I love a vacation gone wrong thriller, but this wasn't what I was expecting. This novel is an extremely slow burn. The couple spend their days in a languid haze of sunning, swimming and eating, and the book's pace is equally languid. A young con artist worms his way into staying with them and a love triangle ensues. It is all very unsavory and unappealing. Yes, you feel the menace emanating from the younger man and wonder how it will end, but this was a slog.

I made it about 60% through this book, but just could not finish it. I did not like one single character or really care about the story. It was too slow a pace. If there would have been at least one likable character, I may have finished it. However, I don't think one likable character would have helped much with my rating.

The first I have read from T.J. Emerson, this had me thinking at the beginning that I knew what was going on. The story still had a few surprises in store for me though, and I got to the point where I couldn't wait to finish...in a good way! I needed to know how it all played out.

I definitely recommend this if you like to be kept guessing and I will be keeping an eye out for more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this.

Like some others have said about this book, I’m torn in my review. On one hand, I liked the story and it kept me interested almost all the way through. On the other hand, it was a little slow and a little long and the main characters were not entirely likeable, especially Julian who seems dark and unstable despite the brilliant life he’s living. Yes he’s been dealt some trauma in the past, but now he’s got a beautiful life with a loving wife and he heads a charity in honor of his late wife. Until he meets Gabriel and everything in his life changes. Or does it? Gabriel wants to be viewed as a down on his luck vagabond who just needs a break. But is there more to him than meets the eye? Olivia seemed very aware of things they were going on around her, but there was so much going on right under her nose that she seemed oblivious to and that was strange. The “twists” were super predictable but they didn’t take away from the story.
Overall this was a great beach read and a good way to pass a few hours.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

★★ 2.5 stars

Vacation thrillers tend to be a little hit and miss for me and I've found I've generally only really enjoyed those written by a favourite author. But this one intrigued me...sadly, that was all it did. And that was just in the premise because the story itself did not live up to its promise, I feel. In fact, I almost DNF by the time I reached 30% and instead I ploughed on and really wish I hadn't. Maybe I should have just left it where it was...stuck in a caravan in remote Perthshire in the bouts of hot sex while his invalid wife was back in Edinburgh.

The perfect book of the perfect holiday? I don't think so. In fact I didn't really warm to Julian's wife Olivia while Julian himself seemed a little distant that I had to wonder what was going on here in the opening chapters because they didn't seem at all devoted to one another.

Julian and Olivia are holidaying in their Mallorca villa, having escaped London for the summer. Or should I say, Olivia's villa? Because let's face it, it really was Olivia's villa. She inherited it from her incredibly wealthy parents leaving her as equally incredibly wealthy. And a villa in Spain is just one of the perks of being that wealthy.

Olivia is Julian's second wife, his first having been murdered in her sleep in their pokey little council flat in Edinburgh while he was out at a Young Carers event. The police put it down to a burglary gone wrong and they panicked and smothered the invalid Helen, incapacitated and brain injured as a result of a car accident ten years before. Julian had been her sole carer throughout that whole time. After she died, he set up an Award foundation in her name. And it is through this he met Olivia and after a brief romance, the couple married. To live happily ever after...or not.

Enter Gabriel. On a hot dun drenched beach in Mallorca all cheery and matey...and Julian knew then that there was no escape. And things just went downhill from there. However, the only saving grace was the delicious little twist at the very end. But that is all it was...it certainly didn't redeem this psychological chaos that was meant to entertain.

And then there was the sex scenes. OK, so I don't have a problem with gay characters or even couples...but I really don't want to read graphic sex scenes giving me a detailed account of their coupling. Just no. And how it all began was a little out of nowhere and somewhat random. Locked away in a grotty little caravan, where Julian was meant to be taking time out for himself - a respite break - from his 24/7 care of wife Helen. Instead, he picks up hitchhiker Gabriel and they end up rolling around in the sheets together...and thensome. Like I said...random. And then Gabriel just wouldn't go away, even after he did. So when he turned up in Mallorca, and his presence was then explained in the "Before" chapters after his initial appearance in Spain, I am just like...here we go again. But the plot just got worse. Enter a full blown love triangle, cheating on his second wife Helen with freeloader Gabriel who, really, is just in it for whatever he can get out of it.

I didn't like any of the characters. I know Gabriel was meant to be unlikeable but so was Julian. If the reader was meant to feel sorry for him in his life as a carer, I didn't. He came across as morose, self-pitying and something else I can't quite put my finger on. But I didn't like him at all. And Olivia? Well, she was astute but she felt a little shallow to me as well. Born into money, raised with money, living with money...she took it all for granted a bit, I thought. And even Julian, as well. I kind of felt like she saw him as a kind of pet project. "There, there. Good boy, Julian." It was nauseating.

There is also a lot of useless information in the story that I feel doesn't really need to be there. For example the excessive inclusion of a character's toileting - do we really need a rundown on what he's doing in there? We get the picture without having one painted, please. There should also be a warning as to the gay content because not everyone wants gay sex played out for them. As this is such a focal point of the story it should be in the LGBT category, giving readers fair notice.

Added to that, the story was a real slow burn that didn't really go anywhere interesting. It doesn't even really fit into the psychological thriller genre. As I said, the final twist at the end was the book's saving grace, but not enough to earn it more than 2.5 stars.

I would like to thank #TJEmerson, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #ThePerfectHoliday in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

T J Emerson has done a great job! I really enjoyed this and now am longing for a holiday in the sun. A story broadly based on trust. When Julian meets a stranger for the second time in his life in mysterious circumstances surely something is awry. I spent a lot of this book trying to work out who was really trustworthy and who wasn't and for me that's what made the story. Full of twists and turns and a lot of envy inducing sunbathing. 4* here, I really enjoyed it.

