3.75

This book was a lengthy one, but the very short chapters were definitely a bonus. I felt like it took me forever to finish this book. It’s a very very slow start. There are also a lot of characters, who each have their back story and why they’re staying at the Venice Beach International Hostel in LA. Everyone has their secrets, and they will kill to keep them.

Did I mention this book is long? 😂

I wish we could have got to the point a little quicker, because I lost interest about 65% in.

It is a great story, I just wish it was a little shorter and a little more attention grabbing throughout the whole book.


Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a DRC. The Vacation is available now!

5 stars - The Vacation by John Marrs

My huge Thanks to NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for the Ecopy of The Vacation, 2023 by John Marrs. I have not read the original "Welcome To Whevever You Are," published in 2015. I know the cover, title and other minor changes were made. I loved this story, A 5 star novel to me is a gift in the drought of 5 stars in 2023. The novel was muti-layered with a large number of characters,plus time flips; but I never felt lost and that is great character development! I got so invested in all the stories that it was easy to remember the storyline and root for the underdog. A hostel in California was the setting for this novel and that was a character itself.

The chapters are short, sometimes just a page, and that is a plus for me. Another plus was the characters' past lives and current lives used excellent dialogue to move the story along to the point where I really did not want to put it down. For me, lengthy descriptions of the landscape or the indidual character can bog down the flow. I enjoyed the twists, the cliff-hangers and I cried at the parts that broke my heart. What more could you ask from a 5 star novel.

A wild ride! At first I found there was a lot going on- there are lots of characters and POVs, but as things went on I settled into it and really enjoyed it.

This novel follows 8 separate characters who flee bad situations around the world and mingle inside a Venice Beach, California hostel. The chapters are extremely short, around 4 pages average. The story constantly goes back and forth from the past to the present. The first 75% of the book was decent. Pretty boring though. The last 25% finally picked up and tied all the characters ending together.

The Vacation was my first book by John Marrs but it won’t be the last! It was a really engaging book that I found I hard to put down once I started.

It takes place at a hostel in Venice Beach and the chapters alternate POV from the travelers staying at the hostel. The chapters are super short and I found myself really invested in each character’s story! It also takes place in present time while giving glimpses into each traveler’s past each chapter. It is layered, with each chapter giving you a little more.

I really enjoyed how all the character’s stories intertwined. It did get a little ridiculous at the very end but overall it was a really fast paced, enjoyable read! Highly recommend.

Thank you netgalley for the arc!

Thank you to HTP for sending me a copy of THE VACATION by John Marrs. This book is available now.

I really love Marrs' writing and was super excited to dig into this one. There's a lot that really meets his usual style. Lots of characters and how they're all connected. However, with eight different main characters its hard to keep up sometimes. Not only that, I found this story to be quite dull. There were moments of flash that felt like they were thrown in to keep me reading, and granted, they were thrown in at the exact right time, but this one still left me wanting more in the end. It also felt kind of old, but little random changes were made to update some parts but not all. Not my favorite John Marrs book but, I still have so many he's written that I love.

All around a good read. But to be honest.. there was alot of different people to keep track of and kinda got lost doing some of their back stories.. but in the end it came together.

Eight strangers all staying in a hostel on Venice Beach in Los Angeles. It’s the perfect vacation spot complete with a beach. However, things aren’t so perfect for these strangers. They all have secrets, and all are trying to escape their past. They will do whatever it takes to get away from it all.

The author does a great job of painting the scene. The hostel can be both dark and menacing for some, but paradise for others. Each character is complex and their growth from beginning to end is very well portrayed.

I did find it a bit slow in the beginning, but when it picked up, I was totally addicted. I couldn’t put it down. Usually with so many characters involved in the story I get a bit confused and have a hard time keeping it all straight. Not with this one. Not only did it bounce between characters, but it also alternated between the past and present day. It did not bother me at all. The story flowed and I had no trouble at all keeping pace with it.

