The Wake-Up Call
Ratings27
Average rating3.6
I wanted to love it, I've loved all of the author's previous books and based on The No Show and The Flat Share she's an auto-buy. This just sadly fell flat for me, it didn't have the twists that the No Show had, or the depth of characters from The Flat Share, or even the comic supporting characters from The Road Trip.
Izzy and Lucas work together but hate each other, which is a great premise (The Hating Game is one of my favourite books), but I think the setting killed it. They work in a struggling hotel where the employees are like family. I dislike that idea straight off, you don't fire family members and normally when an employer says “we're like family” it means they're going to take advantage. It touched on too many cliches and I struggled to warm to the characters. It's an ok book but it lacked the spark that other Beth O'Leary books have had.
I don't love the haters to lovers trope because usually I don't want them to get together after they've spent so long being such jerks to each other. This one worked for me, though. There were reasons they were angry and they actually owned up to their poor behavior and made personal changes. The story was well crafted, as O'Leary is great at doing. Enjoyed it greatly!
4.5/5
I loved that! I wasn't sure about this book when I began reading that, as The Flatshare was not my cup of tea, but this book was so well written, I actually enjoyed that. I laughed, I cried, I cringed and I threw the book, it was so good.
Izzy is sunshine personified while Lucas is a grump who loves his spreadheets. At last year's Christmas party, after Izzy poured his heart to him, he chose to kiss her flatmate instead, and things got worse. They couldn't stand one another ever since.
But things were not what they seemed.
Now the hotel they work at is days from being shut down and their only hope is to find the owners of the engagement/wedding rings in lost and found.
I loved this. The bickering, the competition, the tension, you could actually feel that from the pages. And while I liked this book very much I wasn't amazed by the writing. For example, I was confused about was Lucas Days, what were they and since WHEN was he in charge on Thursdays? I went looking for it in but I couldn't find it anywhere. And it only happens once anyway on page 116 I think? nd there's no mention of it anywhere else, not earlier and not later. That was weird.
What I liked though was how Izzy lost her parents' ring in the sea, and gained another, also in the sea in the epilogue. It was poetic, I think, and it was just like her to steal Lucas's thunder haha.
I enjoyed the book, and I'm glad I read it.
O'Leary is so great at characters, especially side characters. I loved Mr. Townsend, Poor Mandy, Jem, Grigg, Sameera, the Hedgerses, and of course I loved Izzy and Lucas too. Obviously, I knew going in that it was going to be a fade to black situation because that is Beth O'Leary's M.O., but man, I was PISSED that it was teased up so hard for multiple chapters and then wam...whatever the female equivalent to blue balls is. lol. I liked this one.
DNF at 65%. Book Riot has an article today entitled “In Defense of the Miscommunication Trope in Romance.” The writer's point is that when the Dreaded Mis isn't the only factor keeping the MCs apart, it can actually be very effective. Sadly, the plot of Beth O'Leary's latest novel hinges on one single missed communication. The FMC sent the MMC a romantic Christmas letter proposing a kiss under the mistletoe, but he never responded, and was later seen kissing her roommate. At no point in the story does the FMC ask the MMC why he blew her off, or consider other reasons for his behavior besides his inherent awfulness (surprise, he never got the letter).
I noped out for good when the MMC overhears the FMC having a conversation about another man and assumes she is two-timing their “get it out of our systems” hate-f*cking. You know what, the two of them deserve each other.
I like Beth O'Leary's cosy, warm, fuzzy worlds so I liked this but it wasn't my fav of hers