Whilst I enjoyed the book, Julian annoyed me 😂 such a horrible person,

I enjoyed the storyline, tho some did seem a bit far fetched

Amazing twist!

.Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is definitely slow burn.
It took until chapter 9 to get slightly mysterious.
I didn't really find any of the characters likeable and I quickly tired of the main character, Julian, and his self pitying attitude.
I did like the twist at the end. The twist is what earned the third star for me.
Thank you @netgalley and @bookandtonic for the arc!

Julian and Olivia are staying at their Majorcan villa. It should be a time for relaxation and enjoyment, but when quite by chance they meet Gabriel, someone from Julian’s past, things change dramatically.
Gabriel, a young, attractive footloose man who seems to drift from place to place soon settles into the villa with them, seemingly more by accident than design. Olivia is welcoming, unaware of his prior connection to her husband. Julian is besotted and manipulative Gabriel, uses this to his advantage to extract money from him. He also holds a dark secret, one which Julian constantly fears will be revealed. Julian comes across as a foolish middle-aged man, married to a wealthy woman with a kind heart. He has everything he could possibly want. He should be happy. But his obsession with Gabriel takes over, leading him into dangerous territory.
An edge of the seat read with twists and turns. Julian’s blindness when it comes to Gabriel sees him thinking the unthinkable. It appears he will do anything to be with his former lover. I had a good idea how it might eventually end but could not see just how it would happen. But the author surprised me with a twist I didn’t see coming. Recommended.
I would like to thank Boldwood Books, T J Emerson and Netgalley for an ARC of The Perfect Holiday in exchange for an honest review.

I am choosing not to complete this book and will not be reviewing it as well. Couple of chapters in, I felt that it was a little too jumping from instance to the next without proper context

Adding stars as NG doesn't allow to move forward

In spite of disliking all the characters in this book, especially Julian, whom I found particularly abhorrent, I couldn't put this book down and finished it in record time for me. I'm not sure if it was a morbid fascination to find out how it all ended or whether I just wanted to get it over and done with. The only highlight was the beautiful setting of Mallorca and the author's descriptions enabled me to visualise the setting and surroundings beautifully. The ending was disappointing. I was expecting a far more fitting ending, but that would probably have been too predictable and cliched, but it would have been what was deserved. An uncomfortable, if compelling read and not for me, I'm afraid.

I felt different emotions while reading this book. First, I was intrigued and captivated by the story. On the other hand, I did not like the ending and the story moved very slow. It was repetitive with Olivia and Julian's holiday trip.
Olivia is an heiress and Julian is famous and thrown into the public eye after his ill wife is murdered. They are both enjoying lazy days in their Spanish villa until a chance encounter with Gabriel, an attractive man much younger than Julian that changes everything. Gabriel knows Julian's secrets and it isn't a chance encounter. For one person this will be their last vacation. An addicting read with a shocking ending!

This was a domestic thriller with a twist! Julian Greg's is married to his 2nd wife after being widowed, but very early on there are hints about his sexuality. As the story progresses, Julian's life of secrets gets darker, more complex
and much more sinister. Themes of trust, betrayal, sexuality and fidelity are explored cleverly through Julians marriages and other relationships and the ending will blow your mind!

This book did. It disappoint, absolutely brilliant I have to say and I couldn’t figure it out right up to the end, such an enjoyable read..

First off, this cover looks almost identical to T.M Logan’s the holiday and much like the cover the story inside is not very unique. I felt this was overdone and didn’t bring anything new to the table. I may have enjoyed it more if this was my first story like this

The Perfect Holiday is a book that tries very hard to throw you off the scent. There are clues throughout that what we’re seeing isn’t the full picture, but by the time we got to the end I just recall feeling pleased that at least something was going to happen.
Julian and Olivia are holidaying in their beautiful villa. They are, on the surface, the ideal couple. Olivia has money, and Julian is the perfect gentleman who has become known for caring for his ex-wife for years. Her murder was a shock, but Julian had a cast-iron alibi and has since become the face of the charitable foundation set up in her name.
While on their regular foray into the little town nearby, the couple meet Gabriel. There is a story behind his presence, and it soon becomes clear that he is more closely linked to Julian than they might want to admit.
For much of the book the focus is on Julian sneaking around with Gabriel. There’s lots of talk of love and a desire to plan a future together. Unfortunately, for a relationship so skewed - and firmly placed on the foundations of their tangled past - it never quite gelled.
As the book continues we learn more about Julian and his past. Things appear to be heading firmly in one direction and I found myself waiting for the twist that seemed so inevitable. Sure enough it came, but by this time I just felt relieved that at last we were getting an escape.
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this in advance of publication.

The cover of this one is so similar to T.M Logans book “The Holiday”.
I had mixed feelings on this one and did not finish.. not my cup of tea.

This book is described as a dangerous game of cat and mouse. And that's exactly what it is. Brilliant. I was gasping for breath and in a beautiful setting full of mystery xx

Julian and Olivia are enjoying a leisurely break at Olivia’s villa in Majorca. When an old friend of Julian’s arrives is it a chance meeting? Gabriel seems to know a lot about Julian and his past and his first wife, Helen, who was murdered.
I’m torn with this book, it engrossed me but i felt some of the writing just went off on a tangent that wasn’t needed to the story. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

If you have a NetGalley account and love suspense with unreliable narrators, request this book immediately!

The Perfect Holiday by T. J. Emerson was on my mind all day and now that Im home, I can't wait to pick it up and finish it!

"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 carer 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?"

BUT THERE IS MORE to the story than that synopsis. I don't trust the main character and I wonder if his wife will catch on, will secrets be revealed?

This will be published in April!