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The Weekend Trip
Five old friends. Two new partners. One big problem...
At Erin's Irish beach retreat, five friends reunite after a decade. Amid popping champagne and old tunes, the reunion is flourishing. But tension rises with the arrival of unfamiliar faces - was inviting partners a mistake?
Becky's new girlfriend is annoying, and Beth's hubby keeps making uncomfortable compliments. The cherry on top? The flirty plane stranger is Tara's plus-one.
What started as a weekend about reconnection now teeters on the brink of a spectacular fallout...
A hilarious and uplifting page-turner about the power (and pitfalls) of friendship and romance. Perfect for fans of rom-coms by Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes and Mhairi McFarlane.
Joanna Bolouri is a bestselling romcom author.
At Erin's Irish beach retreat, five friends reunite after a decade. Amid popping champagne and old tunes, the reunion is flourishing. But tension rises with the arrival of unfamiliar faces - was inviting partners a mistake?
Becky's new girlfriend is annoying, and Beth's hubby keeps making uncomfortable compliments. The cherry on top? The flirty plane stranger is Tara's plus-one.
What started as a weekend about reconnection now teeters on the brink of a spectacular fallout...
A hilarious and uplifting page-turner about the power (and pitfalls) of friendship and romance. Perfect for fans of rom-coms by Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes and Mhairi McFarlane.
Joanna Bolouri is a bestselling romcom author.
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Published July 9, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
August 7, 2023
Five girls from Dublin University gathered at Loughview for a party to celebrate graduation. They had all shared a room with one another at one time or another, and had become the best of friends, over their four years there.
Sending their affirmations out to the Universe, during a beachfront ceremony, they shared what they all hoped the next ten years would bring..
Alex was hoping she would become a bestselling author, with a husband who was madly in love with her.
Erin aspires to become a successful Actress married to the Actor, Andrew Scott
Beth just wants to marry her University sweetheart, Paul and have two kids, a boy and a girl.
Free Spirit Becky just wants happiness with a man or a woman.
And, Tara who can’t commit to anything for long, hopes to find the stability she didn’t have growing up.
They PROMISE to always keep in touch.
28th July, 2022
LET’S SHAKE THAT CRYSTAL BALL and SEE HOW THEIR LIVES TURNED OUT!
Erin invites her friends for a ten year reunion, before she sells Loughview, the property she now owns. They haven’t kept in touch, but they all agree to come, as they weren’t very supportive when she lost her husband.
Three will bring partners.
Alex will arrive SOLO, but excited about someone she met on the flight.
Until that someone arrives as the guest of one of her friends.
Uh oh!
This story is mostly told in the present day, with some flashbacks to their individual pasts to catch us up on what has been going on in their lives since they parted after graduation.
Can these women really pick up where they left off or have they grown apart for a reason?
Sometimes you need the people who KNEW you “back when” to REMIND you of who you once were and to give you the confidence to be that authentic person once again.
This was EXACTLY the kind of book that I was looking for after a couple of heavier reads- One that celebrates the power of lasting friendships and love, and one that is full of laughter, food and FUN!
I was immediately engaged with this adorable story, and invested in the outcome!!
Although this story takes place in Ireland, it has the same kind of feel as the U.S. TV shows “Friends” and “How I Met Your Mother” so fans of those Classic shows will enjoy spending time with this group too!
AVAILABLE NOW!!
Thank you to Bookouture for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!
Sending their affirmations out to the Universe, during a beachfront ceremony, they shared what they all hoped the next ten years would bring..
Alex was hoping she would become a bestselling author, with a husband who was madly in love with her.
Erin aspires to become a successful Actress married to the Actor, Andrew Scott
Beth just wants to marry her University sweetheart, Paul and have two kids, a boy and a girl.
Free Spirit Becky just wants happiness with a man or a woman.
And, Tara who can’t commit to anything for long, hopes to find the stability she didn’t have growing up.
They PROMISE to always keep in touch.
28th July, 2022
LET’S SHAKE THAT CRYSTAL BALL and SEE HOW THEIR LIVES TURNED OUT!
Erin invites her friends for a ten year reunion, before she sells Loughview, the property she now owns. They haven’t kept in touch, but they all agree to come, as they weren’t very supportive when she lost her husband.
Three will bring partners.
Alex will arrive SOLO, but excited about someone she met on the flight.
Until that someone arrives as the guest of one of her friends.
Uh oh!
This story is mostly told in the present day, with some flashbacks to their individual pasts to catch us up on what has been going on in their lives since they parted after graduation.
Can these women really pick up where they left off or have they grown apart for a reason?
Sometimes you need the people who KNEW you “back when” to REMIND you of who you once were and to give you the confidence to be that authentic person once again.
This was EXACTLY the kind of book that I was looking for after a couple of heavier reads- One that celebrates the power of lasting friendships and love, and one that is full of laughter, food and FUN!
I was immediately engaged with this adorable story, and invested in the outcome!!
Although this story takes place in Ireland, it has the same kind of feel as the U.S. TV shows “Friends” and “How I Met Your Mother” so fans of those Classic shows will enjoy spending time with this group too!
AVAILABLE NOW!!
Thank you to Bookouture for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!
July 13, 2023
I devoured this book in a day. I will admit it took me a bit to get into it, I did not like the 3rd person point of view, it made it very hard to keep up with the characters. There were 5 main characters and constantly bouncing between them, then there would be random flashbacks to years before and that was hard to follow also. Once I got use to the writing style, the story seemed to get better.
This was a rom com about 5 friends who make a promise to stay in touch, but do not end up keeping their word. 10 years later they have a reunion and it seems that everyone has been keeping secrets, and living unhappy.
This book made me laugh, but also teared me up, their friendship was such a beautiful story. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this arc. This review is voluntary.
This was a rom com about 5 friends who make a promise to stay in touch, but do not end up keeping their word. 10 years later they have a reunion and it seems that everyone has been keeping secrets, and living unhappy.
This book made me laugh, but also teared me up, their friendship was such a beautiful story. Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this arc. This review is voluntary.
August 20, 2023
Such a fun and uplifting laugh out loud read! 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘱 has a bit of everything you need in a book, romance, friendship, drama, real life issues!
In a nutshell you have 5 best friends that met during university and instantly hit it off. As friendships go that went about their lives and lost contact and 10 years later they reunite, with new lives, relationships and life changing issues.
I loved how everything was portrayed, the reality of how friendships work and even though everyone would love the perfect friendship, it’s not a reality and there’s always drama involved somewhere, even after 10 years of little to no contact.
I also loved the disability representation too, it was done beautifully and showed the reality of how life altering disabilities can be and how hard they can come to terms with when they come out of nowhere.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the story and can’t wait to read more from Joanna!
In a nutshell you have 5 best friends that met during university and instantly hit it off. As friendships go that went about their lives and lost contact and 10 years later they reunite, with new lives, relationships and life changing issues.
I loved how everything was portrayed, the reality of how friendships work and even though everyone would love the perfect friendship, it’s not a reality and there’s always drama involved somewhere, even after 10 years of little to no contact.
I also loved the disability representation too, it was done beautifully and showed the reality of how life altering disabilities can be and how hard they can come to terms with when they come out of nowhere.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the story and can’t wait to read more from Joanna!
August 3, 2023
4.5! I ended up enjoying this way more than I was expecting!
I was a bit worried from the first prologue chapter because I didn't like that we bounced between perspectives from paragraph to paragraph. I also was a bit overwhelmed at having 5 main characters introduced all at once and found it hard to keep track at first.
But the next 5 chapters were solely from each of the main characters (Erin, Beth, Becky, Alex, and Tara), so I felt that I got to know their personalities more and it defined them better. While it did switch back to bouncing between perspectives in the same chapter for the rest of the book, I got used to the writing style and it didn't bother me as much as it did at the start. I still much prefer one perspective per chapter, so that's where it fell just shy of 5 stars for me.
I loved the characters, though. Each of the 5 main women were so unique, and despite their flaws, I really came to love them all. I also enjoyed Paul and Aiden as side characters. Alex and Aiden's dynamic was so fun, and Paul and Beth were the perfect definition of "old married couple." I hated Christine, which was intended, but she made me love Becky that much more for how she handled herself.
The plot of following 5 friends as they reunite after a decade of being apart was so fun and realistic. I felt like it was so endearing to read about their struggles and how they overcame them. I felt like their friendship was so relatable and a good balance between messy and fun.
This was just the perfect book for me at this point in my life, and the messages throughout were just what I needed. I also liked both the mental health rep and the chronic illness rep with multiple sclerosis.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I was a bit worried from the first prologue chapter because I didn't like that we bounced between perspectives from paragraph to paragraph. I also was a bit overwhelmed at having 5 main characters introduced all at once and found it hard to keep track at first.
But the next 5 chapters were solely from each of the main characters (Erin, Beth, Becky, Alex, and Tara), so I felt that I got to know their personalities more and it defined them better. While it did switch back to bouncing between perspectives in the same chapter for the rest of the book, I got used to the writing style and it didn't bother me as much as it did at the start. I still much prefer one perspective per chapter, so that's where it fell just shy of 5 stars for me.
I loved the characters, though. Each of the 5 main women were so unique, and despite their flaws, I really came to love them all. I also enjoyed Paul and Aiden as side characters. Alex and Aiden's dynamic was so fun, and Paul and Beth were the perfect definition of "old married couple." I hated Christine, which was intended, but she made me love Becky that much more for how she handled herself.
