Six college friends who become so close that they form their own type of family. The story is told in a dual timeline: now and at different points in the past 10 years. This is a story of friendship through the years. My only complaint is that the story felt wrapped up too nicely in the end. Otherwise great read.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Possible triggers: Parental death, sudden death, vehicular death, infertility, house fire, and infidelity.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I will not be giving feedback for this book. I unfortunately did not get to read it before it was archived.

Chloe met Luke her freshman year of college and quickly became his girlfriend and joined his friend group. The six friends—Chloe, Luke, Sloan, Alden, Wyatt, and Marianne—survive college and adulthood until Chloe inexplicably says no to Luke’s proposal. In a last ditch effort to bring everyone back together, Sloan invites the friends to her home in Florida. Everyone is desperate to understand what happened between Chloe and Luke, but the friends soon realize they’ve all been keeping secrets.

I absolutely loved this! It’s sort of like a modern version of the show Friends: an inseparable friend group that overcomes relationships, breakups, marriages, kids, jealously, growing up, and everything in between. It was easy to tell where the story was going with the Wyatt storyline, but it didn’t make the plot any less interesting. Every character is likeable and unlikeable in their own ways, but they worked well as a friend group. They all face very real issues but support each other, no matter how messy it looks at times. I enjoyed the alternating timeline, switching from the present to the last 10 years of Chloe’s life with Luke and the friend group. Every character got their own version of a happy ending, and while I don’t think it was necessarily realistic, I’m glad it ended on a positive note. Thanks to NetGalley, Alcove Press, and Audrey Ingram for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

ARC REVIEW:

The Group Trip by Audrey Ingram
Release date: August 13

This book revolves around a group of 6 friends in their college and early adult lives. Very much like Happy Place by Emily Henry! If you enjoyed Happy Place you’ll enjoy this one!

I did not enjoy this book very much and it actually took me forever to finish. Every other chapter is a flashback and it was kind of hard to keep up with and the flashbacks were all over the place it felt like. By the end of the book I felt like the flashbacks weren’t necessary and were forced and I ended up skipping the last 4 flashback chapters because I was so ready to finish it and wanted to know how it ended!

The ending was good and exactly what I was hoping for so I will give it that! I was rooting for 1 character in particular but I won’t say any more than that 🤐🤫

3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow! Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for letting me read the e-arc for this amazing book. I will be forever grateful.

It is an amazing journey into the friendship of a group of six. Their story is told jumping between timelines from their college years to their late 20s, and I always love this writing style when the story is engaging, and it was, I couldn’t put this book down.
At the end of the book I felt like I was part of the group, or at least I loved these characters like they were my friends.
The book ends (or starts) with such a good metaphor for how their relationship became, I was overwhelmed by how superbly this story was executed.

On a personal note:
I treasure friendships more than most things in my life, I felt jealous of this friendship dynamic, but it also made me reflect on how beautiful and fulfilling my friendships are, how lucky I am to have my own friends just like Chloe, Sloane, Marianne, Alden, Luke and Wyatt have each other.

I’m not used to quote a book, but this is needed because it’s just too beautiful (I cried)
“Twenty years from now, she wonders what version [of themselves] they’ll be on. She hopes they will have tried on several, because watching your friends turn into adults is a privilege.”

Okay, so. Friend groups/ found family is my weakness. I love a messy group of people who love each other. I think there's something really special
about knowing these people are Your People
and doing anything and everything to keep them.

Chloe is the kind of character we have seen a few times in this genre of book. Did that hinder my opinion of her? Nope. I love that she loves her friends and I loved the journey she went through to find her happiness.

I love this friend group. I love what they each brought to each other's lives. You can see how they work but you can also see why they started to fracture a little bit. But I loved the resolution. I love that, in the end, the separate and joint happily ever afters came together. Were some (Luke) forgiven to easily and should've groveled for ten more years? Yes. But I guess we love our people and that's them, loving him.

I enjoyed this one! Easy read, good humor, and a swoony man named Wyatt.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Group Trip is a story about six friends from college and their journey through life. This book dives into the true meaning of friendship, love and loss as it moves between present and past tense.

A good light read that brings you back to your college & post-college summer break days, this book was an easy one to read in a couple sittings.

This book accurately portrays that in getting so caught up in one's life, that they forget to acknowledge those who helped shape them. Chloe, Luke, Marianne, Sloane, Alden and Wyatt were each others family during their time at Mayfield (which can also be considered a character in this book). Chloe needed them the most when her parents unfortunately passed away and they knew she came first even at the potential.sacrifice of their final grades. It was the one day at Waffle House that started it all but it was the one event between Chloe and Luke that began to tear them apart or at least what Chloe thought did. However, as the book goes on, Chloe realizes that Like truly didn't know her or what she actually liked. He didn't see her. Wyatt did. Like Alden said, he and Sloane came together at the exact right moment. At the beach, the group finally came together and realized what they truly wanted and celebrated was the strength of their friendship and how important it is not to hide. It ends on an extremely happy and positive note and I would truly like to see a sequel. A heartwarming read.

I had never heard of Audrey Ingram, but I was immediately attracted to the cover of The Group Trip and after reading the synopsis, I knew that it would be the perfect beach read this summer. I wasn’t wrong and I definitely wasn’t disappointed. The Group Trip is Ingram’s sophomore novel and focuses on a group of friends that meet in college, and the years that follow. This book is part beach read, part drama and has so much heart. It’s not just about friendship, but about the best kind of friends, friends that feel like family. Ingram’s writing style is beautiful, the characters jump off the pages, and I effortlessly pictured every word in my mind like a movie. I couldn’t put this book down and was so sad as I read the last page. I highly recommend this lovely book! Thank you so much to NetGalley and Alcove Press for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is certainly one of my favorites this year!

