4.5 stars. Welcome to wherever you are.

The lives of eight travelers intersect at the Venice International Hostel, never sharing much from their pasts. The stranger in the next bed may turn out to be a drug dealer, a murderer, a stripper, a hired goon, a former celebrity, a pervert, a treasure hunter, or someone with days or weeks left to live. Some of these tourists begin to form friendships, even as they carefully guard their secrets, and it won't be long until some of them lose their lives or freedom.

In The Vacation, John Marrs weaves together these stories and more in a masterful way. Each character's storyline is distinct and easy to follow, and the anticipation was palpable from the very beginning. The Vacation was 100% fun, if not 100% believable, with never a dull moment.

The Vacation follows the lives of guests staying at a hostel in Los Angeles. Although the plot has potential, I struggled to follow the different characters' lives and the timeline jumped all over the place. There were far too many characters and all of their timelines jumped from past to present. It was too much to follow.

Sadly, I didn't love this book, and I tend to really enjoy John Marrs' books. I look forward to reading his next novel. Thank you NetGalley for an arc of The Vacation.

This is not your typical John Marrs thriller. It was more like a collection of stories. Eight separate characters running from their past are staying in a Californian backpacker's hostel, where the story takes place. Yes, there is a murder. There are some exciting action scenes. All of the characters have a mysterious vibe. The problem is that the stories get kind of boring in a print format. I think this would make an interesting tv miniseries and offer actors the opportunity to show rather than tell. The stories eventually all come together for a decent ending, but it's difficult getting there. I don't see myself recommending the book.

This book was really hard to get through the Arc because John's books have lots of diverse characters and you keep track of this through the tops of the chapters where they let you know who is speaking. In the Arc copy they did not do this do you never knew who was point of view you are reading.
I will be trying to re-read this again when it comes out so that I can give it the attention it deserves.

I adore John Marrs and this book is no exception. Based on some of his personal experiences in hostels and traveling, Marrs builds so many interesting characters in The Vacation. Read it. Read all of his books!

This book follows the lives of multiple people and how their lives become intertwined while staying in a hostile in California. While I did end up enjoying it, I found it to have a slow start and almost gave up on it. Glad I pushed through because it was a good story.

Didn’t realize this book was a re release but I definitely enjoyed it!
Loved the different stories and how it all came together at the end !

I really enjoyed this book. I did not love it as much as "What Lies Between Us" but I thought it was really good. I liked all the different characters and their stories and how everything came together in the end. The original storyline, complex characters, detailed back stories... loved it

John Marrs knows how to put together a story that keeps you on your toes. I always fly through them, waiting for the next shoe to drop. I didn't realize this was a rerelase, but I will still be telling everyone I know to grab it!

This is the first time reading a book by this author and I will definitely be adding him to my list!

I found it was a book you had to keep reading, I made the mistake of taking a couple days off and I was a little last trying to remember all the characters and who’s who!

There is a lot of different stories in one, which I really enjoyed! Also liked how he brought it all together for the conclusion.

It has everything mystery, romance, thriller, drama and likely anything else you can think of!

I will Definitely recommend this book to other readers.

I really enjoyed this re-release, very addictive. I enjoy the POVs from every character, it was bait confusing at first but once it picked up I was sunken in quick!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Wow. John Marrs, I don't know how you wove this one together. I went into this one totally blind, really expecting a thriller. I wouldn't necessarily classify it as solely that, as there was so much more to this book. The way this was written from multiple viewpoints, both in the present and in the past for each character took awhile to follow. Once I finally had the characters and their respective backstories down, I was hooked. There were so many "Holy Hell!!" moments, a lot of "wtf just happened??!!" moments, and even some really sad ones. I know this book was originally published under a different title, and then re-edited and turned into The Vacation as it is here, and I'm quite curious to see what the differences were between the original edit and this re-released version. Do the same characters get happy endings? Do ones who really deserved to not see another sunrise finally get what's coming to them? I need to know!!

This is the third John Marrs I've read and I must say, like so many other reviewers, it is by far my least favorite.. I always found his books so easy to fall into, with action that started on the first pages and drew me in from the beginning. I did not find that to be the case here at all.

This is a title that I was invited to read, and to be honest I didn't even read the blurb just saw his name and agreed to take a look. Unfortunately, if I'd read the blurb, I probably would have passed on it. There just isn't a lot of action here, and that is why I read a Marrs book. This was more of a character study, but with so many characters there was so much back and forth and slow development that I just never felt like I connected to the overall story. And frankly, the characters weren't really my cup of tea either.