The plot of following 5 friends as they reunite after a decade of being apart was so fun and realistic. I felt like it was so endearing to read about their struggles and how they overcame them. I felt like their friendship was so relatable and a good balance between messy and fun.
This was just the perfect book for me at this point in my life, and the messages throughout were just what I needed. I also liked both the mental health rep and the chronic illness rep with multiple sclerosis.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
August 9, 2023
Joanna Bolouri - The Weekend Trip.
As young widow Erin prepares to sell her family home on the coast of Ireland, she plans one last weekend gathering with her closest friends from her Dublin university days.
As close as they were, this will be the first time that they have seen each other in ten years.
Life has pulled them all in their own directions and their contact with each other has been sporadic.
As the five friends gather, some bring partners, some bring grief, some bring posh shoes, but ultimately they all bring secrets that they aren’t sure if or how they should share.
Joanna Bolouri has written another stunning read.
The weekend trip takes us on a rollercoaster journey as five old friends, Erin, Beth, Becky, Tara and Alex reconnect.
Once I’d got my head around who was who, I really took to these five women and cared about their journeys.
Erin is gentle and likeable. (With a fierce streak hidden within) Her world has been torn apart by the loss of her husband.
She thinks that selling her beautiful coastal cottage will set her free and give her the fresh start that she needs.
Beth is courageous and strong. Married to her university sweet heart, settled in Wales where she was born and doing a job that she loves. From the outside looking in, Beth’s life is good. From the inside looking out, Beth is hiding secrets and just what is the truth behind her clumsy ways and her bad leg?
Alex, has achieved her dream career and bought herself the shoes to match.
I think I liked Alex the most of all the women. She is beautiful and kind, with a big heart and a strong moral compass.
A chance meeting on her way to Erin’s house, with a man who seems to just, ‘get her’ leaves Alex in a spin.
She doesn’t realise quite how soon she will see him again, but their next encounter will come as a shock to them both.
Becky has always been a free spirit, but her new girlfriend seems to be dimming her light.
Will the real Becky find her way back to the surface?
Tara is gorgeous and vivacious. She’s been living in New York, but it wasn’t all it cracked up to be. Now Tara hides a big secret and a vulnerability that she struggles to share.
The five women are a great mix. Joanna Bolouri has written them all to be real, well rounded and believable.
The setting of the book is spectacular. Joanna Bolouri paints a vivid picture of the cottage and it’s coastal position.
It felt very real, and I could almost smell the sea air.
The story is mostly based in the present day, with some throwback chapters dotted in to add background and depth to the story.
I have to admit, I am a massive fan of Joanna Bolouri’s books.
The Weekend Trip doesn’t have the guttural humour that some of Joanna’s books have, but her sharp wit is still there, just maybe with a little more subtlety.
#TheWeekendTrip is nothing less than fabulous. It’s a story that twists and turns as secrets are revealed.
A story that’s full of love and friendships.
Joanna Bolouri’s writing is, as always, captivating, engaging and unputdownable.
#TheWeekendTrip thoroughly absorbed me. I was rooting for everyone to get exactly what they deserved.
By the end, I didn’t want to say goodbye to this book, although a well written and heartwarming epilogue did ease the pain.
#TheWeekendTrio is a must read. It’s emotional, raw, poignant, intuitive, warm hearted, touching and absolutely flipping brilliant!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
With thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for a digital arc of this title.
#BooksOnTour
As young widow Erin prepares to sell her family home on the coast of Ireland, she plans one last weekend gathering with her closest friends from her Dublin university days.
As close as they were, this will be the first time that they have seen each other in ten years.
Life has pulled them all in their own directions and their contact with each other has been sporadic.
As the five friends gather, some bring partners, some bring grief, some bring posh shoes, but ultimately they all bring secrets that they aren’t sure if or how they should share.
Joanna Bolouri has written another stunning read.
The weekend trip takes us on a rollercoaster journey as five old friends, Erin, Beth, Becky, Tara and Alex reconnect.
Once I’d got my head around who was who, I really took to these five women and cared about their journeys.
Erin is gentle and likeable. (With a fierce streak hidden within) Her world has been torn apart by the loss of her husband.
She thinks that selling her beautiful coastal cottage will set her free and give her the fresh start that she needs.
Beth is courageous and strong. Married to her university sweet heart, settled in Wales where she was born and doing a job that she loves. From the outside looking in, Beth’s life is good. From the inside looking out, Beth is hiding secrets and just what is the truth behind her clumsy ways and her bad leg?
Alex, has achieved her dream career and bought herself the shoes to match.
I think I liked Alex the most of all the women. She is beautiful and kind, with a big heart and a strong moral compass.
A chance meeting on her way to Erin’s house, with a man who seems to just, ‘get her’ leaves Alex in a spin.
She doesn’t realise quite how soon she will see him again, but their next encounter will come as a shock to them both.
Becky has always been a free spirit, but her new girlfriend seems to be dimming her light.
Will the real Becky find her way back to the surface?
Tara is gorgeous and vivacious. She’s been living in New York, but it wasn’t all it cracked up to be. Now Tara hides a big secret and a vulnerability that she struggles to share.
The five women are a great mix. Joanna Bolouri has written them all to be real, well rounded and believable.
The setting of the book is spectacular. Joanna Bolouri paints a vivid picture of the cottage and it’s coastal position.
It felt very real, and I could almost smell the sea air.
The story is mostly based in the present day, with some throwback chapters dotted in to add background and depth to the story.
I have to admit, I am a massive fan of Joanna Bolouri’s books.
The Weekend Trip doesn’t have the guttural humour that some of Joanna’s books have, but her sharp wit is still there, just maybe with a little more subtlety.
#TheWeekendTrip is nothing less than fabulous. It’s a story that twists and turns as secrets are revealed.
A story that’s full of love and friendships.
Joanna Bolouri’s writing is, as always, captivating, engaging and unputdownable.
#TheWeekendTrip thoroughly absorbed me. I was rooting for everyone to get exactly what they deserved.
By the end, I didn’t want to say goodbye to this book, although a well written and heartwarming epilogue did ease the pain.
#TheWeekendTrio is a must read. It’s emotional, raw, poignant, intuitive, warm hearted, touching and absolutely flipping brilliant!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
With thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for a digital arc of this title.
#BooksOnTour
May 29, 2025
I have had this on my kindle for absolutely ages and I'm actually a little gutted I left it so long. This was such a lovely read about long lost friends and reconnected relationships. would recommend as a lighter read even though some of the subject matters are a little darker.
August 13, 2023
It’s been ten years since Erin, Beth, Becky, Tara and Alex were together in Ireland at Erin’s beach home. They were friends in college, but then all went their separate ways to live their lives. Erin plans a reunion for the women along with their current partners.
Not everyone has a partner, but it still should be a fun reunion. However, things don’t quite go the way Erin anticipates and tempers flare. She fears none of their friendships will ever be the same after this one weekend.
This is a hard one to write a synopsis for since I don’t want to give anything away. It is a book about friendships. Very real friendships that aren’t always perfect. Sometimes they can be downright combative.
I really liked all of the main characters. Each character is so completely different than the other. It’s surprising, yet refreshing, to see friends get along even with their differences. Each character is in a realistic situation.
There’s a nice mixture of romance, humor and drama. I was captivated through the entire book and wanted to see how it would all work out.
I haven’t read anything by this author before, but I’ll certainly be looking for her backlist. A very satisfying read for me.
FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Not everyone has a partner, but it still should be a fun reunion. However, things don’t quite go the way Erin anticipates and tempers flare. She fears none of their friendships will ever be the same after this one weekend.
This is a hard one to write a synopsis for since I don’t want to give anything away. It is a book about friendships. Very real friendships that aren’t always perfect. Sometimes they can be downright combative.
I really liked all of the main characters. Each character is so completely different than the other. It’s surprising, yet refreshing, to see friends get along even with their differences. Each character is in a realistic situation.
There’s a nice mixture of romance, humor and drama. I was captivated through the entire book and wanted to see how it would all work out.
I haven’t read anything by this author before, but I’ll certainly be looking for her backlist. A very satisfying read for me.
FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.
July 24, 2023
5 college housemates Alex, Erin, Beth, Becky, and Tara have just graduated and are celebrating at Erin's grandfather's house in Kerry, complete with its own private beach on the shore of Lough Currane. It's on that beach that the girls do a midnight ritual, planned by Becky, where they write down that their life wishes and set on fire. The story then moves 10 years into the future and despite their best intentions, the group have not stayed in regular contact. Erin is about the sell the house and decides to invite everyone and their partners for one last gettogether. Will everything feel like it used to or will things be awkward?
I love books that have friendship groups and how they change at the centre of them, such as Happy Place by Emily Henry and Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane, which is why this book appealed to me. The characters are an interesting mix of people, I liked how the author showed that some where closer than others, it's very realistic of a larger group of friends. Flashbacks are used to show them in college to show their history but also context to what was happening in the present timeline. Each character has a secret or problem, which slowly gets revealed to each other as the weekend goes on.
The blurb is written in 1st person perspective, from Alex's point of view, but the book is in 3rd person, I'm not sure why. I do think the book needed to be 3rd person as there's so many characters and the perspective moves around, it would have been a bit messier in first person. I did find it slightly confusing at first getting all the characters straight in my head but I think that's partially down to there being a Becky and a Beth. And while the author does a solid enough job with the Irish characters and setting, there are a few tiny things that stick out as wrong such as the girls saying university (we call it college) and even the college being called Dublin University (there isn't one called that).
