The Beachside Guest House by Vanessa Greene

The Beachside Guest House by Vanessa Greene
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Rosa and Bee get together in the run-up to Bee's wedding, they reminisce about the holiday they took together as teenagers to the beautiful Greek island of Paros. They remember the sandy coves, the guest house in the converted windmill where they stayed with their friend Iona, and the gorgeous local men. As memories of that long-forgotten holiday resurface, they are forced to confront the turns their lives have taken - and the guilt they both feel about letting Iona slip away from them.

When they learn that the windmill guest house is going bust they form a plan: why not go back to the island and take it over themselves? And so begins a life-changing journey - because it turns out that opening a guest house and reliving their teenage dreams isn't that easy . . .


Very easy to read novel perfect for holidays a light and simple read. Three friends end up reuniting and revisiting Greece on the island of Paros a place they visited when they were teenagers and take over the guest house they stayed in all those years ago. They plan to renovate and reopen the windmill guest house to try and create the idyllic memories they had for their guests when they stay there proves to be more problematic than they initially thought and with finances running low and the windmill eating money they are soon worrying that they have made a bad decision.

Typical chic-lit novel with all the trials and tribulations, testing friendships and loyalties, building new relationships and characters finding themselves on this beautiful island.

Good atmospheric scene setting and some humour blended well together held this story for me, the characters were a little weak and predictable as was the ending, no fireworks here, very guessable with no real mystery.

If you're after a gentle easy holiday read this will do the trick, don't expect anything more. Three stars from me.