Rerelease of ‘Welcome to whoever you are’ which I enjoy much more second time around - go figure!!! The novel has a good premise with a disparate bunch of people from various corners of the world ‘washing up’ at a rundown hostel in Venice Beach. Every single one of them is faking in in some way shape or form, most are running or hiding from something which is often huge.

First of all, there’s no getting away from the fact there are a lot of characters to get your head around and it takes a while to familiarise yourself with them. There are some interesting ones with intriguing backgrounds and considering there are so many the author does a good job at giving insights into them. The unlikely character of Peyk, a sort of handyman, turns out to be the only one who sees people and events as they really are and it transpires he’s a bit of a weed assisted philosopher! Throughout the book for the main characters you get a chunk of the present day and then some backstory from a year or so ago. This is deployed throughout and whilst you do get some juicy revelations it is a bit disjointed. The dialogue is a mixed bag to with some feeling unnatural and inauthentic.

However, there are some VERY good twists in the book with at least three characters hiding their wolflike personalities in sheep’s clothing which delivers some good sucker punches. There’s one scene where the ‘purley gates’ really do open!!! That’s a doozy! A couple are connected in a surprising, shocking and heartbreaking way which you don’t see coming. It’s all a bit mad, busy and crazy but despite the ‘cast of 5000’ it is compelling reading with the plot turns coming at you right to the end.

Overall, I don’t think this is John Marrs best book but it is a fun read and it keeps you absorbed. I like the Breaking Bad references!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Pan McMillan for the arc in return for an honest review.

I’m a massive John Marrs fan and this book didn’t disappoint! It was face paced and page turning ( read in one afternoon) and I really got involved in the eight characters. Would recommend to old and new fans of this author

I absolutely love John Marrs' books because they read like an episode of Black Mirror. His novels are just so original and so brilliant. Yet another Marrs that I read in one sitting. Highly, highly recommend.

Eight strangers find themselves at the same backpacking hostel in LA, Each has secrets, each is hiding their true identity and despite them all running from something or someone, each one finds that their secrets follow them across the globe. I love John Marrs' novels, they are fast paced, contemporary (sometimes futuristic) but always relatable. He builds up our expectations, plays on our prior knowledge and always, turns this on it's head. Things are never as they seem. The subplots for each character are complex and the narrative switches quickly from one to another, equally the narratives switch quickly from past to present but this keeps us on our toes and certainly keeps us reading. The reveals when they come are unexpected and sometimes shocking. Supberb 5 star read

Apologies I didn’t realise this was another re release of ‘ Welcome to wherever you are’

Have added my review I did back in 2017 for it

WELL!! John Marrs does it again, I thought ‘The One’ was awesome but ‘Welcome to Wherever you are’ is equal to it, based in a L.A. Hostelon Venice Beach it charts the reasons the occupants are there, their current stories and then what happens to them, similar to ‘The One’ nearly every page is left on a cliff hanger with twists n turns every few sentences, I cant remember the last time a book made me lol, cry and be shocked all within a minute, John Marrs is a legend, his writing just sublime and the only criticism is it leaves you feeling disappointed that the book has ended, roll on ..just the BEST book, 11/10, you gotta read it

I think I would say ai enjoyed it back then 😎😁





Will mark it as 5 as it is a great book

A group of strangers all arrive at a hostel in Venice Beach, Los Angeles, all running away from something. Each have their secrets to keep and want to create a new identity for themselves. Will the strangers find their new selves with in Venice Beach or is the past too hard to escape? This book was originally released as 'Welcome to Wherever You Are' and is a great, original book. Full of tension, thrills, secrets, shocks and surprises, it is a great read that keeps you turning the pages to find out how everything comes together. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

Firstly I would like to point out that this is a re-release of a previous book by John Marrs which was called Welcome to Wherever you are which I had the pleasure of reading back in 2015. It is clearly written on the Netgalley synopsis that this is not a new book.

This book is based upon a group who spend time at the Venice beach international hostel in LA. We learn about the lives of these people before they arrived and the book goes from past to present. We get to know them, well we think we do but as the book moves on there are plenty of surprises. I loved the short snappy chapters. Many times I read the end of a chapter and was like OMG. I can honestly say this was one of the best books I have read and still is my favourite book by Mr Marrs.

Having previously read this book under a different title,I've chosen not to reread.

Thanks for opportunity

#TheVacation #NetGalley
John Mares is the king of twists and he proved it with this novel. Excellent.
Venice Beach, Los Angeles. A paradise on earth. Tourists flock to the golden coast and the promise of Hollywood. But for eight strangers at a beach front hostel, there is far more on their mind than an extended vacation. All of them are running from something. And they all have secrets they’d kill to keep…
How far would you go to keep your secrets? It was a paradise until it became a nightmare.
I loved it from starting to ending. Highly recommended from my side.
Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for giving me an advanced copy of this book.

Firstly let me just say I absolutely love this author and read most of his books especially love the Good Samaritan and what lies between us. I started reading this book today after being granted access by NetGalley and the publisher and after reading first two pages I realised I’d already read this book a while back! This must be a re-release. Never mind I’ll wait for when Marrs brings out his next new release as they always are an exceptional read. This one was good but not in the same league as the Good Samaritan and what lies between us.
Still a four star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️