My full review of "The Staycation" is included at the end of this post, but in short, I enjoyed this funny, sweet story and would recommend it for all fans of humorous women's fiction. It reminded me a bit of a Sophie Kinsella novel, and I think readers of her books are likely to particularly enjoy it.
About "The Staycation"
The Staycation, an all-new laugh-out-loud story of fun and a holiday escape close to home by USA Today bestselling author Michele Gorman is out now!
Two families. One cancelled flight. And a last minute house swap...
Things get desperate for strangers Harriet and Sophie when they become stranded with their families in Heathrow's Terminal 5. Each woman has her own reason for really really really needing the family holiday they've anticipated for months. But Iceland's volcano has other plans for them. When their flights are cancelled, the families swap houses and discover that sometimes the best things in life happen close to home.
This ash cloud has a silver lining, even if no one can quite see it yet.
Read an Excerpt from "The Staycation"
‘Do you really have to do that?’ Harriet glared, first at the nose, then at her husband attached to it. It was a fine one, as noses went. She’d probably adored it when they were young and in love, even paid it cutesy compliments. Now she wanted to fill it with the entire pot of muesli yogurt he was eating and watch it set like the quick-dry grout she’d used on the bathroom tiles last month.
‘Do what, my darling?’ James’s smile beamed with pure adoration. Sod that Leo DiCaprio. She’d nominate James for an Oscar any day. The winner of this year’s Best Performance by a Husband in a Dicey Marriage category is: James Cooper, for the third year in a row!
‘That. Your nose is whistling.’ She could hear it wheezing over the announcement of another flight cancellation. Athens, this time. ‘It’s annoying.’
‘My breathing annoys you?’
‘You’re free to breathe, James. Just do it quietly.’
He shared a look with their daughter over the mountain of hand luggage on Harriet’s lap.
Billie wouldn’t tear her eyes from that bloody phone if Harriet’s knickers were on fire, but for her dad? She was sympathy personified.
‘Oh, don’t you start too,’ Harriet warned her.
Billie saluted, though her eyes drifted back to her screen. ‘Not breathing, sir, sorry, sir.’
‘Can you at least listen for an announcement instead of obsessing over your phone. Who are you emailing anyway?’
‘Pfft. Emailing. Mum, you’re ancient.’
James pointed his chin at the Departures board. ‘We can see what’s happening. Same thing that’s been happening since we got here. It’s delayed. They’re all delayed. Even you can’t do anything about that, so why not just relax? Besides, I’m sure with your hearing you’d pick up any announcements dead easy.’
‘If your breathing doesn’t drown it out.’ She scanned the board. The Budapest flight was still showing a gate. That would be promising, if they were going there instead of Rome. ‘Bloody ash cloud. Bloody volcano,’ she mumbled.
James smiled at her. ‘I wish I had a quid for every time that thing erupted.’
‘You’d have three quid in the last two hundred years. I wouldn’t make it your retirement plan. Best stick to your goats, Bill Gates.’
‘This is fun,’ Billie said. ‘No, really, can we go on holiday together all the time?’
Harriet crossed her arms – not easy with a lap full of luggage – closed her eyes and tried to imagine being in Rome already. Apparently being happy and content was all in the mind. What was it again? Mindfulness? No, it was the other bollocks. Positive visualisation. That was it.
Breathing deeply, Harriet imagined all the whingeing was the happy buzz of fellow travellers savouring their coffee in an ancient cobbled square near the River Tiber. The algae-tinged scent of the water tumbled over garlicky cooking smells as they wafted from the al fresco restaurants. Those weren’t passenger announcements but the distant zooming of the Vespas that carried Romans, young and old, about their business in the sun-drenched city. She could almost taste the delicate almondy crumbliness of the biscotti as she lifted it, after a perfect dunk, from her steaming cappuccino. Her film star glasses shielded her eyes but she could feel the sun warming her hair, picking out the highlights she’d begrudgingly paid over a hundred quid for. The knicker-squirmingly gorgeous man who’d been giving her bedroom eyes from the next table leaned over and said—
‘Mum, I’m hungry. And crampy. I need something to eat. Have you got any paracetamol?’
Was it too much to ask for two minutes of la dolce vita in peace?
My Review
I enjoyed Michele Gorman's "The Staycation," the funny, sweet story of two families whose vacation house swap leads to unexpected but lasting changes for all of them. The story is told in parallel by mothers Sophie and Harriet, who are strikingly different in personality and lifestyle but form an unlikely friendship and end up being positive influences for each other. Both Harriet and Sophie were very likeable and well-developed and I found it very easy to wish the best for them both, but I particularly loved the way that Sophie grew in confidence over the course of the story and chose to take back control of her life.
Harriet and Sophie were both incredibly brave to allow strangers to stay in their house with no advance notice! I
can't imagine letting a stranger stay in my own home, even now in the age of
Airbnb. (I don't even like it when my family
and friends see my mess, and it's usually messy around here!) Sophie and Harriet's decision made for a very entertaining story with quite a few funny moments, however, such as Harriet's effort to reorganize Sophie's spice cabinet while giving her a play-by-play over text. There were many other funny scenes in the book, but my favorite was Sophie's "special" facial. Who knew that such outlandish spa treatments existed?
Overall, "The Staycation" was a fun summer read that kept me turning the pages, and I would recommend it for fans of humorous women's fiction. I would definitely read more of Michele Gorman's work in the future.
Overall, "The Staycation" was a fun summer read that kept me turning the pages, and I would recommend it for fans of humorous women's fiction. I would definitely read more of Michele Gorman's work in the future.
*ARC provided by the author/publisher via Social Butterfly PR. All opinions expressed are my own.
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