A lighthearted tale of what happens next when a holiday romance comes back home and real life gets in the way.
Lauren and James meet on holiday and immediately make a connection. Both are worried about their children, who are getting older and leaving the nest. So when they return home, real life troubles get in the way. Can Lauren and James make it work?
Told by Lauren, James and their children, Charlie and Ester, I really connected with them and cared what happened. The story starts well but I felt it was a little rushed later. I did enjoy it and it was plausible. I would recommend.

<b>Actual Rating: 2.5⭐</b>

A holiday romance featuring two single parents met in Corsica and ended up getting together while exploring the place.
The plot idea sounds like it’ll be a cute and unique rom-com, however I’m quite disappointed with how this book turns out.

The story is told in multiple POVs, there’s Lauren and James and also their kids – Charlie and Esther. I like seeing how their family struggle to try to find a way to fit in together with their kids even after the holiday is over.

Corsica is a beautiful place and I really like the place as the main characters – Lauren and James, explore it. Sadly, the story only takes place there for the first 20%.

The romance between James and Lauren is barely there. There’s a lot of telling instead of showing especially near the ending. I would’ve like it more if the book shows more about Lauren and James relationship instead of other people’s problem.

This book has the potential to be more but some things just makes me couldn’t enjoy the whole story, like the time jumps, hard-to-like characters and minimum romance aspect.

Even though this one is not for me, it might work out for you if you enjoy reading a character-driven, full of drama and emotional book then you can give this one a try.

<i>I received an advanced review copy for free through Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to the author and publisher.</i>

This is a nice character based read. Lauren and James meet on holiday in Corsica and have an immediate connection. They keep up the relationship back in the UK but both have commitments to their young adult children. James' daughter, social influencer Esther, is a particular worry to him, living with her drug taking, sex addict, much older boyfriend, Miles. How to get her away from this horror? Somehow Esther and Lauren's son, Charlie forge a friendship which is instrumental in making her think about what she wants from life. A love story involving real life. #netgalley #themanimetonholiday

A tale of romance the second time around, which initially starts as a holiday romance. As expected, the baggage of families plays a big part in the story, with a genuine will they/won't they dilemma. Hilarious and thought-provoking in equal measure. A good quick read.

The Man I Met on Holiday by Fiona Gibson is an entertaining, well-written book. I felt this was the perfect book to read at the beach. It was fun, light, and sweet. The characters were relatable and kept me wanting to know more. It takes good writing to keep the reader invested and this author definitely delivers. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks to netgalley for this book in return for an honest review.
This is the first book I have read from this author and sadly I won't be rushing to read another.
The storyline was quite good, 2 single parents of older children fall in love on holiday and try to keep the love alive when they return. However, obviously real life gets on the way. The overall idea is good, showing how difficult it can be parenting older children and trying to have a life without feeling guilty but I felt the story was lacking somewhat. I felt that the main characters were extremely childish a lot of the time and often acted like spoilt children. James, the main man, had zero backbone and I just felt the way he dealt with things was unrealistic at times.
I feel like the ending was rushed as well. All of a sudden despite not talking for several months, they just get back together with no real explanation as to why, other than Lauren agreed to take the dog that James wasn't actually rehoming. This part was very far fetched.
Parts of the book were easy to read, and it didn't take too much thought but it just wasn't an overall great read for me.
I was originally going to give it 3 stars, however after actually writing the review and replaying it in my mind, I feel 2 is more suitable to this story for me.

Yet another fabulous book by Fiona. All of her books have been comfortable, easy reading and this one is no exception.

As I started to read this book, I did wonder if I had done the right thing in reading it but after a couple of pages I fell right into this and really enjoyed it. It goes to show how life can change and ofcourse it does. 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

*2.25*

I'll preface this review by saying that I think I was not the target audience for this book, so that's the reason I didn't connect with a lot of themes connected to this novel.

"Tha Man I Met on Holiday" talks about Lauren, a woman who's on holiday with her teenage son in Corsica, and there she meets James, a divorced man that instantly develops a connection with her, and both found out again what it means to be in love.

The premise of this book is really cute, finding love again after the hardships life throws at us is always a cute topic to read about, the main issue I had with this novel is the little space that's given to the romance part of the story. The only part of the novel that really focuses on the connection between Lauren and James is the first, from the moment the both of them end the vacation, I feel like a great part of the book was focused mostly on the parental relationship they each had with their son and daughter.

Funnily enough, my favourite parts of the novel were the ones following Charlie and Esther's POV, the aforementioned son and daughter. But at the end of that I had no interest in reading about Lauren and James again.
Also, I think the third part conflict was never really resolved and we as readers do not get to see most of the resolution, so I didn't find it quite believable, but maybe that's just me.

In the end, I really think I was just not the right person to read this book at this point in my life, so if you like summer romances, and a book you can read quite quickly I still recommend this novel.

