Like the cast of Friends, these six college freshmen bond and remain close over the next decade. The book opens with tragedy that occurs when the group is on a trip the to Panhandle of Florida. Ingram does a nice job of alternating between present day and chapters beginning ten years ago to build their backstory. The characters have their trials and triumphs. I especially liked that this was not especially predictable. If you enjoy shows like Friends and movies like St. Elmo’s FIre, this is the book for you. I thank NetGalley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to read this ARC. I look forward to future offerings from this author.

Great read. I loved the character development. Hear more about my review via my podcast- https://anchor.fm/jade248

It will be live Aug 10th

The Group Trip is a work of fiction spanning six friends’ years in college to the present and their adventures together between. I love books that include places I’ve been or lived in and this novel doesn’t disappointment. From New York to Seaside, Florida, the times and trips of this group of friends who become family shows the highs and lows of those who are close but also reveals secrets kept which are brought to light. I give this book a 4.5 star rating given the back and forth that can be confusing at first but then melds into the storyline.

This is the story of six college friends, Chloe, Sloane, Marianne, Luke, Wyatt and Alden. The story flips from present day to ten years ago and the beginning of this close knit group. It explores the bonds of enduring friendships, the ups and downs, the secrets and lies along the way. How this affects the group friendship. Secrets and lies are revealed and hurts inflicted but it all leads to a new friendship dynamic. I enjoyed this book. It will be a great summer read .

Told in alternating years this book grabbed my attention from the beginning. While the ending was a bit predictable, character development and story line were engaging. A great summer beach read.

This is exactly what the promo blurb claims, “Firefly Lane meets Happy Place.” Only better. Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this.

The friends within this group begin as very one dimensional, but Ingram masterfully develops each character in a believable way that echos the main theme of the book. People grow and change and it takes work and grace to allow friends the freedom to do that while still remaining close, especially in tight friend groups.

I definitely recommend this book - 4.5 stars! ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

This book will be heating up the summer. It will have you turning the pages so fast, they may start on fire. It was so good!

This book didn't wow me. The ending was predictable but I did enjoy the journey. Told in alternating time periods, we learn the path this group of friends from college make, and how their relationships - romantic and platonic - grow and change during that time. Think St. Elmo's Fire / Brat Pack vibes, only not as good.

A pleasant read, would read more by this author if given the opportunity.

A perfect summer beach read! This book about a group of tight knit college friends starts with one of their first meetings and goes about 10 years later. While it has a very predicable plot with lots of foreshadowing, it was a quick enjoyable read. I only gave it 4 stars because of how obvious the direction of the book was taking.

Thank you Alcove Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Group Trip is about 6 college friends who stay together in spite of hurt, betrayal and hard times. Chloe, the main character is endearing and you like her right away. Her long time boyfriend seems a little shifty from the beginning and his best friend Wyatt, is a favorite of mine from the start.
I enjoyed the book, and was happy with the ending.

I loved this book. A group of 6 friends met 10 years ago and become each other’s family. Chloe’s decision could break everything up. This was a wonderful book about chosen family and how secrets can drive everyone apart. Perfect beach read.

“The Group Trip” is a heartfelt journey that follows a group of friends who meet in college and navigate the ups and downs of life together. The novel is an endearing portrayal of friendship and growth with its well developed characters and engaging dialogue. The plot moves at a steady pace and captures the camaraderie of the group through dual timelines. An easy read that will leave you with a renewed appreciation for friendships that stand the test of time. Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for sending this ARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I have mixed emotions about this book. A few issues with the plot or maybe it's just the actions of a few of the characters. The overall story revolves around a group of friends. The meet in college and the story flips between the present timeline and the last 10 years of their friendship.
Chloe is in a relationship with Luke.
Luke is best friends with Wyatt
They have other friends in this group that include Marianne, Sophie and Arlen.
This group has gathered to witness the proposal by Luke to their friend Chloe.
This is the beginning of this story and so we don't have much of a backstory on any of these characters.
Chloe doesn't accept the proposal but doesn't give a reason.... for 95% of the book.
This really was the start of my frustration. Why she wouldn't have explained herself to any of her friends doesn't say much about the closeness of their friendship. I won't give away other plot points but there are a few other "events" that take place and there is some suspension of disbelief (a whole house blows up! really?) in order to give the reader the parallels to the whole friend group revealing secrets that "blow-up" their perfect group.
In any case, it was an interesting read but I wasn't crazy about Chloe's POV or the actions she undertook while "suspecting" that her boyfriend wasn't all he appears to be.

