When five best friends graduate college they say they will stay in touch, but life simply gets in the way. Ten years have passed and now the best friends and two sets of partners are meeting up for a weekend, but what could go wrong?

This book is full of the theme of friendship which I loved, although this still looks at mental health it is a light read filled with humour and fantastic description you won’t want to put this down.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the friendship of the book. Even without the backstory, you could tell how close they were. And it felt very realistic for them to not keep in contact after school. It was a nice, relaxing read with not a lot of conflict. And the conflict was resolved quickly. I felt like the ending was a little rushed and wasn’t a fan of the wedding as an ending but I was nice to see them together again after another ten years.

Publish: August 7, 2023
4.5/ 5 stars
Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture, for granting me access to EARC

A very engaging story just wanted to keep reading to discover what happens next.

Five best friends have just graduated from college and promised to always keep in touch. However, life got busy, and they drifted apart for ten years one weekend, they came together to reconnect and build a friendship that could last a lifetime. Does something happen with two sets of partners and five friends, what could go wrong? Will it be awkward after all those years, or will they be able to pick up where they left off


Overall, I love everything about this book.

I enjoyed The Weekend Trip!! A story of an eclectic group of friends reunited after growing apart, with a little love triangle action thrown it. When I read the blurb it sounded more like a love story, but to me the romance was a sub plot of the story, it was more about the friendship between the ladies. It was kind of inspiring to see the group of friends come together again after such a long time with little contact. I loved the flashback chapters to their college days! I loved how Joanna handled sensitive topics like chronic illness, mental illness and grieving and how she didn’t make them central parts of the story.

The blurb reads like this is a rom-com but in reality I think this book is more about friendships. There is some romance in this book but it's not the main focus Those friends that you might not speak to every day but the ones that have seen you at your lowest and still been there for you. Those friends that you haven't seen for ages but as soon as you do its like it was just yesterday. You know each other so well it just instantly falls back into place.

I loved all the university nostalgia in this one and really made me miss those uni days. The antics me and my friends would get up to and the simple lives we used to live. I haven't seen my uni friends in a while and there is something about uni friends that are different to other friendships. Whether its the bubble you live in while there or something else I don't know but there is this sense of almost family with uni friends I think.

I found this to be a fairly light-hearted read with some more serious elements of chronic illness and mental health issues added in. While they were talked about they weren't the main focus. I think Joanna was trying to show how these things do not define a person and you can be more than just someone with a chronic illness or an addiction.

If you are looking for a weekend escape with the most beautiful setting and all the nostalgic vibes then pick this one up!

I absolutely devoured this book. Five friends from college as they roomed together and the bonds that were formed. They vow to stay in touch but as the years creep by and life happens they loose touch.

Erin owns a beach house and has recently lost her husbands and is about to sell her home wants one last weekend to get her four best friends together and their parents for last time.

Ten years have passed and the ladies have all had their own trials and secrets.

I really don’t want to give away too much because is genuinely a feel good book about friendships and standing by each other no matter what. During the weekend secrets are kept, friendships tested and each one has to come to terms with something. Can they survive the weekend together after all these years?

The Weekend Trip is a well written book, handling sensitive issues with humour and compassion, an enjoyable read by Joanna Bolouri.
A group of friends that haven’t seen each other since university days reunite to reminisce and share their experiences. It’s a wonderful storyline, bringing together Alex, Erin, Beth, Tara and Becky, friends with different life stories and secrets.
The characters are all relatable in their own way, they lost touch but are making an effort to reconnect. I enjoyed reading this book, particularly the depth of each character’s perspective on each others circumstances.
I recommend this feel good book, a wonderful lighthearted read.

Thanks to the publisher, NetGalley and the fantastic author for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a story of four college friends - Claire, Melissa, Jackie, and Nadia - who reunite for a weekend getaway ten years after graduating. What begins as a fun, nostalgic trip soon turns tumultuous as old secrets come to light and new attractions flare up between the friends.Each woman harbors regrets and wounds from the past decade that are subtly revealed over the course of the weekend.

A very well written and entertaing book, The Weekend Trip, delves into the complexity of adult relationships and the search for identity. A good read just for the sake of finding our own friends and ourselves amongst the fictitious characters.

My thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of the book for my unbiased review.

Joanna Bolouri - The Weekend Trip.

As young widow Erin prepares to sell her family home on the coast of Ireland, she plans one last weekend gathering with her closest friends from her Dublin university days.
As close as they were, this will be the first time that they have seen each other in ten years.
Life has pulled them all in their own directions and their contact with each other has been sporadic.
As the five friends gather, some bring partners, some bring grief, some bring posh shoes, but ultimately they all bring secrets that they aren’t sure if or how they should share.

