2.5 stars.
It was okay? i did not need all the mystery and wierd... but the characters were ok. The story, sort of boring.

I received an arc from NetGaslley for an honest review. I was not too fond of the characters in this book and found the going back and forth confusing and wordy.

An excellent light hearted read Very well written and will keep you in suspense until the end The story flowed very well and the author did not digress in the consequence of events

This is a love story with a difference – and what a difference. Yes we have the usual rich girl meets poor boy – there are problems – they get separated – she gets married to someone else – and then he comes back no longer poor, but there it stops. And there is no holiday involved – so title is weird.
In between we have all the issues that India faces culturally, socially and economically. Not to mention marriage between people of different races and religions and sexuality.
This book covers all the above, plus! And the plus is what makes this story stand out – the plus being organ smuggling – although we don’t know that at the start – corruption of politicians, police and medical staff at all levels.
We move across cultures as we go from Goa – just before and after the Portuguese leave their colony and the inter-racial and inter-religions marriages that led to, including skin colour – remembering that pale is ‘better’, and Goa’s reincarnation as a hippie destination for free love and drugs; to Mumbai which is not quite as liberal but is rich and urbane; to Delhi, which is neither rich nor urbane but very conservative in its values and mores. Delhi being the place where we recently heard of the terrible case where a girl on a bus was gang raped – girls on their own we/a/re seen as fair game – and we have that reflected here in the story with other women believing that a woman living alone, and having male visitors, is clearly running a brothel! Little things like this enhance the truth of the culture clashes between older India and modern India.
India has many well educated women – and many Indian women here in the UK keep on taking degrees as, was confided to me once, their bridal value increases with a degree – and also it puts off the wedding! Which is still often arranged.
I remember the bombing in Mumbai well. The Taj hotel that was bombed was one I had stayed at the previous year and a colleague of mine was caught up in the incident – he got shot but the bullet passed vital organs as it was deflected by his wife’s glasses case he had gone back to get!
This is a true saga of India and its wide ranging problems that only got richer as the story progressed. So many issues covered in one book – almost too many but so well woven into the storyline that until you pondered the story you almost didn’t realise they had been addressed. However, a little editing of some sections would have helped as the book is long – (and for some readers too long), and it would have been sharper in its textual surfacing and elucidation.
If you’ve been to India you will recognise the things you have encountered, if you haven’t you will be educated.

3 stars

I have not finished this book. What put me off at first was the number of chapters and sections. I'd expect that in a Dickens novels but modern ones tend to be more succinct. The characters and the location were interesting and perhaps in the future I might return to it but not at the moment...

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received a free copy of a Goan Holiday in exchange for an honest review. This was definitely an intriguing story a group of friends from medical school that were caught up in an organ harvesting mystery.

I enjoyed the references to Indian cultures and locations. I also enjoyed the unique plot.

This story had some romance, but it wasn't the main focus. I also thought some parts were "long winded," and at times, I just wanted to finish the book. There was also a lot of skipping back time and then going back to the present. As a reader this in addition to the Indian names made it difficult to flow at times.

Overall,this was a very well thought out and executed novel. It was a good read, but I was looking for a story with more romance.

Failed to connect with the characters that felt rather unsympathetic throughout. The constant back and forth between present and past was also jarring and the past sections dragged a little. While I appreciated the Indian setting and culture, I did feel that if I weren't myself of desi heritage, a lot of the book, the references to the life and to Bollywood, would've left me confused. One Bollywood reference actually left me perplexed because the way the author explained it was not at all what this reference stands for.

The Goan Holiday by Anitha Perinchry.

It was about a group of friends in various stages of medical school in India who’s lives are connected in some ways apart from being friends. It tells of about being gay on a time when it’s legal to be so and the secrets and lies that evolve from it. Being a woman in a country where woman may be well educated but are still treated as nonexistent. It is equally as bad to be poor even if you are exceptionally gifted. It follows through their lives as they start out to where they end up 11years on. The story jumps back & forward between the times & involves blackmail terrorism to mention a few of the twists.

This was a rather peculiar book to read it was too disjointed to follow a lot of the time though the story was good in the end if you managed to stick with it. If only it was in a better format a higher stsr rating would be given. Enjoyable in the end though tough going in parts