I requested this book after reading some positive reviews. As always when I discover a new author, I’m excited. Will I find great books that promise hours of adrenaline-fueled entertainment? To my delight, Lynes has what I takes to write engaging stories that reels you in and I’ve already ordered another book that I’m looking forward to reading.

In the summer holiday we meet Kate, a disgruntled wife and her husband Jeff. They are on holiday, and Kate feels sure this will be the trip of a lifetime, where she and Jeff finally can connect again. When she meets Coco, a woman she admired in school, everything seems perfect. The only problem is, why does Jeff and coco act like a ghost when they see each other again?

A perfect start for a plot where you don’t know exactly what has happened, other than there are dark secrets just waiting to be revealed. Lynes manages to leave breadcrumbs that make you hungry without satisfying your craving for more. She focuses on the desperation and longing Kate has, and although I prefer strong main characters and Kate has her issues that has made her a bit of a pushover, she portraits the reason for it realistically. I understood why Kate made her decision, and also why Jeff made his. He was not my favorite character, but that made it interesting since it made it easier to sympathize with Kate. The ending was neat and twisty, just as I like it.

To sum up: A twisty psychological thriller that gets under your skin.

Thanks to bookatoure and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest opinion

Thanks to #NetGalley and Bookouture for introducing me to #SELynes and her book#TheSummerHoliday. This book was amazing from start to finish, and left me wanting more. I cannot wait to start another book.

Firstly, thank you to, NetGalley, Bookouture and S.E. Lynes for the ARC!
I have read every book by this author and this one didn't disappoint either!

Wow what can I say this book was amazing, it was a fast paced and kept me guessing throughout a perfect book for psychological thrillers fans alike! The ending wow and I did not see it coming!

Overall, I throughly enjoyed this book and all the plot twists that it presented! SE. Lynes is the queen of psychological thrillers and should be on everyone’s shelf.

Binge read! Woah! I could not put this book down!

Super quick synopsis since you can read the authors write up anytime ~ Kate and her husband Jeff have been married since university graduation , have a 17 year old daughter Lou and own a villa in Spain. This is the first time in a very long time they have vacationed together alone as Lou is off with her friends family on holiday. Their marriage is stale. Perhaps a vacation together alone will help their relationship? Upon arrival, things haven't changed. Jeff is still a workaholic and this leaves Kate with time on her hands. One morning she heads to town and spots Coco Moss. The "it" girl from university. She strikes up a conversation and invites Coco to her home. She keeps it a surprise thinking Jeff will be excited to see Coco but when Coco shows up at the villa, the look on both their faces when they see each other cannot be missed. Kate immediately becomes suspicious and starts looking into the past.

The beginning of the book made me cringe. I was embarrassed for Kate and how much she fangirled over Coco. Coco was popular, girls wanted to be her and boys wanted to be with her. Coco never knew/acknowledged Kate back then so when Coco was open to conversation and drinks with Kate, she was over the moon. I disliked Jeff - he came across as a pretentious entitled arse and never redeemed himself at all throughout the book

When the story broke into three POV's (Kate, Jeff & Coco) it started to get REALLY interested. I was fully immersed and had to keep reading. I did not like ANY of these characters but it was a train wreck I could not stop staring at. I had to know how this one was going to end!

There was a big twist at the end I absolutely did not see coming. I love it when I get blindsided because it does not happen often! This was a great domestic psychological thriller. I have not read any books by this author before but am definitely searching out more of hers to read. I loved the flow of the writing style, it had my full attention.

I'm rating this one five stars. Highly recommend! Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital ARC to review.

