A good read about friendship.
First book I have read by this author.
I will recommend this book to others.

Ten years after five girls shared university accommodation and promised one another that they’d always keep in touch, Erin, now a widowed actress, invites the group to her beach house before she sells it.
None of them have kept in close contact over the years. For example, teacher Beth hasn’t told them that she has MS nor has Tara revealed she’s been in rehab.
On the flight over, bestselling author Alex bumps into a great guy called Aiden but he turns out to be someone else’s date for the reunion weekend. And Becky begins to realise that her overly critical girlfriend isn’t the best date either.
This was an endearing story about reconnecting again, as the women find out that a lot has changed but some things stay the same. An epilogue winds things up ten years in the future.

To be completely honest this book took me a little bit to get into. That was partially because the third person POV and also the number of characters that are immediately introduced.

This is a story about a group of five college best friends that decide to have a get together 10 years after graduation. Though they had lost touch quite a bit in the time apart the love they have for one another is very evident. Alex, Beth, Erin, Becky, and Tara are all so completely different from one another but together make a wonderful group. Joanna Bolouri wrote a beautiful story about growing up and apart from friends and does not shy away from the reality of adult friendships and the change that will inevitably happen throughout.

The Weekend Trip is the story of 5 university friends reuniting in their 30s for one weekend in gorgeous Ireland, and the fallout of one of the friends, Alex, instantly clicking with a handsome man on her flight over who turns out to be one of the other womens (Tara) new squeeze.

The plot was entertaining and kept me coming back for more, I loved seeing the interactions between the friends and how you could clearly see that although a decade had changed them, they were still the same people underneath. The story of Alex falling for Tara's boyfriend was endearing though not quite believable for me, it felt really rushed and I didn't quite buy it, though I did still enjoy their interactions. I loved that the book included representation for disability (MS) and LGBTQ+ (lesbian couple).

I found it a little difficult to remember which character was which for a good chunk of the book, eg which one was the bossy one, which one was the author etc, and I think if they had distinct voices and ways of speaking this would have made it easier to remember. There was also 2 points in the book where the wrong characters name was used which stopped me feeling immersed in the story as I had to go back and re-read the last part to work out who said what.
There was also some repetition and grammatical errors too, which again pulled me out of the book when I would rather feel like I'm glued to the pages, eager to find out what happens next.

All in all, the storyline was really interesting and I loved reading about each woman's struggles and seeing them still being there for one another even after so much time apart, and it serves as a good reminder to keep in touch with the friends that accept you for exactly who you are. An interesting story and relatable characters.

A couple of quotes a highlighted whilst reading:

"The grass isn't always greener, Tara, sometimes it's just more grass"

"If you expect perfection from friends, you're going to have a very lonely life"

I enjoyed this book. It follows 5 college friends who reunite after 10 years of graduating from college. Life has taken them all on separate paths so it was neat to follow their own stories. There were a lot of different narrators of the book which was confusing at the start until you got them all figured out. More romance would have been nice in this 'romcom' but all in all a fun Irish read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Such a great book about friendship, how that bond changes over time, and how it’s important to nurture those relationships that matter most.

I especially loved the cast of characters in this book and that each had their own challenges and flaws to overcome and had pivotal growth throughout the book. Would make for a fun book club read.

Thank you Bookouture for the eARC!

The Weekend Trip. A good story about 5 friends. Who have been out of contact for a while, and get invited back as a way of reconnecting before Erin sells the house. The story line is great, but when you first start reading the book it feels very sporadic, There’s a few chapters I had to read from the beginning multiple times to understand who the person narrating was. Maybe titling the chapters with the persons name would have helped some. I loved the story line, I loved the ending and the closure it provides. And all around a great book, just took time to get into it!

Une Rom-Com qui lie amitié et amour dans un paysage irlandais magnifique. 

Cinq amies, qui ne se sont pas vues depuis 10 ans, se réunissent pour un week-end de retrouvailles chez l'une d'entre elles, en Irlande. Vont-elles réussir à retrouver le lien qu'elles avaient ou est-ce que cela va les éloigner encore plus ?

Livre en deux temps. J'ai eu l'impression de lire un livre rédigé de deux manières différentes. La lecture de la première partie était agréable, car les personnages sont attachants, bien développés et décrits avec réalisme, même si j'ai peiné à les différencier au début du roman (surtout Beth et Becky). Et à un moment, le style change du tout au tout. La seconde partie ne semble pas aboutie, la romance paraît expédiée et peu convaincante. Et à partir de là, je trouve que les personnages perdent légèrement en intérêt. L'histoire d'amitié et de retrouvailles auraient pu vivre sans l'histoire d'amour.

Un peu déçue, je m'attendais à un peu plus de la part de ce livre en termes de profondeur, d'humour et d'évolution des personnages. Toutefois, il donne envie de voyager grâce à sa description du décor qui entoure les personnages.

Merci à Netgalley, à l'autrice et aux éditeurs pour cette lecture.

5 college housemates Alex, Erin, Beth, Becky, and Tara have just graduated and are celebrating at Erin's grandfather's house in Kerry, complete with its own private beach on the shore of Lough Currane. It's on that beach that the girls do a midnight ritual, planned by Becky, where they write down that their life wishes and set on fire. The story then moves 10 years into the future and despite their best intentions, the group have not stayed in regular contact. Erin is about the sell the house and decides to invite everyone and their partners for one last gettogether. Will everything feel like it used to or will things be awkward?

