Member Reviews

Unlikable characters.A slow plot.An anti climatic climax.

This fell flat for me.I love domestic thrillers but this didn't work for me.It was unmemorable.

A received a copy through Netgalley

Was this review helpful?

Finally! An adult thriller that I actually enjoyed.

I wasn't sure about The Vacation at first. What actually drew me in was the affair. I don't know why but I really love affairs in books and/or movies. There was also a lot of little things that twisted into the story and it tied everything together. At first I thought there'd be these side stories that were just there.

I must admit that a lot of the characters are rather annoying and unlikable. For a group of adults, they all seem rather childish and even a little stuck up. For a group of friends, it also seemed like they really didn't care for each other much. Especially the husbands. It was just a cluster of "I'm better than you" throughout the book.

That aside. What I thought was an affair . . . wasn't. There were so many secrets, twists and thrills, and drama. Oh, the drama. We follow from Kate's point of view, going through the process of thinking her husband is cheating with one of her best friends. Then she spends the entire vacation second guessing her friends motives, as each friend apparently has something to hide.

The ending was a bit of a letdown but I do like how it tied everything together. Overall, it was an interesting read and I really want to read more by this author. It's rare that I find an adult thriller that I actually like.

Was this review helpful?

In “The Vacation” by T.M. Logan, what should have been a perfect vacation between four women who have been friends since their college days, and their families, takes a turn when one of them uncovers a secret. Not only is Kates husband having an affair, but it is with one of her three best friends. But as she begins to uncover the truth, more secrets begin to emerge and everyone. Now she just needs to figure out how far the guilty party will go to keep the secrets from ever coming to the surface.

A good read with a few twists and a surprise ending. I received an ARC of this book and this is my honest review

Was this review helpful?

I loved this one. The author set the scene very well and the different dynamics between each family was so interesting. Totally unexpected ending.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Vacation by T.M. Logan.

Kate is looking forward to vacationing with her best girlfriends and their families. But right before leaving she finds some suspicious texts on her husband's phone, and it tells her only one thing, her husband is having an affair, and it's with one of her best friends.

Oh my gosh, these kinds of books drive me crazy because they would be solved with a few quick and frank conversations. Instead, people set traps, make giant assumptions, and basically make a situation ten times worse by not addressing it directly. Add to the fact that all of the characters have a serious need for therapy, all. of. them.

Having said that, the read was definitely entertaining. But entertaining like an exasperating campy family drama. The kind of entertaining that just screams for a mediator before someone literally dies.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press got the ARC of this book.

Okay guys, I know I swore off thrillers for awhile but during a boring visit to my brother's house, I read this book. It surprised me a little, although I suspected a lot of the twists. 3 best friends go on vacation, having a good time, I mean, these three are die-hard friends, they know everything about each other until one of them reads a text that implies her husband is having an affair with one of her two fiends. It's always the best friend, isn't ladies, that want to steal our man, well with this book I thought I knew what I was reading going in, but it had a few surprises in store. Not anything mind-boggling. But it is a good fast read, especially if you're stuck some were you don't want to be. I could give this 4 stars but it just didn't knock my socks off! 3.4 stars rounded down to 3.

Was this review helpful?

This was a quick read that, while it ultimately fell a bit flat for me, was fun and kept me reading! I much preferred Lies by the same author. I found the characters tiresome, and it bothered me how quickly the jumped to conclusions with little to no information, but the relationships between them were interesting, and I really liked the way the roles of the children played into the climax and reveal. It wasn't my favorite thriller, but as I enjoyed another of his books, I'll definitely give T. M. Logan's future works a shot!

Was this review helpful?

What a vacation! I thought I would read this as a perfect way to cap a summer’s end. Little did I know it would make me not want to take a vacation with people. A 40th Birthday Celebration for four lifelong girlfriends and family turned deadly as secrets and lies gripped the entire group of 12 vacationers in the South of France. As the week-long vacation draws to a close, one of them will be dead, the friendships mostly in tatters and relationships ruined. This is a fun, gripping read that I would recommend anyone who enjoys a page-turner with a pretty good twist near the end. There were parts of one story line that I felt dragged on unnecessarily but over, this is a solid summer read.

Was this review helpful?

