The Long Weekend

by Clare Lydon

ASIN B00P9ZET9O moved to the most recent edition here

Twenty years since meeting at university, a group of friends rent a house in Devon to celebrate. Fresh air, sandy beaches and historic friendships - what could possibly go wrong?

The catch is, university sweethearts Vic & Stevie are on the rocks, their three-year marriage floundering, while Kat & Abby’s combustible relationship looks set to ignite at any second. Meanwhile, Tash & Laura have downed responsibilities & kids for the weekend and are ready for some fun; single CID sergeant Geri can’t wait to get away from the London scene to reboot her slumbering love life and that’s not to mention Stu & his boyfriend Darren who bring their own man-sized baggage…

Add in laughs, simmering tension, romance & no shortage of wine and you’ve got all the ingredients for a rollercoaster ride of a long weekend…

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Queer, LGBT, Lesbian, Contemporary, Audiobook

338 pages, ebook

First published November 4, 2014

About the author

Clare Lydon is a London-based writer of contemporary lesbian romance. She's a No.1 best-seller on lesbian fiction charts around the globe with five full-length novels to her name, as well as writing the All I Want series, set to continue throughout 2016. If you love romantic comedies, prepare to fall head over heels in love.

If you like books shot through with witty dialogue, 3D characters and sharp observations of modern lesbian life, why not give Clare's books a try?

More at: www.clarelydon.co.uk

Get a copy of my free Christmas novella 'It Had To Be You' by signing up to my mailing list here:

www.clarelydon.co.uk/it-had-to-be-you

Reviews

[Elske · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of drama for a long weekend, but a nice read. Recommend.

[Clare Lydon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I am the author so I might be a bit biased! But I would love to know what you think, so please leave your reviews - the more the merrier!

If you'd like to know more: www.clarelydon.co.uk

Of find me on Twitter: @clarelydon

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever been to a reunion of your childhood or university friends and experienced the euphoria and awkwardness of rehashing the "way back"? That's the basis for The Long Weekend. Gathering on the shores of Devon, England in a beautiful rental house overlooking the ocean are a group of friends twenty years out of university. There's three lesbian couples, a gay couple and the consummate single lesbian. The story follows the four days that the group spends together remembering the simpler days of their youth, trying to determine the state of their current lives and if this reunion can out do the previous one ten years ago.

I really enjoyed this book. The author does a good job of accurately portraying how people try and reconcile their current lives with where they expected be. This group of friends has stayed in touch and is aware of some of the issues going on with each other (cheating spouses, drinking problems, kids, etc) but they don't necessarily understand the extent of the issue. Once they're living with each other for four days, though, and introduce copious amounts of alcohol, cracks appear in what seemed to be an otherwise happy life.

The characters all have faults, some more grave than others, and no one will escape the weekend unscathed. In the end, though, the story shows the power of love and friendship and that those friends who have known us the longest have a high tolerance for our shortcomings.

This is a fun read that has it's serious moments and left me wanting to get together with some of my old school friends and reconnect.

[hubsie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am quite pleased I happened to read this during a nice dry spell, because my liver is yelling a happy HALLELUJAH. Jesus Christ these people can drink.

This was an entertaining read on cold Sunday, though I did end up feeling somewhat unsatisfied at the end. I'm not sure what the point was. No matter, the drama was good, some laugh out loud moments, and I liked the variation of the couples. The two dudes were somewhat annoying and I did not think they added much to the story, but the author did a good job rounding out the other characters, giving them real issues and an "inside look" at how they dealt with them. My heart pained for Vic and Stevie, and it soared for Tash and Lauren.

The author brought up the heavy topic of depression/suicide and I found it was not resolved at all, rather that character seemed to just get dropped. Unsure if she got the help she needed or.....

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars for The Long Weekend (audiobook) by Clare Lydon read by Claire Storey.

It’s been 20 years since this group of friends graduated from college. There’s fun to be had as they are getting together for a long weekend together. But there’s also a lot of drama as the women are making up for lost time.

[Lorraine Rusnack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had lesbian drama by the carload and it was so well done. The story of college friends getting together for a 4 day weekend and indulging way too much. It is a realistic view of how people and relationships have their ups and downs. I laughed, cried and was even angry which means the story pulled me in and kept my attention. Narrator Claire Storey was great. This is the first audiobook I have listened to with her narrating and I hope to listen to more.