The author dropped all kinds of bombshells throughout the book. The ending was truly jaw-dropping. I did not see that coming. I wanted more. I hated to leave these characters. I felt like I knew each one.

It’s my first time reading anything by this author, but it won’t be my last. He’s won over another fan.





FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

With The Vacation John Marrs delivers another wonderful thriller. Featuring a large intriguing cast (8 characters each with their own story, their own secrets), multiple POVs and timelines, this is definitely a story that requires the reader to pay close attention. But as long as you do you won’t be disappointed. In typical Marrs fashion, he’s crafted a wonderfully intricate plot with twists you’re not likely to anticipate This is a ‘vacation’ you won’t soon forget. 4.5 stars out of 5. I’d like to thank Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of The Vacation.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1Z5QUCSI786AR/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Tommy, front desk guy, and leaving behind a tragedy in England, Eric and Nicole, also from England and searching for something, Savannah, running from her past, living at the hostel and a dancer with a heart of gold, Peyk, a maybe shady jack of all trades performing repairs for owner Ron, Ruth, Australian in love with celebrity Zak Stanley, Jake, Londoner with a secret identity and Declan and Matty two Irish blokes on the run. This is the crew at the Venice Beach hostel on vacation.

A bit of a soap opera and over long I still enjoyed more than I thought I would.

Wow, the more John Marrs books I read, the more I want to read MORE John Marrs books! Every character in this book was fascinating, with their own story to tell and all of them were intriguing and left you anxious to pick it back up when it switched to the next character. I think I need a sequel to this book to see where everyone ended up. Can you make that happen, Mr. Marrs?
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for my review. Reader of books, you’re gonna wanna read this one! Recently re-released on 12/19/23 - pick it up! You can thank me later.

Multiple characters converge at a hostel, which kept me reading to figure out where Marrs was going with each one. Not often do I sit and read a book in a couple of days but this was one of those for me, I was hooked.

Great book with multiple characters that were easy to follow along. John Marrs never let's you down,

This is another hit from Marrs! I absolutely love his psychological thrillers and this one did not disappoint. The character development is fantastic. The plot is intricate and well done. The book does what any good thriller should- keeps you on your toes until the very end. I highly recommend The Vacation!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I’ve seen mixed reviews about it, but I LOVED how this was written. It made it extremely fast paced and kept it from ever getting boring. This being a Marrs book. I was expecting more completely unhinged things to happen (besides Ruth), so that was a little disappointing. Normal people probably won’t have that reaction though 😂

This book is pretty good!! It gets a little hard to follow at times, with many different character perspectives and also flashbacks. But once you get that figured out, it's a fast read and a page turner!

If I could, I'd give this 4.5 stars out of 5.
Normally I don't enjoy books with multiple characters but I really enjoyed the wild ride of each characters stories as they unfolded. This is a MUST read if you're like me and enjoy a fast paced book with short chapters and a story that will have you hooked from the first page.

I haven’t traveled as much as I would like but I have been to Venice beach. I stayed at the Venice beach hotel right across from muscle beach. It’s quite a beautiful eclectic place. I was very intrigued when I saw John Marrs wrote a book set there about the lives of a group of strangers that meet at a hostel. I have read several of John Marrs books and they are always original and inventive. This book was no different. At first the book is a little bit confusing. There are many points of view in short chapters. As the story moves along you get to see great insight into these characters and you learn all there backstories. Everyone has a unique past filled with trauma and grief. I thought the book was brilliant. It was full of twists that made it hard to put down.



Thank you to netgalley for an arc in exchange for this review.

Take a beach scene, add in characters that are all keeping secrets, have John Marrs stir it all together, and what results is fantastic! I loved this one, and will be eagerly awaiting whatever John Marrs is working on next!!

This was a different kind of read for me and I enjoyed it. I really liked how this story was set at a hostel in Venice Beach and each chapter was about a different character in the present and the past. I thought I would get confused as there were many different characters, but it was easy to follow and kept me hooked. I didn’t mind that it wasn’t one big twist at the end, but multiple twists or ending for each character. I was hooked from start to finish!