John Marrs just has a way of writing that gets me so lost in a book. I absolutely devoured this one. I love the way he uses so maybe characters and seamlessly creates their personalities in a way I can’t forget any of them.

One of the things I love about traveling is that it's always a reminder of just how many people there are in the world. I especially love people-watching in an airport--wondering where the lady in the powersuit is traveling to, wondering how that group is all related, wondering why that guy is so sunburned.⁠
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I'm sharing that because I loved the premise of this book: it's the story of what brought eight main characters to the same run-down hospital in Los Angeles, California.⁠
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(Apparently this is a re-release of the book "Welcome to Wherever You Are"--edited and republished with a mainstream publisher.)⁠
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Admittedly (thankfully?), it's been a long time since I've stayed in a hostel, but I certainly remember the days of shared drinks in the common room, waiting my turn for the shower, and being woken up in the middle of the night by a roommate coming in. And I remember the (sometimes deep and philosophical) discussions with strangers from all over the world...and wondering where they came from and why they're in this hostel.⁠
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John Marrs capitalizes on the idea of strangers (each with their own secrets) coming together in this psychological thriller.⁠
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It's a slow burn...I'm honestly not sure I would have finished it if I hadn't been reviewing it for @NetGalley and @harlequinbooks, but I'm actually glad I did. It took awhile, but once we start to see how all of the characters overlap (and how their pasts catch up to their present), it's twisty, turny, and unexpected.⁠
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So if you're into travel and learning more about people (and like thrillers), this would be a great choice. Just be patient with it.⁠
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Book: The Vacation ⁠
Author: John Marrs⁠
Format: Digital⁠
Genre: Fiction, Thriller⁠
Places Featured: Los Angeles, California, United States 🇺🇸⁠
Review Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 (rounded up)

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions.

I must give John Marrs kudos for writing a novel with Multiple characters involved and yet I could keep track of them due to amazing character personalities. I get confused easily and felt satisfied after reading this novel.

Great book with many twist and turns.

I went into this book very excited to read it, and I was not at all disappointed when I was finished. At first, I had a hard time keeping some of the individual storylines separate, but as the story continued and I got to know the characters better, I was shocked at the little plot twists scattered throughout the story and even more shocked by the big reveals at the end. I loved how this book set you up to think you knew how the characters connected, just to prove you wrong in the next step.

Thank you to NetGalley!

The Vacation by John Marrs is a fast paced story, one with many twists. Though there are many POV’s, Marrs keeps them all interesting and weaves them together brilliantly. I’ve personally never been a backpacker and I can promise you after this book, I never will be. At one point, I said, Chapter 39 (IYKYK) because I was so surprised. Engaging and suspenseful, this is worth the read.

Every person who comes to the Los Angeles International Hostel has a story to tell. And every one who goes there is there for a specific reason, and most of those reasons involve secrets and lies. As each of their stories unfolds, the reader is shocked to learn of their connections to one another. While their stories are vastly different, they all are connected somehow. In a story of twists and turns with likeable and unlikeable characters, the reader finds themselves rooting for all the patrons of the hostel to find what they didn’t even know they were looking for.

Unfortunately, i didn’t love this book. i am a fan of Mr. Marrs’ books The Passengers and The One, some of my all time favorite thrillers I love to recommend. this one fell short for me sadly. :(

for one, there were too many characters. i don’t usually get confused when there are a lot of characters/points of view, but i kept forgetting who was who. i am a fan of JM’s writing style, but this book also dragged so much for me. i had no problem with The One being 430 pages because of the fast pace, but the pace of this one didn’t really grip me and i wound up getting bored.

i’d recommend some of this author’s other books to read instead! i will continue to check out his works in the future, especially his speculative thrillers.

I really enjoyed this book! It was suspenseful, humorous, and touching. The narrative was very engaging, and I looked forward to my time reading. Part of the story even brought me to tears, as I felt the character’s anguish. I would recommend.

I thought the premise of this book was really interesting! Eight strangers end up at a hostel in Venice Beach, and they all have secrets that they are desperate to keep. It took me a while to get all of the characters sorted out and some storylines I enjoyed more than others. There were a few good twists, but I would have liked more. I did enjoy the short chapters, and I love John Marrs writing style. I thought the book could have been a little shorter than 400 pages, but overall, I enjoyed it!

