Vacation Wars by Meghan Quinn

Narrated by CJ Bloom & Lee Samuels

Standalone Romantic Comedy

I’m a huge Meghan Quinn fan and have been for years. Some of my all-time favorite books are hers, so I was super excited to listen to Vacation Wars! The really cool thing was that I got an ARC of this signed at Readers Take Denver and CJ Bloom, the narrator, was right behind me. Sadly, I didn’t realize she narrated this and I didn’t ask her to sign it 🙁

Vacation Wars made me giggle out loud like a lunatic. I was walking my dog and listening, and you can’t tell I have AirPods in, so I was snort-laughing walking down the street alone, and I got a few “crazy lady” looks. There is a lot of silly in Vacation Wars, so if that’s not your thing, this may not be the Meghan Quinn book for you. But there is also a lot of serious.

Tessa and her family have been coming to a resort in Santorini every summer for as long as she can remember. She has also been crushing on a boy who was always there and worked there since she was little, but she was always WAY too shy and anxious to talk to him…well except for one very awkward time. Tessa’s twin sister is the exact opposite. Always the drama queen and the one to steal the spotlight, she likes to put her sister down to bring herself up.

Tessa’s twin sister is getting married on Santorini, so they, along with their two best friends come to the island early for an extended bachelorette week. But Tessa is the only one without a significant other. The four girls made a friendship contract when they were younger that applied if anyone was still single at 30. Tessa is 30. These other three “girls” (They’re 30 but act 16) stop at nothing to set her up with anyone with a dick. But Tessa only has eyes for the boy she’s always crushed on, only known to them all as “The Bulge”.

Myles (AKA “The Bulge”) is the resort owner’s son. He has crushed on Tessa for as long as she has, but was also just as shy. He has his own family issues to deal with, but he sees what Tessa’s sister and friends are doing, and helps her fight back by beating them at their own prank games…hence Vacation Wars.

“You make me feel special. Despite my awkwardness and my stumbling, you still look at me in this way that creates this ball of confidence deep in my bones.”

Likes:

Tessa was just so awkward. I love when a heroine is a bit of a mess.
Made me laugh-out-loud so hard people looked at me like I was crazy.
A great mix of silly, emotional, angsty and sexy.
Ridiculous, fun antics.
Exploring Santorini. Meghan’s descriptions brought the island to life.
Myles was so amazing!
I liked the family business with Myles, it wasn’t only about Tessa’s family.
How much Tessa grew and changed through the story.

Dislikes:

Tessa’s sister and friends were just obnoxious shits.
30-year-olds still thinking high school perfume is magic.

The Narration:

CJ Bloom has great comedic timing and Lee Samuels brought Myles to life. I think this book was made better by the narration.

The Down & Dirty:

There is a lot of silly in Vacation Wars by Meghan Quinn, but there is also some serious topics woven throughout. Though Tessa’s sister and friends were just hateful, I absolutely loved the two main characters, and it made it even more fun when they started fighting back. Vacation Wars by Meghan Quinn took me to the Greek Islands and made me laugh embarrassingly in public. If you can’t stand immature silly humor, this book may not be for you, but for me, I had a blast listening to Vacation Wars!