Loved this book. Couldn't read it fast enough. I very much enjoyed how flashes from the past are seamlessly interwoven into the present day narrative in a way that's less structured than other novels of its kind that I've read. All five characters are different and you are sure to find one to relate to. Information is slowly revealed about them and you are left wondering how it will all pan out.

One thing I found not quite believable is that these 5 friends who were so close in uni had major life events such as weddings in between the last time they saw each other and this weekend trip where they rekindle their friendship. However much you drift apart, weddings are events that bring back long lost friends. It just didn't feel quite believable that they would not have invited each other to their weddings if they were such good friends prior...

Absolutely loved this book! The writing style was really good and I look forward to reading any other books from this author in the future :)

A fun book that celebrates female friendship. Womanhood and the bonds that tie us together. How friendship changes over the years and the things that the us togetherm.

The Weekend Trip is a true celebration of female friendships and the unique bond that womanhood has in keeping us together. It did a really good way of accurately depicting how our friendships develop over the years as we grow and the struggles we face (also the grudges we never quite go over with our friends too!)
Overall a really fun book, so funny whilst having some quite touching moments.

Thank you NetGalley, Joanna Bolouri and Bookouture for my ARC.

'The Weekend Trip' is a delightful story that follows 5 university friends that reconnect in Ireland; at the house they spent their final night as a group in. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and actually put it as my top read for August! It was sweet and funny, but also covered deeper subjects.
As much as I enjoyed the book, it felt at times that there was a bit too much going on. I struggled at points to keep up with remembering which character had done what/ who they were. This was mainly due to the book being written in 3rd person. I feel as though if there had of been more structured POVs, it would've been easier to follow. That being said, I do really recommend this book!! Especially to 3rd person lovers!

This story has five protagonists and they do have a chance to have their say throughout this book. Erin is a well-known actress and after her husband’s death, she decides to arrange a reunion of her university friends. Alex is a best-selling author and kind of star of this story. Becky is a lesbian massage therapist and a super spiritual person. Beth is a teacher and has the most common sense in the group, she also suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. Tara is an ex-drug addict who suffers from low self-esteem and is incredibly selfish. It is a very colourful bunch of friends who haven’t seen each other for the past 10 years and have plenty of catching up to do. All of the characters have a wide variety of issues that they are trying to deal with, and this trip to the Irish seaside is a kind of escape for them all. I really liked the characters chosen for this book apart from Tara, she was the most annoying one. :D

The plot of this book did not seem very original as I read similar books in the past, but if there would be a film ever created it would be a fun story to watch. Some sexual tension and romance were going on but I think this book was more character-driven because there was more attention to the character’s lives and their past than the plot in general. There was a wide variety of topics touched on in this book, such as MS and how it impacts one's life, mother–daughter relationship issues, drug use, low self-esteem, rekindling old friendships, grief and many more. I have a friend with MS and it helped me to understand how this illness operates and how one's life changes very quickly. :(

I enjoyed the writing style of this book, it was detailed, enjoyable and creative as well as touching important topics. The chapters are quite short and it was a quick read. I liked the setting of the book but the Irish slang used in the book such as “what's the craic” gave me the “ick”, to me, it seems that the author tried too hard and it does not sound natural.

The Weekend Trip by Joanna Bolouri was a fun and fast beach/vacation read! I laughed out loud multiple times and enjoyed following along on these longtime friends beachfront reunion!

Did I like this book? Of course. Was I confused by how many characters there are? Sometimes. Don't let that discourage you from reading this book about college friends who have met up after a decade apart. This was enjoyable - and if you like a group cast in a book, this is for you.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

This novel was captivating to get me to read it in the first place however that's where it stopped. The writing style felt all over the place plus there was far too many main characters, what do we focus on, trying to remember each character, then trying to see how their personality stands or the plot? It should be all 3.

I think I was most invested in Alex's story and her relationship with Aiden; it was a shame the story wasn't more evenly spread across the characters- I feel like it was quite surface level at times, particularly Erin who I feel we didn't get to know very well.

Five college friends from Ireland get together for a weekend reunion at recently widowed Erin's cottage in Kerry. They've not had much contact or seen each other for 10 years, since they shared a house at university in Dublin.
It turns out that Tara's new boyfriend is the mystery man that Alex had a spark with on the flight over. Cue fireworks all round, secrets revealed, old rivalries stoked and friendships unravelling.

There's going to be someone here you will identify with at some point, whether it's Becky trying to mould herself into her girlfriend's preferences, having a partner who constantly criticises or undermines you; Tara, the life and soul of the party; Erin, feeling a bit lost with the scale of facing life without her husband; or Beth, who is trying her hardest not to let on what she's struggling with.
The best part of this book for me was how it accurately describes the reality of trying to hold onto old friendships when you're all growing apart in different directions and moving on.
And 10/10 for the MS rep, I felt it demonstrated well how debilitating the illness is and how hard it is for others to understand.
Because of the heavy topics it wasn't the fun escapist read I was expecting from the marketing blurb, and it definitely didn't have the humour of The List, but enjoyable nonetheless.

We join a bunch of pals on a reunion weekend in a beachfront house in Ireland. There are five longtime pals and two newcomers and a bit of a situation. i genuinely laughed out loud at this book, its full of gasps, giggles and romance.

