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snazzybooks's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
5.0
Our Holiday is a slow-burning, well-written psychological thriller from an author I have come to expect great stories from - and this novel is no exception.
The story moves between various perspectives but largely centres around two couples - Charlotte and Perry, who have owned a holiday home in Dorset's 'Pine Ridge', at the top of a beautiful Cliff, for 15 years; and their friends Amy and Linus, who have just bought their own home nearby. We actually start the novel with Robbie, a member of the NJFA (Not Just For August) group which protests against wealthy people buying second homes in the area and stopping locals from accessing affordable accommodation, as he witnesses a house fall off the edge of a cliff - and this really opens the book with a bang! We also get inside the heads of Tate (Robbie's best friend), Beatrice (Amy and Linus's daughter), Tabitha (who is the girlfriend of Benedict, Charlotte and Perry's son) and others. Sometimes it took me a minute to remember who was who, but I soon got used to them all.
I love the character-building in this novel, done expertly (as always in Louise Candlish's books) so that they feel like real people. The way the second-home-owners speak and refer to other people or current events is a brilliantly subtle way of highlighting their ignorance or hypocrisies. No one in this novel is painted as good or bad, but people with flaws and personal views, and I found reading about them all utterly absorbing. I always enjoy the mystery element of a novel but in this book that was just a bonus because I so enjoyed reading about the multi-layered, convincing characters.
Add the intriguing plot, excellent writing and characters, and evocative setting together and you have a great read that would be great for any time - not just holidays...
The story moves between various perspectives but largely centres around two couples - Charlotte and Perry, who have owned a holiday home in Dorset's 'Pine Ridge', at the top of a beautiful Cliff, for 15 years; and their friends Amy and Linus, who have just bought their own home nearby. We actually start the novel with Robbie, a member of the NJFA (Not Just For August) group which protests against wealthy people buying second homes in the area and stopping locals from accessing affordable accommodation, as he witnesses a house fall off the edge of a cliff - and this really opens the book with a bang! We also get inside the heads of Tate (Robbie's best friend), Beatrice (Amy and Linus's daughter), Tabitha (who is the girlfriend of Benedict, Charlotte and Perry's son) and others. Sometimes it took me a minute to remember who was who, but I soon got used to them all.
I love the character-building in this novel, done expertly (as always in Louise Candlish's books) so that they feel like real people. The way the second-home-owners speak and refer to other people or current events is a brilliantly subtle way of highlighting their ignorance or hypocrisies. No one in this novel is painted as good or bad, but people with flaws and personal views, and I found reading about them all utterly absorbing. I always enjoy the mystery element of a novel but in this book that was just a bonus because I so enjoyed reading about the multi-layered, convincing characters.
Add the intriguing plot, excellent writing and characters, and evocative setting together and you have a great read that would be great for any time - not just holidays...
cphunter's review against another edition
3.75
It started ramping up from part two and then part three was great. But the first half was slow and clunky. The timeline switches were confusing and the characters didn’t have distinctive voices so it was hard to keep track. Everything was over explained. The social commentary came first rather than letting the story and the characters speak for themselves.
whatkatisreading's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
3.5
‘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. 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 published HQ via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
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. 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 published HQ via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.
michedea_books_'s review
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.
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