This book was so cute! It has How to Lose a Guy in 10 days vibes which I loved! Three sisters Savannah, Cora, Bianca are going to spend the next month reliving their childhood vacations by visiting the beach town Sunnyside just as their mom wished before she died.
The book switches between each of the sisters perspectives and it made the book so fun to get to know what each sister was thinking.
I definitely recommend this cute romcom. Such a great summer read!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

3.75 ⭐️

First off, thank you to NetGalley, Thomas Nelson Fiction, and Rachel Magee for providing me with this ARC.

This book took a while to get into, but once it clicked, it was totally worth it.

I initially expected a standard romance novel—meet-cute, some conflict, a get-together, a third-act breakup, and then the resolution. But this was so much more. Instead of one central romance, we get three interwoven stories following sisters Savannah, Bianca, and Cora, who go on a vacation together as part of their late mother’s final wish. Each sister has her own storyline, and I enjoyed all three—though I definitely had my favourites. Cora and Bianca especially stood out to me, and both of their love interests were just so sweet and attentive.

That said, the multiple storylines made it harder to settle into the book. The POVs switch frequently, and in the beginning, it’s easy to feel disoriented—especially when you haven’t quite gotten to know or distinguish the characters yet.
The writing also starts off a bit rough and inconsistent, which added to the initial confusion. Thankfully, it improves significantly as the book progresses.

Overall, I found this a really enjoyable read. The love stories were charming, and I appreciated how they each developed in their own way. I'd definitely recommend it!

What Not to Do on Vacation follows three sisters—Savannah, Cora, and Bianca—on a month-long getaway to a cherished family vacation spot from their childhood. The eldest sister, Savannah, is determined to recreate the magic of their youth by sticking to their old traditions, from chore charts to planned activities. Cora has joined mostly to keep the peace, while Bianca is there to drop a bombshell: she's getting married to someone she’s never met in person, having fallen in love through an AI matchmaking service. What follows is a mix of sisterly tension, unexpected health concerns, heartfelt moments, and a few risky bets.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of What Not to Do on Vacation by Rachel Magee. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review—so here it is:

This book felt like a fun blend of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and 10 Things I Hate About You. Initially, I struggled with the four different points of view—it made the narrative feel a bit crowded and confusing, which is why I rated it 3 stars. However, once I got into the rhythm, I found myself really enjoying the story. It’s an easy, feel-good read with a predictable plot that makes it perfect for a beach day.

There are some more serious themes as well, including health scares and the loss of a parent, so readers sensitive to those topics should take note. Overall, it’s a warm and entertaining book that balances drama and heart in a way that fans of light women’s fiction will appreciate.

I had a bad feeling about why Savannah is determined to reconnect with her sisters. I bet it's a fatal illness with a small amount of time left to spend; ugh! Also, the aspect of spending the summer together like they did as children because it was their mother's dying wish is never a fun thing to throw into a novel's plot. I definitely lost interest when the fourth narrator showed up in the POV so I bailed around chapter 4.

Savannah, Bianca, and Cora return to their cherished summer getaway to honor their late mother’s final wish. Once inseparable, the three sisters have drifted apart over the years—but Savannah is determined to use this trip to bring them back together.

Tensions rise when Bianca reveals she’s engaged to a man she met online—someone she’s never met in person—and is planning to move to Idaho. Concerned, Savannah and Cora beg her to reconsider. To prove them wrong, Bianca sets out to show the success of online dating by secretly matchmaking their emotionally guarded sister, Cora. But Cora, still nursing old wounds, has no intention of falling in love—she’s even planning to sabotage the dates to prove she’s better off alone.

Meanwhile, Savannah clings to the hope of recapturing the magic of their childhood summers. She creates a nostalgic bucket list for the sisters to complete, but with Bianca’s schemes and Cora’s resistance, nothing goes as planned. And beneath her sunny optimism, Savannah is hiding a secret of her own—one that she’s not quite ready to share.

Full of sisterly drama, unexpected romance, and laugh-out-loud moments, this heartwarming story is the perfect beach read. With relatable characters, heartfelt emotion, and a touch of mischief, it’s a charming escape you won’t want to put down.

