I really wanted to love this book, however the writing was very.... clunky at times? I found my self rereading the same passage over and over in order to try and puzzle together what was happening.

Overall it was an ok story and similar writing. Glad I pushed through and read it, but definitely not a top pick in this category unfortunately.

I was given an advanced copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Listened to the audio on hoopla. This was a delightful read and I appreciated the easy/fun plot from a different age perspective than the norm.

I really enjoyed this story of longtime friends dealing with middle age together. The challenge of being a woman of a certain age as well as the ups and downs of relationships were realistic. Really it’s a coming of age story.

I enjoyed A Midlife Holiday by Cary J. Hansson. This is the story of longtime friends Helen, Caro and Kay. Each is facing midlife challenges so they decide to take a vacation to Cypress.

Of course, conflicts arise that change these ladies lives, but that also strengthens their bonds.

I didn’t love Helen’s storyline, but I empathized and related to it the most of the 3.

The side characters are also very good characters.

This was a definite 3.5 star read for me. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the advanced e-copy.

Merged review:

I enjoyed A Midlife Holiday by Cary J. Hansson. This is the story of longtime friends Helen, Caro and Kay. Each is facing midlife challenges so they decide to take a vacation to Cypress.

Of course, conflicts arise that change these ladies lives, but that also strengthens their bonds.

I didn’t love Helen’s storyline, but I empathized and related to it the most of the 3.

The side characters are also very good characters.

This was a definite 3.5 star read for me. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the advanced e-copy.

Merged review:

I enjoyed A Midlife Holiday by Cary J. Hansson. This is the story of longtime friends Helen, Caro and Kay. Each is facing midlife challenges so they decide to take a vacation to Cypress.

Of course, conflicts arise that change these ladies lives, but that also strengthens their bonds.

I didn’t love Helen’s storyline, but I empathized and related to it the most of the 3.

The side characters are also very good characters.

This was a definite 3.5 star read for me. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the advanced e-copy.

I was intrigued by this story... a 50 year old woman, dissatisfied with her life, leaves for a getaway adventure with her girlfriends, and discovers something important about herself that leads her into her second half of life! That story is right up my alley!

Except it wasn't. The story had the right elements, but the main relationship in this book- the lifelong friendship between the 3 women- was painfully dysfunctional. They don't communicate about important things, they keep significant secrets from each other, they don't trust or support each other, they are judgemental and cruel to each other... It sucked dry any joy I might have felt from this book. I think it's telling that my favorite character in this book is the desk clerk at the hotel. Can we get a book about Marianne??

As always, your mileage may vary. I do appreciate the ARC that I received in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley,
#MidlifeHoliday

A Midlife Holiday, A Midlife Baby and A Midlife Gamble are nominally a trilogy. In fact, they are one really long novel, since the second and third start where the previous one ends. I read them consecutively as one book. The story is an interesting one about three women in their early 50s who have known each other for 30 years. Overall, I would recommend them even though the last third of the final book does become what I felt was somewhat maudlin and needlessly melodramatic. (That could very well just be me; I have been called a cynic many times over the years.) The writing holds up well over hundreds of pages and the characters remain consistent.

Such a chilled, easy going book to read. I’m not sure I was a massive fan of Helen’s decisions and opinions, but regardless, it was a really lovely book.