Book Review: Vacation Self

Vacation Self

By Alexandra Romanoff

Vacation Self is a perfect book to pick up if you want 2.5 hours of romance, spice, and pretending you are on vacation in Vermont without leaving your living room.

Maggie is kind of a workaholic, and she is forcing herself to go on a vacation to figure out what she wants out of life. All she has been thinking about lately are spreadsheets and flowers and the stressors of running a small business. Years ago, she swapped a lucrative career in finance for running her own florist business, but now she is questioning where her love for creativity and art disappeared to... Hopefully, a vacation to a luxurious resort in small-town Vermont called The Cabins will restore her joy for her job and maybe even help her find her “vacation self.”

What she doesn’t expect is to fall in lust and/or love with a guy from a boy band. When Maggie walks into the resort bar on her first night there, she locks eyes with Jake, who is holed up in Vermont to forget about his break-up and lack of direction in life. She finds out he is actually Ramsey, who was once a famous part of a boy band when he was a teenager…at first she dismisses him, but as she gets to know the real Jake, she finds she wants to know him more and more. There are cute hikes, soul-deep conversations, and yes, there is a hot tub scene. Until Maggie wonders if she is falling in love or if their vacation fling should day just that…

The novel is dual-POV with both Maggie and Jake’s perspectives. I think Jake’s character could have been a bit more well-developed, because we mostly knew about his hobbies, that he is hot, and that he is sober. I would like to see more of his quirks and personality. Overall, I feel like if you enjoyed American Fantasy by Emma Straub and you want more retired boy band/normal person romances, then read this one.

This is the third book in the Big Fan series by Alexandra Romaoff, but you don’t have to read the books in order. I am going to go back and start with Book 1, Big Fan, because Charlie and Maya’s romance sounds like a cute and meaningful love story.

Thank you to 831 Stories and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.