks to Norfolk Library Service for the loan (returned on time).