Summer is just round the corner...It's time to plan our perfect holidays! And what would they be like without lighthearted romcoms and dark and twisty thrillers? No need to say which category T.J.Emerson's newest release falls into-just look at the seemingly peaceful swimming pool on the cover.... Oh, yes, that yellow chair was just killing me with suspense.

I love thrillers with a limited number of characters stuck in a liminal space- a hotel, a villa, a snowed -in cabin, you name it... The protagonists are bound to have sinister secrets. Julian's first marriage wasn't an easy one- he was a carer for his wife Helen who tragically was murdered. All these events seem far away while Julian and his second wife Olivia are enjoying their well-deserved holiday... until they bump into Gabriel, a proverbial blast from the past, someone who knew Julian from his marriage with Helen. Tension grows and a twisty game of cat and mouse begins...

While I didn't find any of the protagonists particularly likeable, I liked the unpredictability of the twists- the author definitely kept me guessing throughout the book until the ending. The pace could have been a bit faster, especially in the middle, but it did pick up towards the end.

Overall, this book didn't turn out to be a perfect holiday read for me, but I would like to read more from the author who definitely knows how to craft a dark and suspenseful thriller.

3.5 🌟’s

This psychological thriller is the book version of Jillian’s trainwreck of a life. Granted, some of it is bad luck. But Jillian is one of those characters that can’t make the right decision to save his life.

It all starts innocent enough. Jillian’s life changes drastically when he and his wife are in a car accident. Helen is seriously injured and needs a caretaker for the remainder of her life.

Then Jillian meets Gabriel and life begins to look up. Gabriel might be the guardian angel that Jillian didn’t know he needed.

This was interesting and would be a great poolside or beach read.

Thank you to Boldwood Books for providing this complimentary ARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#theperfectholiday #tjemerson #boldwoodbooks #netgalley

Julian and his wife were in a horrific car accident, which led to him becoming her carer, until one night someone broke in and smothered her.
Julian’s memoir of being her carer is popular and he has now found happiness with his second wife. He and his wife Olivia are in Mallorca having a vacation just before his 50th birthday when an old friend of Julian’s appears and things start to spiral.

I didn’t like a single character in this book. Julian’s descriptions of his wife were odious and even the “big twist” at the end fell flat. I tore through this trying to get to the real heart of it but alas nothing really stood out.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Perfect Holiday by T. J. Emerson is a vacation thriller that would make a good beach read! The story revolves around Julian, a middle-aged man who is on a lovely vacation in a Spanish villa with his second wife, Olivia. Everything seems idyllic, until they run into Gabriel, a younger man, who has a secret history with Julian. Now, the three become entangled in more than one way. Will their perfect holiday turn into the perfect nightmare?

Here is a gripping excerpt from the Prologue, which is an excerpt from Julian's memoir:

"As I write this memoir, sitting with my laptop in a fashionable cafe not far from my London home, it is difficult to accept that, to this day, her murder remains unsolved. It is an apparently motiveless crime. Money and jewellery were stolen from our ransacked home, and the police still believe a random stranger broke, intending to burgle us. A stranger who ended up killing Helen in the process. Thoughts of this individual often keep me awake at night. I cannot help wondering what could have driven him or her to commit such a seemingly pointless act. In all honesty, I am still amazed that despite a thorough investigation, the police have been unable to find any leads or produce a suspect. This lack of closure has left questions that may never be resolved: who killed my wife and why?"

Overall, The Perfect Holiday is a captivating thriller about lust, cheating, greed, and revenge. One highlight of this book is the twist near the end. The vast majority of this book played out exactly how I thought it would, and I was bored for most of it, but there was a final twist that I wasn't expecting.

**This next paragraph contains mild spoilers**

I did take off 2 stars, because I'm not a fan of plots in which a closeted husband cheats on his unsuspecting wife with a man. It was unexpected, but I find these kinds of plotlines to be demeaning to both women and gay men. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of thrillers in general, you can check out this book when it comes out in April!

From the beginning of this story I had a genuine dislike of the main character Julian, I couldn't put my finger on it but I just didn't care for his manner. He seemed slimy beneath his 'holier than thou' appearance. I couldn't warm to him at all. In fact I didn't particularly like any of the characters in the story. They all had hidden agendas and none of them were quite what they seemed.

From the description I think I expected a more thriller type storyline. While there were some twists and turns, one quite early on which I had seen coming and revealed just why I didn't like any of the characters! I didn't find it as tense and gripping as other thrillers I've read.

The end was some just desserts for all involved but it didn't shock me.
I did however love the Spanish setting and the description of life over there. It made me want to go on holiday!

Overall some interesting turns in the story but it didn't grip me.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.
The cover is so pretty i just knew I was going to enjoy the story. It takes place across time and it's got some twists and turns in it. The plot is very engaging and it is a reminder to watch others closely. They may not be the nice person they seem to be. Such was the case with (spoiler!) So to keep from giving away too much I will say read the book!

Olivia and Julian are spending time together on holiday relaxing in their Spanish villa. Olivia is an heiress, while Julian cared for his ill wife, Helen before she was murdered. The married couple meets Gabriel whilst out and about and they start to spend time with him. He is an acquaintance from the past, but is he a threat?

