Book Review - The Honeymoon by Tina Seskis

Amazon UK

Title: The Honeymoon

Author: Tina Seskis

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Publication Date: 1st June 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

There's trouble in paradise . . .

For as long as she can remember, Jemma has been planning the perfect honeymoon. A fortnight's retreat to a five-star resort in the Maldives, complete with luxury villas, personal butlers and absolute privacy.

It should be paradise. But it's turned into a nightmare.

Because the man Jemma married a week ago has just disappeared from the island without a trace. And now her perfect new life is vanishing just as quickly before her eyes.

After everything they've been through together, how can this be happening? Is there anyone on the island who Jemma can trust? And above all - where has her husband gone?

An incredibly cleverly crafted story, where elements are revealed slowly and on a need to know basis, until you are left reeling at the overall outcome. I had absolutely not clue as to what had happened to her husband, other than that he had clearly disappeared. 

The book is split into multiple parts, and within the first part you get two timelines, the here and now in the Maldives, and Jemma's instant reactions to the situation, and interlinked we get the murky history of her relationship with husband, and Jemma's true feelings for him. 

It it incredibly hard to talk about the story in this book, as everything was written in a way that if I say the wrong thing I could be giving away spoilers.  What will I will say is its a story that has got me thinking about tropical honeymoon destinations..such as The Maldives, the setting for this book. 

The island that Jemma is staying on is clearly beautiful, and everything you could want for in a tropical paradise, its remote, tries to be romantic, stunning scenery, gorgeous watery wildlife and your every whim catered to. But when things go wrong in such a place, you will soon start to feel threatened by the same island. The remoteness and quiet of the place can be overwhelming, that all the staff know you can be intimidating if your husband has mysteriously disappeared.  That its so hard to know what may have been witnessed by who, and just how much do you really trust the people you are making friends with on your honeymoon, when it comes down to a critical situation. 

That is the main thing that I will take from The Honeymoon, especially as a person who loves visiting such beauty spots herself, and definitely feels like it is one element of the book. 

The other is of course Jemma's emotional reaction to the events and even quite early on I found her a tricky character to have any real empathy with. I felt sorry for her of course, but just didn't quite make the connection I would have hoped. 

Despite that I found The Honeymoon to be compelling reading, I wanted to know what was going to happen next, and just what happened to the missing husband, I had to keep on reading, and read the majority of the book in just one sitting, 

The Honeymoon is the sort of book you will be drawn into, and taken on a wonderful journey all from the comfort of your living room. Although in some respects I would say this would be a great summer holiday read, I would perhaps suggest not taking it to incredibly remote holiday locations, as it may feel a bit too close for comfort! 

Thank you so much to Michael Joseph and Netgalley for this copy which I have I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.