Thank you for the advanced copy of the audio book.

This is a feel good novel about families, the romance is sweet and helps move the story along, but the focus is really the relationship of the three sisters. Savannah, Cora, Bianca. They come together, for one last 'summer' at the beach, in honor of their mother, who has passed away. Savannah is determined to relive the past, including chore charts and bucket lists. Meanwhile Cora and Bianca set off on their own summer paths, and are leaving her behind, so it seems.

Her younger two sisters square off in a bet. If Cora win's Bianca will not move to Idaho to marry a man she's never met in person, and if Bianca wins she can move.

Turns their secrets are bigger than they are and in order to get to the other side and find happiness, they must each work through them together.

Though there is romance, it's closed door and focuses on the relationship of the characters. This was told in a four person point of view (each sister and Cora's love interest Jax). What made this for me was the narrator. She managed to give each character a voice that was just a bit different, which made the four person point of view a bit easier when listening.

I loved this and would listen to it again!

Three sisters, Savannah, Cora, and Bianca, go on a vacation to Florida to fulfill their mother’s last wish. Savannah booked their childhood vacation home and came up with a bucket list to make the vacation just like when they were kids. She had hoped that this trip would help with sister-bonding. The real reason Savannah booked the trip was something else, but could she find the right moment to tell her sister without ruining their trip?

Bianca is a hopeless romantic and found herself a husband on a dating site that matches people up with AI. They are now getting married and Bianca is going to move in with her fiance. Her sisters are not very excited by this news, because Bianca hasn’t met her fiance and doesn’t really know him.
Bianca and Cora come up with a bet. If Bianca can find ‘the one’ for Cora on the dating app, she would call off the wedding.

Cora is done with love and is convinced that she can win this bet. She made her profile on the dating app and got her match from AI. Cora and Jax started texting and soon went on their first date. Cora thought she would easily win the bet with her sister but after meeting with Jax she realises that it’s going to be harder than she thought.

This is the first book I read from Rachel Magee and I’m impressed. Normally I don’t read books like this, but this book was very enjoyable. There were really funny parts but there were also times that dealt with serious topics.
There was a lot happening with these sisters, so it was never boring to read.
You get this story from the pov of Savannah, Cora, Bianca and Jax. I really liked this because you know what everyone's thinking and feeling.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What Not to Do on Vacation: A Must-Have for Your Summer Beach Bag

If you love stories about messy families, unexpected romance, and sun-soaked second chances, What Not to Do on Vacation is the beach read you need this summer.

Three sisters—Savannah, Cora, and Bianca—are back at their childhood vacation beach house in Florida to honor their late mother’s final wish: one last summer together. Savannah, the oldest and most put-together, is the one pulling everyone back. Cora, the middle sister with a bit of an edge, isn’t exactly thrilled. And Bianca? She’s the free spirit who impulsively got engaged to a man she met on a dating site… without ever seeing him in person.

To prove her whirlwind love story is the real deal, Bianca makes a bet with Cora—and ropes in Jax, a charming local with his own reasons for playing along, to help stage a fake relationship. Chaos, laughs, and heartfelt moments follow.

The narrator did a great job of making this book and enjoyable listen. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this free advanced copy . I am leaving this review voluntarily

What Not to Do on Vacation by Rachel Magee is a light and entertaining read that captures the unpredictable nature of getaways gone wrong. With a charming cast of characters and plenty of unexpected turns, it offers a fun escape that’s easy to enjoy. Perfect for readers looking for something breezy, heartwarming, and full of little surprises.

•𝐀𝐋𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰•

{𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝑫𝒐 𝒐𝒏 𝑽𝒂𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏}

“𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎’𝚜 𝚋𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚐𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚜.”

🏖️ Release Date: May 20, 2025 🏖️
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If I had to choose only one word to describe this book, it would have to be “predictable.” I felt like I already knew everything that was going to happen in this book only a few chapters in, so I spent most of my time reading being bored out of my mind. So while I wouldn’t call this story “bad”, it definitely wasn’t captivating by any means and overall, I’d consider it a letdown.

This story focused on three sisters and their journey to fixing their relationship after their mom died. We got the pov of all three sisters, plus the pov of one of the love interests. Honestly, I feel like they should have just left the love interest’s pov out and the story would have been just fine. Most of the characters felt extremely cliché and it was hard to connect with any of them in general. As you would expect, the ending tied everything up with a big red bow and everyone got their HEAs.

This was a new-to-me author and honestly, I don’t think I’ll be reading any more of her books. Like I mentioned earlier, her writing style in this book was very predictable and that just takes all the fun out of reading. So while her other books may not be as predictable, I’m just not willing to take that chance.

The audiobook was a lot more digestible than the e-book. The narrator was amazing and did a great job!
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I received a complimentary alc from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio. All opinions are purely my own.

This will be a perfect beach read. Easy to listen to while laying out and people watching. The narrator did a great job. The plot had parallel story line to How To Lose a Guy in 10 days. I really enjoyed this being closed door/ clean romance!