And the Queen of Psychological Thrillers is back! It is no secret that I am SE Lynes number one fan…not in the style of Annie Wilkes I hasten to add…but if she ever stopped writing…just kidding! But seriously, if you are reading this review having never read any of SE Lynes books before then I implore you to go and read them now! All of them, she is sheer genius!
Let me start off by saying if you see this title and this luscious cover and think to yourself, now there’s the perfect chic-lit to take on holiday with me, then oh boy you might be disappointed (BUT you should still buy it and take it on holiday to read, just don’t expect chic lit!) SE Lynes opens up with her trademark killer hook and an unnerving and intriguing prologue which beckons you right into the story. It poses questions you demand to have answered and so you are hooked! Prepare yourself for a marathon reading session as there is no way you are going to be able to put this down.
There is so much I want to say about this book and so much I can’t as I don’t want to leave any spoilers behind, the blurb tells you all you need to know about the storyline. However, what I will tell you is that once again SE Lynes has given me all the feels, she invokes all the emotions in me with her work. She is such a visual writer from her description to the language she uses…"the squashed sound of her name"… I mean I am now begging for someone to squash my name for me! From the outset scenes and characters come to life in my mind’s eye and indeed in my heart and in my head.
As we are introduced to Kate and Jeff on their first day of their holiday in what seems like paradise, there is a simmering of tension already weaving its way through the words. She sets the scene so perfectly that I could almost smell the sunscreen and taste the cafe con leche, the sights, sounds and the smells all mingled into one vivid picture.
I’ve not yet read a book by SE Lynes and not found myself relating to at least one of the characters and this one was no exception.
And her characters, oh God, they are just so beautifully drawn, with layers just begging to be peeled back, they crawl out of the pages and right under your skin. It was impossible to read that scene where Kate first sets eyes on Coco Moss after almost 30 years, and not feel her anguish, self-doubt and complete lack of self-esteem ooze from the pages as she mentally compares herself to the other women and decides she is sorely lacking. We’ve all been there before, that dreaded experience of bumping into someone so effortlessly glamorous while you feel as though you’re been dragged through a hedge backwards. And this is what I mean when I say her characters are so relatable. I mean within two lines of meeting Jeff I wanted to punch his smug face in! She creates characters who provoke such strong emotions in me in such a short space of time.
The pacing was perfect, the plot executed flawlessly and the reveals were fist pumpingly satisfying! The Summer Holiday is a heady cocktail of human flaws, darkness and deceit. Get yourself to the bar, order yourself a copy and prepare to drown yourself in the pages!

Kate and Jeff escape on a holiday in Spain without their daughter, Lou. Kate is hoping this will reignite the spark in their marriage. While there they unexpectedly run into an old acquaintance from their university years. Coco Moss, the popular girl that everyone wanted to be friends with. After befriending Coco, Kate starts to dig into the past and she doesn’t like what she finds.

While I liked this book enough, it didn’t have anything that really gripped me. The twist at the end was predictable. The book kept me entertained, was definitely readable but nothing that would keep me talking about it.

A new book by S.E. Lynes is always a reason to celebrate. As a huge fan of her writing, I eagerly jumped in. But … this time, I felt a little let down.
Twisty tales with characters you often loathe is a trademark theme. Breathless pacing, unexpected leaps, scene-setting so evocative you feel you are there.
However, with this book I had a sense of receiving an online supermarket delivery, only to find several items had been substituted. Decent quality, but not quite up to par.
Enough with the negatives. On the positive side, the author keeps the narrative flowing and the reader guessing. A reveal towards the end made me gasp, and — as usual — some lines stood out.
'If her love life is as dry as a desert, as I suspect it is, then I was an oasis.'
'If the past is another country, it has boarded a plane and landed here on the Costa Brava.'
'We need a parachute, and we need to keep that parachute strapped to our backs at all times.'
Despite my misgivings — and confusion over the cover — it's a solid four stars from me. This author remains a must-read and I look forward to her next one.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

This a readable, pretty successful summer-themed domestic drama, set in Spain. Nothing too earth-shaking, but it kept me entertained and invested. 3 main POV's, and none of the characters were particularly likeable or sympathetic. My biggest complaint is that the story seemed to drag a bit by the end -- it perhaps could have been wrapped up a little earler. All in all a decent read.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A fabulous summer themed psychological thriller.
Sit back and wait for the darkness to begin.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.
A good solid read.

This is the first book I’ve read by S.E. Lynes and I really enjoyed it! It was interesting getting to read the story from three different point of views, Coco, Kate and Jeff. I didn’t find the characters very enjoyable but I couldn’t put this book down. There were so many twist. I wasn’t expecting the ending!
Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and S.E. Lynes for the ARC!