Overall, I enjoyed this book, it was a lovely summer read and I think people who like Mhairi McFarlane and Beth O'Leary will like this too! 3.5 stars
I love books that have friendship groups and how they change at the centre of them, such as Happy Place by Emily Henry and Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane, which is why this book appealed to me. The characters are an interesting mix of people, I liked how the author showed that some where closer than others, it's very realistic of a larger group of friends. Flashbacks are used to show them in college to show their history but also context to what was happening in the present timeline. Each character has a secret or problem, which slowly gets revealed to each other as the weekend goes on.
The blurb is written in 1st person perspective, from Alex's point of view, but the book is in 3rd person, I'm not sure why. I do think the book needed to be 3rd person as there's so many characters and the perspective moves around, it would have been a bit messier in first person. I did find it slightly confusing at first getting all the characters straight in my head but I think that's partially down to there being a Becky and a Beth. And while the author does a solid enough job with the Irish characters and setting, there are a few tiny things that stick out as wrong such as the girls saying university (we call it college) and even the college being called Dublin University (there isn't one called that).
Overall, I enjoyed this book, it was a lovely summer read and I think people who like Mhairi McFarlane and Beth O'Leary will like this too! 3.5 stars
July 2, 2023
Alex, Erin, Beth, Becky, and Tara met in college and knew that they would be friends forever. On graduation night, they had a celebration at the beach house that Erin had inherited and promised to keep in touch, even though they were all heading in different directions.
Well, life can often get in the way of good intentions. Each of them get busy with life and rarely check in, until 10 years later, when Erin’s husband tragically dies and she asks them all back to the beach house for a reunion.
Alex meets a stranger, Aiden, at the airport, who then ends up being her neighbor on the plane. They make a strong connection in a short time, exchange numbers, and head off to their destinations, which turns out to be the same, because Aiden just happens to be Tara’s boyfriend. Alex and Aiden aren’t the only ones keeping secrets though, and all the secrets can’t stay hidden for long.
I was really surprised by this book. This is a romance, but more importantly, it’s a story about friendship. The 5 girls couldn’t be more different but the love they have for each other is immense. During their short weekend trip, they each grow and learn so much about not only each other, but themselves as well. And ultimately, this only deepens their friendship.
I love that each of them have very distinct personalities, but are still so supportive of each other. That is what friendship truly should be. I could relate to each of the characters in different ways, but Alex and Aiden really stole the show for me. The author did an incredible job of telling each person’s story and making it relatable. You could feel every emotion they felt. This was such a sweet story.
Well, life can often get in the way of good intentions. Each of them get busy with life and rarely check in, until 10 years later, when Erin’s husband tragically dies and she asks them all back to the beach house for a reunion.
Alex meets a stranger, Aiden, at the airport, who then ends up being her neighbor on the plane. They make a strong connection in a short time, exchange numbers, and head off to their destinations, which turns out to be the same, because Aiden just happens to be Tara’s boyfriend. Alex and Aiden aren’t the only ones keeping secrets though, and all the secrets can’t stay hidden for long.
I was really surprised by this book. This is a romance, but more importantly, it’s a story about friendship. The 5 girls couldn’t be more different but the love they have for each other is immense. During their short weekend trip, they each grow and learn so much about not only each other, but themselves as well. And ultimately, this only deepens their friendship.
I love that each of them have very distinct personalities, but are still so supportive of each other. That is what friendship truly should be. I could relate to each of the characters in different ways, but Alex and Aiden really stole the show for me. The author did an incredible job of telling each person’s story and making it relatable. You could feel every emotion they felt. This was such a sweet story.
July 28, 2023
*I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
I was not hugely engaged when I read the prologue and almost discontinued reading- the head hopping was all over the place (as in, we got multiple perspectives within the same paragraph so it got quite confusing who's perspective we were in, and introducing all 5 chatacters at once was a lot) and the dialogue made all the characters sound annoying. But I pushed through and actually really grew to enjoy this story of 5 friends who have reunited after 10 years.
I think I was most invested in Alex's story and her relationship with Aiden; it was a shame the story wasn't more evenly spread across the characters- I feel like it was quite surface level at times, particularly Erin who I feel we didn't get to know very well.
A sweet, easy, and quick read.
I was not hugely engaged when I read the prologue and almost discontinued reading- the head hopping was all over the place (as in, we got multiple perspectives within the same paragraph so it got quite confusing who's perspective we were in, and introducing all 5 chatacters at once was a lot) and the dialogue made all the characters sound annoying. But I pushed through and actually really grew to enjoy this story of 5 friends who have reunited after 10 years.
I think I was most invested in Alex's story and her relationship with Aiden; it was a shame the story wasn't more evenly spread across the characters- I feel like it was quite surface level at times, particularly Erin who I feel we didn't get to know very well.
A sweet, easy, and quick read.
July 1, 2023
Friendships, love and loss - a heartwarming rom-com celebrating the friends you have around you, and the hardships that people experience throughout life.
''Promise me we'll keep in touch'.. 'No matter what'. And there on the beach, five girls from Dublin University made a promise to do just that. It would be the easiest promise they'd ever make but the hardest to keep'.
Synopsis
Best friends from University, five girls promise to keep in touch with each other. But life gets in the way, and 10 years later - they are finally reuniting for a reunion weekend.
The girls' dreams, ambitions and lives have changed over the 10 years - breakups, rehab, loss - but reconnecting with old friends is the perfect medicine. In their hearts, they are still the five girls from Dublin University.
Thoughts
I enjoyed how realistic this was, the hardships and emotional turmoil you go through in life.
Reconnecting with old friends, after 10 years - their personalities are more 'polite', but as we go through the weekend, the girls realise that these are the people who have been there for them for 10 years, stripping away the polite persona and being the girls they are at heart.
'And there on the beach, five girls from Dublin University toasted the women they once were and the women they continued to be'.
I enjoyed the storylines with the girls' new partners - causing some drama! And of course this feeds into the rom-com part, causing a little bit of a stir!
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this copy. This review is voluntary.
''Promise me we'll keep in touch'.. 'No matter what'. And there on the beach, five girls from Dublin University made a promise to do just that. It would be the easiest promise they'd ever make but the hardest to keep'.
Synopsis
Best friends from University, five girls promise to keep in touch with each other. But life gets in the way, and 10 years later - they are finally reuniting for a reunion weekend.
The girls' dreams, ambitions and lives have changed over the 10 years - breakups, rehab, loss - but reconnecting with old friends is the perfect medicine. In their hearts, they are still the five girls from Dublin University.
Thoughts
I enjoyed how realistic this was, the hardships and emotional turmoil you go through in life.
Reconnecting with old friends, after 10 years - their personalities are more 'polite', but as we go through the weekend, the girls realise that these are the people who have been there for them for 10 years, stripping away the polite persona and being the girls they are at heart.
'And there on the beach, five girls from Dublin University toasted the women they once were and the women they continued to be'.
I enjoyed the storylines with the girls' new partners - causing some drama! And of course this feeds into the rom-com part, causing a little bit of a stir!
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this copy. This review is voluntary.
September 5, 2023
After the devastating death of her husband, Erin invited her old friends for a reunion at her house that they shared during University, before she sells it and starts to move on with her life on her own.
Each friend arrives to support Erin, each with their own baggage, history and problems that are set to spill out over the weekend creating absolute havoc and hilarity.
Alex meets “an absolute ride” on her flight to Ireland and they instantly connect, knowing that her travel partner has a girlfriend she says goodbye and resigns herself that it was not meant to be, so when he turns up on the arm of her friend at the reunion, sparks are set to fly.
I adored this book, Joanna Bolouri’s best yet! I found myself invested in each and every character, they are so well put together-nobody felt like a side character as they all had their own story. I was so invested in Alex’s story and really wanted her to get a happy ending.
Each friend arrives to support Erin, each with their own baggage, history and problems that are set to spill out over the weekend creating absolute havoc and hilarity.
Alex meets “an absolute ride” on her flight to Ireland and they instantly connect, knowing that her travel partner has a girlfriend she says goodbye and resigns herself that it was not meant to be, so when he turns up on the arm of her friend at the reunion, sparks are set to fly.
I adored this book, Joanna Bolouri’s best yet! I found myself invested in each and every character, they are so well put together-nobody felt like a side character as they all had their own story. I was so invested in Alex’s story and really wanted her to get a happy ending.
August 5, 2023
OK. Just finished reading the book and still not sure what to say about it. I liked it - truly, really - but it didn't wow me. It was your nice, average read, just like thousands of other nice, average reads and, you know, it's a book by Joanna Bolouri. There was a time after her debut novel came out that we, book bloggers back then, were talking about "Bolourism", because she was brilliant and her first novels were brilliant.
Now... Well, now, they're your nice, average reads. Sadly. I don't mean it was a bad book - it was not, but it was also not an outstanding read. The writing style is great, light and engaging and I almost immediately felt invested - in the story, but not neccessarily in the main characters. There were five of them and as the story was relatively short, I feel that I didn't get to know any of them so really, completely, deeply. They felt superficial and not 100% developed, or maybe it was their backgrounds that felt very surface level.
I liked how the author intertwined the subplot of mental health and chronic illness into this story, it was present but not too overwhelming, yet it made you think. It's great that she doesn't shy from writing about hardship and emotional turmoil in life.
Nevertheless, it was a light, entertaining read, a perfect for a weekend trip (yes, I've just said this). I can guarantee you're going to realx with this book in your hand and enjoy the story of friendship, love, loss and second chances.