<i>The Weekend Trip </i> was such a lovely, fast read. It was all about female friendship, connecting to people that were so important in your life at one point. They all meet again 10 years after their high school graduation and we get to see how their lives have been and if they are where they wanted to be.

The characters were overall quite likable, and the supporting characters, Paul and Aiden, were great, too.

I am not a big fan of Instalove, so Aidan/ Alex's instant forbidden romance could've played better.

It was a bit difficult at first to keep up with the characters, especially with Becky / Beth, I always confused them.

The writing style was easy to follow, straight-to-the-point, and relaxing. Loved that.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for a review.

In 2012, five friends party to celebrate the end of university. A decade later, they decide to meet up again but their lives have changed considerably from what they expected...
The Weekend Trip is a warm book about friendship and the strength of love.
Erin's husband has died. Becky is pretending to be someone she's not to keep her girlfriend happy. Beth has been diagnosed with MS but is keeping it a secret. Tara is out of rehab and is in a new relationship. Alex is a successful author but her love life is non-existent until she meets a stranger on the plane.
The group of friends all had such hope and expectation ten years ago. But the reality of their lives is very different. There is a huge amount of emotion in this book and I'm sure every reader will identify with the gaping chasm between our plans and reality. I felt an underlying sadness at the distance between the friends which has developed naturally as their lives took them in different directions.
This book also raises awareness of MS which is a disease I had heard of but not understood the severity of the symptoms. Beth doesn't want to be defined by her illness or elicit sympathy from her friends. Although I empathised with her situation, I was sad that she didn't feel she could be honest with her friends, and also that the group hadn't supported each other in the past decade. I thought Beth's husband Paul was amazing for his dedication and devotion as well as his humour.
The Weekend Trip is an enjoyable and emotional book about the power of friendship.

A little bit chaotic in the first few chapters, the different characters and time periods took some getting used to and did not start to make sense until the book got going. The book is about a reunion of university houseshare friends . They have had ups and downs and have not really been in touch for the last years. Every one of them has a secret and/or a big upheaval in the time period since leaving university.
As I previously mentioned the book is chaotic and disjointed at first, difficult to keep track of who is who and what their problems are/were . None of the characters are particularly deeply portrayed though you do get more detail as the book goes on. I found myself wondering why they had so little contact in the last years if they were supposed to be such bosom buddies and why they were not sharing their troubles. This was eventually remedied though. This is a fairly light and easy read and as such was fairly entertaining, if you enjoy reading about alcohol consumption and reminicing about university days. I did not think the deeper problems of grief or relationship problems were particularly well dealt with and there was little description of the locations either, though no doubt a huge house with private beach in County Kerry is bound to be stunning .
So a bit hit and miss for me , though it did not take much concentration or effort to read . Thanks to NEt Galley for the ARC

DNF at 25%

Unfortunately, I found the book quite slow with characters and writing that didn't really engage me. It didn't help there were two characters named Beth and Becky and that was enough for me to get confused as to who was who. It would have helped if the chapters had the pov written beneath.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Are you still in contact with any of your school friends? I've been best friends with mine now for nearly forty four years!

When five best friends vow to keep in touch, life gets in the way, so when they're invited along for an overdue catch-up...yup, it's about to get interesting!

The Weekend Trip is big on romance, along with fun, humour and friendships. It's heartwarming, with a fantastic bunch of friends, I found them to be realistic, relatable and a definite reminder of how you change over time, but you never leave friends behind.

Highly entertaining and such an enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this novel. It was a quick read, but very enjoyable. The premise was interesting. Five college roommates reunite 10 years after they have last seen each other. They have not been in touch and are keen to rekindle their relationships, and see what has happened in each other’s lives. Partners are invited which leads to some interesting situations and mix ups. Another enjoyable read from Joanna Bolouri. Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

I absolutely loved this book! An absolute fun read focused on a group of women friends 10 years after graduating from University in Dublin who promised to keep in touch - and well, we know how that goes. They each get busy living their lives and dealing with life's inevitable ups and downs. I kept imaging these characters could be the girls from "Derry Girls" all grown up (and I was sad when the show ended!). Similar to that series, there are many funny bits as well as poignant, romantic and passages that made me cry. The relationship struggles and dialogue are really realistic and the romantic parts are just delicious. I could not put this book down. I just bought her previous book and can't wait to read it. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an ARC and I left this review vountarily.

It’s been ten years since Erin, Beth, Becky, Tara and Alex were together in Ireland at Erin’s beach home. They were friends in college, but then all went their separate ways to live their lives. Erin plans a reunion for the women along with their current partners.

Not everyone has a partner, but it still should be a fun reunion. However, things don’t quite go the way Erin anticipates and tempers flare. She fears none of their friendships will ever be the same after this one weekend.

This is a hard one to write a synopsis for since I don’t want to give anything away. It is a book about friendships. Very real friendships that aren’t always perfect. Sometimes they can be downright combative.

I really liked all of the main characters. Each character is so completely different than the other. It’s surprising, yet refreshing, to see friends get along even with their differences. Each character is in a realistic situation.

There’s a nice mixture of romance, humor and drama. I was captivated through the entire book and wanted to see how it would all work out.

I haven’t read anything by this author before, but I’ll certainly be looking for her backlist. A very satisfying read for me.












FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a really cute read about a rag-tag group of friends! I loved following each of their storylines, and seeing the deep care and love they have for each other despite growing apart over time. Seeing them reconnect was truly beautiful.