A good read and a lovely way to spend a few hours. I enjoyed this book but I didn’t think that it was as good as some of her previous novels. The Beach Cafe is still one of my favourite books.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A fun warm story by author Lucy Diamond. It brought together four women with their own set of problems staying in the cottages in Cornwall.

Reading this author after a long time, I cherished the emotions that were evoked. The characters were varied, but with strength and vulnerabilities. Each of these women added a different color to the story.


The sun and sand of Cornwall were so vivid that I was soothed by it. Love, family friendship and the glitches that come with it made this a wonderful read.

I hope to listen to the audiobook version of it soon.

As a previous fan of Lucy Diamond, I was excited to read her latest novel. However, in my pre-release e-book there were so many mistakes, mainly words missing fi and ff. This made it hard to read so I eventually gave up which was such a shame.

In true Lucy Diamond fashion, this is a highly interesting and well-interwoven character-driven novel. It is brilliantly written and well developed. You are engaged with the four main women, and they all bring a little something different to the table that makes you want to keep reading and to find out about them all.
It was a little slow at times but not enough to make you want to lose interest. It still remained a fun and enjoyable book throughout.
It made me want to revisit Cornwall, and I really felt as if I was there on holiday along with all of the characters.
Overall, a great read and a solid four stars!

Families - can't live with them, can't live without them!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book following the ins and outs and ups and downs of some families staying at a group of holiday cottages in Cornwall. The moral of all of the stories being that you should talk openly to your loved ones and not bottle up real and imagined feelings.
Lucy Diamond draws you expertly into the story from the very start, making it very difficult to put this book down!

I loved every page of this book. I could picture myself in the location very easily as we've recently had a wonderful holiday in a very similar complex with beautiful cottages and a swimming pool. Three cottages have guests staying and we follow each set of holiday makers and also the couple who own the cottages.
It deals with blended families in the initial baby steps, single parents, stroppy teenagers, sassy youngsters all trying to enjoy days in the sunshine. They are trying to keep everyone happy even though they are facing obstacles.
I love Lucy Diamonds books and I am so glad that I received a copy from Net Galley and the publisher.

Another well written book by Lucy Diamond who brings her characters to life in such a way that you feel as if you know them personally.

The four main female characters all have various forms of 'baggage' - loss of loved ones, ex husbands, new relationships, extreme tiredness etc. They spend a week in Cornwall at Lorna's holiday cottages and their lives will never be the same again.

Thank you NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for a digital review copy in return for my honest thoughts.

Usually, I do not agree with the categorisation of any book as Women's fiction solely because it is emotional. I actually saw one recently that was about a man and his relationship with his father labelled as such, which stunned me for a while. This, however, can be categorised as such with no qualms. Although others who do not identify as women could appreciate it, someone who has passed through one or many of the phases described here will take far more away with them than any others.

If this book had been shorter, I would have given it a full five stars. The length felt a little unnecessary given the feelings that were aptly conjured up in brief packed instances. There are many relationships under the microscope here. We have mothers of different ages, situations and children with varying relationships to those mothers. There is a prologue which gives us a window into a situation where one woman in three is revealing some information. Then we are introduced to the cast of characters. First, we have a woman who after several years is finally in a relationship which makes her happy, and her two children have their own thoughts on the situation which involves this semi-blended family to holiday together for two weeks. The second house is rented by a woman who has used her daughter as a shield against the world and now the daughter is embarrassed by her and wants to keep a distance. The (sort of) last is a newer mother who feels woefully unprepared for her life and lack of time to herself makes her go a little crazy. We also have a mother who lost her son years ago, but the role is something she will forever cherish. It has so many tenuous connections made, mistakes which range from silly to downright stupid but at the end of the day, it was very, very realistic.

The tale may be written lightly but has a lot of significant realisations and emotional changes that each one makes. It is not for someone on the lookout for a light read. The reader needs to be prepared for partial soul searching (probably your own relationships with daughter or mother) and tears of both joy and sadness. 

