I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

Eh. Meh.
I don`t know...it just did not catch my interest. I did not care about the story or the characters.

I love Jane Green books and have been reading them for years. Vacation was a great easy read that was perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon. The story of Sarah who had decided she was done with men, she meets Eddie, gets marries, has a baby, moves out of the city and then eventually starts to miss single life. When they decide to take a break, Sarah missed how happy she used to be. Is it too late to save their marriage?

Thank you NetGalley,

I read this a while back when it was published as part of the “This Christmas” trio of short stories, so it was fun to reread this holiday season. This was a perfect story to read at Christmas, and a quick read since it is a novella! Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this gifted e-ARC!

I began reading Jane Green's novella Vacation thinking it was going to be a great summer book. Then I saw the reindeer on the cover. So I kept waiting for any mention of Christmas, which doesn't happen for a long time. I think this book suffers from a case of identity confusion. But if it doesn't know what it wants to be then the reader certainly doesn't either.

Sarah Evans is married to Eddie, and they have two small children. The problem is that Eddie is constantly in front of the TV ignoring her and their kids. Eddie eventually needs to go to Chicago for her job, so Sarah takes the opportunity to ask for a trial separation. Eddie feels blindsided but chooses to think of the separation as a "vacation".

Eddie and Sarah both choose to "better" themselves during their separation. But Christmas is about to happen, so it's not that difficult to see where this plot is going. This book was just ok for me -- there are much better Christmas books out there, if this book indeed wants to be classified as one.

MY RATING - 2

So I love Jane Green as an author and this book was no exception to that. Great story that moves and grows as you read it. Keeps you entertained the whole way through.

I know it was a short story but I did really enjoy it and it could’ve went on and ended too abruptly!

A light and fun read that I finished very quickly. The storyline was cute, but it felt a little underdeveloped. I never really got a deep understanding of either of the main characters, which is unfortunate, because I feel as though the plot had major potential. Overall this was an enjoyable read that, while slightly predictable, still gave the warm and fuzzies that only Christmastime can!

An interesting story that takes place right before the holidays as a couple takes a break from each other to see if a permanent break is best for them and their family or if they can take the "vacation" and remember what they love most about each other.

Sarah and Eddie had the perfect relationship with love and laughter at the center. With kids and jobs and the crazy of family life, they have grown apart and aren't making the effort to work daily on their marriage and their relationship. I love how this separation came about and was easy for them to call it temporary and see if it would eventually become permanent. I appreciated the journey as both characters made changes to potentially be better in the relationship.

This book isn't a typical holiday book and I wouldn't put it on your must read during the holiday season. The Christmas holiday is where the book concludes, but doesn't play a large role in the book itself. It can be read all year round, but it is a nice short and sweet book to read in the middle of those larger heftier reads.

Vacations was a nice novella to get into, Sarah and Eddie married for a long time and are at a crossroads with their marriage, so when opportunity arises both decide to take a vacation form their marriage and reevaluate their goals and themselves. This novella practically embodied the saying, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”. Really enjoyed this story.
Thank You to Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Eh. That is really the best that I can come up with to describe how I felt about this book by Jane Green. I have read other books by her that I enjoyed very much. This one felt hurried and slapdash. Sarah and Eddie had an exciting whirlwind courtship followed by babies and the suburbs. Now things are ho hum. Welcome to life was my thought. Eddie goes on a long business trip, and they decide to treat it like a marriage vacation. Eh.

A go to author for me. Elevates the chick lit/beach read genre as a whole. I want to be friends with the characters and don't want to let them go. Jane Green is the best!

This was a short book that I couldn't really get into. I'm a fan of Jane Green's books but this one left me feeling unsatisfied. There wasn't much of a plot, per se.
3 stars.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah and Eddie Evans are in a slump in their marriage in the book Vacation by Jane Green, one of the great storytellers in women’s fiction.

From magazine editor to married with two young ones, Sarah has become dissatisfied with her stay-at-home mom life. Eddie used to be an exciting, dashing suiter but now he is married and the father of two who likes nothing better after work than to slump in front of the TV with a few beers. Sarah is fed up, and when Eddie gets a job transfer from New York to Chicago, she sees an exit point from the marriage.

Sarah sees this as a trial separation, a step toward divorce, while Eddie thinks of the split as a vacation. Both undergo makeovers in their lives and wonder what the future will bring…or at least what Santa will bring at Christmas.

My review will be posted on Goodreads starting April 13, 2020.

Jane Green is one of my go-to authors for entertaining women’s fiction. She is one of the best in writing about marriage and the challenges that go with it. I would recommend this to Green’s fans and all readers who enjoy women’s fiction.

I’d like to thank Zebra Books, Kensington Publishing, and Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

I usually like this author very much, but I don't know what was up with this book. The plot is a wife who is frustrated with her husband. He gets a job transfer to Chicago (from CT, I think) and she doesn't want to go so they take a break or a vacation, I guess. Both do better apart but miss each other.

This book seems like it might be something she wrote 15 or 20 years ago and it was either published then or weirdly published now. It was full of things that were anachronistic like answering machines. No cell phones I don't think. I can't remember all of them - oh wait, they put up flyers about a girls night at salon when it seems like the current thing would have been a social media campaign. Just very obvious things like that.

Plus, it was very short (on a kindle) and very one note.

I usually like Jane Green, but this book was a big bummer. It fell flat and wasn't interesting, which really surprised me.

I don't really have too much to say aside from... was that it? This was incredibly short and felt like half of the book was missing. Not what I expected from Green.

I was excited to read this, as I'm a huge Jane Green fan, but this one fell flat for me. I liked that it was a quick read but because of that it lacked depth and connection.

I have been a Jane green fan for quite a few years, this book was no different. It’s a very quick read but it was cute. A lot about taking the time to find yourself and how easy it is to lose yourself and get into a comfortable routine. I recommend this is a fun little beach read, definitely a story that could be finished in a day.

I love Jane Green, and while I liked this story I thought it could have been developed so much more.

Sarah and Eddie have been together for a number of years, have kids and they seem to be in a lull. She's a little resentful of him, and when given the opportunity to be apart for a bit, she's ok to suggest a separation, even temporarily. I think this was too short for the characters to evolve much, and while the ending was fine, the overall story fell a little flat for me.