ARC - The Holiday Home by Fern Britton

The Holiday Home by Fern Britton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time Taken to Read - 2 days

Publisher - HarperFiction

Blurb from Goodreads

Two sisters, one house, a lifetime of secrets.

Set on a Cornish cliff, Atlantic House has been the jewel in the Carew family crown for centuries. Each year, the Carew sisters embark on the yearly trip down to Cornwall for the summer holidays, but they are as different and vinegar and honey.

Prudence, hard-nosed businesswoman and married to the meek and mild Francis, is about to get a shock reminder that you should never take anything for granted.

Constance, homemaker and loving wife to philandering husband Greg, has always been out-manoeuvred by her manipulative sibling. But now that Pru wants to get her hands on Atlantic House, Connie is not about to take things lying down.

When an old face reappears on the scene, years of simmering resentments reach boiling point. But little do the women know that a long-buried secret is about to bite them all on the bottom. Can Constance and Pru put their feuding aside for the sake of everyone else, or will this family holiday push them all over the edge?


My review

Atlantic House has been a huge part of Prudence and her sister Constance's family and yet another source of competition for the girls. Fought over since they claimed bedrooms as children to present day when they are grown and have kids of their own. Every summer the girls and their family go back to the holiday house along with their parents. Old resentment quickly builds up as does the competition and soon more than old feelings surface and some secrets are revealed that could rip the family apart.

This is a great wee read, chick lit, set on a Cornish cliff. The story bounces about from past to present in a fairly easy to follow sequence. The sisters are very childish and at some points very petty which I found a bit grating however it did make the characters come alive and seem very realistic as their personalities had fairly large flaws.

The girls are confronted with an old face from their past which stirs up some unresolved issues and resentment. The story is really easy to follow and you settle into it quickly. There are a few little twists and a whopper as you draw to a close. This is my first time reading this author and whilst chick lit isn't my first choice of read it is great when you just need to switch off and enjoy a good wee tale. I would likely read this author again and give it a good 3/5. Simple, easy to follow, chapters not too lengthy and a pinch of excitement throughout family issues on a summer holiday. Thanks so much to HarperFiction for introducing me to a new author and sending me an ARC copy of this book. You can get yourself a copy from 9th of May, 2013, in print and ebook format.

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