3.5 stars
Now... Well, now, they're your nice, average reads. Sadly. I don't mean it was a bad book - it was not, but it was also not an outstanding read. The writing style is great, light and engaging and I almost immediately felt invested - in the story, but not neccessarily in the main characters. There were five of them and as the story was relatively short, I feel that I didn't get to know any of them so really, completely, deeply. They felt superficial and not 100% developed, or maybe it was their backgrounds that felt very surface level.
I liked how the author intertwined the subplot of mental health and chronic illness into this story, it was present but not too overwhelming, yet it made you think. It's great that she doesn't shy from writing about hardship and emotional turmoil in life.
Nevertheless, it was a light, entertaining read, a perfect for a weekend trip (yes, I've just said this). I can guarantee you're going to realx with this book in your hand and enjoy the story of friendship, love, loss and second chances.
3.5 stars
July 9, 2023
For this and other book reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I was looking for an easy, breezy, quick summer read when I requested The Weekend Trip, and that’s just what I received. Contrary to the Goodreads description above, the story is told in multiple 3rd person POV. There’s Alex, the popular novelist who has been unlucky in love and is full of self-image issues because she’s not stick thin. She had a five-year relationship with a guy; the relationship ended with him living behind her in her mother-in-law house, and they share custody of a dog. She meets a guy at the airport who gets her Spidey sense tingling. They end up sitting next to each other on the plane and realize they have a special connection. Aiden mentions he’s going to meet the family of his girlfriend. Regardless, they trade phone numbers.
Erin, the host, is a rising star on the silver screen, and was married to a big wig caterer and chef who died some months earlier. Erin is set to sell her beachfront house that she inherited from family; it was where she and the women she has invited home for several years while at uni. The group drifted apart and only kept in contact with the occasional like on a Facebook or Instagram post.
Beth and Paul have been together since university and live a quiet life. She’s always been sort of a klutz, and even in her early 20s, she’s had tingling in her limbs. Two years ago she was finally diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, MS, and currently uses a cane. She does not want to make Erin feel any worse after losing her husband, so Paul reluctantly agrees to keep her diagnosis from her friends.
Becky has always been the free spirit of the group. She was always into holistic healing, crystals, chakras, Ouija boards and anything that was not society’s norms. She’s a lesbian, and for the past few years has lived with a psychiatrist, but Becky senses time is running out on her relationship. She’s changed herself so much for Christine, the way she dresses, the career she has, even the way she expresses herself.
Tara got out of rehab several months prior, after living the high life in New York. She met a great American guy named Aiden, who works in a veterinarian’s office. Like Alex, she suffers from self-worth issues, and has always been the wild child of the group. When she and Aiden arrive at Erin’s house, Alex is floored to see her Aiden, the guy from the plane, whom she has told everyone there she wants to date if he dumps his girlfriend. She decides to pretend he is not THAT guy and Aiden goes along with it.
The seemingly different personalities meld once they get together again, although they are all keeping secrets from each other. I really enjoyed how this story unfolded. The Aiden problem plays a big part of the plot, as does Becky’s toxic relationship. Each of the women featured in the story has some realizations about their life that need to be made, and with the help of the group, they reconnect and reaffirm their lives’ decisions.
I connected with Alex immediately because she’s always struggled with her weight and has horrible internal self-esteem issues. Even though she’s this great success and sells millions of her books, she hasn’t found satisfaction with her personal life. And who could not empathize with Erin, who had all her dreams come true, only to have her life shattered in an instant? Then there’s Beth, who struggles with her illness in silence; all she ever wanted was a husband and a family, and now that seems unlikely.
This was a great beach read for summer 2023! And it’s so affordable on Kindle that this is another Bargain Sleuth-approved book!
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I was looking for an easy, breezy, quick summer read when I requested The Weekend Trip, and that’s just what I received. Contrary to the Goodreads description above, the story is told in multiple 3rd person POV. There’s Alex, the popular novelist who has been unlucky in love and is full of self-image issues because she’s not stick thin. She had a five-year relationship with a guy; the relationship ended with him living behind her in her mother-in-law house, and they share custody of a dog. She meets a guy at the airport who gets her Spidey sense tingling. They end up sitting next to each other on the plane and realize they have a special connection. Aiden mentions he’s going to meet the family of his girlfriend. Regardless, they trade phone numbers.
Erin, the host, is a rising star on the silver screen, and was married to a big wig caterer and chef who died some months earlier. Erin is set to sell her beachfront house that she inherited from family; it was where she and the women she has invited home for several years while at uni. The group drifted apart and only kept in contact with the occasional like on a Facebook or Instagram post.
Beth and Paul have been together since university and live a quiet life. She’s always been sort of a klutz, and even in her early 20s, she’s had tingling in her limbs. Two years ago she was finally diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, MS, and currently uses a cane. She does not want to make Erin feel any worse after losing her husband, so Paul reluctantly agrees to keep her diagnosis from her friends.
Becky has always been the free spirit of the group. She was always into holistic healing, crystals, chakras, Ouija boards and anything that was not society’s norms. She’s a lesbian, and for the past few years has lived with a psychiatrist, but Becky senses time is running out on her relationship. She’s changed herself so much for Christine, the way she dresses, the career she has, even the way she expresses herself.
Tara got out of rehab several months prior, after living the high life in New York. She met a great American guy named Aiden, who works in a veterinarian’s office. Like Alex, she suffers from self-worth issues, and has always been the wild child of the group. When she and Aiden arrive at Erin’s house, Alex is floored to see her Aiden, the guy from the plane, whom she has told everyone there she wants to date if he dumps his girlfriend. She decides to pretend he is not THAT guy and Aiden goes along with it.
The seemingly different personalities meld once they get together again, although they are all keeping secrets from each other. I really enjoyed how this story unfolded. The Aiden problem plays a big part of the plot, as does Becky’s toxic relationship. Each of the women featured in the story has some realizations about their life that need to be made, and with the help of the group, they reconnect and reaffirm their lives’ decisions.
I connected with Alex immediately because she’s always struggled with her weight and has horrible internal self-esteem issues. Even though she’s this great success and sells millions of her books, she hasn’t found satisfaction with her personal life. And who could not empathize with Erin, who had all her dreams come true, only to have her life shattered in an instant? Then there’s Beth, who struggles with her illness in silence; all she ever wanted was a husband and a family, and now that seems unlikely.
This was a great beach read for summer 2023! And it’s so affordable on Kindle that this is another Bargain Sleuth-approved book!
August 6, 2023
What's it about (in a nutshell):
The Weekend Trip by Joanna Bolouri is an uplifting tale of 5 college besties who grew apart after college but rekindled their friendship ten years later during a weekend get-together.
My Reading Experience:
I loved the friendship themes that ran throughout the story. So many of us lose contact with our college friends as we travel our individual paths after graduation. It was heart-warming to watch this group of friends slowly regain their original connection and feel comfortable enough to open up about their struggles. It reaffirms those friendships' genuineness and ability to withstand the test of time.
I also loved the humorous moments, the scandalousness of some storylines, and just the overall fun times of the reunion. Those moments offset the seriousness of what's going on in these friends' lives without compromising the gravity of what the individual people are dealing with.
The story hits so many relatable moments. The characters, their challenges, their successes - they could be anyone's group of friends from college or even high school. It's this relatableness that gives the story its uplifting message. If these five people can come back together and become the lifelong friends they were always meant to be, then we all can have that same experience with just a little effort.
Characters:
Five friends - Erin, Alex, Beth, Tara, and Becky - were close friends and roommates in college. They agreed to stay in touch, sealing that promise on the beach at Loughview House before heading out on their individual journeys. Ten years later, the friends are entirely out of touch, so Erin decides to have a reunion before she sells Loughview House.
Erin inherited Loughview House as college was ending. She becomes a successful actress and marries Scott Flynn, a successful businessman (film and TV catering business). But after the death of her husband, she wants to get away from all the memories the house holds.
Alex is a successful novelist who has been very unlucky in love. She meets the man of her dreams as she is headed to Erin's reunion weekend. But will anything become of it?
Beth married her college sweetheart Paul. Her life was thrown off track when she got an MS diagnosis, but she doesn't want her college friends to know about it.
Tara followed her dream to go to New York, but the only thing that came out of that was drug addiction. She returned to the UK and entered rehab. She arrives for the weekend reunion with her casual date, Adrian.
Becky is a free spirit who follows her dreams wherever they take her. She is a masseuse, currently, and arrives at the reunion weekend with her girlfriend, Christine.
Narration & Pacing:
The Weekend Trip reads at a consistently fast pace. It switches points of view between the five friends but stays in third-person narration as it changes focus. This is the only area that I struggled with. I love the fast pace, but switching POVs between five people sometimes needs clarification. I struggled with remembering who was who and their individual stories.
Setting:
An estate called Loughview House on the coast of Ireland is the setting for this story. It provided a meaningful backdrop for all five friends.
Read if you're in the mood for:
An emotional, funny, and inspiring contemporary friendship story
A fast-paced tale full of lovably flawed characters
A novel that resembles such TV shows as Friends or How I Met Your Mother
The Weekend Trip by Joanna Bolouri is an uplifting tale of 5 college besties who grew apart after college but rekindled their friendship ten years later during a weekend get-together.
