Her Last Holiday by C.L Taylor (Review by Jasmin Webb-Oriogun)

4 stars

My love for C.L Taylor is ongoing. Her Last Holiday is centered around the sisters Jenna and Fran. 3 years earlier Jenna goes away on a self-help retreat which leads to death, and it seems Jenna has committed suicide. So, when Frans’s mother begs her to go on the retreat in present day to get answers surrounding Jenna’s death, reluctantly she goes and what she uncovers is a lot more than she can handle.

The characters in this story are all amazing, we hear from Jenna’s POV 3 years before hand, she’s going through a lot and when she meets Tom the retreat leader, she finds an instant spark between them. I liked the past story however the present story was much better it must be said.

Fran is the main character and I find her character to be so relatable. She’s middle aged, tired, fed up, guilt riddled and still trying to and failing to please her mother. This is why she ends up on the retreat. She’s a very to the point person which I loved so much! Her character is full of depth, and I was really routing for her to find out what happened to Jenna. Her guilt for not listening to her sister has followed her making her believe she was part responsible for her suicide.

Kate is the wife of Tom who is the retreat leader. Kate has waited for Tom to come out of prison and is pushing forward the most recent retreat. Kate is our story baddie and I just loved her!

There are also a lot of side characters throughout the story that all add something to it.

I love that our leading characters are all strong women. They all have their own issues, and this is clear and further gets dived into throughout the story. Fran is my favourite and her family dynamics I found very interesting to read. Especially the mother daughter relationship and the idea that you can be 51 and still have a very torturous relationship with your mother.

What the book also looks at really well is how people who are in dark emotional places can be suckered in by aimed phrases like I can save your life. This is the tag line that hooks Jenna in and many others on the retreat. It just shows how low everyone is that they have turned to an unqualified life coach instead of seeking professional help. It’s very interesting how this is used especially from Kate POV.

I really enjoyed this book. When I read the blurb and title, I thought yes another book like The Lie by C.L Taylor, I must say I preferred the Lie and almost wish I hadn’t read it before hand as I spent a lot of the book comparing the two, I chastised myself half way through though!

I recommend this book’s great suspense and loved finding out how it all played out. I had guessed the plot twists but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable. Happy to give 4 stars.