This book was a heartwarming display of friendship and the messiness of growing up. I felt so emotionally connected to all of the characters and could relate to times in my life when I had experienced what they were experiencing. The author did an amazing job describing the dynamics within the group of friends and the complications that exist in any relationship.

I really enjoyed this story of love and friendship. It reminded me a lot of Happy Place by Emily Henry, but the characters in Group Trip were more flawed (not in a bad way). I thought the story was quite predictable, but still enjoyed it.

This was a wonderful read that follows the lives of six friends over the years. The highs, lows, struggles and celebrations that they endure and the bonds that tie them together, creates a beautiful story woven into my heart. I fell in love with the characters and connected with each of them. Yes, the end was slightly predictable but it was such a comfort and felt like a hug from a good friend. Definitely worth another read and this one needs a spot on my bookshelf

The Group Trip begins ten years after Chloe first meets Luke and is introduced to his friends Wyatt, Sloane, Marianne. and Alden. They all met in college and have continued their friendships through many life changes and turmoil. It seems that this might be the last group trip if they cannot overcome their differences. The author then takes the reader back to ten years ago when they first met and continues the journey by visiting memories from each year intermixed with what is happening currently. It is very interesting to watch how the plot unfolds and leads us to what is causing the current turmoil and hard feelings. Eventually, the reader discovers why Chloe turned down Luke's marriage proposal one year ago. Will Luke and Chloe get back together or will they move in different directions? I highly recommend this novel. I could not put it down and read it in one day. I am looking forward to reading more books by Audrey Ingram.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! This is a story about 6 college friends and how their relationships evolve over approximately 11 years. It’s about love, loyalty, lies, & betrayal, and the hardships these place on their group friendship. The timeline goes back and forth from past to present, which actually adds to the intensity of the storyline. It’s mostly a HEA, but nevertheless, still an outstanding read!

This book is a solid summer read. While a bit predictable at the end, it takes the reader on a journey through the ups and downs of a decade-long friendship. I appreciate that this book is realistic and doesn’t have any ridiculous ending or over-the-top climax. Readers will be able to see themselves in at least one of the characters, and the author did a great job making the characters relatable.

Sloane, Alden, Chloe, Luke. Marianne, and Wyatt, met their freshman year in college, and they supported each other, through college, and after they went their separate way. Things happen, their friendship seems to be slipping away, and they decide to get together at Emerald Coast in Florida. While they are there, they each start to talk about their lives they have had, and discover a lot of things that they didn't know were going on. They are forced to face things, and see things differently. Each one came to Emerald Coast one person and when the week was over, they had changed and become the person they are meant to be now. It was amazing reading the story in both the past and where they are now. The story ends with one year later, so we know what happened after that vacation, what they learned from that experience, and what they did to become who they are, one year later.
I received an ARC from Alcove Press through NetGalley.

Told in alternating timelines, the Group Trip is a story of enduring friendship and finding out you did not turn out to be the person you thought you would be, Chloe meets Luke in college and immediately hits it off with his friends, Wyatt, Alden, Sloane and Marianne. Through a continuing timeline of today vs. looking back to each year since they met, we see how each character grows and their friendship evolves. Not to mention who hooks up with who over the years.

I enjoyed this book. It took a good bit to figure out certain things. I can say I am happy how it turned out and I definitely couldn't put the book down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an ARC of this book.

Following a dual timeline, The Group Trip takes us through the nearly decade-long friendship of 6 friends who met in their first year of college. In her misguided attempt to get Luke and Chloe back together after a year apart, Sloan sets into motion a series of events that inevitably reveals some of the group’s deepest secrets, including her own.

I saw that this book was compared to Firefly Lane and Happy Place, two books I loved, but for me it was a little less Firefly Lane and maybe a little bit like Happy Place but not so similar that it made it boring or predictable.

I liked the way the story was told from the present day while taking us through some of the bigger moments the group shared in the last 9 years as it’s a nice way to get to know our characters and helps to build suspense. The amount of times I went to bed during a cliffhanger at the end of a chapter because I had to be a responsible adult and not stay up until 2 am figuring out what happens next. Even though there were parts I predicted throughout the story, I still found myself surprised by some of the reveals.

This group of friends is admittedly a bit codependent but somehow it works. Like they’re way too tethered to one another and yet even when it causes disagreements, even when the group was nearly ripped apart completely, they eventually realize they wouldn’t have it any other way. Because they are the family that chose one another and there’s something really special, if slightly dysfunctional, about it. And really, whose family doesn’t have a little dysfunction anyway?

I loved that each friend seemed to have a specific purpose in the group and they were all so loyal and protective of one another, even at the expense of their own happiness sometimes. I could go into much more detail for each character, but at the risk of going on too long all I really want to say is the author really made me fall in love with Luke only to make me eventually hate Luke. And while the friend group can forgive him because that’s what friends do, I don’t know if I can. Now Wyatt…I know they’re fictional characters but him I definitely might be in love with.

Thank you to the author for this beautiful story of love, friendship, and overcoming some of the most difficult experiences a person can go through. And for writing characters I could relate to, fall in love with and yes thank you even for the one I came to hate.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for this ARC. I really enjoyed this book!! It gave me wonderful beach vibes and I loved the characters and how they developed throughout the story! It’s basically about a group of friends that met up since college and are taking a trip to Florida. It’s basically learning about each of the friendships and how they’ve grown and changed throughout their lives. It was a refreshing to see that even though the characters had changed and secrets in their lives.. they still kept their friendships alive . This book could be described as a beach read , but it has so much more ! I would definitely recommend this to my friends and I will continue to read more from this author!