Joanna Bolouri has written another stunning read.
The weekend trip takes us on a rollercoaster journey as five old friends, Erin, Beth, Becky, Tara and Alex reconnect.
Once I’d got my head around who was who, I really took to these five women and cared about their journeys.

Erin is gentle and likeable. (With a fierce streak hidden within) Her world has been torn apart by the loss of her husband.
She thinks that selling her beautiful coastal cottage will set her free and give her the fresh start that she needs.

Beth is courageous and strong. Married to her university sweet heart, settled in Wales where she was born and doing a job that she loves. From the outside looking in, Beth’s life is good. From the inside looking out, Beth is hiding secrets and just what is the truth behind her clumsy ways and her bad leg?

Alex, has achieved her dream career and bought herself the shoes to match.
I think I liked Alex the most of all the women. She is beautiful and kind, with a big heart and a strong moral compass.
A chance meeting on her way to Erin’s house, with a man who seems to just, ‘get her’ leaves Alex in a spin.
She doesn’t realise quite how soon she will see him again, but their next encounter will come as a shock to them both.

Becky has always been a free spirit, but her new girlfriend seems to be dimming her light.
Will the real Becky find her way back to the surface?

Tara is gorgeous and vivacious. She’s been living in New York, but it wasn’t all it cracked up to be. Now Tara hides a big secret and a vulnerability that she struggles to share.

The five women are a great mix. Joanna Bolouri has written them all to be real, well rounded and believable.

The setting of the book is spectacular. Joanna Bolouri paints a vivid picture of the cottage and it’s coastal position.
It felt very real, and I could almost smell the sea air.

The story is mostly based in the present day, with some throwback chapters dotted in to add background and depth to the story.

I have to admit, I am a massive fan of Joanna Bolouri’s books.
The Weekend Trip doesn’t have the guttural humour that some of Joanna’s books have, but her sharp wit is still there, just maybe with a little more subtlety.

#TheWeekendTrip is nothing less than fabulous. It’s a story that twists and turns as secrets are revealed.
A story that’s full of love and friendships.
Joanna Bolouri’s writing is, as always, captivating, engaging and unputdownable.

#TheWeekendTrip thoroughly absorbed me. I was rooting for everyone to get exactly what they deserved.
By the end, I didn’t want to say goodbye to this book, although a well written and heartwarming epilogue did ease the pain.

#TheWeekendTrio is a must read. It’s emotional, raw, poignant, intuitive, warm hearted, touching and absolutely flipping brilliant!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for a digital arc of this title.
#BooksOnTour

Once you clear past the confusion, the book is a true definition of a well intended RomCom.
I am not a huge fan of third person writing, especially when we are going through the thoughts and actions of 5 different people and perspectives — 5 different girls who have shared loving space at some point and who are so busy convincing everyone else they are happy and successful.

This is my second book by Joanna Bolouri and I have enjoyed them both. This one is about a group of university friends reconnecting after ten years. The author covers some difficult topics including drug abuse, bereavement and illness in such a way it’s only an undercurrent in the story itself. The story is a typical romance without feeling like a story rehashed that we have already read so many times before. The girls are all quite endearing and there are none that you don’t feel endeared too enough to care. You want the happy ending but don’t know how it could be possible. I don’t normally like books that jump around in years but this flowed nicely and was suitable for the story itself concentrating most on the present. I don’t know if it’s so much a criticism but I felt there wasn’t a lot of depth to the characters and it was such a light touch on the hard hitting topics I don’t know if they added much more to the story. Overall though an enjoyable read.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I received this ARC thanks to Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A good , strong and fast read. This is a book of friendship first of all and I love it.

Joanne Bolouri had me laughing and I needed that this week. Thank you!

This was women’s fiction PERFECTION!
I laughed, I cried, I connected so much with these women.

It was a little confusing at first, but only because there are so many characters to be introduced to. It was a quick read with great pacing. The ending was absolutely everything it needed to be to bring this story to a close.

So much fun and I will definitely highly recommend.

