I only discovered Louise Amazing Books about 3 years ago and I am slowly working my way through her backlog of amazing books she has written over her 20 year Carer as an Author , This book is my favourite of Louise I have read over the last 3 years years, This story will have you gripped from the 1st page and you will not want to sleep as you are so gripped by the story and the characters and you need to find out what happens next, Lucky I didn’t have work the next day after staying up all night to finish this amazing book.

if you like books with twist and turns this book is for you as I live in area in Kent which is Popular with second homes like I do I could totally see this book becoming a real life scene as it is so relatable

Many thanks to Netgalley and HQ for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for this review, I would highly recommend this book

Louise Candlish has a knack of writing pretty unpleasant characters. This novel is highly relevant to society today and concerns the differences between the haves and have-nots. In this case the haves are the DFLs (down from london) who every year invade coastal towns to spend some time in their second homes which have been priced out of the locals' reach. This is a problem which is only going to get worse with so many unable to get a foot on the housing ladder while some families have two or even three homes.

The DFLs consist of Charlotte and her truly obnoxious husband Perry. They've had a house at the sea for fifteen years. Joining them are their neighbours in London who have just bought a bungalow as a 'fixer upper. These neighbours have a beautiful teenage daughter, Beattie who causes quite a stir in the neighbourhood. Tensions rise between the DFLs and locals until a tragedy happens.

Like Candlish's other work, this is very readable. However it can be quite exhausting reading about so many unpleasant characters and I'd love to see her write in a character who is less nasty.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I’m a big Louise Candlish fan and I absolutely loved this tale of the haves and have nots, warring along the south west coast. The characters are unlikeable but we always empathise with their selfish yet human desires. We can laugh at the horrifically smug upper middle class families, trying to keep up with each other, but they’re also really sad. The out-priced locals manage to find a way to win in the end. Even though the lowest in society fall through the cracks. It’s a grim satire of the property dilemma, with second homers pricing out locals in coastal beauty spots all over Britain.

‘Our Holiday’ by Louise Candlish is a slow-burn suspense novel set in Pine Ridge, a clifftop community on the idyllic Southern coast of England. As tensions mount between second home owners who descend over summer to enjoy the fruits of their labour (or privilege) and locals who have been priced out of any accommodation other than cramped caravans, multiple smaller conflicts and secrets bubble under the surface, culminating in a August Bank Holiday Monday tragedy!

I love the author’s work, especially ‘Our House’ which I consumed in one ravenous sitting, but unfortunately this book didn’t grip me to the same extent. Too many characters were introduced in the first third of the book - long-time holiday home owners Charlotte and Perry, recent purchasers Amy and Linus, their various offspring, and activist locals including ringleader Robbie. Sadly, none of these characters had sufficient depth or goodness for me to truly care about them which meant I didn’t feel desperation to unravel the tale and reach the end. The pace and intrigue picked up around the half-way mark though, and in typical Louise Candlish fashion, the aftermath of the finale had significant bite!

I enjoyed the political elements of the story and the conflict between Perry and his son’s girlfriend Tabitha who stayed in their fancy holiday home by night and assimilated into Robbie’s “Not Just For August” activist group by day. Beattie, Amy and Linus’s 17 year old daughter, was another interesting character and I found her secret acts and developing relationship with not-exactly-single Pine Ridge activist Tate compelling. The book was definitely thought-provoking about the ethics of owning properties that are left empty for much of the year in communities where safe and affordable housing is vanishingly scarce.

Ultimately, I’m giving this 3.5 stars (rounded down). If the subject matter interests you, and if you want a juicy, slow read with an abundance of unlikeable characters and a cleverly interwoven plot, I do think you should give this one a read. It just didn’t reach the heights of Candlish’s other novels for me.

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher HQ via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

While the plot is decent and the characters seem somewhat realistic, the book offers a mildly engaging journey. It plods along through a range of emotions and events without truly captivating the reader. The characters lack depth, making it hard to invest fully in their struggles. Overall, it's an okay read that may leave you wanting more excitement and depth.

I enjoyed the plot but found the characters unlikeable and hard to keep track of as there were so many! The controversial issue of second home ownership was interesting and the arguments from both sides of the debate were covered sensitively by the author.

Thank you Netgalley, HQ and Louise Candlish for this ARC.

I have enjoyed the authors previous novels and the blurb sounded promising. The first quarter of this book sounded interesting but then it went into other scenarios and lots of different characters that unfortunately I couldn’t connect with. This is a slow burn of a story and in end found it too slow for me personally that I couldn’t finish the book. I am quite disappointed to be honest. Although this is fictional, I thought this was more of a political statement than a fictional story. 3 stars from me.

Keenly Observed..
Holiday homes turn hellish in this sharp and keenly observed novel of suspense. Pine Ridge is a sought after area, holiday homes littering the pretty coastal cliffs, but there is trouble afoot when local demonstrators begin to voice, and act upon, their feelings. With a superbly drawn cast of characters, a well realised setting and an engaging narrative brimming with twists and turns, this is a compelling and immersive tale of toxicity and keeping up with Jones’s.

