Book Review: The Summer Job

What if you could be someone else? Just for the summer…

Lizzy Dent ~ The Summer Job

Synopsis

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?

Review

Now, I love wine, to the point where I am the elected sommelier at work events. I’ve made some excellent choices… even though I don’t really know what I’m talking about.

So, I could totally relate to Birdy who is spending her summer pretending to be a sommelier in a super fancy hotel in Scotland.

What a character. Birdy is all of us. We’ve all been in a situation where everything seems a bit hopeless and our decisions might not be particularly good ones… but we go ahead with it no matter what.

I read this book months ago, because I’m impulsive and don’t follow rules. But it’s stayed with me and tbh I’ll probably read it again because it’s an absolute treat.

Not only does it scream summer, but it manages to be laugh out loud funny, without being pretentious or irritating.

You know I’m not a big fan of super predictable rom-coms, but the romance in The Summer Job is subtle and doesn’t overpower the story.

The friendships too are well-written and believable. Birdy and her colleagues’ developing relationships are lovely to see, whilst her chats with Heather remind us that it’s all bound to go wrong…

Lizzy has basically taken everything I love (good food, wine and a hot chef) and placed it in a stunning location, injected with humour.

Highly recommend you pour a glass of Marlborough Sauv and enjoy it with this book.