I enjoyed this book with its twists and it certainly kept me guessing right to the end. I would recommend this to friends, but perhaps not anyone going to a tropical island for their honeymoon!

The Honeymoon by Tina Seskis

It took quite a while for Jemma to persuade her boyfriend that he should finally make a decision to commit to her – that they should tie the knot and begin a new life together, putting their past behind them. And now Jemma is in the Maldives, staying in a beautiful luxurious resort, with the sea just a few steps away, on the dream honeymoon that she has planned for years. If only the man she married just a week ago hadn’t vanished off the face of the earth a few days into their holiday, leaving her to walk alone the beaches and island trails for hour upon hour searching for him. The police are now involved and it seems like the whole island is looking for him, while, back at home, the media has already caught the scent of a story too good to miss – the honeymoon paradise that has become a hell.

And that is as much as you’re going to hear from me about the plot because The Honeymoon is one of those psychological thrillers that relies on you not knowing what to expect next to make you keep turning those pages. They certainly fly through the fingers. The Honeymoon is a very fast read. I just had to know what happened to Jemma’s husband. But what also pulled me in is its dream holiday setting. There is such a holiday mood to this novel, with its beaches, pools, swimming, bars as well as the rich and beautiful who flock to these islands for their honeymoons – possibly more than once. This luxury contrasts very well with the misery of Jemma’s situation which casts such a pall over the resort.

The novel moves between the present and the past, with a mix of present and past tense, first and third person narratives. While I did find this rather clunkily done at times, it definitely powers the mystery on as well as letting us find out more about Jemma – from her own point of view or from the perspective of others. I never warmed to her. She thrives in her role of Unreliable Narrator. I felt conditioned not to believe a word she says. And, as the story developed, she increasingly irritated me. Having said that, I didn’t like many of the other characters in this book either, although there were a couple I’d liked to have seen more of.

The Honeymoon is a book proud of its twists and one or two did catch me out, even though I was on heightened twist awareness alert. But they didn’t make me go WOW so much as groan. Overall, though, I think that The Honeymoon is a fast, light, rather pretty and, ultimately, daft psychological thriller that would do very well indeed for a quick beach read. It would certainly be an appropriate place in which to read it, just be sure to keep one eye on your holiday companion.

A before and after tale, mainly told by the central character Jemma, who has to be one of the least appealing women to grace a book - not for one minute does she ever stop thinking about herself! She's on her honeymoon, on an idyllic island, which is then not so heavenly when her handsome new husband vanishes without a trace. We discover how they met, the chain of events which led to this moment. Beautiful descriptions of the Maldives - a story which pulls the reader in so gradually that you don't realise you've been caught until it's too late. I loved it and needless to say it would make a great holiday read - just keep a close eye on your companion whilst you are away, especially if it's your honeymoon!

I thought this book was going to be better than it was. I could not warm to Jemma at all. I could not understand how either brother could have fallen for her. Jamie's fate just seemed so disappointing after all the twists and turns in the book. I was expecting something more plausible. I liked the way the novel alternated between past and present and the plot was given to the reader piece by piece. I thought however that the book was too long and the fact that I did not like Jemma made it hard to keep reading at times.

An incredibly cleverly crafted story, where elements are revealed slowly and on a need to know basis, until you are left reeling at the overall outcome. I had absolutely not clue as to what had happened to her husband, other than that he had clearly disappeared.

The book is split into multiple parts, and within the first part you get two timelines, the here and now in the Maldives, and Jemma's instant reactions to the situation, and interlinked we get the murky history of her relationship with husband, and Jemma's true feelings for him.

It it incredibly hard to talk about the story in this book, as everything was written in a way that if I say the wrong thing I could be giving away spoilers. What will I will say is its a story that has got me thinking about tropical honeymoon destinations..such as The Maldives, the setting for this book.

The island that Jemma is staying on is clearly beautiful, and everything you could want for in a tropical paradise, its remote, tries to be romantic, stunning scenery, gorgeous watery wildlife and your every whim catered to. But when things go wrong in such a place, you will soon start to feel threatened by the same island. The remoteness and quiet of the place can be overwhelming, that all the staff know you can be intimidating if your husband has mysteriously disappeared. That its so hard to know what may have been witnessed by who, and just how much do you really trust the people you are making friends with on your honeymoon, when it comes down to a critical situation.

That is the main thing that I will take from The Honeymoon, especially as a person who loves visiting such beauty spots herself, and definitely feels like it is one element of the book.