Set in Mallorca, the characters are the type you love to hate, perfect for this menacing tale. Tracey Emerson highlights the challenges involved in becoming a full-time caregiver with realism. The chapters move between the present - the holiday setting - and Julian's memoir which details his life as Helen's caregiver. Some narrative is disorienting but this is cleverly done, resulting in high intrigue, leaving me with a pressing desire to read on. A dark tale with a gratifying ending, I highly recommend Tracey Emerson's, The Perfect Holiday.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Boldwood Books via NetGalley, and this review is my own unbiased opinion.

🄴-🄰🅁🄲 @netgalley 🅁🄴🅅🄸🄴🅆

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒚
𝙱𝚢: @tjemersonwrites
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚛: Boldwood Books / @bookandtonic
𝚁𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝙾𝚗: April 20th 2022
@𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚜 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 3.44
𝙼𝚢 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 🏝🏝 / 5 Islands

Thanks so much to @tlcbooktours @tjemersonwrites @bookandtonic & @netgalley for inviting me on this tour & providing a complimentary copy for an unbiased review.

🅂🅈🄽🄾🄿🅂🄸🅂

Would you kill to be here?

Olivia and Julian are enjoying lazy days in their Spanish villa, a well-deserved break from their busy lives. Especially for Julian, who after a lifetime as a career was thrust into the public eye following the tragic murder of his first wife.
The languid heat and peace of the villa is broken only by clifftop walks, sun drenched lunches and cooling swims. Until a chance encounter with Gabriel - an attractive man, many years their junior - changes everything.
Soon their idyllic break turns into a dangerous, high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse. Will any of them get out alive?

🄼🅈 🅃🄷🄾🅄🄶🄷🅃🅂

This book had an interesting concept I thought, however it failed to surprise me. There was a lot of repetition with the day to day of Olivia and Julian’s holiday. They kept visiting the same places and lying by the pool a lot.

Also, I felt Julian's character was very dumb and couldn't believe how unaware he was with how Gabriel was treating him and how the guy was as a person. Every time I kept returning to the story, I felt no joy in wanting to read it but I pushed on ahead hoping something better would happen.

But it doesn't and to me a great mystery keeps the reader guessing until the end of the story. So, all in all, I don’t think I will be rushing to read anything else by this author anytime soon. It just wasn’t innovative enough for my liking.

This was a book of highs and lows for me. I love the Mallorca setting, so many descriptions take me back to my parents villa in a small village in Spain which hold special memories for me. Secondly I believe that the 3 main characters pretty much got what they deserved by the end of the book, I personally would've had 1 character needing to be cared for for the rest of their life, maybe I'm a bit twisted!!
But the negatives, all 3 characters are not likeable., even Olivia who is meant to be the innocent party I found to be patronising over her wealth and the way she spoke to "her little mouse". Julian was vile and the way he spoke of his wife Olivia was disgusting even before they had troubles, saying how she's not attractive, shes heavy, stocky and doesn't look after her appearance. Then we have Gabriel, a money hungry theif.
Finally, I would've like to have known what actually happened to the character to ended up on a plane, what would their reaction have been when they hear what had happened? Would they return to try a new scam? Or could a fitting ending have been that they ended up in prison for some other crime?

I'm very open minded and fully supported the gay community but I felt the sex scenes were just a bit too graphic on occasion as I believe that certain people would not want to read this so some kind of note could be mentioned in the blurb.
I will give this a middle of the road 3 stars but its certainly not the best and it felt quite different to what I was expecting from the blurb.
#NetGalley #ThePerfectHoliday

Thank you to @rachelsrandomresources for my copy of this book.

I loved this one, set in several time periods - before Helen, after and now - it all links together brilliantly at the end.

Julian is a man who’s life is going ok with his 2nd wife, Olivia, and then an old friend arrives on the scene, and it all starts to unravel. The middle of the book seemed to drag a bit in places but all built up to an absolutely amazing “didn’t see that coming” ending! Just brilliant.

Great characters, amazing setting (love Majorca) with loads going on. I’m definitely looking for more from this author.

The Perfect Holiday drew me in from the description and I could not wait to get stuck into it. It was a slow burner to begin with and I did not particularly like Julian's character but it made me want to keep reading. There were enough twists, turns and red herrings to keep me guessing and I really loved the shocking ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my ARC.

The Perfect Holiday is a dual timeline novel around Julian and his life with his second wife following the death of his first wife.
The story centres on Julian and Olivia in their holiday home and the dual timeline starts with Julian and his first wife Helen as that story catches up with the present.
Whilst on holiday Julian and Olivia bump in to Gabriel, who Julian clearly knows from the past and the mystery and tensions starts.

I enjoyed the plot twists and tension to the book and loved the Spanish setting. Olivia is a brilliant female role model and I enjoyed her character. The love triangle being male, female, male is a really refreshing change.

Whilst at first I thought Julian was a kind, caring man he is soon revealed to be generally dislikable and nasty.

