"If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then Satan himself planned our family trip."

Ahh, the family road trip. Canvassing the highways and byways of America with the people you love the most. Until you're all ready to kill each other, that is.

Leigh and her husband, Nick, have planned a family vacation. They are driving from Wisconsin to Florida to visit Magic Land in Orlando with their three children. All is well until they stumble upon a burnt down farmhouse in Indiana. Their son decides to pocket a locket he found on the ground. It's only after leaving when they realize he has it. Leigh, disappointed in her son, takes the locket from him but once it's in her hand things start to change. First it burns her, then it gives her visions of another family, and as much as she tries to rid herself of the object it keeps returning. It's as if the locket is trying to tell her something, but what? You'll have to read this to find out!

I see a lot of reviewers have complained that this book isn't remotely scary. With that title and cover and a description comparing it to National Lampoons Vacation I'm not sure why they thought it would be. Having read her debut, Suburban Hell, I knew that jump scares is not what this author is going for. Her books are meant to be more humorous than horrifying so the lack of scares didn't bother me at all. What I was looking for was a good escape from reality book with humor and heart and I thought this would be a perfect selection. Unfortunately for me the humor didn't land. I smiled a few times but I never found this book to be all that funny. I can only assume it's because I never connected to this family of five. They were kind of boring which made this story kind of boring to this reader. I do hope other readers delight in the Nightmare of a Trip this family finds themselves on. Humor is subjective, after all. 3 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for my complimentary copy.

Maureen Kilmer has combined horror and comedy with a road trip vacation in Nightmare of a Trip . Leigh Somerset, her husband Nick, their teenage daughter Piper, and their pre-teen son Leo are driving from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Orlando, Florida. This is an opportunity for Leigh and Nick to spend time with their kids. Nick has enjoyed planning every detail of their trip.
However, the trip starts out with problems that follow them on this wild, creepy, and funny trip.

The characters are reasonably well-defined; especially Leigh. The story has a paranormal aspect, buy still feels like a cozy horror story perfect for fall reading. The pacing was a little uneven. It was slow in the beginning and wrapped up a little too quickly at the end. The middle part was paced well. There’s plenty of humor along the way. It also deals with the real-world themes of family adventure and bonding despite a road trip where everything goes wrong.

Overall, this engaging novel has plenty of humor and kept me entertained.

PENGUIN GROUP Putnam – G.P. Putnam’s Sons and Maureen Kilmer provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. The publication date is currently set for September 10, 2024.

This was such a perfect cozy horror story to start my fall ARCs. I really enjoyed how in depth she writes each member of the family but really focuses on the issues that the main character was having throughout. I also love paranormal and liked that she includes that in her stories. I am definitely recommending this to friends!

3.5 stars. Great cover. The title is accurate. This family road trip is an absolute nightmare. Imagine National Lampoon’s Vacation but horror-fied. Which the author mentions in the acknowledgements at the end. Plenty of creepy and inconvenient things happen every day of this never ending trip. But…the reason didn’t make sense. The last few pages were just really odd and didn’t match the feeling and momentum of the rest of the book. Not as good as Suburban Hell, which I loved. Still, a great spooky read that also made me laugh several times. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

Thank you, Penguin Group and NetGalley, for the advanced copy of Nightmare of a Trip.

I had to DNF at 68%. It sounded so good! I love a good family road trip, but this did not hit the mark. I was bored and the scary stuffy wasn't even a bit creepy. It just felt silly. The book just kind of dragged on, and I just didn't develop any type of connection with the characters. I really wanted to try to finish the book, but I am just at the point where I dread picking up my kindle knowing that it's waiting on me.

This book has really good Fall/Halloween vibes. The story is very sweet and fluffy and I enjoyed the characters. I felt like some of the pacing was a little off. It took a long time to get to the primary action in the story and the conclusion wrapped up a little too suddenly. This book has some really great moments, but I don’t know that it was all that cohesive. Nonetheless, it is a really sweet Fall read and I did enjoy it.

Thoughts

I read this book pretty quick because it was good. It had a lot more scary scenes than more traditional horror novels. And I love campy horror.

And as a mother I can definitely relate to the stresses of vacations with children, especially when everything is going wrong. So I think those things kept me turning the pages.

What I didn't like was that the MC seemed to be suffering from some elitism. They are on a roadtrip from Milwaukee to Orlando. They stay in several places in the south and she complains about how disgusting the food is. In some places she just refuses to drink the drink because she says it is filled with too many artificial flavors and dyes. Which is fair. If you don't like those things you should not feel pressured to eat or drink food you are not comfortable with but to look down on foods is elitist and something that really bothers me. As someone who grew up with only those foods as options it rubs me the wrong way.

So, my issue with it is a me thing. I think that anyone who doesn't share this issue would love everything about this book.

