This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

3 for neutral, was unable to access my netgalley account for months, until today. Because of this, I was unable to see which books I needed to read. I apologize for the inconvenience and hopefully will not have any more issues in future.

Really enjoyed this read. Great story and plenty of tension…. Recommended! Thanks to the publisher for the chance to read this ARC.

Spring break season is here. Many of us are either leaving on family vacations or preparing for them, making it a time for enjoying some down time with the people we love. But that’s far from how it actually works out for two families in search of family fun and togetherness in author Shalini Boland’s The Family Holiday...

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com - and aired on Shelf Discovery

this book was a tangled web . I couldnt put it down. The pace was good and it all connected in the end. It is told by 2 main characters. Her writing style is engaging. Loved it.

Great plot to get yourself lost in. This book has everything. A real fast paced thriller. Will get your heart racing on more than one occasion. Very well written. Highly recommend this book

I didn't dream picking up this book like I do some dry mysteries. I enjoyed it. But after getting most the way into it, I realized I was still just reading about the day to day on a family's Italian vacation and nothing intriguing had happened yet. Then the thing happened all was revealed and wrapped up nicely. I feel like a lot more build up of what's to come could have been in the story in the first 60%. And then a climactic pulse pounding scene, instead of just suddenly it was over and everyone confessed. A bit disappointed with the nding but overall not a bad boom

The Family Holiday by Shalini Roland was a fab book. It transformed me to the Amalfi Coast with fab descriptions of places and food, I loved it and struggled to put it down. Lots of great twists and turns.

So this was my first book that I read by Shalini Boland and unfortunately I don't think I'll be finding myself rushing to pick up another. I read this whilst away on holiday and thought this would be the perfect poolside read. Whilst it did make an enjoyable holiday read, I was left feeling disappointed at the end. We are first introduced to Beth and Niall, a couple who havn't had a holiday in quite a while due to Niall's demanding job. However, Niall unexpectedly decides that it's time the family take a holiday and puts forward a suggestion to Beth of a holiday house swap he's found, with an English family, namely Amber and Renzo, who live in Italy. Plans are made to swap houses for a holiday, cases are packed and off the family go for their long overdue holiday to Italy. However, things don't seem to go as smoothly as planned. Niall has some last minute business he needs to attend to at the airport, and whilst Beth is choosing a summer dress in the Duty Free shops, her son has an accident. Nothing that isn't resolved, but that puts the holiday off on a bad foot. Then they arrive in Italy, and following the instructions Beth has from Amber, Beth and Niall struggle to find their car parked at the airport. This is just the beginning of a series of events that seems to go wrong during the holiday, and each time Niall blaming Beth for each one. Niall quickly becomes an unlikeable character, and Beth wanting the whole family to have a perfect holiday doesn't seem to challenge him. I think it was this portrayal of characters and a weak storyline which left me feeling disappointed at the end. Whilst the book is addressing issues around control and mental abuse, I don't feel the book satisfactorily addressed this with Beth. The narrative does jump between Amber and Renzo's family holidaying in England and Niall and Beth holidaying with their children in Italy, so we get to learn of events happening parallel to one another. However, some of the characters were a little too stereotypical and so when we had the big revelation at the end, I felt somewhat let down and had little sympathy for any of the characters. Whilst as I say this was an easy holiday read I would've liked a bit more depth to some of the characters to be able to empathise more with at least one of them, which maybe would have helped to create a more believable twist at the end. My thanks go out to netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this.

Firstly Niall is a character who is not likeable at all. This is of course great writing to make you dispise someone so much.

This is such a great book. When you go on holiday you always hope its going to be relaxing but often there are some stressful moments despite good intentions. However, this is not what Beth imagined when Niall suggested where they go on holiday.

This story is totally gripping with some great twists. It's not put me off wanting to visit Italy fortunately, haha. I'm looking fotward to reading more by this author.

As per usual an offering from Shalini doesn’t last long 😂 gobbled up whole and left wanting more; as always I’m now on the hunt for more!!! Loved it a must buy for 2022

Shalini Boland's books are all totally different to each other, but all brilliant in their own way. I loved the idea of a. holiday switch, and although I've come across house swap books before this was different again! I loved the slow reveal and build and that throughout you really weren't sure who was telling the truth, and just how many suspicious characters were or weren't linked!

