This has been a pleasant read. Definitely been a nice escape whilst sat in the garden. This is a great book because it has allowed me to switch off from everything that’s going on and be lost in the pages.

What can I say...

I adored this book.

Harriet and Sophie are both women trying to do the best they can, for themselves and for their families.

When they happen to both be at the same airport, booking in on the same plane and then both having their family holidays to Italy are unfortunately cancelled (pesky dust cloud) they embark on a house swap like no other.

This book is a brilliant read.

I immediately warmed to both Harriet and Sophie through their alternating chapters. Completely different in every way possible but as they are enlightened to a few home truths - when in each others houses - an unlikely friendship is formed.

A brilliant mix of emotions are wrapped up in this book. From stress and heart ache to hilarious laughter filled moments.

It's a perfect Summer read.

One that you will finish with ease and be left with that lovely feeling of comfort and hope.

A lighthearted funny read about two very different families who meet at Heathrow airport when their holidays abroad are cancelled due to the ash cloud! Trying to salvage something from the situation they decide to do a house swap instead, this brings about its own challenges but ultimately makes them look at their own lifestyles and relationships with surprising insights and revelations, one family becomes closer and far more relaxed in their approach to life, routine and relationships, the other family realised that current life isn’t making them happy and start a very different journey that brings about enlightenment and empowerment for one half of the relationship! Great holiday reading material!
Thank you net galley for this early read.

I loved the premise of this book and I really enjoyed it. Thank you Michelle for asking me to read and review this. I thoroughly enjoyed it

Thank you to Netgalley and Michele Gorman for the early copy in exchange for a review.

I loved this book. Harriet and Sophie both needed a holiday to Rome for different reasons. Whether their husband works too much, they can’t get along with their teenage daughter, or they just simply have no control over their lives, they both need a break.

I adore the way this book explored so many important issues, in a sensitive way. And I felt so much empathy for both women, and just wanted to be their friend! I would definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to Netgalley, Trapeze and Michele Gorman for my arc of The Staycation in exchange for an honest review.
: When an ash cloud ruins their much needed holiday to Rome, Harriet is devastated, she'd planned to use the time to work on her relationship with her husband James and it looks like all that is now ruined. Until a chance meeting finds her house swapping with equally disappointed Sophie who equally needs a break to rest and bring down her stress levels. A snap decision sees the two families agreeing to 'house swap'. Sophie, husband Dan and their two children will stay at Harriet & James' farm in Gloucestershire and Harriet, James and their daughter will stay at Sophie & Dan's townhouse in central London. Perfect. Or is it? Both couples find their relationships tested as the holiday brings more than they bargained for, in a good way!

I really enjoyed this light, refreshing read it was just what I needed to get me out of a bit of a reading slump. Harriet and Sophie were both great characters and the story really emphasises their individual paths of self discovery. I laughed and cried (not quite a literal cry but I felt for them) along with them and found myself cheering them on. Even though Harriet's personality made her quite annoying to her family I found that I really liked her and I think that's a sign of a good writer to make you like someone that other characters don't. I'd definitely read more from this author again.

This is the first book I have read by this author and it certainly won’t be the last.

When Harriet, Sophie and their families are left stranded at Heathrow by an ash cloud, they decide to swap houses so they can each get a well deserved holiday. Over the course of the next two weeks not only do Harriet and Sophie become friends, they discover things about themselves that they would like to change in their lives.

A great lighthearted story. Harriet and Sophie are both likeable and interesting characters and this book is well worth a read.

I think the concept of the 'staycation' is something we can all relate to right now. So many holiday plans being cancelled left right and centre and without the option that presents itself to Harriet and Sophie when they meat quite by chance at the airport. With a volcanic ash cloud cancelling their Italian getaways, they quickly hatch and surprising but ultimately fruitful plan. To swap houses. Harriet and her family get the city break she has dreamed of, albeit London and not Rome, and Sophie gets her peaceful spa break - in a small goat farm in rural Gloucestershire. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, all and nothing as it turns out. This is a story packed with poignant moments, laughter, family time and a whole heap of self discovery. And it's a whole heap of fun to read.

Now you could not two more contrasting characters than Harriet and Sophie. Harriet is a successful solicitor whose husband's life evolves around goat farming. They shouldn't work as a pair - they are absolutely chalk and cheese. He is calm, laid back and accommodating. Harrier is brisk, efficient, a little uptight and uber-organised to the point of OCD. And then there is Sophie. She is a little more chaotic, perhaps seeming a little ditzy when we first meet her, her characteristics more akin to Harriet's husband, James, than her own . She is a 'kept woman' whose husband, Dan, is more focused on work than on his family, treating them as a work list to tick off in a functional manner rather than someone he will dedicate real time to. For him the break being cancelled means an opportunity to return to work. For Sophie it means a new beginning.

What I love about Michele Gorman's writing is that she is able to take a situation, more or less everyday (although I admit I would balk at the idea of letting my house out to a complete stranger) and turn it into something that is fun, full of light humour, but also has a journey of self-discovery at the heart. This is definitely the case here with both Sophie and Harriet ending up very different women to the ones we first meet. Okay, Harrier isn't that different, but then a leopard can't be expected to completely change its spots now, can it? There we so many scenes that made me smile, especially when Harrier took to ordering a labelling machine so that she could reorganise Sophie's house and make it more 'efficient'. You wouldn't think it possible, but it really did just fit her character to a tee. In fact, worryingly, I saw more than a little of myself in the workaholic, militantly organised Harriet. Only as far as excursions and planning, obviously. I really do not do organised housework ...

There were little things about both of the women in the story that did take a time to warm up to. Harriet's over efficient nature was grating at times. Although she had good intent throughout, sometimes it was just really badly executed. However you would be a hard hearted person not to smile when she tries to embrace her daughter's announcement, accompanying her on a, how should I put it, very different day trip to Brighton. Sophie grated for another reason - she was just too accommodating. To Harriet's pushy nature and her husband's overbearing dominance. That family dynamic was obvious from the start and I'll admit, it got my hackles up. And yet, it was authentic and something that is sadly all too common, Whilst there is no hint of violence, the way in which Dan treats Sophie is unpalatable.

The author captures the contrast not only between the characters, but the settings perfectly. It is easy to see why Harriet struggles in the rural setting and why Sophie feels out of her depth in the city. You get a real feel for difference between a life where everything is just a tube ride away and the small village where everyone knows not only everyone's name, but also there business. Even down to the kind of pets they have you couldn't get anything more opposing. There is James with an entire herd of goats and Sophie who has Spot. I really liked Spot (although, a bit like Harriet, I'm not sure I'd want to live with him full time). He goes missing for a short time, and when and where he pops back up is not only hilarious but also potentially a little trauma inducing 😳

This is a fun summer interlude, an example of two families making the best of a very bad situation. And if you are looking for a light, fun and hope filled read, something that will take you away from the stresses and strains of current affairs and allow you to laugh a little, this could definitely be the book for you. Take the plunge and see what fun you could have with a 'staycation'.