I love books that have friendship groups and how they change at the centre of them, such as Happy Place by Emily Henry and Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane, which is why this book appealed to me. The characters are an interesting mix of people, I liked how the author showed that some where closer than others, it's very realistic of a larger group of friends. Flashbacks are used to show them in college to show their history but also context to what was happening in the present timeline. Each character has a secret or problem, which slowly gets revealed to each other as the weekend goes on.

The blurb is written in 1st person perspective, from Alex's point of view, but the book is in 3rd person, I'm not sure why. I do think the book needed to be 3rd person as there's so many characters and the perspective moves around, it would have been a bit messier in first person. I did find it slightly confusing at first getting all the characters straight in my head but I think that's partially down to there being a Becky and a Beth. And while the author does a solid enough job with the Irish characters and setting, there are a few tiny things that stick out as wrong such as the girls saying university (we call it college) and even the college being called Dublin University (there isn't one called that).

Overall, I enjoyed this book, it was a lovely summer read and I think people who like Mhairi McFarlane and Beth O'Leary will like this too!

For fans of Four Weddings and a funeral (the TV show at least) and the sisterhood of the traveling pants. I love books that celebrate female friendships and the dynamics of a diverse group of personalities.

I struggled in the first chapter to focus on who's speaking with all of the perspectives happening at once. The subsequent chapters helped clear up the pic of each of the women. I also go lt confused between Beth & Becky at first since their character names were similar. A few minor spelling errors throughout, like diarrhea spelled wrong, but it's a hard word.

I was happy with the HEAs for the characters at the end, but felt like I needed a bit more context to root for Tara & Erin's love interests.

Overall, It was a blast to read and I would definitely read another of Joanna's books.

A young widow invites her friends from 10 years ago to a weekend away at her beach house. They all haven't kept in touch throughout the years and it shows. Some bring their partners to meet the others, and some don't get along. Makes for an interesting weekend.

Alex, Erin, Beth, Becky, and Tara were BFFS at uni- and pledged to remain BFFs. But it's been 10 years and a lot has happened to all of them. Now, Erin's husband has died and she's invited everyone for a weekend to renew their friendship. Sounds simple but it's not because they've brought their partners and their problems. Each of them tells their story and know that while this has a little bite, it's also pretty funny. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read,

The cover is so fun. It screams Beach Read. The book was wonderful. Full of friendship and growth. A definite must read.

This is a wonderful story of Uni friends who meet up again at Erin’s house in Kerry after 10 years of living their own lives.

I like the way each of the friends get a chance to narrate their POV of the weekend. It shows that each member of the group have their own insecurities. It’s a great example of how social media and other appearances aren’t all that they seem.

The only criticism I would have is the back stories are a bit long and there’s too much of a gap between each characters narrative so you end up forgetting what happened. Apart from that I would highly recommend this book as a highly accurate view on female friendship.

I cannot recommend this book enough! It’s just absolutely gorgeous! It’s so relatable and honestly a book I couldn’t put down either! Whether you are in your early 20’s or your later years this book is a must read and so relatable! Without giving anything away it had me back to my late teens and the days I would spend with my childhood friends making some of my favourite memories!

Average romcom chick lit fare, fun easy read, won’t blow any minds or disrupt the status quo but sometimes all one wants is cute and comfy. Very very Irish!

College friends Alex, Erin, Beth, Becky, and Tara and on graduation night, they partied at the beach house that Erin had inherited and promised to keep in touch, no matter where life took them. Those promises are hard to keep when you're busy doing life.

Ten years later when Erin's husband dies, she asks them all to go back to the beach house for a reunion. The secrets that are revealed at the beach house are plenty. Will their friendships withstand all the unraveling of secrets, will it end friendships, or make the bonds stronger?

This is a book about friendship, romance and the test of time. A lot of learning and growth happens during their weekend trip!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of Weekend Trip

I enjoyed this book very much. The story of the five college friends was captivating. The past overlapped the present and they all bore some secrets and/or trauma. The weekend spent together was some kind of turning point, whether their friendship will survive or not after 10+ years. Most of the characters were likeable and relatable, they were also vulnerable. The dynamic of the group was interesting. I liked that added bit of romance, too.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of the book.

The Weekend Trip - Joanna Bolouri 🍹

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Five Irish girls head back to Loughview after 10 years of minimal contact for a reunion trip. Alex, Erin, Tara. Becky and Beth are heading back to their homeland to have a fun-filled weekend with their friends and partners, after going 10 years without seeing each other. Life has gotten in the way for the girls, with various different hurdles in each girls' life. Unfortunately the trip they had arranged doesn't exactly go to plan....

I really enjoyed this book, it was a super cosy story that felt easy to read while still leaving me wanting more.

Learning about each different characters back story/ history throughout was very enjoyable and they all had believable stories which made it work so well.

The way Joanna spoke about the girls and the thoughts they had was so relatable and I think every girl can feel connected to them in some way.

Also included in the book are LGBTQ+ relationships, drug addiction struggles, health issues and death of a loved one.

The book definitely includes some drama along the way but has a nice wholesome ending to round it off.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a story about friendship, love and the antics that follow the two 👯

*Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own*

We are following multiple POV’s of our main 5 characters. Tara, Alex, Erin, Beth, and Rebecca, Flat mates in college that promised they would keep in touch after graduation. 10 years later Erin organized a weekend trip at her beach front house in Ireland and invited everyone’s significant other. The thing is, a lot can change in 10 years. Between the drama of each individual, to the trouble that comes with their plus one, to the loving friendships, and the old embarrassing college stories that you wished never surfaced. This book was emotional, funny, and heart warming. I would recommend this to all of my friends. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.