[Hesch Aut · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine you'd get invited to join a group of friends (not yours - yet) and spend a long weekend at a clifftop house in beautiful Devon. The lovebirds would be there, those on the edge, those, who'd annoy you, those, who'd entertain you, etc. You'd witness tension and romance and sexy encounters in this house with the spectacular view, and there would be lots of booze and lots of food.


"The Long Weekend" is your invitation. You should accept it, it's time and money well spent if you like to laugh, to worry, to swear and to get turned on. When you're being asked afterwards how your weekend was, you're probably going to smile and say: "Well, it was actually a really good one."

[Velvet Lounger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Long Weekend is a charming tale of a 20 year reunion between university pals. Ten years on from their last get together we follow the ups and downs of friendships and relationships across the decades. Gone are the 20 something students who could stay up all night drinking table wine from plastic bottles, but the 40 year olds aren’t all quite ready to let go of their youth.

While some have settled into marriage and the consequential issues of monogamy and long-term relationships, others are still looking for fulfillment. Add in a wild child now suffering the effects of depression and the whole group feels the ramifications.

Whether the 3 lesbian couples can survive the weekend forms one of the core questions, as Ms Lydon explores how we deal with infidelity, lies of omission and co-dependency. Even the lone singleton is not immune to the affects of adultery.

The characters are strong, well rounded people we will all recognize, as are the dramas that impact them, from minor squabbles blown out of proportion to the trauma of redundancy and despair. The tale is one of growing pains.. or perhaps that should be lesbi-drama “growing up” pains.

[Dorothy Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the weekend in the title, this is a long book. In past novels, I've found Clare Lydon's writing to be fun; however, this tale has some serious moments and sad ones as well. But now that I've finished the work, I look back on it as a successful ensemble piece--and those are hard to do and do well. During an extended weekend, we are asked to grasp the essence of four couples and one single adult, all of whom went to school together and now are returning for a reunion of sorts, a second reunion, 20 years later. They rent a private home in Devon, by the shore, away from the city. At 40, they all have histories, they all have successes and disappointments, they've made mistakes--some of them with each other. It's a lot to ask in one novel, but I did enjoy "the weekend" very much. Each character, although sketched briefly, is an individual. Sometimes I got their names confused, but I didn't forget their relationships, what they had done, or failed to do. It was never boring, although I had to take it in stages--I could not absorb this book at one sitting. And, Clare, I do hope that Kat gets it together someday and that Geri eventually finds love. Maybe in another novel?

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed score: 3.25

This book is technically well written - it's hard to give a cast of characters the emotional depth and (different) personality characteristics so that their voices stand out - but Lydon definitely achieved that which is no mean feat.

Be aware that this book is more lesfic than lesrom - no vanilla romance or romantic comedy here. This would have been fine except - nothing much happen. The friends come together, reflect (ish) on their lives, drink a lot but... there's no takeaway. I'm unclear what was learned or what the reader is meant to have walked away with having read the book.

Ultimately I found this book a little bleak and unsatifying - but technically well-written. I'm definitely pleased that Lydon has returned to lighter fare in her more recent works.

[Kristin Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should have DNF’d this book but I was too lazy to close my library app.

[Vita L. Licari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I love Clare Lydon's books, this was on my TBR shelves. As always I love her book. A great story of 7 friends from University getting together for a 20th reunion in Devon, England. There are 2 couples in the group, 2 with significant others not in the group and one single. The group dynamic is honest, raw and real. I highly recommend this book! 5 stars!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
The "LONG" weekend...was a LONG read....or at least it felt like it.
Clare Lydon is a great author. She writes very well and I normally enjoy her storys. But I had trouble with this one.
9 people stay a long weekend together by the shore in a big lovely home. 6 of them went to college together and remained friends. So they plan this get away every 10 years.
And of course you can guess...lots a little spats, break ups, love affairs, alcohol, drugs and 1 overdose.
The problem I had was I didnt really like anyone. So I didnt care about any of their out comes. So that made me just want it to end. So it felt long and drawn out.
Question: In your late 30's/early 40's do they really need tequila shots, beer, wine AND sneak to the bathroom for cocaine? Of course things happened after all that...what else would you expect.
I do not recommend it for a reader that prefers good warm friend gatherings.
Also I chose the audiobook and the narrator read fine but never changed her voice to represent individual characters.