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2020
I enjoyed this suspenseful story of friends and the secrets they keep. I was not expecting all of the twists and turns this book took. I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

This was my first book by T. M. Logan and it was a wild ride! I’m not gonna lie, the characters are FLAWED and I doubt I would want to be friends with any of them in real life, but all that drama was awesome! There were so many shocking moments and it kept me guessing right til the end! I definitely recommend this one! 4 stars!

Was this review helpful?

Eh... great premise but a very slow burn of a mystery. Maybe next time.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I’m a T.M. Logan fan after reading 29 Seconds. This book does not have many if not all likable characters and that just kept me intrigued. Who is the liar, the cheater , the one that’s going to get away with it or is gonna get some kind of redemption ? Though more of a suspense than a thriller I did love the slow burn of trying to guess who Sean was having an affair with and what best friend has betrayed Kate. This slow burn becomes addictive as you try to weave through the twists and turns . A total page turner that you’ll want to read in one sitting . I highly recommend you pick this one up.

Was this review helpful?

Four best friends and their families take off on a luxury vacation to France, so what could really go wrong?

Kate, our main character, finds that her husband has been cheating very early in the book, so she sets out to find out with which one of her best friends he is cheating with. This makes for a juicy and intriguing read at times, but at other times it’s just dull and skim-worthy.

It is a slow-burn and most of the intensity is at the end, but it is worth it when you get to it.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s and the author for this one!

Was this review helpful?

Thank you, Netgalley, for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

This book was a entertaining book about some more or less damaged people. I enjoyed the character building and the plot moved along nicely. Reading it from one person's perspective (1st person narrative) gave this mystery another dimension and kept me guessing. The book even had a twist at the end and a semi-happy ending which I liked very much. I could see this as the first book (standalone or connected) in a series.

Was this review helpful?

I totally enjoyed this book! The twists and turns were amazing and I didn’t see some of them coming! I would definitely recommend this book.

Was this review helpful?

The Vacation by T.M. Logan

Brief Summary: Kate and her three best friends and their families have planned the perfect summer getaway at a villa in southern France. However her dream vacation takes an unexpected twist when Kate reads a text on her husband’s phone that he is having an affair with one of her best friends. Trying to get to the bottom of this unearthens way more than Kate expected; because everyone has secrets desperate to keep hidden. This is my second book by T.M. Logan and I requested it because I loved his previous novel Lies.

He does a great job casting doubt on all the other characters, but despite a lot going on, I just wasn’t sucked in and it took me over two weeks to finish it. Though the ending has some good twists; they come very abruptly and then it just ends.

Explanation of Rating: 2.5/5; this book just didn’t do it for me.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Was this review helpful?

This was an awesome book! It was the perfect twisty, surprising, psychological suspense book. It was fast paced and kept surprising me. I kept feeling like I had to keep reading to see what would happen. I would definitely recommend this book and will be reading more by this author. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Holy unlikeable characters Batman! These people's skeletons have skeletons in the closet, and the drama is surprisingly fun even though these families are not in the slightest of good people. Even the children are pretty awful!

When 4 old college friends decide to include their husbands and kids on the trip of a lifetime to the South of France, they all pack along some pretty damning secrets. The one we find out first about - and that propels the story - is Kate's. She finds a text on her husbands phone that is pretty convincing her is cheating on her. The fun part? It's one of the other 3 "friends" on the trip with her. And she begins to investigate.

The sh*t she digs up smells worse than any garbage you could even imagine and the twists and turns feel like a soap opera of epic proportions. Although many questions went unanswered for me, and some of these secrets are soooo far off the wall they aren't even in the same zip code anymore... it was still really fast-paced, fun read - as I find most of Logan's books.

Was this review helpful?

This is the story of a woman, Kate, who travels with her family and best friends to a beautiful villa. When they arrive Kate finds messages on her husband's phone between him and another woman who Kate believes must be one of her friends at the villa. The story is mostly told from Kate's perspective but a few chapters are told from the perspective of others.
I was really intrigued by the premise of this book but I felt that it dragged. Kate spent the majority of the book trying to guess what was going on instead of actually talking to anyone.
The ending of the book was a really big surprise and kept me interested until the final page though I will say that a portion of the ending seemed way too far fetched. Overall I enjoyed this book.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

This, like his other books was a great read. Surprise ending and then another surprise ending. . Very fast paced and exciting read. Kept me guessing too. Definitely recommend. Thanks to a Netgalley, St. Martins Press, and T. M. Logan for this ARC.

Was this review helpful?