Originally published: 25 June 2020

Author: Elizabeth Noble

Published by: Penguin

Genre: Fiction

Length: 432 pages

Reading dates: 17-19 June 2020

Charlie Chamberlain is about to celebrate his 80^th birthday and is determined to do so with his three grown children, their partners and his grandchildren by his side. He organises a family holiday – 10 days in a luxurious manor house in the Cotswolds, complete with indoor pool and tennis courts. Charlie misses his wife dreadfully since she died. He feels she was the glue that bound the family together – they haven’t been as close since she died, and Charlie really wants them all to connect again and have a wonderful time.

His daughter Laura is recently separated from her husband who has swapped her for a younger and more glamourous woman. She is struggling with the separation and when her son Ethan has problems with his girlfriend, she doesn’t know what to do. Meanwhile, Charlie’s two sons couldn’t be in more different positions. Nick has recently lost his wife in an accident. Devastated, he is struggling to raise his 3 young children alone and hold down a job but feels he can’t ask for help. Meanwhile, long standing bachelor Scott has recently got married to Heather who has two teenage daughters, and he couldn’t be happier with his ready-made family.

Charlie is amazed when everyone agrees to the holiday. He knows they all have their problems but hopes that 10 days away together will remind them that they love and support each other and strength the ties between them.

I absolutely loved this book! It appealed to me foremost as I remember the family holidays I had when my boys were little. We used to go on holiday (usually to the Isle of White) with my mum and my mother-in-law and we all had the best times. The boys loved spending time with their grandparents. My husband and I enjoyed little bursts of child free time and we all have such lovely memories of those holidays.

Elizabeth Noble is an author I have read quite a bit of but not for some time and I really enjoyed her writing. She is great with characterisation – every character arrived at the house with quite a bit of emotional baggage and I loved how the siblings ended up being there for each other and how new friendships and relationships were forged.

I really felt for Laura. I felt so angry on her behalf and I loved that she was able to relax on holiday and bond a little with her new sister-in-law. Nick’s situation made me want to cry for himself and his three children who are left without their mum but with lots of other helping hands, he can enjoy his holiday too and accept that maybe he needs a little help. Scott and Heather are totally loved up and it was lovely to read about a couple so obviously in love and suited to each other.

The Family Holiday is a joy to read. I loved every page and didn’t want it to ever end! The most heart-warming feel-good novel you can read this summer, I know not many of us will get a summer holiday by the pool, but it is a definite must-have for the garden! And if anyone wants to take me away to a manor house in the Cotswolds, just let me know!

Many thanks to Ella at Penguin for the proof copy and for inviting me on the blog tour. You can check out the other bloggers who are shouting about this books below

About the author

Elizabeth Noble was born in High Wycombe, Bucks, and now lives in New York with her husband and two daughters. She studied English at Oxford University and after graduating embarked on a career in publishing before taking up writing full time. She is the author of eight Sunday Times bestselling novels, The Reading Group, The Tenko Club, Alphabet Weekends, Things I Want My Daughters to Know, The Girl Next Door, The Way We Were, Between a Mother and Her Child, and Love Iris.