The Summer Job

By Lizzy Dent

What it’s about?

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.

What I think:

This book has been on my Netgalley shelf for far too long and I can’t believe it has taken me so long to get around to reading it.

Birds can be frustrating at times as she makes some terrible decisions, and sometimes, her behaviour is baffling. But she is warm-hearted and generous and desperately searching for fulfilment in her life.

Her decision to head to Scotland and pretend to be wine expert is so crazy, but based on best-friend Heather’s descriptions of a rundown and remote Highland hotel, Birdy think she just might be able to pull it off.

When she gets there, she is clearly massively in over her head. The hotel has had major renovations, and Michelin starred chefs and the stakes are suddenly far higher.

Things get even more complicated when Birdy falls for gorgeous James. And decides she actually loves her fake jib and fake life.

This is a fun read. I was waiting to see how far Birdy would go before she got caught out, which inevitably will. Her friendship with Heather is really constant for her, and she puts it all onto eh line for her summer job.

There are some genuinely funny moments, some that made me cringe and some heart-warming as Birdy finds her passions and discovers that her summer job is more important to her than she ever imagined.

Thank you to Netgalley for my gifted digital copy. I really enjoyed the book and am pleased to have finally ticked it off the tbr list.