When high school friends reunite on a holiday, what could possibly go wrong?

Synopsis

There’s trouble in paradise…

Moving home in her 30s was not the life plan Jas had in mind. So when her best friend gets in touch to say she’s arranging a long overdue reunion with their high school friends, Jas is very much up for the escape. Oh, and it’s all expenses paid to Italy – so that’s a bonus!

But while being whisked away to the beautiful Italian coast may seem idyllic, Jas has to come face to face with not only her ex-boyfriend, but the one that got away too!

It’s a week of sun, sea and unravelling secrets, and as the love triangle from the past starts to develop once again, this trip is not panning out exactly as Jas imagines…

Should the past be left where it is, or could there be a second chance at love on the horizon..?

Join top 10 bestseller Portia MacIntosh for a sun-drenched, laugh-out-loud love triangle romantic comedy!

My review

Jas never thought that not only she would lose her job but she also had to return back home with her parents. While she counts her blessings that her parents welcome her back, she feels like this is for sure a serious step back from her life plan.
Luckily she receives an invite from her best friend, to not only have a reunion, but to have it in a gorgeous villa in Italy, and all expense are being paid. Too bad that the reunion of high school friends both include her ex – boyfriend and the one friend she always had a crush on.
With a week spending in paradise, the holiday seems like a dream coming true. But nothing is less true, as this will be a reunion that no one would ever forget, for one reason or another… 

I eagerly started this book, as I have loved reading previous books of this author. However, I imagined a totally different story than what it actually was.
But that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy reading it anyway, on the contrary, as it made me keep guessing what would happen next, as the reunion for sure was one filled with good and not so good surprises for the characters! 

Immediately from the start, I sympathized with Jas. Not only has she just lost her job, but she lost it while she hasn’t done anything wrong. But how can you fight against it, if it’s your own boss in the wrong?
Returning back home for sure feels like a defeat for Jas, as when she was younger, she had dreams about making a difference in the world (don’t we all have had that same dream?). 

When her friend Maxi calls for the reunion – holiday, obviously Jas doesn’t want to miss this opportunity. Who would??? A holiday in Italy, with no worries about any expense, how much better can a holiday get? 

How happy Jas is about the holiday, the reunion also means to face two people of her past… her ex – boyfriend Mike, with a relationship that didn’t exactly ended on good terms, and Cam, the boy she had a huge crush on, and feels like ‘The One That Got Away’.
I could feel Jas’ dread on seeing both men now again, and learning how well they are doing in their lives for sure causes Jas more pain… 

When the group is finally completely reunited, it was easy to see how the old hierarchy was quickly restored. Maxi and DJ act like they are still together, even if Maxi is married to Rupert. Mike is still the popular guy, but also jealous whenever Jas and Cam appear to be doing just about anything. Cam is still the calming force of the group, trying to keep everything under control. And Clarky is still annoying person acting too cool for his own good. 

And it’s exactly Clarky who turns this story into something completely different than expected, with his “great” idea of a boat trip, which turn out to be a survivor’s experience nobody prepared to. 

It’s during and after the experience that the story truly takes off, as we see the dynamics shift from adults into high school behaviour again (although in Clarky’s case, he never left the high school behaviour). 

We get to learn about what exactly caused the close friends to drift apart, despite their strong bond. With the help of flashbacks we get glimpses of that friendship, but also we get to see how everything fell apart. 

Of course this wouldn’t be a Portia MacIntosh if there wouldn’t be any hilarious moments in it. I laughed with the discovery of the suite that the friends ended up with. I laughed over the resort games and to be honest, I also laughed over Clarky’s stupidity! 

I loved reading this book, as even if it was funny at more than one occasion, it also shows us how people always have the need to show off somehow. We don’t want to admit that our lives isn’t that great at all. Jas just lost her job and is back home, but also Maxi, DJ, Mike, Clarky and Cam aren’t having the easiest times. But while that it just how life goes, it’s difficult to admit that to even the people who were the closest to us.  

But the author also shows us that we should grab that second chance when it’s handed to us. Because just perhaps the first chance wasn’t the right time, and we needed to mature to truly understand what we have or could have and truly appreciate that precious second chance not only at love, but maybe even more important, at friendship.