The other is of course Jemma's emotional reaction to the events and even quite early on I found her a tricky character to have any real empathy with. I felt sorry for her of course, but just didn't quite make the connection I would have hoped.

Despite that I found The Honeymoon to be compelling reading, I wanted to know what was going to happen next, and just what happened to the missing husband, I had to keep on reading, and read the majority of the book in just one sitting,

The Honeymoon is the sort of book you will be drawn into, and taken on a wonderful journey all from the comfort of your living room. Although in some respects I would say this would be a great summer holiday read, I would perhaps suggest not taking it to incredibly remote holiday locations, as it may feel a bit too close for comfort!

Thank you so much to Michael Joseph and Netgalley for this copy which I have I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

What should have been the perfect honeymoon for Jemma turns into a nightmare when her husband vanishes. As suspicion falls on her she realises there's no one she can trust on this seemingly idyllic island.

Oh my God the twists in this book. Its like this. You think you know but then you don't. Then you do know but wait, what just happened. Reading the books big reveal I literally dropped my kindle (whilst in the bath....could have been tragic if not for a well placed sponge). I dropped it both in surprise and also laughing. It's just such a crazy ending. I feel as if I'm giving too much away but it's what I loved about this book. What I didn't love and I don't think we're meant to was the characters. They're a thoroughly disreputable bunch. I'd say there's only two characters you can feel any sympathy for and it's fairly surprising when you do.

A thrilling roller coaster of a novel, sometimes a bit mental but always enjoyable.

I received this from Netgalley for an unbiased review.

The start of this book was gripping, such a page turner!
The twist a third of the way through really caught me off guard and I loved it.
The story kept me hooked and wanting to know more until the big reveal which I thought fell flat. I felt like I was racing towards the final twist and when I was there it was really underwhelming. It was revealed and wrapped up in a few chapters and I wanted more.

I'd give this book 2.5 out of 5.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin UK and Tina Seskis for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a way of drawing you in quite quickly. The main story of a newly-wed man going missing on his honeymoon on an idyllic island.

The story is told in the present, but we get a back story from over seven years previous. Gemma, the main character, seemed slightly unstable, in my opinion, and was quite erratic.

The search for Gemma's husband led us to create many ideas in my mind and, at times, most of the people became suspicious to me. I was enthralled throughout and would have given 5* except for the fairly rushed, quite incredible and unpredictable ending. I don't know why I felt this way, but have thought long and hard about it since finishing reading it, so it had a big impact on me.

I started reading the book thinking it would be a bad copy-cat version of "Gone Girl", but this was so much better. This book has complex characters, many twists and turns. The ending may not be for everyone, but to me it was perfect as it was completely unpredictable (to me anyway). I would highly recommend the book, though maybe not if you are about to go on, or are on your honeymoon.

Have always fancied a couples only all inclusive romantic getaway, after reading this book I am a lot less enthusiastic! It really is a good read with a couple of big surprises. I love the way it flips from present to past until you the reader have the whole story. Very enjoyable, highly recommended

Twists and turns. To begin with you are unsure what is happening but then you think it is another crime novel. However there is a rather weird twist towards the end! Not sure I would want to read it again as now I know.....

First book I have read by this author, and I did not like Jemma the main character.I recently saw another author bemoaning the fact that readers/reviewers feel they have to like the main characters ,I don't have to but it makes it easier if you connect with and like the characters to feel for them and care what happens throughout the book.It always surprises me when the main characters are not written in a very flattering light, but as the aforementioned author said we are not all likable in real life and why should characters in books be likable.I am beginning to get my head around that and do admire the bravery of not making some one likable and still putting them out there.The other characters on this paradise island were not all they seemed either and it did make it interesting . I didn't have a clue what was going to happen and it made for an intriguing read.Not giving the game away so I can't really think what else to say.I would say this is worth spending time with ,unlikable characters and all! Thanks to Netgalley and The Publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I was drawn into this book from the start . A face paced psychological thriller with twists and turns and an ending you definately won't see coming !! To be honest I wasn't keen on the ending but , as I say , you definately will never guess ! Cleverly written and an easy page turner I really enjoyed this book . Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my arc which I have chosen to review

Wasn't a bad read, easy to get in to, wasn't a fan of the main character and I found it hard to sympathise with her, the twist at the end I kind of guessed who but not why or how until it was explained

I found this book quite slow to begin with and wondered where it was going. Jemma is on her honeymoon with Jamie. Jamie goes missing after an argument and Jemma cannot remember what actually happened. Jamie has a brother Dan who Jemma had a relationship with before she met Jamie. A lot of time is given to the relationship between Jemma and Dan. How they got together and eventually split up. This is interspersed with scenes from the honeymoon. It takes nearly the whole book to find out what eventually happened to Jamie (and it is quite horrendous) in fact Jemma has had a child before we find out. I did carry on to the end but was tempted to just turn to the last page several times and give up.

