Queen Latifah play Georgina Byrd, a New Orleans saleswoman who learns that she only has a few weeks to live, so she decides to use her remaining time to take a dream vacation to a European resort. Once there, she starts taking on all sorts of risks and challenges because she really has nothing to lose. Two other accidents took place on that retreat leaving Tom in prison for manslaughter. However, he will be released soon.

The most incredible thing about this movie is the fact that it's a remake. There are two types of remakes, the faithful and the altered, and Last Holiday is the best altered remake ever. The original was made in 1950 and starred Alec Guinness. With no humor, a tragic romance, and an extremely depressing story, it was a terrible film. Fifty-six years later, the character George Byrd was changed to Georgia Byrd, and Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman wrote a delightful script! Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah), a worker at a supermarket, is a normal, shy and reserved person. She's afraid to talk to the guy she loves (Sean, played by LL Cool J), and she never does anything exciting. Within the first 15 minutes, you see her cook a wonderful looking meal which she cooked along with the show "Emeril", in which she takes a picture of and gives to her neighbor. She in turn eats a Lean Cuisine. These greatly affect the establishment of her character, so I give props to the writers. Georgia impresses the hotel's staff, with the exception of the cantankerous guest services manager Ms. Gunther, with her naive manner and forthright kindness. She also mingles with some of the other guests, including Matthew Kragen, an arrogant self-help guru and the owner of the department store where she worked; Kragen's assistant/mistress Ms. Burns; and Louisiana power brokers Senator Dillings and Congressman Stewart. Kragen is wary of Georgia and suspects her of trying to sabotage his business, but the rest are charmed by her free spirit.You keep asking yourself as you observe several counseling sessions of these health gurus: are they conmen or are they really talented soul shakers who help the people get through their mental problems? Compelled by her grieving mother, teacher Fran books onto it in the hope of uncovering who was responsible for her sister’s death. I’m so happy this book put this brilliant author on my radar. I cannot wait to read the lord works of her. Another thing I didn’t like is that the second half kind of got repetitive, especially with Kate. I didn’t find her perspective very useful to the story. But it’s not like I particularly liked any of the characters either. I was mostly indifferent about them. So many things happen in the story and I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many screwed up people trying to hang out! And as everything started to unfold I just couldn’t predict one thing. Brilliant!

Try to make your writing interesting for the reader. To do this, you can make it personal with your own memories and experiences. As it was my only holiday for the long time I don’t want to have a tight schedule and preferred spend it in chill way. I woke up without alarm had a breakfast slowly and then we decided where to go and what to do today. They're not all likeable characters but I found them to be good characters and that was my favourite thing about this book 🙂 The downfall, for me, was the denouement. It all went a bit pear-shaped and OTT. I was disappointed. I can't say more than that for fear of giving something away.Stein, Ruthe (January 13, 2006). "Deadly diagnosis leads to fatally predictable story". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved January 6, 2013.

As her HMO plan does not cover the high cost of an operation, Georgia resigns herself to having only a few weeks to live. She quits her job, liquidates her assets, and sets off on a dream vacation at the deluxe Grandhotel Pupp in the Czech Republic's spa city of Karlovy Vary. Two years ago, Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared on a wellness retreat in Gozo that went terribly wrong. Out of the three main characters I thought Fran’s story was most interesting. She started as a cold person who obviously hadn’t received much love growing up. She wasn’t into cuddles, saying I love you or sharing how she felt emotionally but I did like her candid nature. I also thought she was quite clued up and had great investigative skills, her and Caroline made a great pair and often made me giggle at their conversations. By the end of the story I felt she had learnt a lot about herself, she remained her true candid self but she was warmer and more open to uncomfortable situations.

Queenie works in the cookware department of a department store. She loves to cook, follows recipes on cooking shows, and photographs her food, but she doesn't get to enjoy her creations. Instead, she eats Lean Cuisine. She has a crush on LL Cool J, one of her coworkers, but despite encouragement from her friend, Jane Adams, she barely has enough courage to say hello. She has an accident at work and gets a CAT-scan, which shows she has the very rare and incurable Lampington's disease. With only three weeks to live, she throws caution to the wind. She tells off her boss, cashes in all her investments, and plans a permanent vacation to the place she's always wanted to visit: Hotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia. Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared two years ago on a wellness retreat in Gozo that went terribly wrong. The man behind the retreats, Tom Wade was recently released from prison after serving his sentence for the deaths of two people. But he has never let on what happened to the third victim, Jenna. Jenna disappears on a spiritual retreat run by Kate and her husband Tom on the island of Gozo. It is presumed a suicide. However, a body is never found, and sister Fran is determined to get to the bottom of what happened. Another couple die on the same retreat leaving Tom in prison for manslaughter. Two years later, and with Tom newly released, Kate organises another spiritual retreat in Wales to salvage their reputation and finances.

Jenna is referred to as having disappeared and also referred to as being dead, which has been determined as suicide. This aspect felt a bit wishy washy. So, what does Fran’s mother do, when she learns that Tom Wade has been released after serving his two year prison sentence, and that he will be running another retreat? She books a spot for Fran, so she can go investigate her sister’s presumed death. How nice it is to read a thriller from the POV of three women with their own distinctive voices, good character arcs, and not running around being overly emotional and silly.

There we go to the beach, to some interesting restaurants, to a beach clube and to an ice cream shop. By the end, I was ambivalent and a little let down. Was it me or was it the book? I am not entirely sure. I have enjoyed other books by this author more. I am putting this in the liked but did not love category. I particularly enjoyed this book as an audiobook as it made me feel more engaged with the storyline and really bought the characters to life. Yes the plot has been done many times before. As with most romantic comedies, it's nothing deep, had some cheesy moments and was totally predictable (I figured out the whole movie in the first 10 minutes).