Lovely feel good book to read. It was a joy to read. Lovely characters. Great plot. The book was charming. Very well written. I’d definitely recommend this book. Was lighthearted and fun

2.5
I wanted to love this book but I just didn’t. Hester the main character annoyed me from start to finish and I just felt like her “secret” wasn’t even a big thing. I liked the setting of the book being around a holiday company and I liked the idea of her arranging staycations but overall it could have been much better than it was.

This was such a wonderful story. The premise of the story just worked so well.. A real staycation with a difference! The characters were engaging and I was rooting for them from the very beginning.

There was travel brought to your armchair, a romance that was heartfelt and a story that thoroughly entertained! This lighthearted story also had a heartwarming element that really appealed to me. I didn’t want to leave the characters behind once I turned that final page.

Hester is a travel agent with a severe issue holding her back from experiencing the best of the travel her agency has to offer, first hand.
When she is given the job of providing a 'virtual' travel experience for a client who is unable to travel due to an accident, she goes into super research mode, taking advantage of her friends experiences.
A wonderful book taking you on wonderful trips from the comfort of your arm chair. The hotel help her access various things to set the scene and it really is a beautiful read.
I love Cressida McLaughlin books and I've followed them from the beginning.

I really enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down. Hester is a travel agent who has a fear of flying. When she is asked to prepare staycation ideas for the injured but gorgeous Jake , she has to rely on travel tales from friends and family. Problematic enough but even worse is the fact she is lying to someone she has a strong attraction to, As their relationship develops, will the lies end it all? A great story.

I really enjoyed this book. It was easy to read and follow, It was fun and I loved the characters. Would definitely recommend!

I liked this concept, it’s not something that I’ve come across before and livened up the standard rom com. That said, the ending is still pretty predictable but for me that doesn’t stop my enjoyment of the book. This was a fun read, and I flew through it easily.
I really liked Hester and Jake as well as the side characters who really added to the story in my opinion, rather than just being on the sidelines. I liked the connections Hester made with everyone and enjoyed following her staycation journeys and her personal one. While I couldn’t relate personally, her issues felt believable and genuine.
The creativeness of the staycations and how things were described was just great and I will be keeping an eye out for other books by this author.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the ARC.

Fabulous read! Thoroughly enjoyable ride through the rollercoaster of romance! Both main characters are so likeable and the supporting cast are fabulous. Warmly written and so entertaining! I loved every page and do so hope Hester and Jake have a sequel in the works. Heart warming, romantic, entertaining and just so cheerful (the majority of the time) you couldn’t ask for more!

Thank you Netgalley

This book is just absolutely gorgeous from beginning to end. I adore this author and this might possibly be my new favourite.

There is literally nothing to dislike about this book. This has been such a quick read and I have devoured page after page in just one sitting.

This is so well written that I feel as though I have been right there with the characters. Hester and Jake are just brilliant, I have loved this journey with them.

The Staycation is a completely charming and heartwarming read. This book has been the perfect escape and has been a book I’ve been completely unwilling to put down.

I can’t say anything negative about this one, I’ve loved everything about it! A most definite for the TBR.

I've enjoyed a lot of Cressida's previous books but this one didn't quite cut it for me. I found the concept a bit odd and it didn't really grab me. Was overall a nice read but can't say I'd recommend it.

Fantastic read, lots of laughs to be had with this book. Cressida writes with warmth and humour. The descriptions of holidays i could visualise myself being at those places!

I am not sure words will convey just how much I loved this book! For full review check out Desperately Seeking Charlotte youtube, but this was the rom com I needed to read and I ugly cried!

Travel agent Hester Monday has a secret that she doesn’t want her employer or her customers to know and let’s face it who wants to book with a travel agent who is terrified of flying?!

Great concept for a book and I loved the characters of Hester and Jake. They couple meet as Jake is stuck in London after saving a wealthy older lady from an accident, in the course of which he was injured himself. He is stuck bored in a hotel and Hester arrives having been booked to provide him with the ultimate staycation and dream of travel.

The inevitable happens and Hester and Jake fall for each other but all is not well as she keeps her secret fears from him.

Great story and charming characters. The background cast were also good and I would definitely want to hear more of the story of these two in their futures. Great quick read and a real feel good story.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was brilliant, great characters, great locations, great concept. I loved meeting Jake and Hester and travelling with them . I can’t say enough good things about it.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

You can be a travel agent without ever going abroad – can’t you?

For Hester Monday this is something she has been doing for over a year and no one has yet rumbled her. She has not set foot on a plane since she was a young girl, something happened then, it has scarred her and she cannot move forward.

Enter Jake Oakenfield, not allowed to travel back to New York on a plane because of an heroic deed which has left him with injuries and holed up in a luxury hotel in London.

Can Hester take him holiday to faraway places without leaving the hotel room? Of course she can. But can she do it all without revealing how she hasn’t been tp any of the places she is talking about?

The most important question for Hester is can you have a holiday romance when you are not even on holiday?

The sparks between Jake and Hester are clearly there, but some honesty and facing fears for both of them are the only things that are going to move them beyond the sparks which were flying off the page in places, into something much more solid.