I have to admit first of all that I am still thinking about this book especially the ending and I think I will continue to do so for a while. So what did I think...

It was great to have the flashback chapters interspersed with the present day story. The plot slowly unfolded revealing more and more information but still managing to leave the reader wanting more. Especially with that little bit of tension lurking around the corner ready to jump out. I would say on the whole the transition from one timeline to another worked well. Although sometimes I wanted to get back to the present day to see what would happen next. Suspicion was all around and the big question is what exactly happened to Jemma's husband?

The characters aren't wholly likeable and I guess this is what drew me in to the story even more. It makes the characters a little bit more believable and more true to life. Some of the things that Jemma does are questionable but I think things do become a little bit clearer as more truths are revealed. I never knew what would happen next with this set of characters they were definitely unpredictable.

The mystery is a good one and had me completely intrigued I tried and failed a few times to try and figure things out. It really is the kind of story that grabbed hold of me and made me want to carry on reading. Where I was saying to myself late at night just one more page, one more chapter oh okay I might as well finish the book now! Most of all I loved that Tina Seskis completely manages to turn such an idyllic place into a sinister environment. I guess it's the sense of isolation and that it wouldn't be the easiest of places to leave.

With an ending I never saw coming, shocked is the only word I can use to describe how I felt. There may have been an exclamation of wow, you have got to be kidding me!

Tense with a brilliant mystery!

With thanks to Michael Joseph, Penguin Books & Netgalley for my copy. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Jemma suffers the worst thing imaginable when her husband of only a week disappears from their dream island honeymoon in the Maldives. At first, she is reluctant to report him gone and it soon becomes evident that things may not be as first they seemed. The story switches back in time from when she first meets Dan and follows their on-again, off-again relationship as they slowly start to intertwine their lives. The past story fits well into the present day investigation and, as certain information is imparted at exactly the right times, we unearth shocking revelations, some of which left me reeling and a bit gob-smacked. Spoilers prevent me going on with anything to do with the actual story so I am going to stop before I go too far.
One of the things I really loved about this book was the setting. I have been lucky enough to have had my own honeymoon on an island in the Maldives and although now divorced, it reminded me of the wonderful time I had there; swimming amongst the fish and reef sharks, snorkelling on the atolls, the beautiful beaches, the outdoor bathrooms, the way that everything was darned near perfect every morning on waking. I really had a great trip down memory lane whilst reading.
The characters were interesting. Again, it's hard to say much without spilling the beans but there were enough of them to connect to that I had an easy time reading about them. Some I liked, others notsomuch but all were well drawn and played their parts well. There was someone I singled out quite early on as maybe having a bit to do with things but I definitely never saw the whole picture. I also never really warmed to Jemma that much. She just didn't gel with me. There are more reasons for that which I can't mention here to back up my comment because again I am a bit scared to elaborate.
The storyline was intriguing. With so many twists and turns I did get a bit dizzy at times, especially when I read something that literally made my jaw drop and had me going back and skimming a bit. Kudos to the author for that indeed!
What I didn't really like was the ending. After all the build up, the parts that people had played in getting so far, to have the ending that the book had did feel like a bit of a let down to me. Don't get me wrong, it was all credible and well presented but I did feel a little cheated with what had gone before. Put it this way, I was cruising with a five star awesome book review formulating in my head for the majority of the book, only to have that final star drop off at the end.
This is not the first book I have read by this author but I have to say that I enjoyed the previous ones more than this one. But I do understand that not all books work for all people and, overall the quality was still high in this one, just the ending wasn't quite right for me so it would definitely not out me off reading more from her in the future.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

What a amazing book it keeps you guesssing from the first chapter and leaves you wanting more.

Absolutely loved this book! A great story with larger than life characters that just burst through the pages. The plot itself is intricate, and whilst I guessed the first twist (at the end of act 1), there is absolutely no way I could ever have guessed the ending. Totally gobsmacked and made me gasp out loud! What a cracker!