Every summer single parent Lauren takes her son  charlie to Corsica to stay with her ex-pat parents However, this year the 17 year old teen clearly doesn't want to be there and Lauren is sad that her relationship with her son is changing.

Feeling lonely and redundant she doesn't expect to meet and fall for a gorgeous single dad, also on holiday. However, can the romance continue once they are back home again or is the magic lost in the everyday trials and tribulations of parenting teens?

This is another great read from Fiona Gibson, perfect for the summer holidays (or even if you are just dreaming about them!)

This was a nice, fairly easy read.

On the plus side I love that Fiona writes romances for middleaged characters, there are so few romcoms that focus on the issues that older characters can have with grown up children, jobs and the baggage of previous relationships.

On the minus side, I just could not warm to Esther at all and I felt James was pretty charisma-free - there is mention of his good looks, but nothing that I could see would draw a vivacious woman like Lauren. In fact I struggled to find much chemistry between them. The highlight of the story was Lauren’s son, who sounded thoughtful and sensitive and who I found I wanted to read more about.

Thanks must go to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this story to review.

I enjoyed this book overall. I did feel a few areas were a bit slow but those were far outweighed by the beautifully painted scenery while on vacation and this sweet love story.

This isn’t your average holiday romance, this story follows Lauren and James while they met on vacation and quickly hit it off. However what sets this apart is it does follow them after vacation and doesn’t just end with them getting engaged at the end of a short vacation! It follows them and their children back home and touches on their struggles with distance and dating with children.

Would recommend this if you are looking for a little bit different story outside of a holiday romance or reading a story about dating with children in your fifties!

This story was unexpected for me, the main character being an older woman I didn't think I would like but it ended up being a really sweet and cute romance.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was a light, sweet, fun read, appropriate for reading at the beach or on vacation. It held my interest and I wanted to find out what would happen. I enjoyed this book and will look for more books by this author.

Having loved Fiona Gibson's earlier book, The Dog Share, I couldn't wait to read The Man I Met on Holiday. I was certainly not disappointed! As anticipated, the characters were great, especially Charlie!, and I loved the armchair travel to Corsica and Cornwall. Although there are of course trying times and tension during the course of the book, I love that reading Fiona Gibson's novel always feels like a big warm hug! Highly recommend!!

A gentle entertaining read. This book flowed well and was an easy read with some good descriptive elements.
The story starts as a holiday romance and then shows what happens once the holiday is over and the couple return to their everyday lives. The trials and tribulations they faced held no real surprises but how they coped with them kept the reader engaged.

I am a new fan of Fiona’s books and really enjoy them, this did not disappoint!
Lauren, whilst on holiday in Corsica, meets James, who saves her beloved pet and they start a summer fling.
Corsica brought to life the beautiful scenery, delicious food and the rapport building.
Then return to normal life, will it last? A great insight into mature dating when older children are involved, balancing work, relationships and friendships.
Very honest, thought provoking sometimes funny, journey of self discovery.

Now here's an author who never fails to make me smile!

Lauren is on holiday in Corsica with her teenage son, Charlie - their annual break staying with her parents. She was looking forward to having fun with Charlie; with just the two of them they are quite close, but he's being moody and unco-operative. Taking the dog for a walk, it's pure luck that when the dog collapses help comes from James - a vet no less. There on holiday on his own after being let down at the last minute by his influencer daughter, James and Lauren gravitate towards each other and spend a lot of time together, vowing to keep seeing each other when they return home.

There is so much fun in this book - starting with the lovely bright cover. The characters are all well-drawn, the situations realistic (with plenty of options for comedy) and there are a few storylines to follow - romance isn't quite as simple once you return home to all the usual calls on your time!. Knowing nothing about Corsica prior to reading, I now see what a desirable destination it is. I enjoyed everything about this one without exception and, if you are only taking one book on holiday with you this year, please make it this one - it's just perfect. Highly entertaining all the way through and I loved the solution to the tortoise injury! Highly recommended and easily earning all five sparkling stars!

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

i love a book that can transport you to the location it’s about and this book does that. a holiday romance in corsica what could be better but life at home isn’t all sun and fun.
the story follows lauren and james and their children charlie and esther and all the dramas that come with looking for the perfect love.
a great holiday read

This was my first book by this author and I was pleasantly surprised. It was refreshing to read a book about an older couple navigating the dating world with teenage children. Lauren and James were a great couple starting out as a holiday romance and then navigating a relationship in the real world, they had real problems and family issues that they had to overcome. It wasn’t always plain sailing, there was plenty of heartache and drama, but it was an honest representation of trying to get a fledgling relationship off the ground.
I especially liked the friendship between Charlie and Esther, it was great to see Charlie help Esther open her eyes and turn her life around, to be her true self.
I found that I couldn’t put this book down,