From the first page to the last, this book had me hooked. The suspense is palpable, and the twists are downright shocking. Love Louise’s books and this one was no different. 5 stars!!!

Charlotte and Perry have owned their clifftop holiday home in Pine Ridge for years.
Now their friends from London, Amy and Linus, have also bought a secondary home nearby and the two families are looking forward to a wonderfully relaxing summer..
But things don’t quite to plan. Tensions escalate between the two couples and the locals. And by the end of the holiday, marriages and friendships have been torn apart and someone has lost their life.

A slow-burning, well plotted story. Dual timeline, multiple points of view. Suspenseful and surprising. Highly recommended.

#OurHoliday #NetGalley
Nice.
Now city friends Amy and Linus have bought a second home nearby and when the two families descend, they plan lazy days at the beach and evenings sipping rosé and watching the sun set from Charlotte’s summerhouse veranda. But this summer is different. A group of locals – headed by the charismatic Robbie – will stop at nothing to make the second home owners pay for their holiday. By the end of their break, marriages will be torn apart, friendships shattered and crimes exposed. And one of them will have lost their life.
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me an advance copy.

This is a fantastic book which will have you hooked from the first chapter. So many characters some you will love so e you will hate. The story itself will have you gripped.

This book deals with a number of very topical issues including tensions between locals and second homers and between baby boomers and millennials in an.entertaining way which I felt held my interest. The characters are well-drawn with flaws equally shared so.there are no obvious "goodies" and "baddies", there.is a good sense.of location and the story moves at a good pace. I really enjoyed it

Two families, friends in London, have holiday properties on the south coast. Charlotte and Perry have been coming for years but this is the first summer season for Amy and Linus as they have just bought a bungalow two doors down.

There are tensions, however, between the second homers and the locals, who are finding themselves priced out of the local housing market.

I found this quite slow to begin with and it took me a while to work out who all the characters were but once the story got going, I couldn’t put it down. All the characters have secrets to hide, which makes for lots of twists and turns. Some were more likeable than others, but there was a certain reality to all of them. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book reminded me so much of the Welsh activists many years ago, when the English bought holiday homes in Wales, brought back a memory or two.
It took me a bit of time to get into the story as needed to work out which family was who etc. Once I’d got that sorted in my head the story took hold and what a brilliant story it is. I loved how each character had a back story that wove its way through the holiday which, in turn made this a page turning thriller that kept me guessing till the end. I loved the contrast between the locals and the holiday homers, and a great twist with the summer house. Louise is certainly the queen of thriller writing. I’ll certainly be recommending this to others.,

I've got family from the Dorset area and this book felt like I could be reading about them! I've read all of Louise Candlish previous books and this one didn't disappoint me. Highly recommended.

Louise Candlish is 100% on form with this novel! 'Our holiday' is a fantastically gripping work of modern fiction that sees multiple fantastic storylines combine in the unlikeliest of places!

The story is based around 2 families, friends from London, who spend their August holidaying in their 2nd homes in a coastal town in the south of England. Among the local residents are a pressure group the NJFA (Not just for August), locals who have been priced out of the property market by Londoners with second homes. Between tattoos, teenage trysts and mid-life crisis, this book has it all going on! SUCH a gripping story, I particularly loved the storyline around teenage daughter Beattie, which really had me guessing!

Well written, interesting characters and undoubtedly a story worth telling, there is nothing not to love about this book! Highly recommended!

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

Louise Candlish has been a writer for 20 years but never fails to surprise with how many genres she can handle with consummate skill. This time it's a satire with a lot of humour. The very topical story is about locals in a gorgeous seaside resort protesting about second home owners and "DFLs" (down from London), who typically occupy their holiday homes for one month a year.

I found the communication gaps between the young people, teens and parents hilarious. There are several laugh out loud moments. But it's also a serious issue with seaside towns all over the UK suffering from chronic housing shortages for the workers who provide all the graft for the second home owners.

The plot revolves around an act of criminal damage that has tragic consequences. The sub plots include a teenager who buys luxury clothes with a gym scam, a recovering alcoholic who's in a secret gay relationship, and the charismatic leader of the local protest group.

A very enjoyable read with Candlish effortlessly crossing the generation divide in a way that most authors would find impossible.

I do like Louise Candlish's books, but this took me a while to get into - there were a lot of characters, and I kept getting their names mixed up. It's a promising setup, though - the escalating tensions in a south coast seaside town between wealthy second home owners (known locally as DFLs - Down From London) and local people who can't afford any homes at all, let alone second ones.

The action revolves around two of the "DFL" families - Charlotte and Perry, Amy and Linus - with assorted children and friends, along with local activist Robbie and his friend Tate. Over the summer relationships and allegiances form, shift and break, secrets have fqr-reaching consequences , and ultimately it will all end in death - but whose?

Louise Candlish has a sharp eye for contemporary issues and tensions - crystallised here in the entertaining conflicts between student Tabitha and her boyfriend's father, Perry. Money and class are pervasive themes too, not to mention the differing attitudes to the local housing of migrants.

An engaging read as always.

Absolutely brilliant, loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me an advance copy, I will definitely be recommending.