Adults, separation and new other halves. What is a good way to spend the Christmas holidays - in a holiday village, of course. The only common thing is all of them want Scarlet to have a lovely Christmas. Scarlet, on the other hand, is desperate to avoid the scientist at all cost from the opinions of her imaginary bunny, Posey. However during this short holiday break, it is not all what it seems- secrets are kept from each other resulting to a fatal outcome.

I'm not going to lie but I found this book hard to get into initially. The beginning how the story plays out but when both couples have arrived the story gets better- the author, Caroline Hulse was able to twist the story making you assume the next plot but before you know it's not how it plays out. I'm glad that at the end of the story everyone is happy.

With thanks to Netgalley for a free copy of this title in return for an honest review.

This is pretty much a story about dysfunctional families trying to make it work for the child's sake. Claire, and Matt have a daughter together (Scarlett) but are no longer together. They all go on a Christmas break together with their new partners and Scarlett's imaginary friend, who is a rabbit and mayhem ensues!

I liked the idea of an imaginary friend to see Scarlett's point of view (I'm sure a psychologist would have a lot to say about the rabbit!) . The story is told from the new partners points of view in the with intermittent present day police interviews interwoven.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a nice easy read, with a few funny bits thrown in.

A very gripping opening and interesting way of weaving the resultant police interviews into the narrative. The first big hurdle is overcoming your disbelief that any sane person would go on a mini break with their partners ex and new other half. Then you need to get over why a clearly intelligent woman would put up with such a waster who is economical with the truth. Get past those boulders and the story itself is a good one that I actually enjoyed.

This was a fun read exploring the complexities of divorce, child reading and being the next adult to step into a broken marriage to have a relationship with one of the divorced parents. The author does a great job of characterisation and conflict, and the novel will keep you entertained up until the final page.

I really liked the sound of this book, and wanted to read it immediately. However, I couldn't really get into it or engage with the characters as well as I had hoped. Disappointing, because it had a great premise. I am sure it's just my opinion, and others will love it however. Good luck to the author, but sadly not for me.

Alex and Patrick are the respective new partners of Matt and Claire. In order that both parents get to spend Christmas with their rather spoilt daughter, Scarlett, they all set off to Centre Parks... I mean, a generic holiday centre. They also take along a giant, talking rabbit. They largely ignore all the warning signs that this offers but it helps us to view Scarlett’s opinions without labouring the narrative, and I didn’t mind this rabbit (Posey). I did find the male characters both deeply flawed in comparison to their counter parts, and, up to a point Alex had been my favourite. The writer was better at writing the adult female leads than any other characters and seemed to flit between ages for appropriate behaviour for Scarlett (not even factoring in the holiday classes).
A satisfying read, my only worry is that Patrick was just too unlikable. I think I’d have preferred to feel sorry for him and judge the rest.

* i received a free E-ARC copy of this book in return of an honest review through netgalley*
overall i did enjoy this book! It is about a divorced couple who are spending Christmas break with their daughter and their new partners. The story starts with dialogue of an emergency call to the ambulance service saying that somebody had been shot with an archery arrow so you are left wondering until towards the end how it happened...., if that doesn't intrigue readers i dont know what will!
would recommend 3.75/5 stars

A fairly recently divorced couple, their needy child and their two new partners spend Christmas together at the inappropriately named Happy Forest resort which is something like a Center Parcs. What could possibly go wrong? Basically, everything.

Matt and Claire are the parents of Scarlett and Alex and Patrick are the two new partners feeling slightly peripheral in the enclosed space of the holiday resort. It is easy to see why Matt and Claire split up and the disorganised Matt has found a logical, scientific partner in Alex while the domesticated Claire has found a powerful physical type in Patrick. Scarlett’s partner is an imaginary friend, a rather unpleasant rabbit called Posey.

It’s a definite strength of the book that the central characters are authentically drawn. Matt and Claire although apart are still carrying around the debris of their past and, at least to some degree, compensating for it in their choice of new partners. There’s also a lack of honesty around. Matt has clearly not come clean with Alex about how quickly he met her after his split or about the arrangements for this Christmas holiday. He is inherently untrustworthy, cannot manage money and just about stumbles by. Patrick is sharp and efficient but even he cannot own up about his intentions to enter an Ironman competition. Alex mostly wishes she was somewhere else as it becomes clear to her that she has been inveigled into being here and that she has been regularly deceived by Matt so that she can feel patronised by Claire, the perfect mother and hostess.

Scarlett is a horrd child, spoilt and manipulative but obviously loved by both parents who don’t seem to have made a good job of the parenting. Posey the rabbit is not quite convincing and gets made to carry rather too much of the plot which is a challenge for a toy rabbit.

