A book revolving around diverse people who all happen to be staying at the same small hotel in Cornwall. There's a nice pace, switching between different storylines, although I'd have preferred some interaction between the different groups. I found it hard to keep track of who was whom at first, and even when I could recall names and circumstances, I found most of the people a bit flat and didn't connect with any of them.

Still, although I found some of the back stories unrealistic, with an over-emphasis on supposedly irresistible passion leading to infidelity, I found the different subplots interesting enough that I kept reading, sometimes in quite large chunks as I was eager to know how the various problems were resolved.

Recommended for light, undemanding reading for those who like what we used to call 'chick-lit'.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-long-weekend-by-veronica-henry.... ( )

If there is one word to describe this book, it's MELANCHOLY. There is so much more under the surface of seemingly cheating or shallow characters, that you end up changing your point of view a few times before you get to the end. It's unhurried, lovely and sad, but there is a happy ending, and it made me smile. Recommended if you want something less upbeat and more philosophical. ( )

A very enjoyable piece of fluff. A treat before and after more weighty works. So good to escape to a world where things all work out in the end. ( )

Read this in 24 hrs...which alas is a minor miracle for me now.
I got swept up in the story and hooked on the drama. I even had to stop eating my tea briefly. In fact apart from sleep the only real break I took was to tweet the author to say I was hooked...and reader..she replied ! :)
Based in the middle class and could be seen as quite snobby ( what IS wrong in buying your toothbrush from Spar..? ) I was too engrossed in the story to stew over that problem for long.
Not elevating Veronica to the pedestal on which I've placed Helen Dunmore and Susan Fletcher, but I will be looking out for more of het books with anticipation.
H ( )

Veronica Henry is no stranger to the British chick-lit scene, and her tenth novel comes as an enjoyable quick read. The Long Weekend, set in the sunny seaside town of Cornwall, follows the owners and guests at The Townhouse by the Sea Hotel over the course of a weekend, as they all face their individual demons. Amongst them are Claire Barlowe, the hotel owner who comes face to face with a ghost from her past, Laura Starling, a girl in search of her long lost father, and Colin Turner, a family man with a secret daughter born out of wedlock.

Henry delivers spectacularly on character depth and the reader very easily gets caught up in each and every one of The Long Weekend’s very complicated characters, intrigued as to how they will develop - which they do with a few far-from-predictable twists for the genre. Still, for a non-British reader, the use of British slang may be isolating and there are a few minor annoyances, namely the author’s overuse of French expressions, ‘joie de vivre’ (joy of life) in particular used to the excess.

Still, for a quick light-hearted read, The Long Weekend is a nice, easy book to lose yourself in on a long weekend, and there’s also a list of recipes at the back, meaning that after you’re finished reading the book, you can still use it to make dishes like Scallops and Black Pudding With Celeriac Puree and Cornish Clotted Cream Fudge. ( )