I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Ivy Yu is cursed. Her parents separated six months ago, and she’s fallen into a fog. To help, her mother books an impulsive trip to Japan (cool) on a bus tour (very uncool). Ivy should be grateful, but this summer is her last chance to get her situationship, Connor, to fall in love with her.

When they arrive in Tokyo, it’s even worse than she imagined. Ivy and her Mom are the youngest of a group of seniors. Make that two of the youngest: there’s brooding Matteo, with his single dad, Keith.

Then Ivy discovers her mother and Keith are getting close, and her crush back home is hooking up with someone else. Desperate for some semblance of control and a distraction from the heaviness she can’t seem to shake off, she makes a deal with Matteo to keep their parents apart. Luckily, he agrees—and their devious plans begin.

Dodging nosy old ladies on the bus ride through Japan, their strange partnership begins to blossom into something unexpected and exciting—but can their romantic spark survive the journey?

Short and Sweet Review

I really wanted to enjoy The Vacation Shift. A YA romance set on a bus tour through Japan sounded like a lot of fun, and the setting ended up being one of the strongest parts of the book. The descriptions of Japan were enjoyable, and I liked seeing Ivy and Matteo’s relationship develop while traveling through different locations. Matteo was easily my favorite character in the story. He balanced Ivy well and brought some much-needed maturity and charm to the romance.

Unfortunately, Ivy made this a difficult read for me. I understand that she’s struggling with her parents’ separation and feeling lost, but her reactions often felt excessive. Throughout the book she came across as incredibly whiny, throwing what felt like constant temper tantrums whenever things didn’t go the way she wanted. While her emotions were valid, the way she handled them became exhausting after a while. Instead of sympathizing with her, I found myself increasingly frustrated by her inability to communicate and her tendency to make everything about herself. I also wasn’t a fan of Ivy’s relationship with her mother. Their interactions felt like the same arguments repeated over and over again. While her mom certainly wasn’t perfect, it often felt like she would rather pretend everything was fine than actually address what Ivy was going through. Ivy clearly needed support, and instead of getting to the root of her daughter’s struggles, her mother often brushed things aside. The constant back-and-forth between them became repetitive and dragged down the story for me. The romance with Matteo was sweet enough, but it wasn’t enough to overcome my issues with the main character. By the end, I was hoping for more growth from Ivy than we actually got. There were moments where it seemed like she was starting to mature, but then she’d fall right back into the same patterns that had frustrated me throughout the book.

Overall, The Vacation Shift had a great setting and a likable love interest, but Ivy’s behavior and the repetitive family drama made it difficult for me to fully enjoy the story. While I appreciated the exploration of family changes and teenage uncertainty, I found the execution more frustrating than emotional.