I would say for me, this is a move from the author’s normal books and I was not disappointed but it didn’t have for me that something her other books have. I so wish I could name what that ‘thing’ was, maybe it didn’t give me enough of a pull to want to go back and revisit the characters.

However if you are missing travel across the globe or even the luxury places around the UK, then this book will whisk you away with a big dollop of romance thrown in for good measure.

Hester is a travel agent who is terrified of flying after seeing someone die on a flight when she was younger. So far her boss hasn't twigged why she keeps making excuses to not go abroad to look at possible venues.
Jake has been involved in a car accident and can't go back to New York so his sister arranges for the agency to arrange a holiday for him for when he has recovered. Hester goes to the hotel to arrange it for him but finds out that isn't what he wants at all as he is bored now and wants to leave but is unable to fly.
An idea is born for Hester to take him on virtual holidays from the comfort of his hotel. What could possibly go wrong ?
A fab fun read

I love a Cressida McLaughlin book and had this one on preorder. I enjoyed it on the whole, but struggled with the main character a bit.
Hester Monday is a luxury travel agent, the only problem is she is terrified of flying and spends most of her time trying to get out of work trips. She gets sent to meet Jake, who after having an accident is convalescing in a luxury hotel, to try to sell him a holiday, but he doesn't want to travel.
Et voila , The Staycation is born.
It was a fun idea and as always, the author has a way of describing food that just makes me want to eat it all!
I liked their chemistry and yes, there was a little steam in this book 🔥 which is always welcome. Overall a solid romance, which made me want to travel and eat.

Having read and enjoyed Cressida’s Cornish Cream Tea books, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read The Staycation before publication day.

Instead of travelling to Cornwall, this book is set in London, where Hester is visiting a new client, Jake, who is stuck recuperating in a luxury hotel room after leaping into action to save a wealthy elderly lady from being hit by a vehicle.

Hester is doing well selling luxury travel plans to customers despite never setting foot out of the country since she was a child. As someone who hates flying (and needs medication from the GP to help her get on a plane), I understood how Hester was doing her best to avoid flying.

Hester needs to steal holiday memories from friends, to give Jake a luxury version of armchair travel whilst he recovers, helped by the hotel staff (loved the joey visit). But when will she be honest with Jake and her boss/colleagues about the fact she hasn’t travelled abroad for many years.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, an escape from anxiety inducing news, featuring virtual travel, friendship, romance, and humour. There are some sad elements (including the reason Hester stopped getting on a plane), but overall this is a fabulously uplifting book. Happy to recommend.

Hester Monday is a successful travel agent, but with a phobia about flying, she hasn’t been very far since a holiday in Italy as a child. When Jake Oakenfield ends up injured and has to stay in a London hotel, he asks Hester to bring her experience of foreign holidays to him. So she begins a series of staycations, where she brings countries’ food, culture and atmosphere to his hotel suite. But how can she share her experiences of travel to multiple countries, when she’s not been to them?
I love the idea of this, it’s so clever and full of opportunities for humour as well as drama and the whole gamut of emotions. I have a fear of flying myself, so can really relate to Hester. I once flew from Bristol to Newcastle and spent most of it crying. This phobia is real!
Hester is a great character, but so is Jake and the book is full of a wonderful cast. I adored Marty (who works at the hotel) and Rosalie (the old woman Jake saves), but they all shine out of the pages as real people. The cameo from the policemen is a gem too! Cressida McLaughlin has a brilliant eye for detail, as well as dialogue. It’s a lovely book and a beautiful read.
9 out of 10

Hester and Jake are both stuck. Hester on the ground due to her fear of flying (highly unfortunate given her job as a travel agent) and Jake in a very swanky hotel room in London recovering from injuries.

Hester may not be soaring high but their chemistry certainly was and with the help of rescuee Rosalie, and Man Friday Supremo Marty she is about to take him around the world, no expense spared without him leaving his hotel suite.

Well what a wonderful idea this book was and it actually got me thinking of the endless possibilities it could actually take if it came to fruition. Many people are housebound for various reasons, I used to love travelling and flying was the highlight but due to health issues, necessary medical equipment, expensive insurance and fear of needing medical assistance abroad I am now happy to stay home. So imagine still being able to visit Australia, Tokyo and the various other places Hester organises.

This book with its decadent setting will bring your senses alive as you arrive at each destination. From the real and not so real but very cuddly wildlife to the mouth watering food all wrapped up with the obligatory fairy lights. Funny though that the highlight for me was seeing my own favourite Holkham in Norfolk mentioned.

This is a will they won’t they in more ways than one as life and revelations conspire to separate them. Jake back to New York and Hester back to the office until her excuses run out.

Jake the hero is an actual hero and he is full of charm, with that powerful air of charisma, smells good and is a bit of a dish so was easy to fall for. Hester is relatable, vulnerable and softer than a marshmallow but for me Rosalie stole every scene she was in. Her quips had me grinning like Chess the cat and what a wonderful character she was. With friends, neighbours and family members there were many to like and only a few to dislike (yes Wanky Rich I’m talking about you)!

This is only my second book of Cressida’s but she is already firmly on my romance author must get list. So if like me you like a heart melter then Jake and Hester’s story is one you don’t want to miss.