The blurb suggested that this is a very ordinary tale of two young gals caught on a road trip with septuagenarian’s. Yeah one would think, so ordinary. What could possibly happen to fill a whole book of 300 odd pages? Quite a lot it would seem when the narrator is Izzy Bromley. Bromley loves to tell heart-warming and uplifting tales and that is exactly what The Coach Trip turns out to be.

Its narrated in first person POV by Emma. Emma and Mel have been best mates since school. Despite having very different dispositions they get on very well and share an apartment. Em is lackadaisical and quiet natured in contrast to Mel who is a good organiser and often brutally forthright. Em constantly forgets even important things. So it’s not surprising that when she was roped in by Mel’s boyfriend to make Valentine’s day special she forgot the only thing he had entrusted her to do. Maybe he could have made an effort and done it himself or differently. Anyways…...

Mel is now upset with Em. Cue Em with a promise to make it up to her for her upcoming birthday. What are the chances of Em muddling things yet again? This time they end up going on a road trip with septuagenarians. They prove to be every bit a crusty strange lot to the young gals. This is a group of 20 folks, a driver and tour operator stuck with each other for the entire week. What follows is a poignant evocative awakening for everyone.

Each of the elderly folk had lived life and were defined by it. In contrast Em and Mel still had a lot of living to do. Bromley skilfully evokes our sympathies as their lives unravel on the road trip. Pretty soon I am empathising with all the passengers. Yeah this could have been a very ordinary and boring book if it hadn’t been for Bromley’s exceptional flair for making the ordinary captivating. She goes on to embroider a vivid picture of their lives that kept my attention. The pages kept flicking as I was eager to know what happened to each of the passengers. Her intuition and insight into people is telling.

This charming book touched me. I was moved by the people stories that poured out of these pages. Though not a tear jerker, there were times when I was devastated. And then again, I was also inspired by their courage and resolve. There were moments of surprise, who could possibly have guessed Mel’s full name and comedic moments. The ending left a very pleasant feeling and made it all so real.

There are moments when one is on holiday or when one wants to forget the world. At such times it’s comforting to be able to curl up to an uplifting and cosy novel. The coach trip is just such a novel.

I must say I wasn't sure how I'd get on with this book as my hackles were raised at the beginning with generalisations across certain age groups. I am in the older age group depicted and nowhere near as doddery as this group was portrayed nor is anyone I know as bad as this group were. I can't comment on the younger generation but the two girls Emma and Mel did seem to be more like late teens than late twenties but there you are, generalisations. That aside I did warm to the book and particularly Emma the main female character although I didn't take to Mel her friend who stayed true to type. The book is a very light read and fun but with an underlying message of tolerance and taking chances. Heartwarming with some lovely touches.

This is one of those stories that leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling at the end.
The beginning is not hopeful. Two young women both 29 going on 18 (not fair to many
sensible 18 year olds) are joining a coach trip just to accompany Granny. The trip is
interesting and covers York, Holy Island and Edinburgh. Everyone in the group is over
sixty and from the word go there is bickering and sniggering at the old fogeys. It
goes the other way too with some of the older folk just waiting to pounce on the
two younger women.

A sudden near death experience changes the tenor of the tour. A missing man adds to
the tension. It makes the trippers realize that people may actually have a very valid
reason for their fears and foibles, that one must not be so quick to judge one's fellow
travellers. The young folk may noteven be able to imagine the pain which hides behind
brittle and irritating facades. The story taught one tolerance, patience and human
emotions.

The reunion after one year at the very end was poignant. How many of us think we can
get in touch with someone, maybe tomorrow or day after and days slide into oblivion.

Very well written.

I really enjoyed this.
A slightly different take on the fish out of water tale. 2 twenty somethings on a coach trip with more mature passengers.
Emma messes up Valentine's Day for her friend Mel and tries to make it up for her birthday, but this birthday is the same time as she had already promised to goon a coach trip with her recently bereaved granny.
Cue lots of generational misunderstandings.
An enjoyable read with some characters that you will take to your heart

This was a nice easy heartfelt read. At first I wasn't enjoying it as it came across immature and judgemental but I soon started to enjoy it, and I guess it's what everyday life can be like.

A quick and easy holiday read. At the start I found the characters Mel.and Emma quite immature and selfish, judgemental toward the older passengers on the coach. The ending was a bit rushed but I did like the poignant threads that weaved in and out of the story.