Thank you, @netgalley and @htpbooks, for the #gifted e-arc of this book!

3.5 stars rounded

This was another fun John Marrs book! Kept me on my toes. Somehow I only discovered John Marrs over the past year, but I will most certainly be working more through his backlist.

it was a nice change where a story has so many characters and they are distinct personalities enough where you can tell everyone apart. i also like that there is not one particular twist but little ones all throughout the book. it makes you keep guessing. overall it was quite boring but kept my attention .

“Sun. Sea. Sex. Murder…”

Strangers find themselves staying at the Venice Beach International Hostel in California. It’s run down and basically a dump, but each visitor has a reason for finding themselves there. All have secrets and are running or hiding — from themselves or from others.

This is a character driven novel that goes off on tangents as the situations each is in develops further. Information about who they are, why they are traveling, and their drama or trauma is revealed slowly with some surprising twists and turns. And, gotta say it, some really unbelievable coincidences. I can’t say that I related to any of the main eight people nor did I grow really attached to any of them. Their stories were quite bizarre in some instances and quite tragic in others. It was all a bit too contrived for some of the side plots to be believable. I was not surprised to see that this is a re-release of a previously published early work from this author whose other books show a bit more sophistication. I liked it well enough, but it is definitely not my favorite of his novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Unfortunately as much as I was looking forward to this book, I didn’t get the chance to complete it before it archived. I have really enjoyed books by John Marrs in the past, so I will pick this up at the store.
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press for this ARC!

At a beach front hostel in Venice, California, 8 strangers are there for more than just a beautiful vacation. They all have secrets that they are will to kill to keep.

I loved the mystery aspect of the book but there were wayyyy too many characters and story lines to keep up with. I felt like I needed a character synopsis to flip back to while I was reading it.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this advance copy of The Vacation by John Marrs in exchange for my honest review.

I have loved every John Marrs book I’ve ever read, so I went into this one thinking it’d be an immediate hit - unfortunately it didn’t give me the 5-star vibes his other titles have given me, but once we got about halfway and I felt solid in who was who and what stories were ramping up, I thought it was much better. That being said, that’s a bit too much of a slow burn for me for a thriller. One of Marrs’ specialties is having a ton of characters and then intertwining plot points before coming to huge reveals, and this one definitely follows suit, but I had a really tough time distinguishing these characters and really having any memorable characteristics (aside from
Savannah - I liked her trajectory the most, and my daughter’s name is also Savannah, so I remembered her more I think!). Overall, I definitely think this is my least successful work from this author, but I would absolutely read more because of the short chapter format and the ability to throw in some fun twists at the end.

A special thank you again to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC - this printing of The Vacation is out today for purchase!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of ""The Vacation" by John Marrs. This was my first read by this author and I had heard positive reviews on other books so I was excited to give this a try. I found myself pick up and put down this book but never gave up. I like the various timelines but I struggled to make a connection with the story. It was an ok read, but not one I will revisit.

Want to start off by saying I am a big fan of John Marrs especially is sci fi thriller books. However I was not a fan of this book. I only really felt intrigued by 2 characters stories (the father and daughter) and honestly felt lost with the rest. He typically does a great job with having multiple characters and the constant switching between stories but not in this one. Still a fan of John Marrs overall and will continue reading his work. Thank you NetGalley, John Marrs, and publisher for the released ARC.

The Vacation by John Marrs has a very slow build, with multiple characters and extremely short, sometimes ungratifying, chapters. The first 60% of this book was a chore to read and felt like I was doing homework. After that 60% mark however, the action picks up the pace and I suddenly found myself not just wondering about the characters and what would happen to them, but I was finally enjoying the story(ies). There are some twists toward the end and the scenarios of each group of characters are nicely resolved.
The Vacation is touted as newly edited and republished. Yet there were still some mistakes. I usually enjoy books by John Marrs, this just wasn't one of my favorites.
Thank you to NetGalley and John Marrs for the opportunity to read The Vacation. In the end, it is a good book.

It took me a little while to get into the book, but once I did, I enjoyed it. It felt very long, but it’s understandable given all the different characters in the story. I was entertained by all the twists that unraveled and how the ending played out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Marrs is a must-read author for me but I had not read the version of this book that was previously published. It was a pretty quick and entertaining read- a lot of characters whose lives intersect while staying at a CA hostel. Some silly plotlines but overall a solid read.

3.5 stars