This is a cute love story with lots of funny scenes. Tessa, her twin sister Roxane, and their two friends go to Santorini for Roxane’s when party. Tessa’s having a wonderful time until the others decide she needs a romance, and they do a terrible job picking out potential dates. For Tessa, this means war and she pranks them in return.
What Roxane etc don’t know is that Tessa finally met Myles, the cute guy she’s had a crush on since she was young. The family went to Santorini every year, and every year her crush grew stronger. She doesn’t want to share him with her family and friends just yet.
I love the descriptions of Santorini, the pranks are hysterical, and the romance with Myles feels very real. I recommend this one, 4.5 stars.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

I just adore this author so much! I don’t know another author that can make me laugh a lot as well as feel so much emotions for the characters. She never disappoints and I am always so excited when I see she has a new book in the works.

This was such a fun fast paced read that takes place in such a pretty place. Tessa and her family always go to the same place every year for vacation and she has always seen this boy. As the years went on said boy became cuter and her crush grew stronger. Now as an adult she is back with her twin sister and their friends and he’s there. Myles is back and ready to work with his dad. He didn’t expect Tessa and all they would get up to. They have such great chemistry. I really enjoyed this book and all the characters.

“Why aren’t we?” I ask. “We’ve spent almost our entire lives crossing paths, creating small moments in our timeline together, building up to this point where we finally collided. Are you telling me that this bump in the road is supposed to throw away all of that history? All of that longing? All of those moments of fantasizing and dreaming?” I shake my head.

What happens when two people who've had crushes on each other since they were children finally get the chance to act on their feelings? Sparks fly and the relationship they've both always wanted begins to form-they just have to be brave enough to go all in.

I really enjoyed this book! It was cute and the banter was witty and fun. Tessa is shy and can't string a sentence together and Myles is confident but struggling under his father's expectations. I really felt that these two personalities meshed well together. They each brought out the confidence in each other.

Tessa's sister though? Man I wanted to punch her in the face! The relationship between all of the girls is one that has been forged through a lifetime of bonding and love, but I kept getting angry at how the girls wanted Tessa to find love and kept pushing her to do things she really wasn't comfortable doing. I guess that means the writing was good!

All in all, I really enjoyed this book!

*Thank you to Meghan Quinn, Netgalley, and Montlake for the ARC!

Vacation Wars follows identical twin Tessa. She is awkward, shy and has always tried to do what her twin said. She's on a trip to Greece for her twin's wedding. With a week before the wedding the girls along with two other best friends are having one big girls trip. The trio of best friends have made it their mission to find Tessa her one true love. Now that she's 30 they have the right to find her a man, since they had a pact notarized when they were teens. This is where the chaos starts. Read for the secret dating, bad dates the girls force Tessa to go on and personal empowerment.

This book has some laugh out loud lines and those were what kept me reading. This book deals with some toxic relationships and the cringe was high. I thought the ending was drawn out as well. Vacation Wars just didn't hit me well.

A fab read with some brilliant characters that all add up to make an amusing and entertaining read that left me with a smile on my face.

Rating 3.75/5

Thank you Meghan Quinn and Montlake for an ARC of this fun novel via NetGalley.

I won't lie, the basis of the wars between Tessa and her sister and friends felt a little silly but I was willing to roll with it bc it sounded like it could create some fun moments. I won't say it didn't but they got aggressive... fast. Honestly a little *too* aggressive for me personally but I really appreciated that it wasn't for naught. It ultimately led to hard conversations between the friends which in turn gave everyone a chance for some self-reflection and growth.

But to focus on our main characters for a sec. Tessa is quirky, with a capital Q. She gives off a bit of that not-like-other-girls vibes which isn't bad but it did take me a sec to adjust to her. And it did set up a great evolution for her relationship with Myles. From awkward to intimate, I loved watching them get to know each other better. In fact, my favorite parts were when they were together bc there was just something so right and natural (minus their initial run-ins) that really made me root for them. I loved how vulnerable they were with each other and how understanding and nonjudgmental they were while also gently pointing out things that they could have done better. They just accepted each other so completely despite seeing the ugly parts and that was the highlight of the novel for me.

