CONFESSIONS OF A CHALET GIRL by Lorraine Wilson

Confessions of a Chalet Girl by Lorraine Wilson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

NetGalley free read

Holly has just arrived in Switzerland to work as a chalet girl because her best friend and flatmate, who originally suggested they both do this for the winter to catch a rich guy (her joke), had gotten pregnant and moved in her boyfriend... a mechanic's apprentice. Holly figures she'll do this job over the holidays, not have to back to her mother's home, and figure out the rest of her life when the season's over. Holly immediately attracts the attention of the owner of Chalet Repos and her boss, Scott Hamilton, although she doesn't know it at the time. Scott doesn't date employees, but he's immediately attracted to Holly.

Although she becomes a favorite of the chalet guest, due to her sweet personality, Holly quickly becomes a target by her fellow female employees due to Scott's seeming interest in her.

Scott has a thing about lying. His father is a serial adulterer, his sister passed away a year ago because she never told anyone she wasn't feeling well and ened up having cancer too advanced to do anything about it. So when he suggests Holly go with he and the some of the guests on a ski run, she's not sure where that's come from until she realizes her facebook and twitter account has been hacked. Realizing it was one of the other chalet girls, she tries to tell Scott that she doesn't ski well, but he takes it for her being modest. She soon hurt herself and he's angry because he feels she lied.

Scott ultimately realizes that Holly was set up and apologizes. They start to get very close, realizing they could be much more than a hook up to each other, when Scott tries to explain why he doesn't drink, because he used it as a crutch after his sisters death. But before Holly can hear the reason, she balks and walks away from him. She's been traumatized by a lifetime of taking care of and begging her alcoholic mother to get sobber. But Holly quickly realizes she didn't let Scott fully explain why he doesn't drink and she never told him why it bothers her so much.

They both realize the only way things will work is if they are completely honest with each other and don't jump to conclusions when the other doesn't quickly understand something, like the text from her friend asking if she's bagged the millionaire yet, which Scott reads. She laughs it off as her friend trying to get her in a relationship and he understands that it's not Holly's goal and wasn't why she was there in the first place.

It wasn't terrible, it just was a little clinical in the writing. I didn't really feel any real connection or angst from the characters. Since it was a novella, all of their conflicts were resolved so quickly and without much discussion. Things were explained and accepted at face value. I guess that's good, but it doesn't make for a great reading experience. We need misunderstandings, stubbornness and sometimes, the thought that things may not work out. Everything just fell into place. Too pat.

View all my reviews