I highly recommend this book to readers of the genre and to whosoever finds this review even remotely intriguing. 

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers. The review is entirely based on my own reading experience, and the only bias in this situation would be my being a woman may have helped me 'enjoy' the book more(although that might not be a necessity).

A really enjoyable read with a greatest cast. I am a huge fan of Lucy Diamond, she is such a talented story teller who has a gift for capturing the emotional aspect of her characters. A definite recommend for those cold winter nights.

I do like Lucy Diamond but unfortunately in this advance copy of An Almost Perfect Holiday there are a really large number of printing errors, especially of 'fi' and 'fl' words. In most cases you can sort of guess what the word should be, but it just drove me crazy and I couldn't finish the novel as a result. I've given three stars as it seems like it could be a good read, in a readable condition.

I really enjoyed this, the writing flowed well, the characters were interesting and I love stories of summer holidays which are life-changers. The story is of three families who end up renting cottages in on a complex owned by a retired couple. They all have issues, including the owners, and the three main women characters end up helping each other in a spirit of feminine solidarity. The problem with this is that the endings were all too saccharine and tied up neatly with a big pink bow. It is still worth four stars because the journey was worth it.

It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
I found it a fun read, engrossing and well written.
I liked the well plotted story, the fleshed out likable cast of characters, and the setting.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Just loved this book and how it epitomises how some holidays can be. How if even if it is not what we expect we lead our families and friends to believe it is much better than it was.
Set in Cornwall in a small barn conversation of three cottages it tells the story of three women and their families and the trials and tribulations of their holiday. Great holiday read.

Unfortunately this was a let down for me. I have read a lot of Lucy Diamonds books so I had very high expectations and I think this novel didn't live up to it. It felt like the characters were stereotypes.

As an avid reader of Lucy Diamond, I was looking forward to this new title – and it doesn’t disappoint! The characters all have one thing in common - they’d love to enjoy their holiday trouble-free. But clearly this isn’t going to happen! As they get to know each other, secrets are told and friendships are formed. Will everything be ironed out by the end of the summer? If you’re new to Lucy Diamond this novel is a brilliant way to sample her talent.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

Unfortunately the Kindle e book has a serious formatting fault, meaning that many words are missing half their letters, usually at the beginning of the word, sometimes in consecutive words.
Eg ‘ clutching her attering tted evening dress’
By Chapter 4, I was weary of trying to guess what the full words should be, which was making it very difficult follow the narrative. I gave up reading the book at that point.

Clearly this is not the fault of the author, but I am unable to give a review of the actual novel.

This book is Lucy Diamond at her best. A book which explores relationships between mothers, their children and themselves in a holiday setting. The women characters are complex and interesting, their stories relatable and believable and I finished the book wanting to be friends with all of them. I also loved the holiday setting and that, though things did not always go to plan, their love for their families shone through. A definite summer must read from me!
Thank you to netgalley, the publishers and Lucy for allowing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read quite a few Lucy Diamond books and have always enjoyed them. This was no exception. It took a while to get into this one though and I struggled to empathise really with any of the women. It touched on quite a few serious themes and as usual the author’s writing style was excellent.

I enjoyed the happy endings for all the characters and whilst I didn’t really feel emotionally involved in the characters lives I did feel that it had very true to life modern family dynamics.

A book that covers three women who bond and share their secrets. When you think disaster is striking,these women decide small changes that make a big difference to their lives. An almost perfect holiday worked out for them in the end. Thank you netgalley for the ARC which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I love a Lucy Diamond story and this book did not disappoint.

We follow four women through a week in Cornwall. Maggie- away for a week with her teenage daughter who doesn’t seem to want to know her anymore. Em- on her first holiday with her new boyfriend, oh and her teenage children and his young daughter. Olivia- running from kids as. Mother of three year old twin boys and Lorna who runs the cottages.

A little slow in places but a perfect holiday read.