My Reading Experience:
I loved the friendship themes that ran throughout the story. So many of us lose contact with our college friends as we travel our individual paths after graduation. It was heart-warming to watch this group of friends slowly regain their original connection and feel comfortable enough to open up about their struggles. It reaffirms those friendships' genuineness and ability to withstand the test of time.
I also loved the humorous moments, the scandalousness of some storylines, and just the overall fun times of the reunion. Those moments offset the seriousness of what's going on in these friends' lives without compromising the gravity of what the individual people are dealing with.
The story hits so many relatable moments. The characters, their challenges, their successes - they could be anyone's group of friends from college or even high school. It's this relatableness that gives the story its uplifting message. If these five people can come back together and become the lifelong friends they were always meant to be, then we all can have that same experience with just a little effort.
Characters:
Five friends - Erin, Alex, Beth, Tara, and Becky - were close friends and roommates in college. They agreed to stay in touch, sealing that promise on the beach at Loughview House before heading out on their individual journeys. Ten years later, the friends are entirely out of touch, so Erin decides to have a reunion before she sells Loughview House.
Erin inherited Loughview House as college was ending. She becomes a successful actress and marries Scott Flynn, a successful businessman (film and TV catering business). But after the death of her husband, she wants to get away from all the memories the house holds.
Alex is a successful novelist who has been very unlucky in love. She meets the man of her dreams as she is headed to Erin's reunion weekend. But will anything become of it?
Beth married her college sweetheart Paul. Her life was thrown off track when she got an MS diagnosis, but she doesn't want her college friends to know about it.
Tara followed her dream to go to New York, but the only thing that came out of that was drug addiction. She returned to the UK and entered rehab. She arrives for the weekend reunion with her casual date, Adrian.
Becky is a free spirit who follows her dreams wherever they take her. She is a masseuse, currently, and arrives at the reunion weekend with her girlfriend, Christine.
Narration & Pacing:
The Weekend Trip reads at a consistently fast pace. It switches points of view between the five friends but stays in third-person narration as it changes focus. This is the only area that I struggled with. I love the fast pace, but switching POVs between five people sometimes needs clarification. I struggled with remembering who was who and their individual stories.
Setting:
An estate called Loughview House on the coast of Ireland is the setting for this story. It provided a meaningful backdrop for all five friends.
Read if you're in the mood for:
An emotional, funny, and inspiring contemporary friendship story
A fast-paced tale full of lovably flawed characters
A novel that resembles such TV shows as Friends or How I Met Your Mother
August 5, 2023
The next time a group of my school friends want to do a weekend away after a long lull in communication, remind me to say “Thanks but no thanks!”
Kidding… mostly. But it sure seems like this common romcom conceit always ends up with horrible, long-kept secrets getting dug up, relationships imploded, and entire life directions turned on their head. The Weekend Trip is no different: 10 years after they last gathered at Erin’s house, Erin, recently widowed, invites Alex, Tara, Becky and Beth back (and their partners) back for a reunion. They’re thrilled to see each other, but under the surface, there are secrets and tensions: Beth is hiding her MS diagnosis, Tara can’t admit that she went to rehab, Becky has subsumed her hippy personality to please her unpleasable girlfriend, and Alex… the cute guy she met at the airport and gave her number turns out to be Tara’s new boyfriend.
Though the Alex-Tara-Aiden love triangle generates a significant chunk of the drama, this novel is really about the friendship among the five women. They admitted from the start they had little in common, and by the time they’re a few hours into their reunion, it’s hard not to wonder if it isn’t for they best they drifted apart. By the end, nothing that occurred will have come as a terrible surprise, but Alex, Tara, Erin, Beth and Becky have found their way back to one another, and to the better versions of themselves they hoped they might grow up to be.
This is pleasant trip – the stakes are fairly low, and the lessons of friendship are affirming.
The Weekend Trip by Joanna Bolouri
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️💫 3.5 stars rounded up
🌶️ Mostly just Alex and Aiden trying not to stare at each other and failing
🏡 If anyone has a big beautiful country house to give away, I’m accepting offers
📚✈️ Alex and Aiden’s airport meet cute was pretty darn adorable
👩🏻🦽Beth’s story was all the more meaningful since I think the author also has MS?
🔮🦶I cheered when Becky gave Christine the boot.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookoture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Kidding… mostly. But it sure seems like this common romcom conceit always ends up with horrible, long-kept secrets getting dug up, relationships imploded, and entire life directions turned on their head. The Weekend Trip is no different: 10 years after they last gathered at Erin’s house, Erin, recently widowed, invites Alex, Tara, Becky and Beth back (and their partners) back for a reunion. They’re thrilled to see each other, but under the surface, there are secrets and tensions: Beth is hiding her MS diagnosis, Tara can’t admit that she went to rehab, Becky has subsumed her hippy personality to please her unpleasable girlfriend, and Alex… the cute guy she met at the airport and gave her number turns out to be Tara’s new boyfriend.
Though the Alex-Tara-Aiden love triangle generates a significant chunk of the drama, this novel is really about the friendship among the five women. They admitted from the start they had little in common, and by the time they’re a few hours into their reunion, it’s hard not to wonder if it isn’t for they best they drifted apart. By the end, nothing that occurred will have come as a terrible surprise, but Alex, Tara, Erin, Beth and Becky have found their way back to one another, and to the better versions of themselves they hoped they might grow up to be.
This is pleasant trip – the stakes are fairly low, and the lessons of friendship are affirming.
The Weekend Trip by Joanna Bolouri
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️💫 3.5 stars rounded up
🌶️ Mostly just Alex and Aiden trying not to stare at each other and failing
🏡 If anyone has a big beautiful country house to give away, I’m accepting offers
📚✈️ Alex and Aiden’s airport meet cute was pretty darn adorable
👩🏻🦽Beth’s story was all the more meaningful since I think the author also has MS?
🔮🦶I cheered when Becky gave Christine the boot.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookoture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
July 31, 2023
The Weekend Trip is the story of 5 university friends reuniting in their 30s for one weekend in gorgeous Ireland, and the fallout of one of the friends, Alex, instantly clicking with a handsome man on her flight over who turns out to be one of the other womens (Tara) new squeeze.
The plot was entertaining and kept me coming back for more, I loved seeing the interactions between the friends and how you could clearly see that although a decade had changed them, they were still the same people underneath. The story of Alex falling for Tara's boyfriend was endearing though not quite believable for me, it felt really rushed and I didn't quite buy it, though I did still enjoy their interactions. I loved that the book included representation for disability (MS) and LGBTQ+ (lesbian couple).
I found it a little difficult to remember which character was which for a good chunk of the book, eg which one was the bossy one, which one was the author etc, and I think if they had distinct voices and ways of speaking this would have made it easier to remember. There was also 2 points in the book where the wrong characters name was used which stopped me feeling immersed in the story as I had to go back and re-read the last part to work out who said what.
There was also some repetition and grammatical errors too, which again pulled me out of the book when I would rather feel like I'm glued to the pages, eager to find out what happens next.
All in all, the storyline was really interesting and I loved reading about each woman's struggles and seeing them still being there for one another even after so much time apart, and it serves as a good reminder to keep in touch with the friends that accept you for exactly who you are. An interesting story and relatable characters.
A couple of quotes a highlighted whilst reading:
"The grass isn't always greener, Tara, sometimes it's just more grass"
"If you expect perfection from friends, you're going to have a very lonely life"
The plot was entertaining and kept me coming back for more, I loved seeing the interactions between the friends and how you could clearly see that although a decade had changed them, they were still the same people underneath. The story of Alex falling for Tara's boyfriend was endearing though not quite believable for me, it felt really rushed and I didn't quite buy it, though I did still enjoy their interactions. I loved that the book included representation for disability (MS) and LGBTQ+ (lesbian couple).
I found it a little difficult to remember which character was which for a good chunk of the book, eg which one was the bossy one, which one was the author etc, and I think if they had distinct voices and ways of speaking this would have made it easier to remember. There was also 2 points in the book where the wrong characters name was used which stopped me feeling immersed in the story as I had to go back and re-read the last part to work out who said what.
There was also some repetition and grammatical errors too, which again pulled me out of the book when I would rather feel like I'm glued to the pages, eager to find out what happens next.
All in all, the storyline was really interesting and I loved reading about each woman's struggles and seeing them still being there for one another even after so much time apart, and it serves as a good reminder to keep in touch with the friends that accept you for exactly who you are. An interesting story and relatable characters.
A couple of quotes a highlighted whilst reading:
"The grass isn't always greener, Tara, sometimes it's just more grass"
"If you expect perfection from friends, you're going to have a very lonely life"
August 7, 2023
Ever since I read my first Joanna Bolouri novel waaaay back in 2016, which turned into one of my joint books of the year, she’s been a don’t-bother-reading-the-blurb-just-buy-it author for me.
The Weekend Trip felt a bit different to some of her others (not in a bad way); more serious, maybe less rom com but still with the sharp writing, big dashes of humour and realistic, relatable characters I’ve come to expect and enjoy.
Once I started reading, it was very difficult to stop.
I’ve often thought about the five wonderful young women I shared a house with at university (more than 26 years ago now!). I’ve only managed to keep in touch with one but that hasn’t stopped me wondering about the others over the years and how they are getting on. They were all such different characters and personalities. Maybe I liked The Weekend Trip so much because it reminded me of those largely happy days (as you can imagine, six girls living together was not without drama) and it was easy to almost insert myself into the story.
Even though five (plus partners) is a lot of characters, I felt like they were so well written that I really got to know each of them without being overwhelmed with information. The chapters chop and change, focussing on the different women and their lives (written in the 3rd person) which helped with the pace of the story.