Thank you netgalley for the arc of What not to do on vacation in exchange for my honest review. This is my second book by Rachel Magee and I have to say so far I am a fan. I will definitely be picking up her next novel. Magee has a way of writing a romance that is not too cheesy and keeps you interested and invested in the characters lives. This story is about three sisters; Savannah, Cora & Bianca. The sisters are fulfilling their deceased mothers wish that they spend a summer in a vacation spot where they had many good family memories. Savannah is hiding a secret from her sisters and also trying to over plan this sister bonding month. Bianca is newly engaged to a man she has never met in real life and is planning to move to Idaho to be with him. Her life is adrift she has no real direction for her future career. Cora is a good photographer who is against love because of her past negative experiences with her father and a past fiancée . This summer will change all their lives for the better. Four stars.

I love a good rom-com whether in book or movie form. This book had four narrators, the three sisters and Jax. They each have their own secrets and mischievous motives that don't work out all that well for them. Jax is trying to prove he can stick with something while Cora is trying to achieve the opposite. It all starts out with a meet-cute over toothbrushes. Later Jax assures Cora that he did notice her because "my toothbrush wisdom isn't for just anyone, you know" (location 1153).

Bianca is struggling to figure out where she fits in in life, in the workplace, in her family. Savannah just wants to recreate their family traditions when life was easier before she reveals her big news. It's ripe for misunderstandings, tension, drama, and more. Still in the end, there's a reminder that family sticks together.

I enjoyed this beach read a lot. It was witty and fun. Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

What Not to Do on Vacation by Rachel Magee

Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction, Netgalley, and the author for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a great read! The perfect blend of romcom and women’s fiction. What Not To Do On Vacation has depth while still remaining lighthearted and fun. It was wonderful seeing how Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew played a role in influencing this story.

What Not to Do on Vacation starts off with the three Prestley sisters going to spend a summer holiday together, just like when they were kids. Savannah has organized everything to ensure that they all bond. She has a secret that she’s keeping from them though. Cora isn’t looking forward to the trip and does not want to take a trip down memory lane. Bianca, the youngest, announces she's engaged and moving. Savannah and Cora believe it’s too quick, while Bianca believes it's true love. The sisters decide to prove each other wrong. Their summer has scheming, planning, adventure, and romance. Also, a little bit of serendipity.

This was such a cute, enjoyable read! Super fun and lighthearted while also addressing some deeper topics. The perfect feel-good book!

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This is a cute easy-read.

The three sisters come together for the summer. Savannah wants to bring them closer, for reasons not yet revealed, and tries getting them to re-live their childhood. But they're not children anymore.

Cora is fake-dating to prove a point to Bianca and stop her from marrying a man she hasn't even met in real life.

Settle in for a summer of laughs, shenanigans and life lessons.

Thankyou to #ThomasNelsonFiction and #Netgalley for the ARC copy of #WhatNotToDoOnVacation.

Sister vacation trip, family secrets, and matchmaking--what's not to love? This summer read has it all. I could see this all happening with three sisters. This also would be great for a series to follow these sisters.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson fiction for my advanced readers copy. Unfortunately, I DNF at the 20% mark. I couldn’t get into the story with the writing style and the characters lacked depth. They seemed a little childish considering they were adults.

3.5 stars

Main Characters:
-- Savannah Prestly-Glasner – 34 years old, the oldest of the Prestly sisters, married with two children, suggests a month in Florida in the cottage where their family spent their summers, convinces her sisters by reminding them it was their mother’s last wish before she died
-- Cora Prestly – 31-year-old professional photographer who lives in Texas, middle of the Prestly sisters, disillusioned about love and seemingly content to be single and focused on her career
-- Bianca Prestly – nearly 26, youngest of the Prestly sisters, has never settled into a regular job, recently got engaged to a man she only met through an app and intends to move to Idaho at the end of the summer
-- Jax Verona – black sheep of the family that owns coastal boutique hotels Padua Resorts, his work takes him out of the area for months at a time and no one seems to know what he does for a living, has a well-known reputation for having a two-date rule
-- Luke Tudor – local to Sunnyside, grew up spending his summers playing with Bianca since they are around the same age, works for his family’s property management company which owns the beachside cottages where the Prestly sisters are spending the summer

What could be more relaxing than a summer at a cottage on the beach? Three sisters who spent their summers at the beach in Sunnyside, Florida, return for one month to fulfill the last wish of their mother who they lost to breast cancer ten years ago. Savannah, the oldest sister, uses their mother’s wish to convince (manipulate?) her sisters into spending a month in the cottage they shared as children.