LOVED!!! The perfect beach read. What a great story about group of friends navigating the changes of their lives over a decade. I liked the dual timelines. I felt invested in all of their stories. A great read!!

THE GROUP TRIP by Audrey Ingram
⭐️ rating:8/10

read if you like:
📍 Florida and 30A
👯 college friend groups
👩‍❤️‍👨 lovers-turned-friends?
📔 coming of age book

summary:
This is the epitome of an amazing beach read. The story is about Chloe, a woman in her early 30’s, who heads to Seaside, FL for a reunion with her college best friends. She had been in a decade long relationship with Luke, one of the friends in the group, before breaking it off the year prior after he proposed. Because of their split, Chloe has spent the past year largely on her own, and is nervous about seeing Luke again amongst all their friends. She quickly realizes that all of them have changed since they were last together, and questions whether the people they’ve become can find their way back to each other again.

First of all, I’m in love with Seaside (shoutout to my favorite @sarah) and my home away from home, so the setting to me is perfect. Also credit to the author for using some of my favorite real life bars and restaurants in the story! As for the plot, for any of us who have a close group of friends from college, this book is so relatable. The story cuts back and forth between college and their early 20’s to the present day, and it reminds you nostalgically of that time in life when your friends were the center of your universe and life was so much simpler. My heart hurt for Chloe and Luke, and while his personality evolves a little too rapidly for me, their chemistry and challenges are so relatable. My only criticism of the story is the end — it takes a really abrupt turn (you’ll see what I mean), and I had to re-read the chapter to see if there was something I missed. While it wraps up in a satisfying way, this left turn really takes away from the vibe of the rest of the book.

For those of you who love Elin Hilderbrand, Carley Fortune or 30A, check this book out when it releases on April 8, 2025. Thank you to Alcove Press and Net Galley for this advanced copy!

4🌟! I thoroughly enjoyed this. It wasn’t what I was expecting but at the same time I have no idea what I was expecting. First of all I do not like Luke at all he was just so icky. But the rest of the characters I really enjoyed. I liked the flashbacks compared with the present day POVs because it added depth to the story. I also loved the beach vibe it reminded me of “The Summer I Turned Pretty”. I feel like this is a very accurate representation of group friendships and dynamics and it was nice to see it be realistic rather than romanticised. Definitely check this book out it releases on the April 8 2025. Thanks so much to Netgalley, Alcove Press and Audrey Ingram for this ARC.

This was such a great exploration of long-term friendships and their evolution in adulthood. There are plenty of secrets, lies and jealousy – but there is also plenty of love to go around.

The beach setting makes this perfect for a summer read. Very enjoyable.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

(3.5)

Enjoyable read though it was quite predictable in places, hence marking it down. I really liked the characters and the friendship group, and there were some gorgeous food descriptions littered throughout the book. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I was not able to connect with the characters so I did not finish.

Thank you netgalley and Alcove Press for an arc of The Group Trip. Having read Happy Place by Emily Henry earlier this year I went into this book expecting it to be very similar. Although there were some similarities it did not feel like a reread of happy place. I actually enjoyed this book more. The friend group felt more believable to me. I became more attached to the characters. I read this book and wished I had a friend group like this. I’m so glad I read this book and have already started recommending it to friends. That being said check your trigger warnings before reading.