{Release Day Review} The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent (@DentLizzy @PutnamBooks)

Beach Read meets Sweetbitter in this laugh-out-loud and ultimately heartwarming debut of a good friend's very bad decision and the summer job that stands to ruin or make her life. 

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

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?

One good friend's very bad decision is at the heart of this laugh-out-loud love story and unexpected tale of a woman finally finding herself in the strangest of places.

​Elizabeth “Birdy” Finch always felt a bit adrift.  She floated from one dead end job to another never finding something that set her soul on fire. Unlike her lifelong best friend.
 
Heather inherited a love of wine and a little bit of money from her late father.  She dedicated herself to becoming the most sought-after sommelier around.  And just when her hard work starts to payoff, she decides to blow off a summer assignment in Scotland and spend time with her current boyfriend instead. 
 
Feeling lost, Birdy decides to take Heather’s job at Loch Dorn.  It’s only for the summer and she could talk her way through anything, right? But she never imagines that she would find everything that she’s been longing for within its weathered walls. Now if only it wouldn’t all disappear the moment that she reveals her true identity.

And now I cry. At first it’s a few tears that slip out and roll gently down my cheeks, but after a few moments it becomes a deep, visceral wail. A cathartic exorcism of grief and anger and self-loathing. I look down at my hands, nails bitten to the quick. And I bury my face in my hands, switching between feeling fascinated by how much liquid my eyes can produce and wondering if there is any way back to the place where I made my choices - but this time I make them right.

​I first thought that Lizzy Dent was just going to take me on a whimsical holiday through Scotland.  But in The Summer Job, she gives readers something far more poignant and meaningful.
 
I simply adored the character of Birdy.  She’s feisty and loyal.  She clearly knows that her deception is wrong on every level.  Yet somehow, she can’t stop herself from falling under the spell of Loch Dorn.  From its lush easy charm right down to the dedicated warm-hearted staff, she desperately yearns to be a part of such a wonderful place.  
 
It’s here where she finally learns some hard lessons about friendship, family, and love, and starts down the path to becoming the person that she always wanted to be. I was equal amounts mesmerized and anxious watching her unfold with every chapter because I wanted an ending that was as tender as Birdy’s heart.  And I can truly say that I wasn’t disappointed at all….