What a delightful read. Octogenarian Charlie rents a holiday home to bring together his dysfunctional fractured, broken family.. they have all gone their own paths since the death of the mother Daphne several years previously. She had been the cornerstone for everyone. Daphnes and Charlie’s 3 children had their own separate lives . Laura and Nicks lives and marriages had problems whereas Scott had found his joy with his American wife Heather and his ready made family of her two daughters. Heather had not yet integrated into the family but could she become the catalyst ?
A cast of totally believable characters in a well conceived and written family saga . Elizabeth Buchan does not disappoint with this book

I read this book as part of a blog tour.

It was not what I was expecting at all. I thought it might be your typical family holiday type book, with a little bit of drama, starting at the airport.

This wasn't the case. It had a really nice introduction to all the family members, and allowed you to spend time getting to know them. I became hooked on this book wanting to know more. It might well be a family holiday but it felt like so much more to me. Yes, families don't always get along, and this is shown. However, they are always there for one another. I loved this about this book, no mater what family has your back. I can't describe how much I did enjoy it. You'll have to read it for yourself.

Highly recommend this book. Perfect to snuggle down to, or even enjoy in the sunshine.

Hit me right in the feels, this one. Beautifully tender tale of families and their messy lives. Too many character names to keep track initially but you soon fall in to their cotswold holiday and almost feel like you’re with them.

An uplifting read, a family get together the first for a long time with 3 generations all dealing with their own worries and problems, It could go either way ! it was very believable and contained like able characters whose back stories all come to light over the course of the holiday.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I really enjoyed it.

I’ve now read most, of not all of Elizabeth Nobels novels. Each book I’ve read, they’re so true to nature and life that you almost feel like the writer is writing about her own life and experience. The family holiday is no exception.

I loved it. Thank you for the arc.

A beautifully written story about a present day family. Families come in many shapes and sizes. That is shown and talked about. The love and the pain seems raw and real. This is an emotional read. I could imagine myself sitting at the pool watching all the dramas of their holiday unfold.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Really enjoyed this book. Steady paced, great characters, I was absorbed throughout. Will be reading more books by the author in the future!

An absolutely beautiful family tale.

I’ve read a few Elizabeth Noble books and I’ve found them all very touching and heart warming, she has a magical way of putting all your own inner thoughts and feelings down on paper and making them about someone else and allowing you the space to step back, breathe, and most likely cry your eyes out. Masterful.

From start to finish this book totally engaged with me. As a mother of teenagers I could definitely feel for Laura, and Heather. The family dynamic was perfect, getting to see what they each thought of the other and what they thought of them and then, getting it all aired and sorted. The family was amazing. My heart broke for Nick many many times but I loved the raw honesty of how he tried to keep on living. Charlie was a wonderful grandfather and I really felt his loss too in Daphne, how he felt not only her loss but his children and their families drifting away simply because he felt he wasn’t good enough. His one act of kindness, bringing them all together and taking the time to listen and be with them, was truly paid forward in each and everyone of them as they stopped to think of someone other than themselves. I was honestly sad to read the last page, I want the continuing story. It will certainly stay with me a while.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot (plenty of other reviews like that out there).

I enjoyed this book. It's quite a gentle read (but not "fluffy" by any means) in places, but with hidden depths as some of the characters struggle to resolve their problems. The characters are well written and they (and their interactions) are realistic - one can see reflections of people you know. The various issues faced by the characters are also well written and again, realistic.

This was the perfect summer read - demanding in places but not too demanding.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

I wanted to love The Family Holiday. It’s a novel full of family values, joy, hope, sadness and heartbreak . It was a pleasant enough tale with some likeable characters however I just found the story didn’t really grip me. I’m sure others will love it but it just wasn’t for me. Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin UK Michael Joseph and the author for the chance to review.

This is an in depth description of a family with communication problems, who join together to celebrate the 80th birthday of patriarch Charlie.
i picked up this book thinking it was an easy summer beach read, but I was wrong; it is so much more. it covers the difficulties and joys of blended families, divorce, step children, death, growing up and growing old.
Not always a happy read but some parts will resonate with most people at some time.
if you are looking for a read with more than a casual look at family and relationship, then this is for you.

