The Summer Holiday by S.E. Lynes.
One loving couple. One surprise guest. One week to destroy everything….
Omg this was a gripping and twisty read. Did not see that coming at all. 5*.

Now, this was a jaw-dropper for me! I really enjoyed The Summer Holiday, It was a fun read that kept me hooked until the end. I loved how the plot had lots of twists that got me by surprise. I never saw them coming! The setting and location were perfect for a summer thriller. The descriptions were just enough to make me feel like I was there, but not too much to bore me.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC. Solid 3 star domestic suspense. The writing was well done. Recommend

An unappreciated wife, a foolish man, and the most popular girl from uni who isn't the person either of them thought she was. On the first holiday in seventeen years without her daughter, her husband's inattentive behavior is even more transparent and Kate starts to realize how unhappy she is. When she sees the woman she idolized at uni still looking glamorous, the old feelings return and she hatches a plan to FINALLY be friends. Little does she know that this simple decision will unbury old secrets and change all of their lives forever. As her marriage falls apart, she learns to trust herself and expands her family in an unexpected way.

This isn't one of those shocking twist at the end thrillers, but it's an enjoyable fast read with a good pace and delightful parallel to the past.

Wow, this book is so good. Kate and Jeff go on holiday and Kate sees Coco who was at uni with them many years ago. Kate was always mesmerised by Coco so can not resist getting to know her better, even though Coco made no effort to know Kate at uni. Kate invites Coco to their villa and this is where the story gets very gripping. This book is probably my favourite book by S.E. Lynes and why she is one of my favourite authors. Read this and you will also be hooked on this authors books. An easy 5 stars from me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Kate and Jeff have been married a long time. Jeff leads his own life of work and gym, while Kate waits at home for him. This summer they are on holiday for the first time without their daughter. Kate expects them to rekindle their love, Jeff wants to continue as always loving his own way. When Kate bumps into Coco Moss, the girl she admired at university she is in awe. She invites Coco for drinks at their villa as a surprise for Jeff. Turns out he knows Coco, and the pair are in shock when their eyes meet. But what is the secret?

This book is written from the point of view of each of the three main characters, with flash backs to their university days.

I strongly disliked all three characters. They were spoilt and entitled and selfish. This is a nod to how well the author had written them! While I enjoyed this book, I did find the ending a bit of an anticlimax.

Sultry weather, exquisite Spanish food, a fabulous villa, holiday infidelity and a dark secret from the past - all the ingredients are here for fans of summer-themed psychological thrillers.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

Be careful what you wish for! Jeff and Kate are on holiday for the first time without their daughter. It should be time for them to rediscover their identity as a couple. But the unexpected meeting of an old uni acquaintance turns their worlds upside down!

What follows is a gripping, twisty story of betrayal, love, lust and hidden truths.

None of the characters are very likeable in my opinion, and the story may have been stronger if Kate was a more likeable character?

A good story which I enjoyed but not my favourite from this author I have to say. That said it is definitely still worth a read, and if you enjoyed this you will love the authors past works!

A book by this author guarantees a good read with in depth characters to meet and fathom out,a well paced storyline and an exciting plot BUT what also is guaranteed is it will be a completely different book to any of her others, you never quite know what you are about to read or what is to come….for an avid reader this is great.
Here we meet Kate,Jeff.( married couple ) and Coco Moss……..an old acquaintance from their Uni days,Coco was everything Kate wanted to be,she had it all and more but Kate had Jeff……she had been satisfied,and her life was good,well not bad….until she saw Coco again and Pandora’s box was well and truly opened
What follows is a look into ‘want’,what they all think they want,what they desire,what lies they will cover and what deceptions they are prepared to go to to get this and all told with an intimate and often chilling insight into the characters psyche
I loved it,loved to shudder with fury at some of the antics the characters got up to and had a real laugh out loud moment at the few lines relating to a horses stable!
The writing is as always intoxicatingly good,the story scarily believable and the outcome a surprise even to an old hand thriller reader like me 😊
Loved it ,and a brilliant acknowledgements section to boot

I’ve read other books by this author and really liked them so when I saw this was available, I requested it straight away but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy it as much as the ones I’ve previously read, I spent most of it wishing Kate would develop a back bone and call Jeff out on his attitude and as for the way she fawned over Coco trying to win her approval was sad. Having said that the pace did pick up at the end but it was too late.

