First I would like to say a huge thank you to NetGally, Harlequin Trade Publishing and John Marrs for my ARC of The Vacation!

Eight strangers staying in a beach front hostel on Venice Beach in Los Angeles. All of them running from something in their past. They all have secrets they don’t want anyone knowing. How far will they go to keep those secrets? This was my second John Marrs book and I loved this one more than the first! It was definitely a crazy ride and I couldn’t put it down! The characters were well developed and the unique narration made this an easy read. The more I read the more I found myself needing to know what happened next. I was so invested in each character and how they were involved in the story line! I wish this one had a sequel! John Marrs is an amazing author and I can’t wait to read more of his books :)

A bunch of strangers meet at a run down Hostel in California. Everyone is running from something. Relationships form and dark secrets are revealed.
This was a great read and I really enjoyed all the different characters. I would like to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC that will be re-released December 19, 2023!

Get your shades and sun-block on! We’re off to California!

First stop…a rundown hostile on Venice Beach that attracts people from all over the world. Their reasons for being there are vastly different. Everyone with a story and past that lead them there. Ready to find out all the juicy details?

Get comfortable, pour a glass of Sonoma wine and grab your bag of popcorn.🍷🍿 Here we go!

Those who have entered the doors of this hostile come from all across the globe. Australia, England, Ireland and even one from the Deep South. Visitors hoping to meet their Hollywood idols. Some running from their families. Others looking for their piece of the golden pie.

Can we trust any of these travelers?

It’s a large cast of characters but at no time did I have any difficulty keeping them and their storylines apart. And of course, how they all eventually intersect. Brilliantly done!

Don’t expect one huge explosive twist. John Marrs carefully and craftily scatters little bombs all throughout the book. So don’t get too comfortable. You’ll be rocked by these mini explosions from beginning to end. Enjoy!📚

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing.

I have liked the two previous books I have read by John Marrs but I wasn't so keen on this one. I liked the premise of the novel - that disparate characters for a variety of reasons end up in a run down hostel in Venice Beach. However, first of all I thought there were far too many characters. It's fair to say that several of those were really interesting but I felt like I was dipping my toe in rather than fully immersing! Secondly, the principal fault in my opinion was that in every chapter on every character you would get another chunk of the present day story and then that would halt so a bit more of their back story could be told over the last year or so. This technique was deployed throughout the book and I just found the whole thing way too disjointed and irritating . I also found some the dialogue seemed very unnatural and it struck a discordant note. For example, some of the early dialogues between Savannah and Reverend (misnamed) Devereux and actor Zak and his adoring fan Ruth.
There were some really good moments in the novel, for instance, the final scene between Zac and Ruth is an absolute doozy. Talk about ...'And its five, six, seven, Open up the purly gates...'!!! Sorry if you haven't read it - that will mean nothing!
The point of the novel is that everyone is hiding something and a bit like Janus presenting one face to the world and hiding the real face. Most of them are running from something or hiding from someone or something or covering something up. The unlikely character of Peyk, who is a sort of handyman, turns out to be the only one who sees people and events as they really are and it turns out he's a bit of a philosopher albeit aided by weed! The novel ends on an optimist note for some of the characters. For instance, Tommy seems to be recovering from the traumas that happened to him, Declan is finding happiness with Nicole who appears to have a better future in front of her having bought and renovated the hostel.
I will continue to read books by John Marrs but for me this one is far from his best.

I had a really hard time following this book. I’m not sure if it was because it was an ARC version or the story itself. The formatting was strange on the version I read. I had to keep re-reading and remind myself what was going on. There were a ton of characters I just could not keep straight. John Marrs is a favorite author of mine, so maybe I’ll re-read it when it’s published and see if my feelings change.

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.