Book Review: Lucy Checks In (ARC)

Author: Dee Ernst

Dee Ernst’s Lucy Checks In is a delightful work of romantic comedy about a disgraced hotel manager who travels to Rennes to rebuild a hotel and her own life in the process…

Lucia Giannetti needs a fresh start. Once the hotel manager of a glamorous NYC hotel and intimately involved with the hotel’s owner, Lucy had her entire future planned out. But when the owner disappears, taking millions of dollars with him, Lucy’s life as she knows it falls apart.

Two years later, forty-nine years old and unemployed, Lucy takes a job in Rennes, France to manage the Hotel Paradis. She pictures fur quilts and extravagant chandeliers, but what she finds is wildly different. Lucy is now in charge of turning the run-down, but charming hotel into a bustling tourist attraction. Between painting rooms, building a website, and getting to know Bing, the irritatingly attractive artist, Lucy finds an unexpected home. But can she succeed in bringing the Hotel Paradis to its former glory?

Witty and heartfelt, Lucy Checks In is an inspiring and feel-good novel about reclaiming your life, finding love, and creating a home in places you never thought possible.

Lucy Checks In is my second novel by Dee Ernst. The cover does not quite capture the story as the cover seems to portray a younger woman with darker hair, yet the main character is older with graying hair in the actual story. It follows 49-years-old Lucia Giannetti who takes a job as a manager at the Hotel Paradis in Rennes, France after her life fell apart in NYC. The hotel is nothing she expected as it needs a lot more work to make it amazing. During her time at the hotel, she meets Bing, a children’s book illustrator and artist, who steps up to assist her.

The reader follows along Lucy’s journey trying to fix up the hotel, which comes with multiple challenges. She is also healing after her former boss and boyfriend, Tony Fielding, stole millions and disappeared. Through her healing time at the hotel, she meets Claudine, the owner of the hotel and also Bing’s ex. Together the two of them share a son, Phillipe. As the story progresses, Lucy heals emotionally, the hotel gets some work, and there is a romance that slowly develops.

Overall, Lucy begins a little bit unlikable due to her attitude, but it was easy to sympathize with her and her situation. She did grow on me a lot by the end of the story and throughout it was easy to root for her to succeed. I loved Lucy bonding with the people around her. While there is a little relationship forming with Bing, I needed a little more to understand why they would work as a couple. I felt the physical chemistry throughout the story, but I needed a little bit more exploration into their deeper connection. This story was a great read and was very enjoyable. I looked forward to reading more from Ernst in the future!  

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**