This one just wasn't a good fit for me.

The Vacation is a rewritten / rereleased copy of John Marrs book Welcome to Whoever you are. This is my first John Marrs book. I enjoyed it. This book is about a path of people at a hostel all with pasts of their own and things they are running from. It kept me interested but I did get confused at times. The characters were in depth.

The Vacation is a rewritten / rereleased copy of John Marrs book Welcome to Whoever you are. This is my first John Marrs book and I did like it. The novel is about vacationers who wind up at a hostel in Venice Beach, California. All the guests have a history / hidden past they are running from. The story goes back and forth from present to past telling you about the stories of each character. There are a lot of character which I didn’t love because it was hard to remember every storyline at first. There were a lot of very good plot twists though. I would give this book 3 stars. It wasn’t the best but I did enjoy reading it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the Arc! Unfortunately, I wasn't a huge fan of this book. There were just too many characters and I couldn't follow what was going on. I had to DNF this around 19%, but I did recommend the book for my dad to read. He's into these more intense, fast paced thrillers.

Wow! John Marrs has done it again! This story centers around 8 people at a hostel in Venice Beach, California. All of them have something in their past that they are trying to leave behind. John Marrs does a wonderful job of weaving this story through flashbacks and dialogue/narrative in present day. The characters are great and the story is quite enjoyable. I call this one of his slow burns because we get a lot of backstory and character development for the first half or more of the book. Then everything starts to fall into place one brick at a time. Highly recommend!

I found this book long and was expecting more of a thriller. This had a lot of unlikeable people doing awful things and just couldn't get into the book. I read the whole thing and just found it not enjoyable but a little depressing and sad.

So many awful things kept happening and people dying. Lies, secrets, drugs, death and people using each other to get ahead was what this book was about.

The Vacation by John Marrs
My rating:
4/5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A story about a Hostel in Venice Beach and the guests that come to stay. As the book goes on, you get to learn more about all of their pasts and the connections some of them have with each other.

This book was definitely longer that I usually prefer to read, about 500 pages which I am more of a 300-400 page gal, but I actually really enjoyed this one.

It did take me a while to get into, because there was so many characters for me to try to remember. However, at the end of the book I really was attached to some of the characters and every question I had was tied up nicely.

While I had no idea what this book was about when I requested it, it was quite a journey and I would recommend reading it!

This was my first book by John Marrs and I find myself wanting to read all of his books even though this one wasn’t my usual type of read!

Thank you netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, you can read this one in December when it is released!

In "The Vacation" by John Marrs, a mesmerizing tale of escape and redemption unfolds as eight strangers find themselves entangled in a web of fate, deception, and the relentless pursuit of a new beginning. Set against the backdrop of a Los Angeles backpacking hostel and spanning across the globe, Marrs crafts a thrilling narrative that explores the lengths people will go to escape their past and the inexorable ties that bind them.

The story introduces us to a diverse group of individuals, each carrying their own secrets, regrets, and yearnings for a fresh start. United by their shared desire to reinvent themselves, these strangers embark on a journey to foreign lands in search of a new identity and a chance to leave behind their haunting pasts. From Los Angeles to far-flung destinations, Marrs takes readers on a roller-coaster ride of emotions and unexpected twists as the characters grapple with their inner demons and the ever-encroaching specter of their history.

The allure of a clean slate is palpable as the characters attempt to distance themselves from their previous lives. However, as they soon discover, evading the past is not as simple as changing locations. Marrs masterfully weaves a narrative that underscores the universal truth that no matter where you go, the past has a way of catching up with you when you least expect it. Coincidences, chance encounters, and the unrelenting force of destiny all conspire to challenge the characters' pursuit of a fresh start.

The backdrop of a backpacking hostel adds an air of authenticity to the narrative, capturing the sense of camaraderie, curiosity, and shared aspirations that often come with such travel experiences. As the characters navigate foreign landscapes and forge unexpected connections with one another, Marrs delves into the complex dynamics of human relationships, trust, and the capacity for change.

The story delves into the human desire for reinvention, the consequences of unburdening oneself from the past, and the relentless pursuit of a new identity. John Marrs crafts a suspenseful and thought-provoking narrative that keeps readers engaged from start to finish, reminding us that while we may try to run from our past, true liberation can only be found through confronting our inner demons and embracing our own stories.