I do love the way this author builds her stories. The characters are so interesting and I am always captivated by the unfolding plots.
This book is no exception. Kate’s holiday is a bit dull. Her husband doesn’t take much notice of her and frankly doesn’t seem to care. Then Coco appears the girl Kate so wanted to be friends with at Uni. I felt I was on holiday with them!
A brilliantly told story. I loved it

Here is my confession

I went into “The Summer Holiday” with the idea of another quick, beachy, domestic thriller type of read. I was wrong.

This is a twisty, gripping, unreliable, and unpredictable read. The three main characters are nasty, manipulative, corruptive, lying and overall horrible human beings! That makes them absolutely delicious. It also makes for a compelling read. The atmospheric elements of menace, uneasiness and alarm are present in each chapter and almost on every page.

The story is told from three POV’s, Kate, Coco, and Jeff. I will say Coco is rather nasty of the nasties! All three have secrets and hidden agendas that play well into the story.

What do each of them want? Where do desires lie?

Jeff and Kate are on Holiday and run into an old acquaintance from University. Now, Kate loves Jeff and even though she once wanted to be like Coco, she is content with Jeff. However, all is not as it seems, and when the three come together. Secrets and the past, and the present collide.

Chilling, intimate and evolving, these three characters have a lot to hide and lose.

A well crafted and engaging thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I have read every book by this author and this one didn't disappoint either!
The book starts with a married couple, Kate and Jeff, on holiday. They have become very used to married life but it has lost its sparkle and feels inauthentic a lot of the time. Kate puts up with her husband's long work hours, his dark moods and selfish habits as he's given her a great lifestyle. It must be obvious that they aren't both fulfilled but they both choose to ignore those facts and just stumble through life together.
However, whilst they are away at their holiday villa in Spain, Kate runs into Coco Moss who she idolised at Uni and really wanted to be her. She arranges for her to come over for drinks one evening at their villa but was shocked by Jeff and Coco's strong reaction on seeing each other after all these years. It's as if they've seen a ghost and slowly their shared history starts to unravel and Kate discovers how they are linked to each other.

"We are not so different, your wife and I. Both of us disappointed in love, in life; both messed up by you, despite outward appearances to the contrary"

What a great storyline. I read this sat in the garden in the sunshine, it gave me lovely holiday vibes, then the nightmare began! A story of how pasts can creep up on you, I was attracted by the cover and title. I love Susies books and this was just the best. A story of friendship, love, obsession and loss. I recommend this one, enjoy it by the pool!

The Summer Holiday by S.E. Lynes was a pretty solid read. I found Kate to be a little annoying initially, but at the end, she triumphed. The story is a bit convoluted but ultimately very readable. Good character development, plenty of unexpected twists and turns, and a fast pace. A lot of fun to read. Enjoyed the Spain setting as well. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

When you get married, most people do it with the best intentions: spending the rest of their lives with the person they love. There is nothing wrong with working hard and long hours, because you want to achieve a certain standard, but you have to know when to slow down again and start enjoying everything you have with that partner you picked years ago.

It's a pity when one of the spouses has to look around and see all the materialistic things they can afford, but realising there is nobody to share them with. They only thing you do is wait, wait and wait some more for the love of your life to come home and be with you. 

Thank God things are about to change. You have a lovely home in the sun, your daughter is spending time with friends and you can spend two weeks like newly weds. Well, that's what you hope for at least...

I love the evolution Kate went through. She finally saw the light. Coco is someone who will never change and will put herself first at all times, no matter who she has to use to do that and finally Jeff who used the wrong body part to think with and got what he deserved. 

I enjoyed this book a lot and wish Kate all the best. 5 stars

Thank you

I have enjoyed S.E. Lynes' work in the past, so new this would be a good read. It is a fun, escapist mystery full of twists and turns. Perfect beach read or airplane book. Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. #TheSummerHoliday #NetGalley

Another fantastic, gripping book from Susie Lynes. Full of twists and turns. But.... I could see a sequel coming - would be great to meet Kate and Troy, and even Jeff again. There's definitely another story here.

This book is well written and is perfect for the beach holiday. A fast paced and gripping thriller this is one book that will keep you guessing right to the end. Kate is on holidays with her husband Jeff.,, and bumps into an old friend. Why is Jeff so upset when he sees Coco nd what is Coco hiding?....