What Cora and Bianca don’t know is that Savannah has set up the summer to be exactly like their childhood summers—first day at the beach, movie night, sand castle contest, even a color-coded chore chart. She has a reason for wanting to relive their summers, but she doesn’t tell her sisters. Bianca also has a secret that she springs on them when they arrive. She’s engaged and planning to move to Idaho at the end of the summer…with a man she’s never met in person.

Bianca clamors for her sisters’ support, so she challenges Cora to try out the app where she met her fiancé. She tells Cora that if Cora can’t find a match, she will call off her own engagement. Cora readily agrees since she has long been disenchanted by the idea of love. Upset with her sisters, Bianca invites herself out with Luke to a regular trivia night at the local bar later that evening.

During a break in the trivia, Bianca overhears Jax and his uncle talking at the next table. Jax is gunning for a VP of operations position in the family hotel chain, but his uncle tells Jax that he leaves town too often, that he wishes Jax would settle into a relationship and stick around for a while. When Jax’s uncle leaves the table, Bianca sees her opportunity. She wants Cora to match with someone on the app she used, and Jax needs a steady relationship for a month. Who better to make sure Cora matches with Jax than Cora’s sister?

Besides being a story about the sisters’ relationship, this is also a romance. It’s predictable by design, and I don’t take issue with that. I am not giving away anything by telling you that, of course, Cora and Jax are going to get together. Of course, they are going to find out about Bianca’s ulterior motive and things will fall apart. And of course, they will get their happily ever after.

It’s a cute premise, the perfect story for a summer beach read. Apparently, the author intended it as a “reimagining of The Taming of the Shrew.” It reminds me more of the movie How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. In the movie, Ben works for a marketing firm and needs to make a woman fall in love with him to earn the opportunity to pitch a diamond campaign. Andie writes a “how to” column for a magazine. In an effort to point out to a friend and co-worker all the things she does wrong when she first starts dating someone, Andie agrees to get a guy to dump her within ten days of starting to date. Two of Ben’s colleagues happen to hear Andie talking with her co-workers, so they select Andie as the woman he needs to sweep off her feet. You can see where this is going.

In both the book and the movie, the guy needs to keep the girl in order to benefit at work. In both the book and the movie, the girl wants the guy to break up with her. In both the book and the movie, the secret is discovered at a fancy gala and the girl storms off in a rage…even though her motives were just as bad as the guy’s. And in both the book and the movie, the guy goes after the girl because he fell in love even though he never intended to.

There were some sub-plots around Savannah and Bianca, outside of the romance, that keep the story moving. The characters are mostly realistic. Savannah plays the part of the protective oldest sister who wants everyone to believe that everything is ok. That said, I felt like she did some things that a normal person in her situation wouldn’t. Bianca exudes quirky and fun while being a little bit scattered and impulsive, but she also seemed at times a little too flaky to be so good at the things she excels at.

I went back and forth on the author’s writing style. She uses a style of describing things by pushing a lot of words together to make an adjective. I’ve done this myself in text messages, chat messages, probably even in my blog posts. It can be effective…when used sparingly.
-- get-together-for-a-long-weekend kind of relationship
-- everything’s-an-adventure attitude
-- a don’t-kill-the-messenger gesture
-- an I’m-running-out-of-patience tone
-- share-your-heart-with-a-stranger hour
-- an I-get-it nod
-- a sorry-about-all-this shrug
-- an I-don’t-get-it shrug
-- a faux-innocent shrug
-- a what-do-you-do? shrug (there are three of these)

There are a lot of shrugs…91 in all, which means every 3.5 pages or so. And there were a lot more non-adjective adjectives. Definitely not used sparingly.

On the flip side, I liked seeing Bianca come into her own. Luke’s niece plays a small role in the book but brings a lot of joy. And the banter between Jax and Cora made me smile more often than not. There’s an early exchange over text where he tells her “Three things you should know about me, in case they’re dealbreakers. I love hot dogs. I know I shouldn’t. I know they’re made of nothing good, held together by chemicals, and will probably kill me. But if death by hot dogs is how I go down, so be it.” It made Cora smile, and it made me smile.

I am likely to take a chance on this author again. I will probably check post-release reviews, though, rather than requesting an advance copy.

The story follows three sisters who haven't been all that close since before their mom died, but have decided to vacation together for a month in the same place they did as kids. Savannah really wants to recreate their childhoods, but has a secret hanging over her until about halfway through the book when the truth comes out.

Bianca announces she is marrying a guy she has never met in person, but "dated" online, much to her sisters' outrage. She doesn't really know who she is or what she wants in life, other than to be married, but her best childhood friend may be able to help her find out who she truly is.