One of the plot twists I felt was revealed a little too early and would have added more to the tension if it was revealed slightly later.
I really enjoyed the first and last part of the book, they are quick paced and keep your attention. The middle section did drag a little for me though.

I did really like the ending. The tension was great and there were details I didn’t expect. The three main characters all have the ending they deserve.

A perplexing story, full of surprises, 'The Perfect Holiday' pulls readers in with its duplicitous characters and unexpected plot twists. T.J. Emerson opens her story with Julian and his wife, Olivia, at the start of their vacation on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, Spain. They plan on enjoying their relaxing holiday together in their Spanish villa; a respite from their busy lives back home. Shortly after getting settled, a chance encounter with a mysterious and intrusive acquaintance derails their plans and threatens more than just their idyllic holiday.

Emerson thoughtfully highlights the realistic internal and external challenges involved in becoming a full time caregiver during the first part this story. She alternates chapters between the current holiday setting - where readers become more familiar with Julian and Olivia- and Julian's memoir that details his life as his previous wife's caregiver. The following part changes suddenly in narrative timing and begins to throw in some intriguing details that are both disorienting yet expected. Shifting once again back to the characters' Spanish holiday, the third part illuminates characters and twists that are as intriguing as they are far-fetched. The close of the story continues with some astounding moments, some seem to come out of nowhere, but the final pieces feel extremely gratifying.

While I felt off-balance with the sequence and pattern from some parts to others, the karmic irony that occurred in 'The Perfect Holiday' made for an entertaining read. Many readers will love following this messy holiday into the dark shadows they won't know are around the corner.

I appreciate the both the publisher, Boldwood Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an electronic Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

Julian has had a hard life. His childhood was not ideal and he was driving the car that injured his wife and left her wheelchair bound. The accident was not his fault but he still felt guilty. After the death of his wife, Julian devotes himself to helping others carers. Fast forward and he is on holiday with his new wife, Olivia, when Gabriel appears. Gabriel is someone from Julian’s interesting past.
The holiday seems perfect but many things are going on under the surface. The book is told by Juliann so you can’t tell what the other characters are thinking. This means many secrets are hidden. I read this book based on the beautiful cover and a brief book blurb so I didn’t really know what to expect. This book took me on a twisted journey and didn’t stop until the end! I really enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. If you love suspense books in a paradise setting, you will love this book!

First of all,Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This book has an interesting concept, however it failed to surprise me because the big secret is revealed sooner than it should have been. To me a great mystery keeps the reader guessing until the end of the story. Why bother writing one if you would only reveal what should have been the most important part of the story? Adding more chapters after that doesn't really help at all because it's a poor attempt to prolong the story. Also, there are topics that are discussed throughout the story that made me uncomfortable. These are my reasons why I did not like the story: 1. cheating - In the beginning Julian mentioned about doing the dirty deed with other women in order to satisfy his sexual desires because his first wife Helen, can no longer do it with him after being paralyzed by an accident. 2. mercy Killing - Since Helen is no longer of any use to Julian he decided to get rid of her with the help of his lover and played the role of the mourning widow which helped him gain popularity. If you would observe closely these two reasons are forms of ableism and as a disabled person myself, I don't like that it gave disability a negative meaning. Disability is something that society should embrace rather than reject.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for my honest review and opinion. Loved the cover and couldn't wait to read this! I personally thought it was a bit of a slow read for me however I will say it was well written, I will absolutely read more by this author if given the opportunity.

Thanks to netgalley for the advanced ebook to review.
Sadly this one didn't really hit the mark for me. All the characters were unlikeable and the story didn't grip me enough for me to care.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

The premise sounded really good and initially, I was quite intrigued to see where it would take me to, but the story never seemed to deliver, and I quickly became bored. First of all, I never warmed up to Julian and felt he came across as a whiner and kept thinking he's up to something. Also, the death of his first wife seemed to be all wrapped up too neatly for my liking. His marriage to Olivia didn't ring true for me, either. There didn't feel like any romance or chemistry between them. Perhaps it's due to the story jumping ahead to them already married.

And then there was Gabriel, who didn't add anything meaningful to the story for me, besides more ewww. The ending seemed OK but felt too rushed. Weak story and unlikable characters left me with a lot of indifference of what would happen.

I received an ARC from Boldwood Books/Rachel's Random Resources via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback.

When I read the synopsis, I thought this would be the book for me, but, although the book was well written, I did find it a very slow read. Personally, I love a story with a lot of suspense and twists and turns, but unfortunately, The Perfect Holiday didn't have this for me.

I also found that there was a lot of description during visits to different places whilst Julian and Olivia were on holiday, sometimes a bit too much which took away from the story. I also didn't anticipate the gay scenes between Julian and Gabriel which if this had been added into the synopsis about the relationship between the two men, I would not have agreed to read and review. I have nothing against these books, but this really isn't for me.

Unfortunately, I had no warmth towards the characters and I was not happy with this as when reading a book I would like to have some feelings towards at least one of the characters.

I did persevere with reading as I had agreed to read for the tour, and despite the slowness, I am glad I did as I did want to know what happened to Julian and Olivia as a couple and also Gabriel.

I was happy to read the ending itself was not what I expected it to be.