National Lampoon’s Vacation meets light paranormal activity… the idea for this one had me hooked!

Leigh, her husband, and their three kids set off on a road trip from the Midwest down to Florida, encountering just about everything that could possibly go wrong on a long drive. That includes a possible ghost kid and some light haunting activity in this fun escapist read for fall.

I enjoyed Kilmer’s book about suburban witches last year, and she writes with the same wry humor in this book. Leigh is in her 40s, focused on all the things from work to family to making memories, and her character felt relatable. I can only hope that I never have a road trip as terrible as the one this family goes on, but some of the events were definitely funny to read about.

The paranormal activity seeps into the pores of the story, haunting the family along the route. I never felt tense or scared, more that it was written in a darkly humorous way. The tone is too light for this to feel like a thriller, so if you are looking for thriller-lite for fall this may fit your TBR!

I felt that there was too much repetition through parts of this one, and some details about Leigh’s job that really didn’t need to be there and slowed the pacing down. Overall it was a lighthearted addition to my fall TBR. I’m giving it 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Putnam books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This is a story that will encourage you to book a trip….via airline

I liked but didn’t love this one. It felt like it leaned away from the scary aspects that I wanted more of! That being said if you wanted something just a little scary for your spooky season reading, this is a solid pick!


Thank you so much Netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the eARC!

As soon as I read the synopsis of ‘Nightmare of a Trip’, I knew I had to read it. This is the second book I’ve read by Maureen Kilmer (the first being ‘Suburban Hell’), and I had a great time with this one. It felt like a mix of ‘National Lampoon’s’ humor and the paranormal—a road trip from hell, a nightmare vacation.

I’d describe this book as cute horror or light horror. It wasn’t particularly scary, but it was definitely entertaining and fun. I loved the paranormal elements woven throughout the story, and I really enjoyed Kilmer’s writing and storytelling.

If you’re a fan of road trip movies where everything goes wrong, you’ll probably enjoy this book. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.

Started out slow but did pick up and was an easy read.. I did enjoy it and loved the National Lampoons similarity with a creepy vibe.
I'm giving it 3.5 stars because it didn't wow me but was a fun read.

This would be a good fun read for the Halloween season.

I agree with other reviews that this would be classified as cozy horror. As Leigh and her husband Nick head out to take their family on a Griswold style road trip to Magic Land, one disaster after another, detours their family to an abandoned burned down home. After leaving the home, creepy things start to happen. Leigh begins to doubt her sanity, are they being haunted or is she losing her mind? While there are some creepy moments and spine-chilling events, the story is mostly about the bond of their family and Leigh realizing that a mother's love can overcome everything, including the afterlife. 3.5 stars.

I really liked the idea of this one - a family embarks on the dreaded summer road trip and runs across ghosts and curses along the way. - cozy horror. Unfortunately nothing really happens. The story became a bit repetitive and lost my interest. Some may like this but it just wasn’t for me. Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book.

"This is one family getaway they'll never forget...

Leigh Somerset wants to spend some quality time with her kids before they grow up, and her husband has always fancied himself sort of a Clark Griswold figure. So the Somersets will be spending their family vacation on the road, driving from suburban Milwaukee to Orlando, Florida. Already off to a rocky start, they stumble upon an abandoned, half-burned down farmhouse in Indiana, and the Somersets inadvertently unleash an eerie history that will follow them the rest of their trip.

From creepy indoor waterparks to paranormally plagued Cracker Barrels, it's one thing after another in the pursuit of the great American summer road trip. Will the Somersets be able to shake these bad vibes and get on with the family bonding? Or will the road less traveled quite literally become the highway to hell?"

I mean, I would have picked this book up anyway because Milwaukee, but a paranormally plagued Cracker Barrel? SOLD!

Family road trips are terrible by nature but the Somerset family took it to another level. Their trip was lengthy but the parents had a plan to please the kids while making family memories. They tried but something supernatural got in their way and hijacked the trip. Some instances were funny, mostly creepy and mysterious. It got a bit ridiculous at times with how relaxed Mom was and others a bit paranoid. I’ve read three of her books and I still love the first one best, however they are all entertaining and relatable since the heroine’s usually a mom. My copy came through NetGalley and I’ve left this review voluntarily.

I am all for a horror genre, the set up for this one was different because it involves a family and I am here expecting a movie-type horror show involving all of them, but its not like that. It was such a funny read, the kids were all funny Leigh is hilarious, and her husband is also so funny. They have this huge family trip where the kids challenge everything and its funny to read. The creepy things that has been happening on the way to FLORIDA?????? What a family trip lol. This is more of a cozy horror read, it was not as scary as I thought it would be.

The premise of this book was intriguing to me, so I was excited to read this while on a family road trip. Leigh and her family are on a road trip from Wisconsin to Florida and they stumble across an abandoned house. Some weird things start to happen a long their journey and Leigh starts to figure out what happened to the family in that house.