The chemistry between Alex and Aidan was palpable but when he turned out to be Tara's (fab name) partner for the weekend, it was difficult to see how it could go anywhere. I would have been very anti any cheating (obviously) but the author makes the story unfold so it doesn't seem (without giving anything away) wrong.
All in all this was a great book, very enjoyable. For some unknown reason, this author doesn't seem to get the kudos she deserves.
Thanks to Bookouture for the ARC.
The Weekend Trip felt a bit different to some of her others (not in a bad way); more serious, maybe less rom com but still with the sharp writing, big dashes of humour and realistic, relatable characters I’ve come to expect and enjoy.
Once I started reading, it was very difficult to stop.
I’ve often thought about the five wonderful young women I shared a house with at university (more than 26 years ago now!). I’ve only managed to keep in touch with one but that hasn’t stopped me wondering about the others over the years and how they are getting on. They were all such different characters and personalities. Maybe I liked The Weekend Trip so much because it reminded me of those largely happy days (as you can imagine, six girls living together was not without drama) and it was easy to almost insert myself into the story.
Even though five (plus partners) is a lot of characters, I felt like they were so well written that I really got to know each of them without being overwhelmed with information. The chapters chop and change, focussing on the different women and their lives (written in the 3rd person) which helped with the pace of the story.
The chemistry between Alex and Aidan was palpable but when he turned out to be Tara's (fab name) partner for the weekend, it was difficult to see how it could go anywhere. I would have been very anti any cheating (obviously) but the author makes the story unfold so it doesn't seem (without giving anything away) wrong.
All in all this was a great book, very enjoyable. For some unknown reason, this author doesn't seem to get the kudos she deserves.
Thanks to Bookouture for the ARC.
August 7, 2023
I adore Joanna Bolouri! The Weekend Trip is the second book by Bolouri I have reviewed for NetGalley (The Bootcamp for Broken Hearts was the first) and I enjoyed this story almost as much. I think both stories could be made into screenplays for a series or movie that would leave audiences laughing out loud one moment and teary the next. Her ability to create endearing, witty characters who you love and want to know more about despite their faults is fantastic.
The story is about a group of female college friends, Alex, Erin, Becky, Tara and Beth, who reunite ten years after graduating. The close friends had drifted quite apart over the past ten years as life, with all of the good and bad, happened. The chapters alternate their focus between the five unique women, reflecting on the past and returning to the present and their reunion. The reunion takes place at Erin's lakeside home in Ireland as she plans to sell the special property after her husband's untimely and tragic death. While Erin is mourning, the other guests, as well as their significant others, if they brought them, are each holding onto secret heartbreaks and struggles of their own.
Joanna Bolouri hails from Ireland and I love the dialect of her work. There were a couple of times I Googled a word or phrase I had never heard of to find the correct pronunciation. From context clues, you can figure out the meaning of any unique Irish words. I love Bolouri's brilliant, clever and quick-witted writing and I am so surprised that she is not easily found on bookshelves and libraries in the U.S. I have given her book The Bootcamp for Broken Hearts to friends and I know I will be sending copies of the Weekend Trip to my own college friends next.
Enjoy this heartwarming and hilarious gem!
Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
The story is about a group of female college friends, Alex, Erin, Becky, Tara and Beth, who reunite ten years after graduating. The close friends had drifted quite apart over the past ten years as life, with all of the good and bad, happened. The chapters alternate their focus between the five unique women, reflecting on the past and returning to the present and their reunion. The reunion takes place at Erin's lakeside home in Ireland as she plans to sell the special property after her husband's untimely and tragic death. While Erin is mourning, the other guests, as well as their significant others, if they brought them, are each holding onto secret heartbreaks and struggles of their own.
Joanna Bolouri hails from Ireland and I love the dialect of her work. There were a couple of times I Googled a word or phrase I had never heard of to find the correct pronunciation. From context clues, you can figure out the meaning of any unique Irish words. I love Bolouri's brilliant, clever and quick-witted writing and I am so surprised that she is not easily found on bookshelves and libraries in the U.S. I have given her book The Bootcamp for Broken Hearts to friends and I know I will be sending copies of the Weekend Trip to my own college friends next.
Enjoy this heartwarming and hilarious gem!
Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
August 30, 2023
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookoutore for the gifted ARC. This review is voluntary and my honest opinion.
Erin, Beth, Alex, Becky, and Tara were college roommates, and more than just friends, like sisters. But college was a decade ago, and their lives after took them all different places. They’ve hardly kept up on social media, much less seen each other since then. But when Erin invites them all to a weekend getaway, the old friends agree it’s time to reconnect and catch up. There is an easy comfort in being back together after all these years. But there is also a lot of life that has happened between then and now. The 5 women are dealing with issues that the others don’t know about, like loss, illness, addiction, and crappy relationships. And those things can’t just be set aside and forgotten, even for a weekend trip. And to make matters more complicated, the handsome man that Alex met on the plane (and gave her number to) shows up as Tara’s new boyfriend. Can friendship really span all that time and distance?
I’m about the same age as the women in this story. And I after college all of my closest friends were also scattered across the country nowhere near each other. And so I have first hand experience of the whole seeing each other after years of not being in touch. When we see each other there is ease to falling back into comfortable friendship, like not a single day has passed. Even though years have passed, even though there is a lot about each others lives that we’ve missed. And I always leave feeling like there is something in my soul that has been refreshed. Joanna Bolouri does such a good job of realistically capturing that phenomenon. The magic of friendship.
The characters are all realistic and flawed, but still like-able. This book is primarily about the friends and their relationship. The romance is more of a side plot.
Erin, Beth, Alex, Becky, and Tara were college roommates, and more than just friends, like sisters. But college was a decade ago, and their lives after took them all different places. They’ve hardly kept up on social media, much less seen each other since then. But when Erin invites them all to a weekend getaway, the old friends agree it’s time to reconnect and catch up. There is an easy comfort in being back together after all these years. But there is also a lot of life that has happened between then and now. The 5 women are dealing with issues that the others don’t know about, like loss, illness, addiction, and crappy relationships. And those things can’t just be set aside and forgotten, even for a weekend trip. And to make matters more complicated, the handsome man that Alex met on the plane (and gave her number to) shows up as Tara’s new boyfriend. Can friendship really span all that time and distance?
I’m about the same age as the women in this story. And I after college all of my closest friends were also scattered across the country nowhere near each other. And so I have first hand experience of the whole seeing each other after years of not being in touch. When we see each other there is ease to falling back into comfortable friendship, like not a single day has passed. Even though years have passed, even though there is a lot about each others lives that we’ve missed. And I always leave feeling like there is something in my soul that has been refreshed. Joanna Bolouri does such a good job of realistically capturing that phenomenon. The magic of friendship.
The characters are all realistic and flawed, but still like-able. This book is primarily about the friends and their relationship. The romance is more of a side plot.
July 17, 2023
Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
The Weekend Trip follows 5 old friends from college who after 10 years apart meet for one last time at Erin's beachfront home, where they last spent time together, before it sells… or before the changes the years have wrought tear them apart.
I enjoyed this novel, and it's simplicity. I read it in one sitting and I appreciated that there were not any slow moments but there WERE rushed moments, which, ugh. Is always a let down.
My favorite part really beyond any romance or setting was that… after so many years apart there were of course, monumental changes internally and externally which each of them. But when the all stepped in that house again for the first time it was as if for a moment, they forgot all about that and laughed and cried just as they did in college.
As the one friend from college who moved away, and has spent ten years wondering what changes my friends are going through that I may not know about… and sometimes feeling guilty for that… I just especially enjoyed how well this was written. BOTH can be true: You can laugh and cry and joke as no time has passed, and you can feel like strangers who've only just met. That is the beauty of friends-- it doesn't matter, you'll work through it, laugh it off, and likely go through it all over again in another ten years (lol).
Ok Rant over, this was a cute, light read but it was lacking in the ROM and the COM department as stated in the books description of romantic comedy. I think focusing on the friendship was enough, and the romance felt forced. There was absolutely no chemistry and if this WAS a romantic comedy, then there was a foundation to build that chemistry, absolutely but again, this was a tale of 5-friends and that is ok, LET it be.
The Weekend Trip follows 5 old friends from college who after 10 years apart meet for one last time at Erin's beachfront home, where they last spent time together, before it sells… or before the changes the years have wrought tear them apart.
I enjoyed this novel, and it's simplicity. I read it in one sitting and I appreciated that there were not any slow moments but there WERE rushed moments, which, ugh. Is always a let down.
My favorite part really beyond any romance or setting was that… after so many years apart there were of course, monumental changes internally and externally which each of them. But when the all stepped in that house again for the first time it was as if for a moment, they forgot all about that and laughed and cried just as they did in college.
As the one friend from college who moved away, and has spent ten years wondering what changes my friends are going through that I may not know about… and sometimes feeling guilty for that… I just especially enjoyed how well this was written. BOTH can be true: You can laugh and cry and joke as no time has passed, and you can feel like strangers who've only just met. That is the beauty of friends-- it doesn't matter, you'll work through it, laugh it off, and likely go through it all over again in another ten years (lol).
Ok Rant over, this was a cute, light read but it was lacking in the ROM and the COM department as stated in the books description of romantic comedy. I think focusing on the friendship was enough, and the romance felt forced. There was absolutely no chemistry and if this WAS a romantic comedy, then there was a foundation to build that chemistry, absolutely but again, this was a tale of 5-friends and that is ok, LET it be.