This was an easy read focusing on two young women, Emma and Mel, going on a coach trip with Emma’s grandmother. They thought it was going to have younger people on the trip but it was all old people. Mel wasn’t a likeable character so that frustrated me. Emma deserved a better friend. At the end they did learn a lot about the older generation and had a sweet ending.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

Emma is not the most organised of people and when she forgets to give her friend Mel something important, she berates herself on how useless she is. To make it up to Mel she says that she will take her to Edinburgh for her birthday and then promptly double books herself with accompanying her widowed Grandma on a couch trip to the same place. Luckily Mel decides it will be fun to go on the trip as well, but isn't prepared for all of the other people on the trip to be at least twice her age.
Their first impressions of the group are not good and the feeling is mutual. However as the trip progresses and things happen to challenge prejudices it appears that they can at least tolerate each other.
This is a feel good book that is easy to read and enjoy.

This is a fun holiday read and I finished it in one day. It gives a good feel for this type of holiday, and the descriptions of places visited have made me want to go there. I warmed to the characters by the end but for the first part I found Mel, in particular, quite rude and irritating. Having read many novels with over sixties main characters, it was disappointing to have negative stereotypes used here.

When Emma messes up things between Mel and her boyfriend on valentines day she is put under pressure to make up for it on Mels upcoming birthday. She arranges a birthday suprise but then double books after promising her Grandma to accompany her on a coach trip after the death of her grandad. The story then develops into a tale of friendship, ageing and the differences but also similarities between different generations.
I loved the characters and the story was a nice easy relaxing read. There were some funny moments and it was all good natured and light hearted fun. I would thoroughly recommend this book.

It was a great read to see the mix between the older and younger generation! I really enjoyed the narration of the story. Loved the characters as well.

would like to thank netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book

where to start with this one

a disastrous valentines meal goes wrong for all the wrong reasons and then you try to plan a girls weekend away only to find you have now agreed to go on a coach trip to edinburgh with your gran and its the same weekend...

with a coach of oaps the coach trip begins ...

a coach full of strangers with two 20 years old with mistrust on both sides but its an illuminating journey of discovery

a fun read....with some sad parts

Emma has messed up her friend Mel's valentines night surprise and is determined to make up for it.
Her Gran was supposed to be going on a coach trip with her husband to celebrate their golden Wedding. However, her Grandad died so Emma is taking his place and Mel is going with her.
What can go wrong - two young girls on a coach trip with a coach full of older people!!!

Two young women go on a coach trip with one of their gran's. They're fish out of water and a bit resentful that the coach is full of oldies however they gradually come to realise that the older people are human too.

What I liked: I liked the way the characters developed, both young and old and came to an understanding of each other.

What I didn't like: Nothing. It was a pleasant, enjoyable read. Not my usual genre but as I was about to go on a group trip I thought it would be the ideal book to read. I definitely recognised many of the characters in my travel group!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

After Emma manages to ruin her friend's Valentine day surprise she decides to take her for a trip to Edinburgh to make up for it. The only problem is that she had already promised to take her grandmother there to scatter her grandfather's ashes.
This is a book that grew on me, initially I wasn't sure but as the story developed I was drawn into it. My wife and I went on a coach trip a few years ago, albeit we went to the USA, so much of this I could really relate to. On that trip there was a wide age range (I'm nearer in age to the older members of the group), but I can see how two young women could struggle to relate to a much older group. It was good to see how they gradually drew together, which I'm sure would happen in real life. One incident did make me add a First Aid app to my phone, a good reminder of how useful this would be. With plenty of humour, a touch of romance and some sadder moments this book is something different to enjoy.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influenced my review of the book.

Lovely book Emma forgets her best friend Mel's birthday again. Her grandma is going on a coach trip to scatter her husband's ashes. Emma and Mel go along on the trip and discover it's all pensioners on the trip.

Brilliantly written, full of humour with laugh out loud moments .Young meet old on a coach trip to Edinburgh. Prejudices and pre-judgements are aired and discounted.

Hmmmmmm a bit stereotypical at the start and I did wonder where it was going. Quick easy read and the quirks of different generation's. Thank you netgalley for the advance copy

This was a simple, fun, easy and quick read. The perfect type of book for your holiday, beach, pool kind of read. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

I loved the premise of this book but I didn’t gel with the writing and didn’t love the main character. Something about her didn’t feel right and I didn’t love the friendship.
Unfortunately I couldn’t finish the book.