This is a fast paced thriller about Kate and her husband Jeff who were childhood sweethearts and are on their first holiday without their daughter to their villa in Spain when a chance meeting with the coolest girl they both knew in university turns their world upside down in a way they never expected and has devastating consequences for all involved. Some secrets can are not buried as deeply as they imagined.

Wow! This book cracked and sparked with energy. So many secrets, revelations, and unexpected twists. I was kept on the edge of my seat wondering. Excellent thriller with great mystery and white-knuckle suspense. Surprising ending.

This author creates well-drawn, complex characters, and knows how to build tension and drama that hold readers to the end. With several plot twists it managed to keep me guessing until the end. Even then I was surprised. I’m not easily surprised.

I love books set on holiday and this one was a great read. Thoroughly unlikeable characters and a strong narrative, I really enjoyed it!

She’s only gone and done it again!
I was determined to crack the ending before Lynes’s denouement. Oh well.
A cracking book with all the elements I demand from an immersive read. Strong characters, not all either relatable or likable. Strong writing. Brilliant ending. I also loved the inspiration for the novel. What a tale.

Kate is hoping that their holiday will make her and her husband Jeff closer as they have been growing apart.
When Kate goes out to the beach on her own she meets a woman she knew at university, she was obsessed with this woman then and befriends her because she is still in awe of her.
Lots of deception and lies in this story that’s full of unlikeable characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Kate and Jeff have escaped to their Spanish holiday for their summer holiday. It’s their first trip without their daughter Lou, the glue that holds the family together. For Kate it’s a chance to reconnect with her husband, but as usual he spends the first few days working leaving Kate to her own devices. A chance meeting for Kate with an old acquaintance has her reminiscing but when she invites Coco to the villa, Jeff freezes in horror. This wasn’t my favourite book by this author, I found the pace to be quite slow and the plot didn’t grab me as expected. I would rate it 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Whilst on holiday with her husband Jeff at their home in Spain, the main character Kate spots Coco, a glamorous woman who she used to go to uni with. Wanting to reconnect with Coco who she was obsessed with, she invites Coco around for a drink that evening at her home. The plot that unfolds is pacey and engaging, with every character being well-defined if loathsome. An addictive read with twists and shocks galore.

I’ve now read all of this author’s books. They have all been fantastic and this one was no exemption. It had me hooked from start to finish excellent thriller.

The setting and location were perfect for a summer thriller. Kate and Jeff are on holiday for the first time without their 17 year old daughter. Kate sees Coco, a woman she and her husband went to college with, at a cafe whilst on this holiday. Kate makes the mistake and invites her over to the villa for a drink. From there everything spirals out of control. Great thriller will definitely be recommending this book to everyone.

“The Summer Holiday” is a thriller/mystery by S. E. Lynes. This is the second book I’ve read by Ms. Lynes and while I like the overall idea of her books, I’m starting to think she may not be an author for me. In this book we meet Kate and Jeff. Kate and Jeff have been dating since university. They’ve been married for a number of years. They have a holiday house in Spain and are visiting it as the story opens. Kate spies a university student she knows and has admired (and craved to be!) - Coco Moss - and invites her over for drinks. When Coco and Jeff see each other - it’s obvious that they not only knew each other, but something happened in their past - or is it their present?

I noted in a previously read Ms. Lynes book that I’m not a fan of “mean girl high school” drama. In this book, I cannot say there’s “mean girl” drama, but Kate is so insecure and so wanting to emulate her hero Coco Moss, that it’s beyond pathetic. Many paragraphs are Kate whinging - about Jeff, about the Spanish beachside weather, about fashion trends, about drinking too much, about Jeff not drinking, about her admiration for Coco - that it was beyond over-the-top for me. Jeff was a mess - between working, hedging the truth, and apparently not connecting anymore with Kate - he appeared ‘fine’ to the outside world, but is a mess behind closed doors. Coco is the odd one - she’s a chameleon, for lack of a better word. While there’s a huge mystery over something “in the past,” when it’s exposed, it’s not really that much of a surprise. I would’ve liked to have liked this book more than I did. I’ll probably give Ms. Lynes one last try … here’s hoping her next is a winner!