The Summer Job
A hilarious story about a lie that gets out of hand – soon to be a TV series
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4.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
'SO much fun' MARIAN KEYES, author of GROWN UPS
'Fresh and funny' BETH O'LEARY, author of THE ROADTRIP
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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?
Run away with Birdy Finch - the messy heroine with a heart of gold!
THE SUMMER JOB is a fresh, fun, feel good romcom for fans of THE ROAD TRIP, STARSTRUCK and JANE FALLON
STYLIST 'BEST NEW FICTION'
COSMOPOLITAN 'BEST BOOKS'
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'Engaging, heartwarming and SO MUCH FUN. I bloody loved it' MARIAN KEYES
'Fresh, funny and filled with delicious food and wine' BETH O'LEARY
'What a welcome escape! Loved it, I'm in the queue for more Lizzy' JOSIE SILVER
'For fans of Marian Keyes, this is the perfect sweet spot of funny and moving women's fiction' STYLIST
'Fresh, funny and oh so relatable - the perfect tonic' ABBIE GREAVES
'Fun with a capital F . . . If you've ever felt you're getting left behind in life, or don't have everything worked out quite yet, this is the book for you' SOPHIE COUSENS
'This is the book you'll want with you on your sunlounger' COSMOPOLITAN
'I fell for Birdy on the very first page and inhaled the rest of her story . . . A brilliantly original plot paired with fabulously funny writing - a pure joy to read!' HELLY ACTON
'It's really great - so gossipy, warm and funny' BETH MORREY
'One of the funniest and sexiest books of the year. As soon as I finished it, I wanted to read it again. Do not miss this one!' EMILY HENRY
'A sunny caper set in the Scottish Highlands...a real spritz' THE SUNDAY TIMES
'Perfect sweet spot of funny and moving' STYLIST
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
For a novel touted as a feel-good rom-com, The Summer Job actually has quite a stressful premise. From the moment thirty-something Birdy Finch arrives at a newly renovated luxury Scottish hotel, having sort of accidentally taken a job as a sommelier, it’s hard not to feel a sense of impending doom as she ingratiates herself with the tight-knit staff running the idyllic loch-side retreat. Worse, the job was meant for her best friend, who actually does know her Sancerre from her Sauternes. You shouldn’t like Birdy, but you can’t help it, as you share her panicked sense of imposter syndrome while watching her learn the ropes very much on the job. You’ll learn about wine, root for Birdy, and be hoping Scotland is open for holiday business this summer.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Dent's stressful debut sees a woman living out a classic anxiety dream as she fudges her way through a job she's way underqualified for. When Birdy Finch's best friend, Heather, decides against taking a job as a sommelier at a Scottish inn, Birdy offers to let Heather's potential employers know. But, on a whim, she doesn't—deciding a summer in Scotland is just what she herself needs. Though Birdy has no knowledge of wine, the inn's website shows a run-down cottage with a small, manageable wine list. So when she arrives, posing as Heather, she's shocked to find a newly renovated Loch Dorn Estate with a Michelin-starred chef helming the restaurant. She flails through her first days on the job before buckling down to study the extensive wine list. She also discovers an interest in cooking and an equal fascination with dedicated but reserved chef James. But can their budding relationship and her friendships among Loch Dorn's staff survive after they learn she's not who she claims? The romance is solid, but a key emotional moment happens off-page, making the ending feel unearned, and the side characters outshine self-centered Birdy, making it hard to forgive her deception as her bumbling puts their jobs at risk. Readers will need a high tolerance for anxiety-inducing humor to get into this one.
