Book Review: The Vacation House
Stars: 4 X 5
Author: Jane Shemilt @jane.shemilt
Publisher: @williammorrowbooks
Thank you @netgalley for this ARC

What a great fast paced thriller. The story moves between two time lines.
Starts with 13 year old Sophie 20 years ago at a vacation house in Paxos, Gree…
Her family are the caretakers of the house. The owners of the house are Wph.
Their British daughter is named Julia. Sophia tries to befriend Julia, but little do they know that theirs lives will be changed forever.

Jump to present day London. Julia is older and married. Her and her husband have a 15 year old daughter. Her marriage is surviving on thread as her husband is abusive and very controlling. Julia ends up seeking help from a Psychiatrist. Her life is not quite how she expected it would be. As she undergoes therapy, she starts to remembering that night the house. My curiosity is what happen all those years ago? Why did they keep these secrets and how will bring them out affect these families?

I will warn the reader that some parts of this book are very hard to read and very depressing at times. The book deals with rape, sexual abuse and assault, physical and mental abuse and neglect to name just a few. You will feel the pain of these characters. There are many twist and turns to the stories in this book and the ending between Sophia and Julia is well worth the read.

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The writing and the setting is absolutely beautiful. What happens to this young girl is horrific.
I don't want to spoil anything but there are a few good twists.
Mostly it is kind of sad.

thank you natgalley for the arc. this was a fast paced psychological thriller that kept me turning the page, it's told from two different time frames, the 1st time frame is from 20 years ago in Greece, and is between two 13 year old girls. the next time frame is present day were one of the girls is married and has a family of her own. the secrets that have been kept and what they'll go through to make sure that they are,

The Vacation House tells two stories about two women whose pasts connect them in the most disturbing way. I liked how the story alternated perspectives, and the two stories seamlessly started to weave together as the pace of the book picked up. While the beginning and middle were just okay for me, the ending was spectacular. What a twist!

Ok ok read.
The vacation house is a luxurious getaway for a wealthy English family, windows open to sun and the sea, a sparkling swimming pool, and a verdant garden. One hot summer night, while the parents and their friends drink wine and amuse themselves, a young woman—the teenage daughter of the Greek caretaker—ventures for a walk on their private beach. Her life will never be the same again. Julia is the perfect spouse and mother. Slender, blonde, expensively dressed, she’s the classic “yummy mummy” of high society: cook, organizer, arm candy, and speechwriter to her influential husband.
But behind her winning smile is a stifled woman trapped in a gilded cage, stricken with anxiety and perfectionism. When Julia meets Laurel, a therapist who promises to help her find fulfillment, Julia opens herself up to the hope of a different futur What happened in Greece all those years ago that binds these two women together? And will uncovering the truth destroy everything… or set them free?
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for giving me an advance copy.

I would say this book is heavy on the drama and while there is a crime, the tales of the two protagonists, then and now is the star of the show. Julia and Sophie are wonderful characters. The settings in Greece and the Uk are well set. Enjoyed this more than i thought i would.

The Vacation House is a fabulous read. At times it broke my heart but that’s all part of the journey. The plot development is stellar. I couldn’t have asked for a better story. This one stayed with me long after I close the final pages. I felt an array of emotions that peaked with a satisfying conclusion.

I can’t wait to read more from Jane Shemilt.

TW: sexual assault of a minor and suicide

This book is disturbing, so I’m starting this review with the trigger warnings because if I had known the first one I never would have picked up this book. The Vacation House is part domestic suspense part luxury villa drama. The setup to the story is pretty drawn out, and even though I guessed the twist early on, it was satisfying to watch the author bring it all together on the page.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book to review.

This book was super fast paced, kept you on your toes and dual pov.
These are definitely not my favorite genre but i love to dapple in some thrillers for sure. I enjoy them more because i usually read them. I was able to print a picture a bit better because i've actually been to greece so that was a plus.
I did want a bit more from the plot but this was still such a wonderful read. definitely worth buying to read. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

The Vacation House tells a tragic tale from both the present and the past. It's a thrilling books with plenty of twists and turns to keep readers hooked. Julia comes from a wealthy family, but that doesn't mean her life is easy. Her father often expects her to do inappropriate things to help maintain important business relationships. When the family takes a vacation to Greece and invites others to come along, a tragedy befalls a little Greek girl who works on the property with her family.