CN: open-door romance, controlling behavior

I liked this book. Not the best I’ve read from Meghan Quinn though. Tessa started out so dang annoying with her embarrassing nervous chatter. She did grow on me and I ended up related to her a lot but dang I almost wanted to just skim the first few chapters it was so bad. Miles was amazing. Absolutely loved him as MMC and as a perfect compliment for Tessa. Their crushes from years past coming to light, then texting to dating was wonderful to read about.

While I got the vacation war pranks and why they happened, I did not appreciate Roxane, Clea and Lois and how they handled trying to set Tessa up. They picked awful guys and gave no thought to her as a person. I have no clue how they could even be friends they were so bad and humiliated Tessa on multiple occasions. Roxane being the instigator all the time. Frankly she was mean and demeaning and it got old real fast. If we had had the major fight earlier in the book it would have helped a lot the story a lot.

Pains me to not give this more stars as I love MQ but this was sadly a miss for me.

It’s been a while since I’ve read a MQ book, I missed her writing! I loved the humor in this book, the awkward FMC who rambles when nervous (I identify with this so much!), and the Greek hottie! I really hated her twin though, and her “friends”. It would be one thing If Tessa were going along with their antics and secretly hating it but she was very verbal about not wanting the attention from the men. I was so annoyed with her sister trying to control her life, and little at Tessa for letting her. I mean whole follows “rules” they made up as teenagers when they are almost 30?? I do feel like the book circled around and was able to tie things up nicely in a way that made sense. Over all I really enjoyed it!

Tessa & Myles

"Vacation Wars is my third novel by Meghan Quinn and probably my last for now.
I had a lot of trouble getting into the story, and honestly, I didn't make it to the end one hundred percent.

My biggest problem is that the humor is way too over the top for me to find situation funny. Most was in my eyes unfortunately often cringe 🙈 In a romcom this is of course the super-GAU.

But also Tessa, the protagonist, did not make it into my heart. For that I liked Myles, quite a bit.

What I really liked about "Vacation Wars" was the description of the setting. I would love to get on a plane to Santorini!

Nevertheless, the story could not convince me and gets from me unfortunately only 2.5-3 of 5 stars.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Vacation Wars by Meghan Quinn was wonderful! I love this author as she always delivers. The plot of the book was engaging and kept me turning the pages. Overall, "Vacation Wars" is a must-read for fans of romantic comedies. With its lovable characters, engaging plot, and hilarious humor, this book is sure to put a smile on your face.

I love MQ but this was NOT like her others. I needed more steam - I wanted to love this one but it's just not my favorite of hers.

Vacation Wars was my first book from Meghan Quinn and it won't be my last. This is the perfect read for the summer. I loved seeing Tessa's growth throughout the novel, finding herself and understanding that sometimes she must put herself first. The slow burn romance was wonderful and creatively intertwined with the rest of the story. Myles is the epitome of "right place right time" as he helped Tessa shine. Lovely writing and story-telling, cannot wait to see what is Meghan's next release.

Special thanks to Meghan Quinn and Montlake for providing me an ARC copy to share my honest review.

From the beautiful country of Greece comes this funny, steamy, and engaging story from Ms. Quinn.

Not only is this a love story between a man and a woman. It's about the love between siblings and friends. This is about the effects of time and life with a group of gals that are lifelong friends. 

Tessa is a caretaker; she thinks she is happier in the background. Taking care of those she loves. I love how she evolved in this story, and I was rooting for her from the comfort of my reading chair. 

Myles is such a beautiful soul, such a true heart, and how he puts family and those he loves first is just so swoony. How he gives his all to his relationships is just heart melting.

I also loved the elements of Greek mythology and how it plays into the relationship between Myles and Tessa. 

You get anguish, you get laughter, you get everything with this new story from Meghan Quinn! An absolutely fantastic story that will be on my re-read shelf!

Tessa is looking forward to a girl’s trip with her twin sister and their two best friends to Greece, the place which holds so many wonderful childhood memories including her first crush even if she was too uncomfortable to act upon it. It has been years since she has been there when he was, so she didn’t expect to see him again or that the feelings she had for him are stronger than ever.

