Tag: summer reading

Book Review, Fiction

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪
Genre: Fiction

Barefoot may have been one of Hilderbrand’s most dramatic stories, and that’s really saying something. Vicki, Brenda, and Melanie arrive on Nantucket for the summer, each ready for an escape from their reality. Vicki is fighting cancer, Brenda lost her career after an affair with a student, and Melanie found out her husband is having an affair and that she’s pregnant with the baby she has so desperately longed for. As if that’s not enough going on, enter twenty-two year old Josh who babysits for them over the summer and finds himself embroiled in their lives in unexpected ways.

I liked that each character felt they were on borrowed time while on Nantucket. They knew the summer would eventually end and they would have to stop suspending reality. It felt relatable as a reader, since the book too was finite – it contained their stories well. Bolstered, of course, by the totally immersive setting. Every time I opened the book I was wholly transported to a beach town.

Although all three of the main women were kind of annoying and self-serving at times, I didn’t really care that I didn’t love them. It amped up the drama and helped me understand the nuanced relationships between them.

Josh’s ex-girlfriend was also a prominent character and seemed like a kind of random addition to provide some backstory for him. I found her storyline unnecessary and a bit repetitive, but we did get a really good sense of who Josh was and I liked his character.

The ending felt kind of rushed and a little too ‘wrapping things up,’ but I didn’t really mind.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy Barefoot at an indie bookstore near you
Barefoot on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Romance

Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand ~ Book Review

Morgan

My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5
Genre: Romance
Read if you liked: The Perfect Couple

Jenna and Stewart’s families gather on Nantucket for their wedding, planned using The Notebook that Jenna’s mom left behind for her before she died. As the ideas in The Notebook come to life, it stirs up emotions for all the family members, leading to reassessments of many of their lives.

This book is classic Elin Hilderbrand, with a primary focus on the lavish setting of Nantucket and the personal drama of the characters (of which there are a lot), without a ton of action. It was exactly what I wanted from a book I read by the pool. Most of the characters are entitled and somewhat unlikable, but I enjoyed watching them tangle and untangle their lives. I ate up the drama as the wedding drew closer.

I liked how messy and complicated this story was, and of course, I loved the way Hilderbrand made Nantucket come alive as she always does.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Beautiful Day on Goodreads
Buy Beautiful Day at an indie bookstore near you

Book Review, Fiction

The Five-Star Weekend by Elin Hilderbrand ~ Book Review

Morgan

Fiction
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

Ahh this book was so good!! To be back in Nantucket with Elin Hilderbrand and a new story is always such a joy. Hollis and her husband argue one morning before he leaves for a trip and when he dies in a car accident hours later, Hollis is left with more questions than answers. Months later, as she continues to process her loss, she organizes a five-star weekend with four friends from different parts of her life. Although they’ve never all spent time together before, Hollis hopes the camaraderie and support will help her to feel whole.

Hollis is a food blogger so you already know the descriptions of food and hosting details are spectacular. As always, Hilderbrand did not disappoint with creating an atmosphere you can practically feel coming to life around you.

The five “stars,” plus Hollis’s daughter are all dealing with a different kind of life event, either publicly or privately. They were all very distinct experiences and I found it really compelling to get to see inside each of their heads and to understand how they chose to deal with what they were going through. Although the amount of people to keep track of got a little confusing at times, by the end I was invested in each individual one.

There were definitely some things I didn’t see coming and the amount of drama combined with the bougie Nantucket summer vibes made this book hard to put down.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The Five-Star Weekend at an indie bookstore near you
The Five-Star Weekend on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Romance

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune ~ Book Review

Morgan

Berkley
Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

It lives up to the hype! Every Summer After was exactly the summer read I was looking for. I grew up going to lakes during the summer and Carley Fortune perfectly captures the essence of hot days by the water, told through Persephone’s view. Persephone (Percy) is returning to the lake where she spent her summers growing up, after over a decade away. Going back means seeing Sam again, her former best friend and first love.

I was obsessed with Sam and Percy’s friendship. The timeline is split between past and present and seeing them bond as kids, share in each others hobbies and passions, and be their authentic selves was so heartwarming. They came across as completely realistic and quirky and I was holding my breath waiting for their friendship to become more.

The chemistry between the two in the present was palpable and I couldn’t get enough of their adult interactions. Throughout the book, the reader is left in the dark about what happened to pull the two apart, and the mystery combined with the breathtaking setting and the romance was the combination I didn’t know I needed.

Prepare for your heart to hurt with this one and for yourself to suddenly long for sunscreen-coated summer days by the water.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Every Summer After on Goodreads
Buy Every Summer After at an indie bookstore near you

Book Review, Fiction

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand ~ Book Review

Morgan

Little, Brown & Company
Fiction
Release Date: June 14, 2022 (Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC!)
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

Ah, to be back in Elin Hilderbrand’s world! The Hotel Nantucket transported me instantly to sun-soaked Nantucket and the glamour of the newly renovated and incredibly posh Hotel Nantucket. Lizbet Keaton, hired to be the general manager by the mysteries Xavier Darling, who himself has never seen the hotel, scrambles to hire an eclectic mix of employees to get the place up and running. The cast of characters had such wonderful dynamics with one another. Even though there were a lot of them, each was so unique that I never mixed anyone up or felt confusion over who was who.

I was the littlest bit thrown off by the part of the narrative told by a ghost, but I promise it wasn’t too disruptive to the rest of the story – and I’m not one who usually enjoys that kind of suspension of reality in an otherwise realistic story. Although there was not a ton of action in the day to day goings on of the hotel, the secrets and drama of each individual employee grew and complicated over time in a way that made this book hard to put down.

As always, Hilderbrand’s descriptions of everything from room décor to cocktails leapt off the page and illustrated every aspect of the novel. I felt that things were a little rushed and maybe not entirely thought out at the very end of the story, but other than that, I loved every page.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The Hotel Nantucket at an indie bookstore near you
The Hotel Nantucket on Goodreads