After the devastating death of her husband, Erin invited her old friends for a reunion at her house that they shared during University, before she sells it and starts to move on with her life on her own.
Each friend arrives to support Erin, each with their own baggage, history and problems that are set to spill out over the weekend creating absolute havoc and hilarity.
Alex meets “an absolute ride” on her flight to Ireland and they instantly connect, knowing that her travel partner has a girlfriend she says goodbye and resigns herself that it was not meant to be, so when he turns up on the arm of her friend at the reunion, sparks are set to fly.
I adored this book, Joanna Bolouri’s best yet! I found myself invested in each and every character, they are so well put together-nobody felt like a side character as they all had their own story. I was so invested in Alex’s story and really wanted her to get a happy ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautiful and heartwarming rom-com that will have you smiling, laughing and crying. The Weekend Trip is a romance but it is so much more than that! Do you have those friends that you can easily reconnect with no matter how much time has passed? Well this heartfelt story is about loving and cherishing those female friendships. Once I started reading I could not stop and finished it in a day!! I absolutely loved this book so much!!🩷🩷🩷🩷

Five best friends have just graduated from college and make a promise to always keep in touch. However, life got busy and gradually they lost touch. Now ten years later, they all reunite for a weekend-get-away which will include their partners. Can they just pick up where they left off or will it be awkward? The author did a fantastic job of balancing each characters story and making them real and relatable. Of course, Alex and Aiden were the highlight couple in the story. The tension and chemistry between the two of them was top notch!

Overall, I loved every moment of this inspiring and delightful read! This was my first book by Joanna Bolouri and it will not be my last! I highly recommend this book if your looking for a fun, sweet and quick read.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was an enjoyable read about 5 friends who are reuniting after losing touch for the last 10 years. Some friends are coming to the reunion with secrets, some are going through life changes, some have lost themselves. The story is mostly told in the present, but there are some flashbacks interspersed. Although under the genre of romance, this book felt more about the relationship between the friends interspersed with some romance, although I would have loved more. Still, I would recommend this book for someone who is looking for an easy and enjoyable read about friendship and romance.

There aren't many authors who can make me proper snort liquid out of my nose through laughter, but Joanna Bolouri is definitely one of them! The friendship group is such a random bunch of people, yet somehow it worked. I adored Alex's humour - witty, sarcastic, and such fun to read, it really gave the storyline the oomph in my opinion! I really enjoyed the light hearted, not overly serious nature of this book, and once again, Bolouri delivered a cracking read.

I only post books that publishers send me on my social media if I really, REALLY enjoyed them. The fact that this book comes up means a lot (this book is an Instagram post).

I really devoured this book; it was funny, light and kept me focused. I struggled a little in the beginning with the amount of characters (I kind of mixed Beth and Becky at times), but once you get into it, it’s all clear. I connected with the characters and really wanted to know what happens. I enjoyed how every once and while the book goes into the past, so we can see how their heart warming friendship was built.

Overall, this was a 4/5 star for me. A good summer read that’ll you want to binge in an instant.

I want to thank @bookouture and @netgalley for gifting me this great read. It was my pleasure to review. It’s available now! Go get your copy!

The Weekend trip is a fabulous book which has disability representation for MS. We are following four friends whom over the years from college are now having a reunion 10 years later ad they are discovering information about each other that they didn’t know had happen over the years Whom we are following is Alex, Tara, Beth and Erin. Whilst this reunion takes part in Erin lakeside home I Ireland. I enjoyed how the chapter alternated from the past to present and went throughout the years. I really feel for Erin as this is all happening after her husband has passed away and is struggling. We have heartbreaks, life struggles and getting to know each other again. This book pulled on my heart strings and I’d 100 % recommend reading it.

I adore Joanna Bolouri! The Weekend Trip is the second book by Bolouri I have reviewed for NetGalley (The Bootcamp for Broken Hearts was the first) and I enjoyed this story almost as much. I think both stories could be made into screenplays for a series or movie that would leave audiences laughing out loud one moment and teary the next. Her ability to create endearing, witty characters who you love and want to know more about despite their faults is fantastic.

The story is about a group of female college friends, Alex, Erin, Becky, Tara and Beth, who reunite ten years after graduating. The close friends had drifted quite apart over the past ten years as life, with all of the good and bad, happened. The chapters alternate their focus between the five unique women, reflecting on the past and returning to the present and their reunion. The reunion takes place at Erin's lakeside home in Ireland as she plans to sell the special property after her husband's untimely and tragic death. While Erin is mourning, the other guests, as well as their significant others, if they brought them, are each holding onto secret heartbreaks and struggles of their own.

Joanna Bolouri hails from Ireland and I love the dialect of her work. There were a couple of times I Googled a word or phrase I had never heard of to find the correct pronunciation. From context clues, you can figure out the meaning of any unique Irish words. I love Bolouri's brilliant, clever and quick-witted writing and I am so surprised that she is not easily found on bookshelves and libraries in the U.S. I have given her book The Bootcamp for Broken Hearts to friends and I know I will be sending copies of the Weekend Trip to my own college friends next.
Enjoy this heartwarming and hilarious gem!