Cora is skeptical of love, but is goaded into dating Jax, the town playboy and finds out there may be more to him than it seems.

The story is pretty unique, and I love Rachel Magee's beach settings. It was great to see the sisters get really honest with each other and help each other work out their problems together. This is one of the best books I've read in the last few months. HIghly recommend!

If I had to pick one word for this book, it’d be predictable. I pretty much knew how everything was gonna go just a few chapters in, so honestly... I was kind of bored. It wasn’t terrible, but it definitely didn’t grab me, and overall it just didn’t hit the way I hoped it would.
We get all the 3 sister POVs plus one from a love interest that, in my opinion, didn’t really need to be there. Most of the characters felt super cookie-cutter, and I didn’t really connect with any of them. And yep, the ending tied everything up in a neat little bow with happily ever afters all around.
This was my first book by this author and, if I’m being honest, probably my last. The writing just didn’t do it for me. It way too predictable, which kinda takes the fun out of reading.

Three sisters spend a month on vacation at the beach to honour their mother's wish. Of course everything is not as it used to be when they were here on vacation as kids and all three have their own problems. But maybe this summer can change all their lives for the better...
I really enjoyed reading this book but it took me a while to warm up to the main characters. They all seemed rather juvenile but maybe that was meant to be a consequence of them being back for a summer vacation like they used to do as kids. The story itself was entertaining and mostly believable and of course it ends with HEAs all around. An enjoyable summer read.

If you are looking for a great beach read this summer, look no further than "What Not to Do on Vacation" by Rachel Magee. I really enjoyed this book set right on the beach with the story alternating between all 3 sisters points of view. The book shows 3 very different sisters with very different lives and perspectives, coming together for one last summer on the beach - something their mother had hoped she'd do after her death.

This book has a bit of everything - sister drama, misguided characters, journeys of self-discovery and romance. It is a clean read book with just a bit of kissing for those looking for a clean read/closed door romance. There is great character growth for all 3 sisters as they learn more about each other and themselves while staying at the beach.

Thank you for Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.75! I liked it! I thought it was an easy read as well as a good bit of character growth and emotion. At times the book felt a little scattered and maybe would have been better if it had focused on one sister.

Rachel Magee’s What Not To Do on Vacation is a heartwarming and fun escape that follows three sisters as they embark on a much-needed vacation to reconnect after years of growing apart. Between the fallout of their parents' divorce, the loss of their mother, and the complexities of adult life, the sisters find themselves struggling to rediscover the bond they once had.

The story is set against a charming beach vacation backdrop where the sisters used to vacation as children. This book balances lighthearted moments with deeper emotional feelings. Magee does a good job of exploring family dynamics, the importance of forgiveness, and the strength of sisterhood. Along the way, the sisters also navigate friendship, personal growth, and some fun, clean romance, making this book a delightful blend of heart and humor. Magee has written a lovely reminder that it’s never too late to reconnect—with family, with love, and with yourself.

What Not To Do on Vacation is perfect for fans of feel-good fiction and a wonderful choice for the beach bag!. 4.5 Stars

Thanks Net Galley for the preview!

This book is an unexpected gem.
A heartwarming and fun story of three sisters navigating life's ups and downs, all the while trying to rediscover the summer magic of their childhood.
This is going to be a cosy summer/beach read for 2025!

'What Not to Do on Vacation' begins with the three Prestley sister's fulfilling their mothers final wish for the girls to spend one last summer holiday together, like they used to as kids.
Savannah has orchestrated the whole thing, right down to the same activities they used to love and ensuring quality sister time is shared. She has a secret, but she won't let that ruin her summer.

Cora knew this trip was doomed from the start, and that's not just because the airline lost her luggage. Her memories of the beach house are linked to happier times when their family was whole, and isn't interested in playing along with Savannah's trip down memory lane.

Bianca, the baby of the family and has always been treated as such. She can't wait to tell her sisters the good news; she's engaged and moving away to <i>finally</i> start her own life. Savannah and Cora think she's impulsive, Bianca thinks it's true love. But can you really love someone you have never met?

After an argument on their first night, the sisters set out to prove each other wrong - what's a little bet to make things interesting?
Their summer of sisterly fun is now overshadowed by scheming, plotting and an unexpected romance. But maybe a bit of "serendipitous" meddling is just what the sisters need...

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thanks Netgalley!