In the present day, Julie struggles with an unhappy marriage and a strained relationship with her daughter. She finds a therapist, who encourages her to do what makes her happy, even if it goes against her husband's wishes. Because of this, Julie takes a trip to the family's property in Greece. When she returns, the therapist has seduced her husband, leaving Julie baffled and alone.

The twist reveal at the end is that the therapist is the little girl from Greece, and she gets revenge on Julie's husband for the assault he committed years ago. The women get justice and Julie is able to end her miserable marriage and go back to doing what she enjoys.

I enjoyed many things about this book, including the twisty narratives and the vivid descriptions of Greece. My biggest struggle was with pacing--I felt there were times that the book slowed to a crawl, making me want to put it down and do something else. I gave this book a three star rating because I enjoyed reading it, but I wouldn't recommend it to a friend or read it again.

This was a tough one. Very well written, if a little slow at times in the beginning. Very dark and disturbing. But who reads a thriller for the warm fuzzies, right? As I mentioned, it does take a minute to get past the setup, which is told in dual timelines. Something very bad happened about twenty years ago at Julias' family vacation home on a Greek island. Julia is now questioning everything and seeing a therapist, Laurel. I don't want to give too much away, but what follows is a very emotional story that I am still thinking about. Not really a thriller per se, but more of a suspenseful, dark family drama. The descriptions of the Greek island are very well done, also. Great atmosphere. I am glad I read this one and it will not be my last from this author.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Jane Shemilt and William Morrow for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I couldn’t get past the first 50 pages I was both bored and confused. There are so many characters it’s hard to keep track of them. I really tried and came back to it a few times but I just couldn’t get into it. Sorry

I needed to take a minute to process this one!

This book centers on two different women and two story lines 20 years apart, but both are connected. In the beginning of the book, I felt there were a lot of characters to process and follow, I had to go back and re-read who those people were, which took away from the storyline a bit for me. The author did a good job with putting some Easter eggs into the plot to guide the reader toward the conclusion, but not enough where you figure it out. I loved the ending and it brought the whole book together very nicely.

Thank you NetGalley and William Murrow for the ARC!

This is a gripping novel of psychological suspense and revenge served mostly cold – all emanating from the paradise setting of Paxos island in Greece at a luxurious vacation house for an uber wealthy, upper class English family. The longtime Greek family caretakers of the house are used to being ignored and not thanked by the owners. Their innocent young teen daughter Sofie bumps into two drunken teen boys, houseguests at the vacation home, on the house’s private beach one summer night. They assault her and leave her profoundly damaged, with her life and the caretaker family’s reputation in ruins. She later learns that her beloved young brother witnessed the whole thing happen. Julia, the older-teen spoiled daughter of the English family pays little attention: to the Sofie, to what’s going on around her, and to what’s behind the sudden departure one day of the entire caretaker family. This past story continues to unfold in the novel told from Sophia’s perspective.

Fast forward 10 years, and Julia is on her second marriage to James, a charismatic private school master. Julia narrates this alternative narrative. Her young teen daughter Lottie boards at his school, and dislikes this second husband intensely. With good reason it turns out, as he expects Julia, in exchange for financial security, to present at all times as the perfect wife: slim and perfectly. He also expects her to organize his daily schedule, write all his speeches and letters, cater all the private school events, and entertain his friends at their home. Behind the outward charisma, the school master has a cold heart and little interest in Julia herself, including her desire to take back up her former teaching career. Julia feels stuck, as she relies on him for her daughter’s place in the school, but comes to question both his scruples and his close friendship with a teacher at his school who’s been accusing of coming on sexually to both his students and interviewees.

Julia meets Laurel at a school function: a newcomer to town who turns out to be a talented therapist. Julia starts seeing Laurel, and therapy clarifies for her how toxic her marriage has become. Feeling overwhelmingly unhappy, Julia begins to dream of different future. But what Julia misses a possible and dramatic connection between Laurel, her husband and the past.