[Megan]

This overall was a nice book. Clare Lydon is one of my favorite lesfic authors. However there are some things in this story that I could've done without.
First is how Kat blames everyone for her behavior and her girlfriend does the same. This is acknowledged precisely once but then Kats pseudo suicide attempt gets Kat all the attention and love and care she was whining about not having from her friends (because Kats behavior is awful and she's lucky her friends didn't drop her till she went to rehab). So Kat overdoses and all the friends are loving and caring. It's a dangerous and extremely unhealthy narrative to perpetuate esp for people who do this in real life.
Darren spills the beans about Laura and Kat and Laura blames him all weekend. Girlie, if you had been honest with Tasha this wouldn't be a problem. Plus no one told Darren to stay quiet. I get it's "part of his character" and I wouldn't wanna hang out with such a lesbian and woman hating gay man (but it's cute! It's all a joke! He's gay! No. Do you notice how no one hates on him the same way he hates on lesbians? Let's grow up).
Honestly it's the Kat narrative that really gets me. If she had had a mental health eval in the hospital but then she's just gonna live with Gerri? Till what, the next time she pulls this? Good for Abby for leaving

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Long Weekend is a nice easy read, the only thing stopping me devouring the whole book in one very long reading session was my annoying need for sleep! There's not a great deal of action within the story, but there was plenty of friendship/relationship drama between the characters to keep the reader entertained. I quite enjoyed the dynamic between the characters and it is great to read a book in this genre that doesn't see the single life as the worst possible outcome, it was good to read Geri's thoughts on the subject when she looked at the other couples in the house. My only complaint about the book is down to the editing, Torbay is in the English Riviera not the French - yes I am being picky there, but living in Torbay myself its something that jumped out at me! This is not the first of Clare Lydon's books that I have read and it certainly won't be the last. I would happily recommend this book to other readers.

[Katie Dew · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is just a rubbish book, sadly!! Waste of time and money!! It's crammed full of cliches and stereotypes and nothing really happens. It's trying hard to be chick-lit with a gay twist, but proves perfectly that you cannot just use a format and substitute straight characters for gay ones, it really doesn't work.

[Marty Preslar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kind of like an LGBT Big Chill

Well, not exactly, since the reason they're getting together is very different... But the vibe of the story is very similar. And it kind of highlights how we all face the same types of problems in our relationships as we go through life, gay or straight.

[J.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nine individuals in one house for a long weekend

Eight of them graduated together and the last was brought in since she was married to one of the originals. All the couple's came with baggage of their own making, and one individual creates her own little drama. This story leaves open spaces for a continuation. Enjoy!

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually really like this author which is why I bought the book. Initially I wasn't so sure about this one, but the further I got through the more I enjoyed it. A big cast of characters, it was almost like playing Cleudo working out who was doing what and where! By the end of the book my faith was restored- an enjoyable read!

[GW reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is unlike the rest of Clare Lydon’s work. Yes it still has the delicious turn of phrase and wit, but is more poignant and textured.
Anyone who has met up for a weekend with old uni or school friends will relate to the expectations and disappointments of how life turns out.
Definitely worth checking out.

[Micheal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest Weekends

The relationships of a group of friends during a 20year reunion, with all the emotions and character defects that make old friends and the changes they endure so interesting to read about. True to life, with its good and bad events and interesting happenings.

[Melomaniac · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is one of the books on which multi characters movie must be made . it covered many topics under its umbrella especially infidelity . i really wish Vic & Stevie get their own book , i really want to read more of them and how they cope in future

[Denise Dow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really

I really enjoyed this book. Friends at their 20th anniversary. I liked all the characters and the author wrote believable storylines for all.
Great book, I highly recommend it.

[Mancman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really didn’t know what to expect from this book, it’s way outside my usual literary canon.
But I found it fun and refreshing. A tale of couples loving, leaving and living, all while on a reunion get together.

[Cait · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for the over 30 lesbian. A group of friends, and the joys and headaches of life.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

20th year reunion of lesbian college friends and lovers = drama. Fun read.

[Sascha Broich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throw some gay college friends slash lovers into the 20 year reunion weekend bowl. Top it with lots of alcohol and let it boil.

[Jessica Roberson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down

I read this in one sitting because I was emotionally attached to the characters. Nicely woven story. I recommend it.

[Heather Henkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

I thought this was a great story of friends getting together for a reunion weekend. I enjoyed the wild ride.

[Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying Clare Lydon's writing.

In The Long Weekend she manages to introduce a sizeable ensemble and make them individual.