Thank you for the opportunity to read! I really enjoyed this book. Thrillers are a favorite, and I loved to hate (or hated to love) some of these characters. I enjoyed all the twists and surprises that keep me guessing!

I received this arc through net galley.

I raced through this book where we meet two families who have arranged to swap homes for a couple of weeks.

We quickly realise all is not as it seems and there are secrets to be revealed.

I loved the fast pace of this book and would highly recommend it to others.

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Shalini Boland's tense domestic thriller THE FAMILY HOLIDAY.

One can always count of Shalini Boland to produce an exciting and riveting read from start to finish that readers won't want to put down. I've said it before and I'll say it again...there is no such thing as a bad Shalini book, even those that aren't as good as some of her others. They all have the ability to keep readers glue to the page and to their seats as they swipe to the speed of light. THE FAMILY HOLIDAY was no exception. In fact it is indeed one of her better thrillers as there are three categories to Shalini's books - good, brilliant and bloody brilliant/what the hell did I just read! She just doesn't do "terrible" or "boring"...I don't think she knows how. She is, by far, one of my go-to authors that I never read the description before grabbing the book. I just know it's going to be a hell of a ride.

But I digress...so what does Shalini offer this time round?

Two families. One house swap. A vacation to die for...literally!

Beth and Niall haven't enjoyed a holiday since their first child was a baby, and even then Beth spent most of her time in the hotel room caring for her sick child. Niall is successful author of an historical fantasy series, which he falls back on as his excuse for leaving everything else up to Beth, despite her desire to rekindle her career as a chef and one day open her own restaurant. No, in Niall's mind, Beth's place is in the home caring for their children, Connor (12) and Liam (6), and keeping house in their beautiful 18th century thatched cottage in Dorset. Besides, he justifies, he earns enough to keep them all. He just needs the peace and quiet to write.

So when he pops the idea of a house swap holiday on Beth she is, at first, stunned. They haven't had a holiday in forever. It would be nice but living in someone else's home while they live in their's for the duration? I know I wouldn't like it so I'm not sure why Beth thought it a good idea once she warmed to it. Maybe it was the fact Niall glammed it up as a beautiful villa in Italy which was a far cry from their draughty cottage. Besides, sunshine and swimming...how could she resist?

Amber and Renzo live in a huge state of the art whitewashed Italian villa on the Amalfi coast with all the mod cons and a stunning infinity pool with their eleven year old son Franco and five year old daughter Flora. When they decide to do a house swap with another family swapping their stunning villa for a cosy English cottage, Amber and Renzo think it's the perfect opportunity to aquaint their children with their English roots.

Sounds perfect. What could go wrong?

Beth has been looking forward to a well deserved holiday and it couldn't come sooner as once again she is left to do everything - pack for the four of them and organise the airfares - while Niall locks himself away in his study with another book in the works. Of course, he tosses out almost everything Beth has set aside for him to pack which wouldn't have been a problem if he had packed a week ago when she had asked him to. But Niall, the selfish prat, has no time for little things like that when he has book to write. When the family finally leave their house (in immaculate condition for the impending arrival of Amber and Renzo), Beth breathes a sigh of relief. However, that is short lived when Niall abandons them at the airport for some "peace and quiet" instead of dining with his family before boarding the plane. For someone who supposedly adores their family he spends a lot of time ignoring Beth and palming their children off to her to deal with.

If Beth thought things could only get better once they arrive at the villa, she was sadly mistaken. As soon as they step foot on Italian soil, things just go from bad to worse. From trivial occurrences to "things that go bump in the night" and far more scarier happenings. The family holiday Beth had hoped would put their marriage back on an even keel just seems to drown the couple as they find themselves in the proverbial leaky boat.

Meanwhile in the UK, Amber is far from enjoying her holiday either. Especially when Beth's busybody neighbour keeps sticking her beak in and making a veritable nuisance of herself. Does the woman have no life that she must bother their's? And can she not take a hint to go back to her own dreary cottage and leave them to enjoy their holiday in Beth's? Apparently not.

Then the discovery of a photograph sends Beth's world into a tailspin. Although she talks herself down into something innocent, another startling revelation brings it all crashing down.

