By Lucy Diamomd
ISBN: 9781529026979
Copy Courtesy of Pan Macmillan Australia
A lovely light read, perfect for the summer holidays. With believable characters, I was drawn into the lives of 3 families sharing a group of holiday cottages in Cornwall.
Em has planned the perfect break with her children and new partner George. But her plans didn’t include George’s difficult daughter coming along. Now she is wondering if she has bitten off more than she can chew?
Maggie and her daughter Amelia have been struggling to find their old comfortable relationship, and the sudden unexpected reappearance of her ex and Amelia’s father throws Maggie’s life into turmoil.
Olivia has secrets in her past and now is the time to find the courage to confront her ghosts and move forward into the future. The teenagers are running wild, and owners of the holiday cottages, Lorna and Roy are in for their share of surprises too.
Lucy Diamond has presented another winner with her engaging, warm and humorous style. There is a bit of a mystery thrown into the mix just to keep us guessing.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read and review this great book.
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club Members are reading An Almost Perfect Holiday by Lucy Diamond. You can read their comments below, or add your own review!
I’m enjoying being a member of Beauty and Lace. I’m a keen horserider, a member of 2 book clubs, a choir and a bird-watching group. Love travelling and outdoor adventures. This presents me with a wide range of topics to read about.
Thank you Pan MacMillan and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read this wonderful book. From start to finish I was captivated by the characters and their lives. Another wonderful book by Lucy Diamond that I would gladly recommend to anyone.
An Almost Perfect Holiday was my first Lucy Diamond book and I was pleasantly surprised. I am not sure how I missed her previous novels! This is the story of three women Em, Olivia and Maggie who all end up at the same holiday cottages – for various reasons and with their respective ‘baggage’.
While their stories start out separately, they begin to intertwine throughout the novel. From romance, to broken families, teenagers, new love and friendship, this book has it all! All of their stories were relatable in one way or another.
It took me a while to train my brain as to who was telling the story as it flips between the three women but was nevertheless an easy read (I read it in less than a week!).
I will be on the lookout for more Lucy Diamond books.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read and review this book.
I really enjoyed reading Lucy Diamond’s book – An Almost Perfect Holiday. The story of the 3 families, each with their own problems to overcome were woven so well into the overall story. The friendship that develops between the characters was lovely & the stories they told were relatable & believable.
I look forward to reading more books by this author.
Thanks to Pan MacMillan & Beauty & Lace.
Thank you for the chance to read An Almost Perfect Holiday by Lucy Diamond.
Lucy is already a firmly favourite author I will always read. I really enjoy her writing style.
This is the story of some holiday cottages and the people staying in them at the same time.
Firstly there is Em who has two teenagers and a wonderful new boyfriend George. Through a mistake she books a holiday cottage for a few weeks in Summer. George’s daughter ends up at the holiday cottage. This is a great experiment in blending families and the pitfalls that can be encountered. Romance comes into the equation and it’s a question of who it will last for. Can they do happy families and how will Em cope with George’s ex still being in the picture?
Then Maggie, who has a teen daughter – she hopes they can do some fun activities together and reconnect. Her daughter is growing up herself and they have to work out how they can negotiate that and both be happy. Then Maggie’s ex wants in to his daughter’s life which doesn’t sit well with her.
Then there is Olivia who has run away from her family, and her past. Through a series of incidences she ends up at the third cottage after knowing the owners. This is an interesting storylins as it’s not cut and dried. There are variables and grey areas.
I love the way the women come together and how they navigate through their holiday.
I would recommend this book, especially for anyone with children or anyone who has been on holiday, so they can see perfection does not exist and the journey can lead to some interesting places.
Overall I enjoyed An Almost Perfect Holiday with it’s strong focus on friendships and the lovely Cornwall setting. It started off a bit slow for me but picked up as I became immersed in the lives of these fantastic characters and was captivated till the every end.
Thanks to Pan MacMillan and Beauty & Lace for providing a copy for review.
A long time fan and reader of Lucy Diamond, I was very much looking forward to reading An Almost Perfect Holiday. The story of three women, strangers to one another, holidaying in a small group of holiday cottages drew me in. Each is experiencing their own personal issues, with love and family and regret. As their friendships develop, amongst the chaos of teenagers, new love, ex partners and more, I found the characters and the storylines relatable and interesting.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity.
Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Pan McMillan for the opportunity to read An Almost Perfect Holiday.
An Almost Perfect Holiday follows three women Em, Maggie and Olivia who have very different personalities. Each of them has a story, and each of them brings some baggage. The women arrive for their holiday at a cottage complex in Cornwall.
The book tackles divorced families, post natal depression, loss, hidden secrets, grief and happiness it took me on an emotional journey that I definitely recommend.
I really enjoyed how relatable these women and their issues are. The twists and turns make for an interesting read – not what I expected and very emotional be honest!
This is a great book that I highly recommend for anyone .
Thanks again.
This isn’t normally a book I would pick up and read but wow I was so glad I did . I read this literally over two nights . Great read highly recommend
“An Almost Perfect Family” is a funny and moving novel; essentially a piece of chick lit which looks at the concerns of (mostly) middle aged women.
This novel is all about the women. And it’s the women in their late thirties and forties that get the most attention. Although this reads like chick lit in many ways, these characters are a little older than is common in that genre. Sure, they have the same concerns around love as you’ll see in younger women, but they’re complicated by previous relationships, teenage children, and past experience. The characters are mature, and have lived a fair bit of life already.
This is a great balance – mature and interesting characters, with the light touch and humor that characterises much chick lit. I found the characters particularly believable; each was vividly drawn and their dilemmas were so everyday.
There’s a fair bit of humor here, mostly in the verbal exchanges. Diamond has an ear for the kind of exchanges that happen in families – sharp, sometimes witty, sometimes cheesy. It’s kind of familiar – you’ll smile in part because you’ve probably heard people close to you speak exactly like that.
I enjoyed this a lot. It’ll entertain you, and provide a lot of enjoyment. I don’t think most people will find it provoking deep thinking, or even find it especially memorable – but it’s a good read and will provide a pleasant interlude.
I have read a few of Lucy’s novels and thought that this one was an enjoyable read.
It centres around a few different female characters – Em, who thinks she has organised the perfect getaway for her teenagers and her new partner George, but at the last minute, George’s young daughter comes along too, and her attitude may ruin everything!
Then there’s Maggie, who is hoping that this getaway will help to improve the relationship she has with her daughter.
And Olivia, who is there for a relaxing break but when the past comes back to her, she needs to decide whether to face it or not.