3.75 ⭐️

A funny and charming story about a beautiful sister bond. Great setting and very entertaining. I had a great time and of course it is a perfect summer read :-)

I loved the How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days vibes this gave. As someone who only has one half sister that is 12 years younger than me, I loved seeing a close sisterly relationship with multiple sisters. That dynamic was so interesting. Overall this was a great book!

A cute beach read centered around sisters but I almost did not finish. Just could not get into it but definitely a good book for the right person!

A fake-dating rom-com with sisterly bonding set on a beach. A perfect summer read.

I enjoyed the dynamics of the sisters and the romance was low spice. I prefer a little more spice than this but you won't feel guilty telling someone what you're reading in public if they ask. LOL.

What Not to do on Vacation was such a charming and lighthearted read with slow burn, fake dating, summer romance, and the hilarious, heartwarming shenanigans of three sisters with a messy past. The enjoyable plot was filled with family drama and comedy with a side of not one but two summer romances. The sisterly bond between Cora, Bianca, and Savannah was well developed and felt realistic, making them very relatable and easy to connect with. I connected with Savannah, the oldest sister, almost immediately and in multiple ways. I would definitely recommend this light, clean, rom-com. It’s the perfect book to throw in your vacation bag to read on the beach or next to the pool.

The narrator, Karissa Vacker, did a phenomenal job with giving several different characters their own voice making it easy to follow and listen. I am becoming a big fan of her work. Her passion and enthusiasm shows in her work and characters. As always, she did a great job with pacing, tone, and inflection which really helped to set the summer beach vacation vibes and brought the story and characters to life, delivering a flawless performance from start to finish.

Thank you @thomasnelson, @rachelmageeauthor, and @uplitreads for the #giftedbyuplit fun PR box with a finished copy and audio. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What Not to Do on Vacation by Rachel Magee is a cute and fun summer read that definitely gives 10 Things I Hate About You vibes. While the storyline may have been a little predictable, it was still enjoyable. As someone who only has brothers, the sister dynamics made me laugh. I liked the sweet romance subplot and appreciated that the whole book was clean in regards to romance and language. This is a great summer read to pick up if you're looking for a quick and easy book for the pool or beach. I will be looking for others by this author at my library and on my Libby app!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

What Not to Do on Vacation is a fun read! Savannah schedules a month at the beach house where she and her sisters went every summer with their mom and dad to try to reconnect with her sisters. She says it was one of mom's last wishes to have the sisters reconnect. Cora is a photographer who lives in Houston. On her way to vacation, her luggage is lost. Not a great way to start a vacation. Bianca announces on their first night there that she's engaged to be married - to a man she has only met online! Her sisters immediately try to tell her she's crazy to do such a thing. Not a great way to start a vacation. Bianca swears that the online app that she used to meet her fiance is the real deal. Cora challenges her and says she will sign up for the app and prove Bianca wrong. She plans to dump whatever guy the app places her with! Savannah has her own news, which she does not share with her sisters - she is facing major surgery, which she doesn't want to effect her life with her husband and young daughters.

Well, you can imagine how the sister's plans come crashing down during their vacation - Cora actually likes the man that the app set her up with. Bianca seems to enjoy spending time with the landlord of the rental, and Savannah can't seem to get anyone to follow the list of "sister bonding" activities that she has charted out!

Thanks to Net Galley and the Publisher for the advanced readers copy of this title. What Not to Do on Vacation is available now!

Three estranged Prestly sisters reunite in sunny Sunnyside, Florida, recreating childhood beach holidays. Bianca drops a surprise engagement to a guy she overdosed on – yep, she met him online just five weeks prior – while Savannah's orchestrated month-long escape hides a secret of her own. And poker-faced Cora? Bianca ropes her into using the same AI matchmaker app to prove love is a joke. Cue jaw-dropping sparks with local playboy Jax Verona… but nothing goes according to plan

This was the perfect easy read for a beach day! The beginning reeled me in, I was sitting in that parking lot not wanting to get soaked. I enjoyed the humor as we followed the sister’s on their attempt at a vacation.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Such a good beach reach. Clean and fun with three sisters working together to sort of find their way back together.
I love the bucket list idea and loved the story. Thanks for the advanced copy.

What Not To Do On Vacation was such a fun, feel-good read. Three sisters, one beach house, and a whole lot of history between them. Savannah’s trying to bring them back together with a nostalgia-packed summer, Bianca’s surprising everyone with a wedding and a matchmaking mission, and Cora… would really rather not be involved in any of it—but agrees to a date just to prove a point.

I loved how different the sisters were—there’s sass, heart, and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, but also some really lovely scenes about growing up, growing apart, and figuring out how to reconnect. It’s sweet, funny, and full of that warm, summery vibe that makes it perfect for a vacation read.

Thank you @rachelmageeauthor, @harpermusebooks and @uplitreads for the #gifted book. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book was a lovely read. At first, I was really drawn in, as it offered a refreshing twist on the typical romance, family drama, and holiday tropes. However, by the middle, I found it a bit harder to stay engaged. That said, I would still recommend this book for its witty banter and the overall feel-good vibe it delivers.