Myles has been living in NY while he studied hotel management and has recently returned to Greece to help his father with the family resort. When he sees Tessa, the sparks fly but not only are they battling the fact that he lives in Greece, and she lives in NY but lots of family turmoil as well.

Even though her sister did everything she could to derail the relationship between Tessa and Myles which caused some heartbreak along the way she did redeem herself in the end. Myles was the perfect mix of sweet and swoony and helps Tessa realize what will truly bring her happiness. I enjoyed the performance of the narrators as they brought out all the different aspects of the story and the characters.

I love everything Meghan Quinn writes but this one was not my favorite.

I loved the setting and the concept. I loved Tessa and Myles ans their relationship that stemmed from a crush that had been building over the years as they continued to meet in Santorini while on vacation at this resort.

What I did not like was how immature Tessa's sister and friends were being.

I loved the chemistry and banter between Tessa and Myles and that is was really pulled me through on this one.

Absolutely fantastic novel. Friendship tested and restored, sisterhood at its best. Set in Santorini Greece this is the perfect holiday romance story.

Tessa had had a crush on Myles for years, even though it is 7 years since she was him. Her sister is determined that Tessa needs to find a man, but will it be Myles? A fun read, makes me want to go on holiday !

I can't say that I've ever been disappointed in a Meghan Quinn novel but this one came a bit too close for comfort.

I adored the story of Tessa and Myles and their many, many years of foreplay and the way they found their way to the right HEA for them!

Unfortunately, the tedious whining between Tessa and her twin, Roxanne, put a serious dent in my enjoyment of this latest addition to Meghan Quinn's catalogue and imo the story would have been much more enjoyable without this element.

I absolutely respect and recognise that not all books are for everyone and I wouldn't go as far as to say that here, BUT sadly, this one won't rank as a favourite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for providing the ARC.

I have loved all Meghan Quinn books I've read so I was very excited to pick this one up. And the romance aspect of it was exactly what. I've come to expect from Meghan Quinn. The issue I had was with the FMC, Tessa, and her sister Roxane.

What starts out as a prank war between two sisters ends up with some truly appaling behavior, especially from Roxane. Not to say that Tessa didn't have her own faults (she was very much the epitome of a people pleasing doormat), but the amount of manipulation, boundary stompting, and the complete and utter disregard that Roxane had for her sister, as well as the contemptuous way she spoke about her was really too much for me to handle.

Roxane was 1000% a bitch. I don't use that term lightly, but with the shit that she pulled and said to Tessa, I was absolutely cheering when Tessa walked out of her room proclaiming that she was done. I was done within a few short interactions. And was prepared for the absolute confidence glow up Tessa was going to get. But instead I just got her falling back into this sick cycle with her sister and it almost cost her the best relationship she'd had.

Btw, Myles is perfect and I love him. Tessa was an absolute idiot for turning life in Santorini with him to deal with her sister's manipulative ass. But I guess that doesn't make for a good ending.

Tessa and her friends are in Santorini for her sister's wedding. She is ready to relax and forget about her nonexistent love life. Her twin sister, Roxanne, and their friends have other plans. They believe it is high time that Tessa finds her one true love, and they are ready to help her find him by any means necessary. However, fate may have other plans; Myles, the resort owner's son and Tessa's longtime crush, is back on the island and looking better than ever.
 
Vacation Wars is my first Megan Quinn book, and I can see why so many people recommend her books. There were several places where I couldn't stop laughing (the car scene had me LOLing so much that I was getting looks in the airport), and the setting was perfect for the start of summer.
Tessa and Myles were cute together, and I loved that they had these crushes for their entire lives. The steamy scenes were fun.

Despite this, I did struggle with the characters. I don't mind unlikeable characters, as long as I find them interesting. However, Tessa's family and friends are atrocious, and Tessa is a doormat. The character arcs make sense for the story, and several redeem themselves, but I struggled to care about them. I don't know if other people will feel the same. I am such a character-focused reader that this is something that stood out to me.

My only other criticism was the pacing in the last third of the book. It was a bit slow for my liking. Also, like always, I could do without the dreaded third-act breakup.

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.