August 29, 2023
In 2012, five friends party to celebrate the end of university. A decade later, they decide to meet up again but their lives have changed considerably from what they expected...
The Weekend Trip is a warm book about friendship and the strength of love.
Erin's husband has died. Becky is pretending to be someone she's not to keep her girlfriend happy. Beth has been diagnosed with MS but is keeping it a secret. Tara is out of rehab and is in a new relationship. Alex is a successful author but her love life is non-existent until she meets a stranger on the plane.
The group of friends all had such hope and expectation ten years ago. But the reality of their lives is very different. There is a huge amount of emotion in this book and I'm sure every reader will identify with the gaping chasm between our plans and reality. I felt an underlying sadness at the distance between the friends which has developed naturally as their lives took them in different directions.
This book also raises awareness of MS which is a disease I had heard of but not understood the severity of the symptoms. Beth doesn't want to be defined by her illness or elicit sympathy from her friends. Although I empathised with her situation, I was sad that she didn't feel she could be honest with her friends, and also that the group hadn't supported each other in the past decade. I thought Beth's husband Paul was amazing for his dedication and devotion as well as his humour.
The Weekend Trip is an enjoyable and emotional book about the power of friendship.
The Weekend Trip is a warm book about friendship and the strength of love.
Erin's husband has died. Becky is pretending to be someone she's not to keep her girlfriend happy. Beth has been diagnosed with MS but is keeping it a secret. Tara is out of rehab and is in a new relationship. Alex is a successful author but her love life is non-existent until she meets a stranger on the plane.
The group of friends all had such hope and expectation ten years ago. But the reality of their lives is very different. There is a huge amount of emotion in this book and I'm sure every reader will identify with the gaping chasm between our plans and reality. I felt an underlying sadness at the distance between the friends which has developed naturally as their lives took them in different directions.
This book also raises awareness of MS which is a disease I had heard of but not understood the severity of the symptoms. Beth doesn't want to be defined by her illness or elicit sympathy from her friends. Although I empathised with her situation, I was sad that she didn't feel she could be honest with her friends, and also that the group hadn't supported each other in the past decade. I thought Beth's husband Paul was amazing for his dedication and devotion as well as his humour.
The Weekend Trip is an enjoyable and emotional book about the power of friendship.
May 17, 2024
Book Review:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Beth, Becky, Erin, Tara, and Alex couldn’t be more different. What started out as an eclectic group of college housemates quickly turned to friendship. After finishing school they embarked on their separate journeys. A decade later the group reunites to bid farewell to the home that started it all. Will one trip be enough to rekindle friendships that haven’t been nurtured in ten years, or will the time spent apart be too much to overcome?
Joanna Bolouri, created a diverse cast of characters in her novel, The Weekend Trip. In writing five very distinct personalities she perfectly captures how college friends are often composed of people we least expect. While the girls couldn’t be more different from one another, playing a part in each other’s formative years created an unbreakable bond. Or so they thought.
Using an alternating timeline, Bolouri illustrates how a close group of friends can easily drifted apart. I loved the insight switching back and forth between their university years and present day afforded. The natural progression from young women to full fledge adults fleshed out each character.
The five complex, main characters featured in the book allowed readers to connect with one or multiple storylines. I loved that chronic illnesses, loss of a partner, mental health, and a love triangle played vital roles in one book. It made for an entertaining and compelling read.
Special thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture, and Joanna Bolouri for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Beth, Becky, Erin, Tara, and Alex couldn’t be more different. What started out as an eclectic group of college housemates quickly turned to friendship. After finishing school they embarked on their separate journeys. A decade later the group reunites to bid farewell to the home that started it all. Will one trip be enough to rekindle friendships that haven’t been nurtured in ten years, or will the time spent apart be too much to overcome?
Joanna Bolouri, created a diverse cast of characters in her novel, The Weekend Trip. In writing five very distinct personalities she perfectly captures how college friends are often composed of people we least expect. While the girls couldn’t be more different from one another, playing a part in each other’s formative years created an unbreakable bond. Or so they thought.
Using an alternating timeline, Bolouri illustrates how a close group of friends can easily drifted apart. I loved the insight switching back and forth between their university years and present day afforded. The natural progression from young women to full fledge adults fleshed out each character.
The five complex, main characters featured in the book allowed readers to connect with one or multiple storylines. I loved that chronic illnesses, loss of a partner, mental health, and a love triangle played vital roles in one book. It made for an entertaining and compelling read.
Special thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture, and Joanna Bolouri for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.
August 25, 2023
A little bit chaotic in the first few chapters, the different characters and time periods took some getting used to and did not start to make sense until the book got going. The book is about a reunion of university houseshare friends . They have had ups and downs and have not really been in touch for the last years. Every one of them has a secret and/or a big upheaval in the time period since leaving university.
As I previously mentioned the book is chaotic and disjointed at first, difficult to keep track of who is who and what their problems are/were . None of the characters are particularly deeply portrayed though you do get more detail as the book goes on. I found myself wondering why they had so little contact in the last years if they were supposed to be such bosom buddies and why they were not sharing their troubles. This was eventually remedied though. This is a fairly light and easy read and as such was fairly entertaining, if you enjoy reading about alcohol consumption and reminicing about university days. I did not think the deeper problems of grief or relationship problems were particularly well dealt with and there was little description of the locations either, though no doubt a huge house with private beach in County Kerry is bound to be stunning .
So a bit hit and miss for me , though it did not take much concentration or effort to read . Thanks to NEt Galley for the ARC
As I previously mentioned the book is chaotic and disjointed at first, difficult to keep track of who is who and what their problems are/were . None of the characters are particularly deeply portrayed though you do get more detail as the book goes on. I found myself wondering why they had so little contact in the last years if they were supposed to be such bosom buddies and why they were not sharing their troubles. This was eventually remedied though. This is a fairly light and easy read and as such was fairly entertaining, if you enjoy reading about alcohol consumption and reminicing about university days. I did not think the deeper problems of grief or relationship problems were particularly well dealt with and there was little description of the locations either, though no doubt a huge house with private beach in County Kerry is bound to be stunning .
So a bit hit and miss for me , though it did not take much concentration or effort to read . Thanks to NEt Galley for the ARC
July 19, 2023
The Weekend Trip - Joanna Bolouri 🍹
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Five Irish girls head back to Loughview after 10 years of minimal contact for a reunion trip. Alex, Erin, Tara, Becky and Beth are heading back to their homeland to have a fun-filled weekend with their friends and partners, after going 10 years without seeing each other. Life has gotten in the way for the girls, with various different hurdles in each girls' life. Unfortunately the trip they had arranged doesn't exactly go to plan....
I really enjoyed this book, it was a super cosy story that felt easy to read while still leaving me wanting more.
Learning about each different characters back story/ history throughout was very enjoyable and they all had believable stories which made it work so well.
The way Joanna spoke about the girls and the thoughts they had was so relatable and I think every girl can feel connected to them in some way.
Also included in the book are LGBTQ+ relationships, drug addiction struggles, health issues and death of a loved one.
The book definitely includes some drama along the way but has a nice wholesome ending to round it off.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a story about friendship, love and the antics that follow the two 👯
*Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own*
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Five Irish girls head back to Loughview after 10 years of minimal contact for a reunion trip. Alex, Erin, Tara, Becky and Beth are heading back to their homeland to have a fun-filled weekend with their friends and partners, after going 10 years without seeing each other. Life has gotten in the way for the girls, with various different hurdles in each girls' life. Unfortunately the trip they had arranged doesn't exactly go to plan....
I really enjoyed this book, it was a super cosy story that felt easy to read while still leaving me wanting more.
Learning about each different characters back story/ history throughout was very enjoyable and they all had believable stories which made it work so well.
The way Joanna spoke about the girls and the thoughts they had was so relatable and I think every girl can feel connected to them in some way.
Also included in the book are LGBTQ+ relationships, drug addiction struggles, health issues and death of a loved one.
The book definitely includes some drama along the way but has a nice wholesome ending to round it off.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a story about friendship, love and the antics that follow the two 👯
*Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own*
August 6, 2023
My first book by Joanna Bolouri and it won’t be my last. Very enjoyable story.
Alex, Erin, Beth, Tara and Becky all met at university and very much enjoyed sharing a house together. When the girls graduated, they met up at Loughview House (Erin’s inherited house) and they made a promise to keep in touch, no matter what. Fast forward 10 years and not one of the girls have kept their promise, and the group has lost touch. When Erin decides she wants to sell Loughview House, the place the girls made their promises to stay in touch in, she invites all the girls for one last weekend there and also to give them all a chance to catch up with each other’s lives. However much has changed throughout the last 10 years and a couple of the girls are even hiding secrets. Will this weekend arranged by Eric be as fun as the times they used to share 10 years ago, or will the girls find they have outgrown their friendship? All will be revealed that weekend at Loughview House.
This was a good read from Joanna Bolouri and I knew I would enjoy it as soon as I laughed out loud on the first page over Winston’s antics. Right away I really detested Christine and that is proof of good writing, making me feel such a way about a character. I admit at the start I did find it a bit difficult to know who was who but it didn’t take me long to figure out who everyone was and pretty soon I actually felt like I was in the friendship group with the girls…. Again, great writing! This book also educated me on Beth’s illness as although I had heard of it, I didn’t know much about the symptoms of such a horrible and devasting disease. That was very enlightening.