I feel like so many things happened in this book, but also nothing. It dragged on and on. Also it does not have 4-5 day to drive that far. I am from Ohio and we do the trip even to southern parts of Florida in one day. I was in the car for a total of 22 hours over a week and still was not able to get past 50%. I tried to power through but nothing kept my interest. The paranormal parts were not really scary and the funny parts were not really funny.

Overall, I really wanted to enjoy this and tried to give it a chance so many times, but it was not for me.

I read Maureen Kilmer's "Suburban Hell" after watching an Instagram Live interview with her last year, and she mentioned this book. I'm a huge fan of the "National Lampoon's Vacation" movies (especially "Christmas Vacation")) so I was super excited to check this one out.

The book focuses on the Somerset family and is told from the first-person POV of Leigh, the mother. She, her husband Nick, their teenage daughter Piper, son Leo, and youngest child, Sophie, are set to go on a road trip from Wisconsin to Florida to visit Magic Land in Orlando. Nick has meticulously planned this trip and is looking forward to the family bonding experience. Leigh, on the other hand, loves her family but would rather stay home, tend to her hydrangeas, and hang out with her neighborhood friends. Just a few hours into the trip, things take a turn for the worst when they almost hit a young boy while driving down a side road to avoid traffic congestion. When Leigh walks off to see if she can find the boy and ensure he is okay, she stumbles upon the charred remains of an old farmhouse, but no boy. The family continues on their journey, but Leo decides to take a souvenir from the charred remains, and he may have brought something with him. Now, the Somersets are constantly plagued by a series of bizarre and unsettling events that will test their patience and their sanity and throw a wrench in their family bonding experience.

I enjoy how Kilmer is able to combine horror with comedy. Just as she did in "Suburban Hell," she effortlessly weaves together elements of the supernatural with laugh-out-loud moments, creating a story that is both funny and chilling. Much of this has to do with her knack for creating smart-ass, no-nonsense leading ladies, with Leigh being the perfect protagonist for this story. While Leigh is the glue of the family, her husband Nick is the heart, with his optimism and can-do attitude, which eventually starts to unravel as more and more weird things plague the family during the trip. The kids are also loveable, and Leigh's friends, who occasionally call to check in, provide some nice comic relief. We even get a version of cousin Eddie in Nick's brother, Ethan.

As the mystery unfolds and the tension mounts, Kilmer keeps readers turning the pages with clever plot twists, ridiculous hauntings, and unexpected developments. The pacing is pretty quick, and I was able to get through it in just a few hours.

While it was entertaining, and I enjoyed the slight nod to the National Lampoon vacation franchise, I didn't find it especially creepy, and at times, it felt discombobulated. There are a lot of stops, detours, and random occurrences that begin to feel like a little too much at times. It seemed to take a really long time for the family to get to Florida, and then, suddenly, they were headed back. This wasn't enough to ruin the book for me, and I did enjoy it in the end. I also saw the final plot twist coming very early on in the book, but it was still fun to see it play out.

If you're a fan of Kilmer's past books, you'll surely enjoy this one. This is also an excellent book to check out this Halloween season if you like your scary books with a side of comedy or if you want a creepy read that isn't too scary or bloody. The characters are fun, and the story is engaging, even if it sometimes feels a little unfocused at times.

This was a fun road trip novel, although it had a few things that triggered me quite a bit, and I probably shouldn’t have read it before bed.
While others have stated that this wasn’t funny or scary to them, I (an admitted wimp) did find it quite creepy, mainly because I was reading it at night. I will admit that I didn’t have any laugh-out-loud moments, but I could easily picture the family as they encountered various troubles on their travels.

I also appreciated that the characters are from Milwaukee, with the husband originally hailing from Green Bay (me too!), and that added a layer of fun for me. We don’t often see too much Wisconsin culture represented in books, and I’d say that it was spot on.

Overall, I did have a good time with the book, triggering moments notwithstanding. I recommend this if you’re in the mood for a fun book with spooky vibes, but if you’re looking for absolute terror, look elsewhere. I don’t think that’s what this is supposed to be.

It comes together with a heartwarming ending that I appreciated, although there were a couple of plot points where I’m still wondering, ‘What was up with that?’

Wellp! Loved it! As I knew I would! Again real quick I will express my absolute love for all things Midwest, I’m a Midwest girlie through and through! But this was such an exciting story all the family summer vacation feels with a whole bunch of everything going wrong in the mix! But this story has a special twist to the things going wrong! Pretty creepy but mostly fun! I really had a lot of fun reading this one even if I was kind of stressed out about it at the same time! Another hauntingly fun book!!!! Perfect for the upcoming spooky season reads!!!!!