kath61's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this warm story with likeable characters and humour. Easy style.
happy_hiker's review against another edition
3.0
This book ended up in my purse to be read during breaks. It took a long time for me to get into it. However, once I did, it went pretty quickly and was fairly entertaining. Mom, Dad, James, Austin, Harriet: family-run travel agency in Australia. When Harriet was eight, Lara, whose parents died, was brought into the family. The story is set in the kids adulthood (Harriet is 32), starting with Lara not showing up in England for a tour she and Harriet were supposed to oversee. Harriet, just recovering from a nervous breakdown does an admirable job of running the tour and meets a man to boot. Intermingled with this are flashbacks to the time when Lara was brought into the family and concern over Lara’s whereabouts. The family bands together, find her, and uncover some unexpected information about her past. There is also a sister-in-law from hell who seems to be trying to take over the family travel business after the death of the parents – perhaps the worst being that she institutes a bright yellow uniform for tour guides.
r_lynn13's review against another edition
4.0
I am glad my family doesnt have this much baggage. I love a book that can transplant you to a far away place like this one does.
tricky's review against another edition
2.0
This is a book about family and the secrets that are made. The story is mean't to centre on Harriet who is recovering after a nervous breakdown brought on by not being with either of her parents when they died. Harriet has not been able to cope with much and finds herself thrown into taking a tour group when her brother falls ill. Harriet is not perturbed but is reassured the her adopted sister Lara will be there to assist. Of course Lara is not there and it sets off a chain of events where family history is questioned and misunderstandings are resolved.
I struggled to like this book, I struggled to connect to the characters and I really struggled to enagage with the story. What really made it difficult for me was all the character introspection that went on and on. After a while I really got tired of Harriet droning on about how she felt Lara was treated better, how she felt wronged for not being with her parents and every other crappy part of her life. Then there was Austin who really was bordering on one of the most unlikeable male characters I have read. Just so patronizing and so awful.
The story was well constructed, all the characters had endings and everything turned off really well for everyone, so happy endings all around. That made it a bit predictable and maybe that is why people love these books. It was not for me.
I struggled to like this book, I struggled to connect to the characters and I really struggled to enagage with the story. What really made it difficult for me was all the character introspection that went on and on. After a while I really got tired of Harriet droning on about how she felt Lara was treated better, how she felt wronged for not being with her parents and every other crappy part of her life. Then there was Austin who really was bordering on one of the most unlikeable male characters I have read. Just so patronizing and so awful.
The story was well constructed, all the characters had endings and everything turned off really well for everyone, so happy endings all around. That made it a bit predictable and maybe that is why people love these books. It was not for me.
miajmu's review against another edition
3.0
Not bad. No surprises or major plot twists, but a nice story about a family and their travel business.
nccswim's review
5.0
I really liked this book a lot. The characters were fun to follow. I thoroughly enjoyed that the author took the time to fully wrapped things up in a proper manner. I hate it when you're going along and then all of a sudden it feels like the author calls it quits and finishes the thing up in 10 pages. I will definitely give her other books a try.
marybethbutler's review against another edition
5.0
A perfectly wonderful read. Well drawn characters, plot develops smoothly, great reveal.
fmoreno's review
4.0
Really cute story, especially the romance. The mystery was also interesting but rather obvious, I thought. It's a nice book, a light reading perfect for rainy mornings when you have nothing to do (or so you say). I loved the romance between Patrick and Harriet All in all, it was a great book.
Spoiler
and I also would've liked to see more of Nina and Austin.bdietrich's review
4.0
First full-length book on my new Nook!
Family Baggage was different from the typical reasons I like McInerney's novels. It has the Australia/England dual setting and the light romance, but it also has a viewpoint I have never read before: tour guide. This past summer, my family and I went on a combo land/sea tour of Alaska, and while Harriet, McInerney's protagonist, is extremely different from the guide we had, I still enjoyed seeing the trip from that vantage point. While the book was slightly predictable and the end cleaned up a bit too neatly, I still enjoyed it. It isn't of the same caliber as Lauren Willig, but it is definitely still superb quality chick lit.
Family Baggage was different from the typical reasons I like McInerney's novels. It has the Australia/England dual setting and the light romance, but it also has a viewpoint I have never read before: tour guide. This past summer, my family and I went on a combo land/sea tour of Alaska, and while Harriet, McInerney's protagonist, is extremely different from the guide we had, I still enjoyed seeing the trip from that vantage point. While the book was slightly predictable and the end cleaned up a bit too neatly, I still enjoyed it. It isn't of the same caliber as Lauren Willig, but it is definitely still superb quality chick lit.
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