Story for the Week
Up until a couple of years ago, I had no idea what a hostel was. My brother-in-law mentioned that he would be staying in one in LA when he vacationed there, and I thought he typed “hotel” wrong in his text message. Little did I know that there’s a whole culture around renting a bed in a dormitory-style room as a way of saving money by staying with like-minded travelers. I am definitely not their target demographic. 😉
When I was younger, I stayed in my share of discount motels and hotels, especially if it was a one-night stopover on a road trip where we were pulling in, sleeping, and leaving in the morning. Amenities didn’t matter as long as the room was clean and the heat or air conditioning worked depending on the season. I never cared if there was a pool.
As I got older, the amenities mattered more. Free breakfast…✅. Free Wi-Fi… ✅. Toiletries in the bathroom…✅. I still wasn’t opening anything in the mini-fridge or ordering room service, but my requirements resulted in a bit of a higher price-point.
Once I got married, and Dennis and I started traveling together, we were still focused on less expensive hotels because it was really just a place to sleep, but we did a lot of comparison shopping. Our first vacation together was a trip to Disneyworld. As much as staying at a Disney property was appealing, we couldn’t justify the cost. We found a hotel about a mile from the parks at a fraction of the cost with a Ponderosa Steakhouse next door where we had dinner every evening. (Dennis loved that Ponderosa. 🥰)
When we went back to Disneyworld a few years later and brought some friends along, we actually negotiated a two-bedroom, three-bathroom suite for a little over $100 a night. Corinne loved that hotel room. She was about six at the time and thought everything was “elegant.” She ate breakfast on one of two balconies every morning, and she took a whirlpool bath every night. There was a kitchen and washer/dryer, which we put to very good use. And we still had dinner at Ponderosa every evening.
As I’ve settled into single motherhood since Dennis passed and Corinne is older, we still comparison shop for lodging when we travel, but we splurge a little more. I focus on Marriott for the reward points for one- or two-night stays. We’re not getting suites for $100 night, but we’re not spending several hundred dollars either.
For multi-night stays, we definitely look at AirBnB. I’ve had great experiences with AirBnB, but I also have certain criteria I won’t budge on: Superhosts and the Place to Myself Every Time. I read the reviews and the cancellation policies, and I ask questions…lots and lots of questions.
People complain a lot about the cleaning fees on top of the cleaning they still have to do for AirBnB, but it really does depend on the one you choose. I’ve never had to do more than take out the trash and start a load of towels before leaving, which I didn’t think was a lot to ask. Read the fine print, and they’re often a much better deal than a hotel for a longer stay.
And of course, put me in a verandah stateroom on a Disney cruise, and you will not hear me complain. A hostel though…never would I ever, especially not after reading the book below. 😬
Book Review
⭐
1 Star for The Vacation by John Marrs
513 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press
Publication Date: December 19, 2023
I received an advance copy of this title from NetGalley and Hanover Square Press in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher’s Description
Venice Beach, Los Angeles. A paradise on earth. Tourists flock to the golden coast and the promise of Hollywood. But for eight strangers at a beach-front hostel, there is far more on their minds than an extended vacation. All of them are running from something. And they all have secrets they’d kill to keep….
************
Main Characters:
- Tommy – originally from England, works the front reception desk at the Venice Beach International Hostel in exchange for a room
- Eric & Nicole – best friends, were nurses at a hospital in England, Nicole befriended a terminally ill patient who told Nicole stories about when she and her husband traveled Route 66, Nicole and Eric believe that they are in search of some sort of treasure while on a great American adventure
- Savannah – lives at the hostel, works as an exotic dancer, escaped an abusive and bigoted evangelist father, good friends with Peyk
- Ruth – originally from Australia, obsessed with A-list actor Zak Stanley, ridiculed by her mother and brother for being unattractive and overweight, came to Venice Beach after winning a contest to meet Zak
- Matty & Declan – originally from Ireland, best friends, on a backpacking journey across America
- Jake – originally from England, has spent the past two years backpacking around the world, tattooing coordinates on his body of important places he’s been
- Peyk – handyman at the hostel
- Ron – owner of the hostel
This “new” release by John Marrs is actually a re-release and rename of a previous self-published title from 2015, Welcome to Wherever You Are. It appears that the audiobook was released under the new title The Vacation in 2018. The author’s acknowledgements indicate that the book has been re-edited for the new release, but I feel like this was just a way to capitalize on Marrs’ current success. Frankly, he should have left it in 2015.
The fact that this was a re-release wouldn’t have mattered to me if I had known. I have read two previous titles by Marrs and loved them. I previously reviewed Her Last Move (I Hate When My Brain Short Circuits Like That) and suggested that Marrs needed a movie deal because the screenplays would write themselves. I also said The Good Samaritan reads like a multi-week run of a Criminal Minds episode (Goodreads review). I was excited to read this. I wanted to read this. I am a fan.
But not this time.
The short chapters start in the present day, alternating between points of view for all the main “hostelers,” with flashbacks to relevant times in their past that explain how they got where they are. I’m sure the intent is to keep the reader on the edge of their seat and turning pages, but I started to roll my eyes after a while. The number of times the author ends a chapter indicating that the character didn’t notice someone watching or following or listening got a little ridiculous.
These are supposed to be people who are constantly looking over their shoulders because of the bad situations they have escaped. I find it hard to believe they would trust virtual strangers the way they do and be so oblivious to their surroundings in their most vulnerable moments.
I don’t mind books with a lot of characters if they are well-developed. These are not. We uncover each backstory over the course of the book, but their relationships are surface-level. Dialog doesn’t ring true. Everyone has a horrible secret in their past, and the number of dead bodies surrounding these eight people who all happened to end up in the same place…. Let’s just say I had trouble suspending disbelief.
And if this is a re-edit, then we shouldn’t be seeing things like “Three days after making headline news, Stuart’s phone him. Three days after making headline news, Stuart’s phone foot East Sussex cliffs.” I know I have an advance copy, but I assume the re-edit started with the original text. I’d hate to see how that read in the first release.
Presented as a thriller, The Vacation doesn’t seem to have a plot at all, let alone a thrilling one. Marrs mentions in his notes that the hostel is fictional but based on a hostel he stayed at when he backpacked through America. “Adventure stories,” which is what this seems to be more than a thriller, do not seem to be his forte. This book didn’t need a re-edit. It needed a complete overhaul with the seasoned writing skill Marrs has developed over his career.
I recommend passing on this one and picking up one of the author’s more recent titles.
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