This made a great book club read for my mom book club! It was a real feel good, laugh out loud reminder of what really matters in life. If you like clean rom coms with coastal vibes and summer shenanigans this is worth the read!
Thank you Thomas Nelson Fiction and Netgalley from whom I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are my own.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was very quickly hooked in this book. It was a great story and hard to put down. The three Prestly sisters take a month vacation together after the urging of the sister Savannah, back to their childhood vacation home. The sisters have not had a close relationship since their parents divorced and their mom passed away. As the month goes on each sister has their own challenge to get through. Read on to see if the sisters can mend their relationship.

Pick this one up and read it! It's such a great story.

☀️ What Not to Do on Vacation by Rachel McGee — Book Review

Told through multiple POVs, What Not to Do on Vacation is a heartwarming and often humorous story centered on three sisters navigating life, relationships, and complicated family dynamics during a much-needed vacation. While I’m not usually drawn to books with several narrators, this one kept me engaged.

The sisterly bond stood out most—equal parts chaotic, caring, and deeply relatable. Their banter, old grudges, and moments of unexpected vulnerability made their interactions feel authentic and emotionally grounded. Each sister brought a different layer to the story, and I appreciated seeing how their struggles and personalities wove into the larger family dynamic.

That said, I found myself especially drawn to Savannah’s character. Her arc felt like it had more to uncover, and I would have loved a deeper dive into her backstory and inner world. Still, the blend of laughter, heartache, and self-discovery made this a thoroughly enjoyable read, perfect for fans of character-driven stories about family, healing, and the beautiful messiness of sibling relationships. It's a 3.5-star for me.

Favorite Quote:
“Family. We couldn’t live without them, but sometimes they make it hard to live with them.”

I received an advance reader copy from Thomas Nelson Fiction via NetGalley. My review reflects my honest and unbiased thoughts.

This was an amazing book about sisters reconnecting! I loved it and would highly recommend it! Thank you Rachel Magee and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

If you're looking for your next beach read that delivers laughter, heartwarming moments, and a swoony slow-burn romance, What Not to Do on Vacation might just be your sunscreen-splattered soulmate. Described as Ten Things I Hate About You meets Nobody Wants This, this clean romantic comedy is as much about falling in love as it is about reconnecting with family and rediscovering yourself.

At the heart of the story are the Prestly sisters, three wildly different women brought together by Savannah, the responsible older sister who has planned the ultimate nostalgic beach vacation. Her goal is simple: recreate their childhood summers and bring the family closer again. But things quickly spiral when Bianca, the youngest, announces her engagement and challenges her skeptical sister Cora to find love on a dating app. If Cora fails, Bianca promises to call off her wedding.

Cora is sarcastic, guarded, and completely unconvinced by the idea of true love. She accepts the challenge, certain it will only prove her point. That is, until she matches with Jax, a charming, confident, and unexpectedly sweet man who seems too good to be true. Their connection begins as a way to win the bet, but quickly develops into something deeper, even if Cora refuses to admit it.

This story sparkles with witty dialogue, warmhearted moments, and a romance that builds with delicious tension. The fake dating plotline is fun and full of chemistry, while Jax turns out to be much more than the shallow playboy he appears to be. Cora's emotional journey is just as compelling as her romantic one, making her a deeply relatable heroine.

While the love story brings the butterflies, it is the bond between the sisters that adds richness to the narrative. Kate O’Keeffe captures the complexity and affection that comes with sisterhood—the rivalries, the inside jokes, the miscommunications, and the fierce loyalty. Watching the Prestly sisters grow, heal, and rediscover each other is every bit as satisfying as the romantic resolution.

Don’t be surprised if you find yourself laughing, swooning, and maybe even tearing up by the final page.

I absolutely loved this book. It is a perfect summer or vacation read that just put a constant smile on my face. It was the perfect blend of women's fiction and romance, and is just an overall feel good story.

This is the perfect summer read that follows three sisters on their journey to reconnect and keep their family together. This gives all the perfect beach vibes and I could just picture it so well. I absolutely loved the idea of the bucket list and the sentiment behind why they did each task. There is definitely tons of sister drama and arguments but they definitely have some good times and I enjoyed reading it so much. I like watching all the romances play out and think that they all ended exactly where they needed to. I would definitely say if you’re looking for your next summer (beach) read with some great characters, growth, and a bit of romance this is the book for you!!!

Savannah has planned the most amazing summer trip to reconnect with her sisters Bianca and Cora. This month-long vacation will take place at the beach house their parents rented each summer during their youth. The itinerary for the trip features all of their favorite activities from the past. Savannah also has an important secret she hasn't shared with her sisters.

Talking about secrets, Bianca has one of her own to reveal - she is getting married! Her sisters, however, are not thrilled when they figure out she met her fiance a few months ago on a dating app and has never even met him in person. Being the youngest of the family, she is never being taken seriously in her decisions. To prove this decision is sound, she offers up a bet to match up Cora with her soul-mate via the app.

Cora is the most closed-off for her sisters and the most removed from her family. But to protect her sister, she goes along with the plan to prove that you cannot fall in love that quickly, especially to a person that you meet on a dating app. When she gets matched with the town playboy, she knows her assignment is going to be easy. But not as easy as she thinks it will be, with her heart on the line.

I really enjoyed reading about what felt like a real family - the ups, downs and everything in between for these sisters. The way that they are all so different but come together is not a novel theme, but it was so well done. I also enjoyed the How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days approach for the Cora and Jax romance. This book had me laughing one minute and then feeling sentimental the next. And for a person who isn't heavy into sexier books, this one was nice and tame. The perfect rom-com/touching read.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction, NetGalley, and Rachel Magee for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.