This is a lovely read, gentle and unchallenging with a few modern themes thrown in for good measure. I thought it examined family dynamics really well even if the happy endings for all was a bit convenient. This is one for a sunny day in the garden.

This is absolutely brilliant. The strands of the individuals lives come together so well and the characters are so well-written and believable I really got invested in them. Definitely worth a read.

The Family Holiday was a good story full of quite realistic characters you might even get attached to in the end (which I did!), and it had a good amount of well-rounded stories in one book. We follow family holiday, arranged by the grandfather, actually planned years ago by his wife, who is long since gone. It is Charlie’s last attempt to get all of his family together and grasp that fleeting feeling of belonging that hasn’t quite been there since he lost his wife.

Everyone else in the family seem to have their troubles too. Nick has lost his wife a year ago and is now scrambling with grief, loss and three young children. Laura is going through a divorce and is dealing with some other quite serious family stuff as well. Scott has only recently got married and his Instagram influencer wife is basically perfect – but he worries his family thinks she’s not genuine. Who knows how they’ll all do, when put together in a country house for 10 days?

The Family Holiday was marketed as “the feel-good book of this year” or something of the like, and while I did enjoy it, I wouldn’t say it was “feel good”. Yes, each family branch has their own story which was very well written and I have to say, incredibly well rounded-up in the end. But they weren’t very “feel-good” – in fact, a lot of the material left me anxious and stressed out, because there were some serious problems they were solving and there was drama involved. The story is heavily family oriented, and the characters are written well, it all makes sense – I truly did enjoy the story, but I also wanted to mention that it was quite a bit more stressful to read than I expected it to. But definitely worth a read nonetheless!

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

I have never yet been disappointed with an Elizabeth Noble novel, she always delivers and this book was no exception. I could relate to so much within this story. Totally engaging and beautifully written. An absolute must read.

Charlie is approaching 80 and has been widowed for ten years, he misses his wife and worries that their family has drifted since she passed, she always knew what to say when any of their three children needed help or support and he isn’t so sure he is as skilled as she was. With this in mind he decides to rent a large house in the Cotswolds and invite the family on holiday to celebrate his eightieth birthday.

We meet his three children, Laura recently separated from her husband and her teenage son Ethan, Nick widowed less than a year ago and his three young children Bea, Delilah and Arthur, and Scott his new wife Heather and her two daughters Hayley and Meredith.

As with many families time and circumstance have meant they aren’t as close as they used to be, will ten days together in an English summer bring them closer or further apart?

I really enjoyed this novel, especially the way we meet everyone separately and get an idea of where they are in their lives before they come together as a group. At times I was frustrated with the characters but they all felt very real and I found myself rooting for them throughout.

Elizabeth Noble never fails to please. Another book to snuggle down with on a wet day or holiday read. Charlie organises a family holiday to celebrate his 80th birthday for his 3 children and their families. Laura has just split from her husband and their son Ethan is in trouble with his girlfriend's parents. Nick's wife tragically died a year ago leaving him with 3 small children and Scott has a new American wife they don't really know and 2 stepdaughters. Will all the individual problems spoil the holiday or will family pull together. A really enjoyable, enthralling read.

A real reminder of the importance of family, their friendship and loyalty. Elizabeth has penned a remarkable novel where a family who all have some difficulties in their lives come together for a holiday. A real gem of a story- I loved it.

This is a beautifully written novel about a family getting together to celebrate the 80th birthday of Charlie, a kind father and grandfather who has lost his wife and is keen to bring his family together again, I loved the gentle, understated story and felt that I knew the characters really well by the end. It was a treat to relax into their lives and be with them on their holiday at a beautiful country house. We get to see the characters healing and moving forward and this is very satisfying. I would definitely recommend escaping into this lovely, heartwarming book which made me feel a lot better during these challenging times. Wonderful!

Elizabeth Noble is such an amazing writer, and The Family Holiday reminded me all over again of the joy of reading her work. She writes with honesty and compassion, and The Family Holiday is the kind of book you sink sweetly into and emerge feeling lighter. It was just such a joy to read!