Without spoiling the plot, it comes to a head in the archery field and throughout the story there are witness comments and interview fragments so that we know a crime of some kind is going to be committed. There are other events during the few days of the holiday, mostly opportunities for people to get embarrassed and upset or show off. The uneasiness of the whole event is nicely presented, particularly Alex’s feeling that she is being patronised and ignored and Patrick’s increasing detachment. You get the sense that the writer has been somewhere like this!

In the end, it all gets resolved with a bit more deceit and one couple decide to part, Matt and Claire are clearly not getting back together again and it sounds like it would be a good idea for Alex to find someone who is a bit more stable and financially established.

Some quite significant bits of the story don’t really work. As well as the imaginary rabbit, the witness statements appear universally to have been provided by idiots and miss the opportunity to provide another perspective on the party. However, if you like domestic novels and comedies of manners and misunderstandings it makes for an entertaining read.

Thank you for providing me with a copy of this book. It was an amusing read!

A very entertaining read full of fun. Loved this book!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book but I loved it! I love the way it moves perspective so each character gets to tell us their point of view and I loved the way it moved from present to past to present again. Not a long book, easy to get into, easy to follow and a new spin on storytelling. Read it!

The Adults is a very silly and entertaining book. It will make a great summer read. In the same way you sometimes shout at the television, I wanted to scream at these people, and say what a really bad idea it is to all go away for Christmas. These poor women really don't need men like this.
Our cast of characters:
Matt, a hapless moron. He still smokes weed, rides a skateboard, and has a slobby best mate called ‘Walshy.’ How he manages to hold down a job is a mystery. He is very economical with the truth. He is in a relationship with
Alex, a slightly geeky scientist. She doesn't feel like a proper grown-up, so is able to indulge man-baby Matt. Alex uses spreadsheets to provide order in her life. She is not very natural with kids.
Claire used to be married to Matt, but saw better of it. She got tired of him insulting her parents, and generally being a charming jerk.
Patrick is Claire’s rebound boyfriend. She has gone out with him because he is the polar opposite of Matt. Patrick is a control freak who has ruined his first marriage. He is not good with kids either, which is a shame because he lives with
Scarlett, the seven year old daughter of Claire and Matt. She has compensated for her daddy leaving by inventing a large rabbit called Posey as a best friend. The dialogue with the rabbit is insufferable, and wouldn't be missed.
Matt has the clever idea to go way to a Centre Parcs type place for Christmas, bringing people together who don't know each other. What could possibly go wrong?

The concept of this book was quite interesting. A couple who had broken up but had an seven year old child together went to a Center Parcs like holiday camp with their new partners for Christmas. There are some funny incidents and the dynamic between the two couples is quite good. Unfortunately the story was far too long and not very much happened during it. The characters aren't well developed enough for the book to be character driven. There is a bit of mystery at the beginning but to be honest, I wasn't exactly gripped to find out what it was.

This is not my usual read but I like the description and requested from Net Galley. The book starts out and you get a clear description both physically and mentally of the main characters.. It is about a divorced couple who are spending Christmas break with their daughter (7) and their new partners. The story starts with dialogue of an emergency call to the ambulance service saying that somebody had been shot with an archery arrow so you are left wondering until towards the end how it happened.. There is some humour in the book but also some very slow moving chapters.

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to read and review.

I struggled a little with this book and although was looking forward to the story from the blurb it was a bit of a let down for me with characters that just didn't seem to hit the mark. I too found the imaginary rabbit a little annoying and wish I had enjoyed it more to give it more stars. Thanks anyway to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review.

I really loved this book! Excellent story with brilliant main characters. I would recommend this book.

Adults is an off beat novel with a rather improbable premise - Divorcees Claire and Matt take Scarlett for a Christmas break with each other's ex partner in order for Scarlett to spend quality time with both sets of parents.

Of course, the adults in question behave more like children, hence the title. Scarlett's imaginary friend, Purple Rabbit is an irritating character imo. I'm not really sure who the book is aimed at and am sorry but I won't be recommending it. However, thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read and review the book.

Well it's certainly put me off Centre Parcs type holidays... And archery. But aside from that, an enjoyable read about the ins and outs of adult relationships, exes, and how children can sometimes be far more grown up than their parents

Very interesting read. You knew from the start it was never going to go as planned but never knew what was going to happen. Throughout the book my favourite character changed and the more you got to know them the more my feelings for them changed. Loved this book and would definitely recommend it to my friends.

I'm sorry. I really tried to like this book, but so many characters annoyed me that I couldn't finish it. I'm not often defeated by a book, but I was starting to feel like everybody needed their heads knocking!