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

The Vacation house is a story about 2 different women, told 20 years apart, and they are connected, but how? The first half of the book introduces you to the main characters, but is very slow. The pace does pick up a bit, but the outcome is very predictable. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers, you will probably guess early on in the book. Not very surprising or unique, but the writing is good. If I were editing, I would cut the first few chapters in half. Thanks to NetGallery for the ARC of this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this remarkable book. It is an atmospheric story about two women who each have a story to tell. It's told in two timelines 2003 in Paxos Greece is Sophie's story and 2023 in London is Julia's. How their paths cross and come together is an intriguing tale. I found myself crying while reading Sophie's story as it is a dark and difficult story to tell. Julia's is easier to read but no less compelling. I found myself reading late into the night because I couldn't put it down. I felt Sophie's physical pain and Julia's emotional pain. There is a bit of a mystery, and the characters are well developed and felt very real. I loved the book and would recommend it highly.

By title alone I was expecting a totally different book. I went into this story blind and I was entirely surprised with the story I read. Trigger warnings should be attached as it does cover heavy topics such as statutory rape.

This story weaves together two timelines, Paxos in 2003 and London in 2023 following two women who exist in both timelines who share the same tragedies, secrets and traumas from different perspectives. The book starts a bit slow as it lays the groundwork for character development, background and buildup for the climax of the story. What could have easily been a story of justice and revenge (which would have been satisfying in its own right) turns to something more. The author instead pivots and takes this incredibly sad material and uses it to not only tell a story of getting justice but also uses it to tell a beautiful story of personal growth for some of the main characters. I came into this book getting more than I expected and definitely enjoyed this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishing for this ARC.

It all began on the island of Paxos Greece. A wealthy English family owns a luxurious home that they visit on occasion. Next door is a family who cares for the home and does all of the cooking and cleaning when the English family visits. One night, the caretaker's 13-year-old daughter, Sofie, slips out for a swim and is accosted by two young boys visiting with the wealthy family. By the next morning, Sofie has experienced devastating injuries at their hands leaving her with mental injuries worse than her physical ones.

Ten years later in London, we find Julia who is married to James, the headmaster of a school. He does what he can to put forth an image to be admired. Julia is divorced from her daughter, Lottie’s father. Lottie is a student at James’s school. Julia takes it upon herself to look and be the part of the headmaster’s wife by keeping herself slim and well-groomed., In addition, she edits James’s speeches and prepares food for the different meetings for the school. But the pressure of James’s demands have built up to the point that Julia has decided to seek help with her anxiety and has found a wonderful therapist, Laurel, whose counseling helps her immensely.

From there, lives cross that brings the outcome of these two families together ending is a very satisfying way.

This book was, for me, difficult to understand at first but I plugged along and soon it all made sense. This is a filled with angst, pain, greed, and just plain old evil, but the ending makes up for it. Enjoy!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book wasn't really for me.

I really liked the idea of the book and the way that everything was connected together, but it was far too predictable for my liking.

Sophie is the daughter of caretakers for a wealthy family's vacation house. Julia is the daughter of the owners. One horrific night will change Sophie's life forever. The book is set in 2003 when Sophie and Julia were teenagers, and also in 2023, when they have grown into adults.

The book started off extremely slow. The first third of the book didn't feel like a thriller, mystery or suspense. The present day timeline felt like it had zero plot until almost 2/3 of the way through. Then it just got so weird and unbelievable.

The book is slow until it gets to a part where you need to check the trigger warnings because it centers around CSA. The book picks up from there, so it held my attention a little better, but it was so predictable.

It is just a mix of a really slow and sad story with some murder thrown in at the end. Overall, it was a valiant effort, I liked the idea of it, but the plot twist was glaringly obvious from the very first chapter in the present timeline.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book.

I am very disappointed in this book. I was expecting a thriller/mystery. It did not read like a thriller at all. There are many trigger warnings in this book but from the beginning it is disturbing and gross in the content. A lot of sexual abuse throughout the book. It was not difficult to figure out the twists, though I am not sure I would consider any of it a twist.
It is a dual timeline story with Sofie in the past and Julia in the present. Both girls suffered abuse from an early age. Men are portrayed horribly and for the most part we see men behaving badly. It seems money can buy silence and that allows abusers to continue to abuse.
There is a revenge plot to the story but it isn't written very well and so it was not very exciting to read about. I really didn't like the writing as I was bored for much of the story. I just really did not like the plot, the characters or the way it ended.