Overall, I thought this was a lovely feel good story about a group of university friends reuniting and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend it to any rom- coms fans, you won’t be disappointed. Wholly deserved 4 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, Joanna Bolouri and Bookouture for my advanced reading copy. Out now.
Alex, Erin, Beth, Tara and Becky all met at university and very much enjoyed sharing a house together. When the girls graduated, they met up at Loughview House (Erin’s inherited house) and they made a promise to keep in touch, no matter what. Fast forward 10 years and not one of the girls have kept their promise, and the group has lost touch. When Erin decides she wants to sell Loughview House, the place the girls made their promises to stay in touch in, she invites all the girls for one last weekend there and also to give them all a chance to catch up with each other’s lives. However much has changed throughout the last 10 years and a couple of the girls are even hiding secrets. Will this weekend arranged by Eric be as fun as the times they used to share 10 years ago, or will the girls find they have outgrown their friendship? All will be revealed that weekend at Loughview House.
This was a good read from Joanna Bolouri and I knew I would enjoy it as soon as I laughed out loud on the first page over Winston’s antics. Right away I really detested Christine and that is proof of good writing, making me feel such a way about a character. I admit at the start I did find it a bit difficult to know who was who but it didn’t take me long to figure out who everyone was and pretty soon I actually felt like I was in the friendship group with the girls…. Again, great writing! This book also educated me on Beth’s illness as although I had heard of it, I didn’t know much about the symptoms of such a horrible and devasting disease. That was very enlightening.
Overall, I thought this was a lovely feel good story about a group of university friends reuniting and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend it to any rom- coms fans, you won’t be disappointed. Wholly deserved 4 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, Joanna Bolouri and Bookouture for my advanced reading copy. Out now.
Read
September 9, 2023Five college friends from Ireland get together for a weekend reunion at recently widowed Erin's cottage in Kerry. They've not had much contact or seen each other for 10 years, since they shared a house at university in Dublin.
It turns out that Tara's new boyfriend is the mystery man that Alex had a spark with on the flight over. Cue fireworks all round, secrets revealed, old rivalries stoked and friendships unravelling.
There's going to be someone here you will identify with at some point, whether it's Becky trying to mould herself into her girlfriend's preferences, having a partner who constantly criticises or undermines you; Tara, the life and soul of the party; Erin, feeling a bit lost with the scale of facing life without her husband; or Beth, who is trying her hardest not to let on what she's struggling with.
The best part of this book for me was how it accurately describes the reality of trying to hold onto old friendships when you're all growing apart in different directions and moving on.
And 10/10 for the MS rep, I felt it demonstrated well how debilitating the illness is and how hard it is for others to understand.
Because of the heavy topics it wasn't the fun escapist read I was expecting from the marketing blurb, and it definitely didn't have the humour of The List, but enjoyable nonetheless.
It turns out that Tara's new boyfriend is the mystery man that Alex had a spark with on the flight over. Cue fireworks all round, secrets revealed, old rivalries stoked and friendships unravelling.
There's going to be someone here you will identify with at some point, whether it's Becky trying to mould herself into her girlfriend's preferences, having a partner who constantly criticises or undermines you; Tara, the life and soul of the party; Erin, feeling a bit lost with the scale of facing life without her husband; or Beth, who is trying her hardest not to let on what she's struggling with.
The best part of this book for me was how it accurately describes the reality of trying to hold onto old friendships when you're all growing apart in different directions and moving on.
And 10/10 for the MS rep, I felt it demonstrated well how debilitating the illness is and how hard it is for others to understand.
Because of the heavy topics it wasn't the fun escapist read I was expecting from the marketing blurb, and it definitely didn't have the humour of The List, but enjoyable nonetheless.
April 17, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.
What a beautiful and heartwarming rom-com that will have you smiling, laughing and crying. The Weekend Trip is a romance but it is so much more than that! Do you have those friends that you can easily reconnect with no matter how much time has passed? Well this heartfelt story is about loving and cherishing those female friendships. Once I started reading I could not stop and finished it in a day!! I absolutely loved this book so much!!🩷🩷🩷🩷
Five best friends have just graduated from college and make a promise to always keep in touch. However, life got busy and gradually they lost touch. Now ten years later, they all reunite for a weekend-get-away which will include their partners. Can they just pick up where they left off or will it be awkward? The author did a fantastic job of balancing each characters story and making them real and relatable. Of course, Alex and Aiden were the highlight couple in the story. The tension and chemistry between the two of them was top notch!
Overall, I loved every moment of this inspiring and delightful read! This was my first book by Joanna Bolouri and it will not be my last! I highly recommend this book if your looking for a fun, sweet and quick read.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What a beautiful and heartwarming rom-com that will have you smiling, laughing and crying. The Weekend Trip is a romance but it is so much more than that! Do you have those friends that you can easily reconnect with no matter how much time has passed? Well this heartfelt story is about loving and cherishing those female friendships. Once I started reading I could not stop and finished it in a day!! I absolutely loved this book so much!!🩷🩷🩷🩷
Five best friends have just graduated from college and make a promise to always keep in touch. However, life got busy and gradually they lost touch. Now ten years later, they all reunite for a weekend-get-away which will include their partners. Can they just pick up where they left off or will it be awkward? The author did a fantastic job of balancing each characters story and making them real and relatable. Of course, Alex and Aiden were the highlight couple in the story. The tension and chemistry between the two of them was top notch!
Overall, I loved every moment of this inspiring and delightful read! This was my first book by Joanna Bolouri and it will not be my last! I highly recommend this book if your looking for a fun, sweet and quick read.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 4, 2023
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC read! Summary: Our prologue gives us a glimpse into the chaotic lives of 5 girlfriends in college at Dublin University. Fast forward to present time (10 years later) and no one has really kept in touch. 1 girl invites the other 4 girls and their guest to stay at her home for a weekend trip to reconnect like old times. Things get crazy and we end up with two couples broken up by the end of the trip. Near the end we get a glimpse of ten years in the future and it ties up all of the loose ends or questions for the reader.
Thoughts: I need this author to write more books! She is highly underrated. I read “Bootcamp for Broken Hearts” and really enjoyed that one too (haven’t read anything else by her)! I loved the storyline and felt like it pulled me in. It was like you were a fly on the wall and really got to explore and learn about how each character operated/what they had been through in life. I read this in 2 days and couldn’t put it down. It was cute, heartfelt, and hilarious all blended into one excellent read. There are some trigger warnings to mention (depression, spouse death, emotional abuse, substance abuse). Highly recommend this one! Strong female leads as well. Rating: 4/5 stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thoughts: I need this author to write more books! She is highly underrated. I read “Bootcamp for Broken Hearts” and really enjoyed that one too (haven’t read anything else by her)! I loved the storyline and felt like it pulled me in. It was like you were a fly on the wall and really got to explore and learn about how each character operated/what they had been through in life. I read this in 2 days and couldn’t put it down. It was cute, heartfelt, and hilarious all blended into one excellent read. There are some trigger warnings to mention (depression, spouse death, emotional abuse, substance abuse). Highly recommend this one! Strong female leads as well. Rating: 4/5 stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
August 1, 2023
Une Rom-Com qui lie amitié et amour dans un paysage irlandais magnifique.
Cinq amies, qui ne se sont pas vues depuis 10 ans, se réunissent pour un week-end de retrouvailles chez l'une d'entre elles, en Irlande. Vont-elles réussir à retrouver le lien qu'elles avaient ou est-ce que cela va les éloigner encore plus ?
Livre en deux temps. J'ai eu l'impression de lire un livre rédigé de deux manières différentes. La lecture de la première partie était agréable, car les personnages sont attachants, bien développés et décrits avec réalisme, même si j'ai peiné à les différencier au début du roman (surtout Beth et Becky). Et à un moment, le style change du tout au tout. La seconde partie ne semble pas aboutie, la romance paraît expédiée et peu convaincante. Et à partir de là, je trouve que les personnages perdent légèrement en intérêt. L'histoire d'amitié et de retrouvailles auraient pu vivre sans l'histoire d'amour.
Un peu déçue, je m'attendais à un peu plus de la part de ce livre en termes de profondeur, d'humour et d'évolution des personnages. Toutefois, il donne envie de voyager grâce à sa description du décor qui entoure les personnages.
Merci à Netgalley, à l'autrice et aux éditeurs pour cette lecture.
Cinq amies, qui ne se sont pas vues depuis 10 ans, se réunissent pour un week-end de retrouvailles chez l'une d'entre elles, en Irlande. Vont-elles réussir à retrouver le lien qu'elles avaient ou est-ce que cela va les éloigner encore plus ?
Livre en deux temps. J'ai eu l'impression de lire un livre rédigé de deux manières différentes. La lecture de la première partie était agréable, car les personnages sont attachants, bien développés et décrits avec réalisme, même si j'ai peiné à les différencier au début du roman (surtout Beth et Becky). Et à un moment, le style change du tout au tout. La seconde partie ne semble pas aboutie, la romance paraît expédiée et peu convaincante. Et à partir de là, je trouve que les personnages perdent légèrement en intérêt. L'histoire d'amitié et de retrouvailles auraient pu vivre sans l'histoire d'amour.
Un peu déçue, je m'attendais à un peu plus de la part de ce livre en termes de profondeur, d'humour et d'évolution des personnages. Toutefois, il donne envie de voyager grâce à sa description du décor qui entoure les personnages.
Merci à Netgalley, à l'autrice et aux éditeurs pour cette lecture.
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