And then one of them turns up dead.

And just like that, the perfect family holiday turns into a perfect nightmare...

Told through the alternating perspectives of Beth and Amber, the story gradually unfolds and the bigger picture becomes startingly clearer. Though Beth has most of the narrative, we do get snippets from Amber throughout.

So while I loved this fast paced thriller, I didn't warm to any of the characters very much. None of them were all that likeable and all of them had something to hide. Beth was sweet but honestly stupid. Her acceptance of her husband's appalling behaviour had me wanting to shake the stupid out of her! In what world is it OK to treat your wife as a doormat, patronising her in a tone so condescending and she laps it up for fear of his angry reaction? And how is it OK to leave your wife dealing with tired hungry children while you go off to enjoy a meal in peace? My goodness, Niall was a condescending selfish prat I just wanted to Will Smith slap him! As if his career as an accomplished author was more important than Beth's own dreams and their family; as if his success as a writer gave him the right to treat her like crap. Although Shalini assures me Niall was NOT based on her own author hubby...lol I didn't like Amber at all and knew she was hiding something big as I contemplated what the hell she was up to. Renzo? He didn't really feature enough for me to form much of an opinion of him although he did seem devoted to Amber and his children. More fool him.

What a wild ride THE FAMILY HOLIDAY is! Shalini certainly knows how to twist the knife and leave you gasping for breath! Her ability to captivate readers from the off is legendary. Even her slow burns are fast paced. I don't think Shalini can do slow burn...readers are just glue to the page as soon as they open the book.

THE FAMILY HOLIDAY is certainly one of Shalini's better thrillers and while I easily gathered one of the reveals early one it didn't detract at all from my enjoyment. The thrill is in the ride...and Shalini can certainly deliver those.

But that ending...I didn't see it coming until just before the twist was delivered.

As always, Shalini delivers yet another absorbing twisty thriller that is addictive from beginning to end. The secrets, the lies, the deception...oooh, such a tangled web it all was. And what a spectacular explosion it lead to.

To sum up - THE FAMILY HOLIDAY is an entertaining addictive read sure to thrill avid fans of the genre...and of course, Shalini's.

I would like to thank #ShaliniBoland, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheFamilyHoliday in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

I was looking forward to this one because of the description and the great things I had heard about this author. I found this book to be pretty slow moving for a thriller though. Nothing but vacation stuff really happened until past the halfway point. The writing was pretty decent but the big reveals at the end weren’t all that shocking or exciting. I also struggled with both of the narrators, Beth and Amber, as I didn’t really care for either character. Beth’s husband Niall suggests going a house swap for a couple of weeks for a more affordable vacation. He has never really taken family vacations so Beth thinks it will be great for their relationship and their family as a whole. Amber and her husband have a beautiful Italian Villa and shockingly are interested in their tiny English cottage. It wasn’t a bad book, but be prepared for half to be a slow moving description of Italian and English vacation.

⭐⭐⭐

This one was alright. It was a super quick read that I knocked out all in one go. The plot was pretty predictable and repetitive, and none of the characters were particularly likable. That said, it kept me entertained, so gets a thumbs up.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

I started my family holiday this year by reading The Family Holiday. I have read Shalini Boland in the past so was looking forward to this one as a good page turner.
Unfortunately I was disappointed. A personal gripe of mine with this genre is how the relationship with the husband is supposed to be ongoing for years and their behaviour suddenly becomes completely abhorrent. It seems like the change should raise a few red flags and yet the main character panders to her husband's awful moods and temper.
The characters in this book were generally poorly developed and, as a result, the twists were less impactful than they might otherwise have been.
I kept reading to see what happened but it's unlikely I would recommend this one.

This book is a perfect vacation read. It’s fast, twisty, and suspenseful. I did not see the ending coming. I love how Boland surprises the reader even when they think they finally have it figured out. I would definitely recommend to anyone who likes fast paced domestic thrillers. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Woah, This book was great, but I cant' understand why they would put most of the twists into the synopsis. Honestly I wish I had never read the synopsis and just went into the book blind. It would have been more enjoyable.

I love this author so I will read her again, but I won't be reading the synopsis beforehand.