i love this book i love beth o'leary i love izzy i love lucas i love forest manor !!
this is the rom com of the year perhaps?? to me?? o'leary is so talented at writing romance stories that treat each lead like a real and fully-rounded person. she's right up there with emily henry for me when it comes to romance/women's fiction. izzy and lucas are both really interesting characters that you just want to know more about and see them happy. the miscommunication in the story about last christmas does go on for quite a while, but it's not the biggest thing keeping them apart for the majority of the story, and they have more to work through than that to be in a successful and happy relationship. i loved all the secondary characters (i will be holding on to the tiffy cameo for the rest of my life thank you very much) and how real and homey the hotel felt. izzy's journey especially was very well-done and i always appreciate how o'leary's female leads have their own journey/work to do along with the romance. it just makes the happy ending that much more satisfying and i LOVE IT. this is definitely one of my favorite books of the year and i'm so excited to read it again when it comes out. 
new beth o'leary ranking: TWUC, flatshare, no-show, switch, road trip