Those of you who know me well will have noticed that my choice of holidays these days has rather changed – nowadays it’s walking breaks around the UK, enjoying the fresh air and my own company. But there was a time when I very much enjoyed travelling long-haul (never say never – I’m eyeing up Australia and New Zealand at the moment…), and always enjoyed travelling with others on a singles’ holiday. Because of that, Elaine Spires’ Singles series was one I’d really wanted to read, to see how well she captured the singles’ experience – but I didn’t actually manage to read one until Single All The Way, the third in this lovely series, first published in 2014 and available both for kindle (free via Kindle Unlimited) and in paperback via Amazon in the UK and US.
And I can vividly remember where I was when I read it – on a singles’ break of my own in South America, celebrating my 60th birthday. I do remember being a little nervous about joining the series part-way through – but Elaine promised I’d be just fine, and she was absolutely right. So, with thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, it’s a pleasure today to join the blog tour and share again my (slightly edited) 2015 review… and to urge you to try this lovely series.
Let’s take a closer look…
Travel Together Tour Manager Eve Mitchell is planning a quiet Christmas at home to rest and relax before a special New Year. But she soon, very unexpectedly, finds herself in the depths of the Essex countryside looking after a singles’ group which contains some old, familiar faces and some pleasant – and not so pleasant – new ones.
With its country walks, quizzes, disco and black-tie ball, the Christmas and Twixmas Break passes quickly, but just as they think it’s all over the plot takes a twist and we learn some dark secrets…
And my original review? With pleasure…
So not entirely a standalone, part of a lovely series – there are references to characters and incidents in the two earlier books, but worry not, there’s more than enough detail to allow you to catch up.
Eve, the tour manager, is a wonderful character (if only all tour managers could be like her!), with a fascinating story of her own, and the patience of a saint: she puts her own plans for a solitary and relaxing Christmas on temporary hold to take charge of a group on a break in a country house hotel, and the fun begins.
I really love stories where you have a cast of characters all with their own stories – some shared, some hidden, some hidden very deeply – and you soon get to know the group. In fact, not just the group – many of the hotel staff have their own stories too.
This is a big cast of characters, but things never get confusing – and as with every holiday group I’ve ever been with, everyone has their own story, some laugh-out-loud funny, some heartbreakingly sad. There will always be people you really like – I adored Penny and Dave. There’s usually the almost indistinguishable group of Sues – and the male jokers, happy to take whatever’s on offer. And – sadly – there’s almost always an Angela.
Elaine writes so well – with wonderful descriptions, and excellent characters deftly drawn in a few strokes. Every story within the story is real and fascinating…
I’d really recommend Single All The Way as a Christmassy read, a fascinating look at individuals in all their complexity, and a realistic insight into the world of singles holidays. And it’s really good fun too – I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of featuring Elaine’s writing a few times – I sadly haven’t managed to read all of this series, but I do remember how much I enjoyed Singles, Set and Match, the fifth book, back in 2019 (you can read my review again here), and entirely loved The Single Best Thing that concluded the series so beautifully (review here). But as the festive season is fast approaching, I really must also mention her standalone 2020 Christmas novella, You Never See Rainbows At Christmas (you’ll find my review here) – you might just have missed it, and it’s one I’d really recommend you add to this year’s Christmas reading list (but as well as Single All The Way of course!).
About the author
Elaine Spires is a novelist, playwright and actress. Extensive travelling and a background in education and tourism perfected Elaine’s keen eye for the quirky characteristics of people, captivating the humorous observations she now affectionately shares with the readers of her novels. Elaine’s Singles’ Series has its roots in her background as a tour manager for a UK tour operator.
Elaine also writes plays and her short film Only the Lonely was made by Dan Films and won the Groucho Club Best Short Film Award 2019 and two Silver Awards at WOFFF 2019. Elaine is waiting for a film-maker with vision to turn the Singles Series into films or TV dramas.